Publications by authors named "Tugce Tural-Kara"

Article Synopsis
  • Vaccines have significantly reduced COVID-19 hospitalizations among adolescents in Turkey, evidenced by a decline in hospitalizations during the vaccination period compared to pre-vaccination.
  • The study revealed that while there were more total hospitalizations during the vaccination period, the proportion of vaccinated adolescents requiring hospitalization was lower, reflecting the effectiveness of the vaccine.
  • Additionally, breakthrough infections in vaccinated adolescents were generally milder and less severe compared to infections in unvaccinated peers, with many being asymptomatic.
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Article Synopsis
  • Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a viral infection in children caused by enteroviruses and coxsackieviruses, with no specific treatment options available.
  • A clinical study with 208 children investigated the effects of EPs® 7630, an herbal medicine, on HFMD symptoms, revealing significantly shorter illness duration and lower hospitalization rates in the treatment group compared to controls.
  • The results suggest that EPs® 7630 is a potentially effective and safe herbal treatment for HFMD, with only minor side effects reported.
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Objectives: To identify urinary catheter (UC)-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) incidence and risk factors (RF) in nine Middle Eastern countries.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study between 1 January 2014 and 2 December 2022 in 212 intensive care units (ICUs) of 67 hospitals in 38 cities in nine Middle Eastern countries (Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the UAE). To estimate CAUTI incidence, we used the number of UC days as denominator and the number of CAUTIs as numerator.

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Background: In the first half of 2022, the increase in cases of severe acute hepatitis in children with no epidemiological link and unknown cause has aroused concern worldwide. In this study, we aimed to determine the frequency of adenovirus in children with hepatitis of unknown origin in Turkey.

Methods: In this study, which was conducted with the participation of 16 centers from Turkey, between July 2022 and January 2023, 36 pediatric patients under the age of 18 who met the definition of acute hepatitis were included.

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Objective: We aimed to evaluate clinical and echocardiographic features of the children diag- nosed with multisystem inflammatory syndrome related to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 infection and determine early and mid-term cardiovascular outcomes.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 38 children who were diagnosed with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in our hospital between November 2020 and November 2021. Cardiovascular evaluations were performed during hospitalization, at the first, the second, and the third months after discharge, and then cardiac evaluation was repeated at 3-month intervals until a median of 24 weeks (range: 9-56 weeks).

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Background: Migraine is a complex neurogenic inflammatory disorder. There are strong neuronal, endocrine, and immunologic connections between the brain and gastrointestinal system. Damage to the intestinal barrier is thought to cause systemic immune dysregulation.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Antibiotic-associated diarrhea is a common side effect of antimicrobial therapy, and a study was conducted to examine its prevalence among pediatric patients in a specific region.
  • - The study involved 758 pediatric patients who started oral antibiotics, revealing a 10.4% occurrence rate of diarrhea associated with antibiotic use, particularly higher with cephalosporins and in certain geographic areas of Turkey.
  • - The findings highlighted geographic differences in the rate of antibiotic-associated diarrhea, suggesting that while it's not extremely common, it can vary significantly based on location and type of antibiotic used.
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Objective: The first articles about the impact of COVID-19 infection focused on the physical health and existing well-being of children and adolescents. However, little is known about the long-term effects of the disease itself, especially being infected with the virus and even the possibility of the infection on their mental health. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the long-term psychological effects of the disease.

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Introduction: Health care workers (HCWs) are disproportionately exposed to infectious diseases and play a role in nosocomial transmission, making them a key demographic for vaccination. HCW vaccination rates are not optimal in many countries; hence, compulsory vaccination policies have been implemented in some countries. Although these policies are effective and necessary under certain conditions, resolving HCWs' hesitancies and misconceptions about vaccines is crucial.

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Objective: This study aimed to evaluate presentations of new-onset type 1 diabetes mellitus in a pediatric cohort during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Materials And Methods: This study was designed as a single-center, descriptive, cross-sectional retrospective study. The patients diagnosed with new-onset type 1 diabetes mellitus between April 1, 2020, and April 1, 2021, were included in the study.

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Background: Acute otitis media (AOM) is one of the most common childhood infections. Ear pain, the main symptom of AOM, results in parents frequently seeking medical assistance for their children. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of topical 1% lidocaine ear drops administered with oral analgesics with that of oral analgesics alone.

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Background: Invasive Trichosporon infections are rarely seen opportunistic fungal infections in children and mainly affect immunocompromised patients. This multicenter retrospective study has rewieved the characteristics, risk factors, treatment modalities and outcomes of bloodstream infections caused by Trichosporon species in children diagnosed over the past ten years in Turkey.

Methods: The study was performed with the participation of 12 of 55 hospitals invited from Turkey.

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Background: Understanding SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among health care personnel is important to explore risk factors for transmission, develop elimination strategies and form a view on the necessity and frequency of surveillance in the future.

Methods: We enrolled 4927 health care personnel working in pediatric units at 32 hospitals from 7 different regions of Turkey in a study to determine SARS Co-V-2 seroprevalence after the first peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. A point of care serologic lateral flow rapid test kit for immunoglobulin (Ig)M/IgG was used.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study analyzed pediatric COVID-19 cases across 32 hospitals in Turkey, focusing on the epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of the disease in children from March 16 to June 15, 2020.
  • A total of 1,156 cases were confirmed, with a slightly higher proportion of males (50.3%) compared to females (49.7%), and the median age of the patients was 10.75 years; common symptoms included fever (50.4%) and cough (46.9%).
  • The severity of illness varied, with 22.7% asymptomatic, 57.7% experiencing mild symptoms, and 1.5% being classified as severe; 12.9% had
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Background: Nosocomial pneumonia caused by Legionella pneumophila serogroup 2-14 occurred in a 7-year-old patient following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for thalassemia major.

Case: The patient was diagnosed with nosocomial Legionella pneumophila by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) examination of the bronchoalveolar lavage and culturing Legionella pneumophila serogroup 2-14 from the patient`s room faucet water. Legionella pneumophila was eradicated from our hospital`s water distribution system by superheating and chemical eradication methods (hyper-chlorination and hydrogen peroxide).

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Background: Pertussis is a disease leading to high morbidity and mortality in neonates and infants. Bronchiolitis is the most common cause of hospitalization especially in children < 2 year-old. Although the clinical findings are different in these two diseases, it is sometimes difficult to make this distinction in partially or fully vaccinated children.

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Objectives: Since the civil war in Syria began, millions of Syrians have left the country and been forced to migrate to other countries. Turkey is the country with the most refugees hosting 3.6 million refugees.

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Kanık Yüksek S, Tezer H, Özkaya Parlakay A, Gülhan B, Kara A, Çiftçi E, Tapısız A, Çelik M, Özdemir H, Aykaç K, Demirdağ TB, Tural Kara T, Hayran G, İnce E. Impact of the mandatory Hepatitis A immunization program: before and after the vaccine in Ankara, Central of Turkey. Turk J Pediatr 2019; 61: 677-685.

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Background/aim: Bloodstream infections are the major cause of morbidity, increased cost, prolonged hospitalization, and mortality in pediatric patients. Identifying the predominant microorganisms and antimicrobial susceptibilities in centers helps to select effective empirical antimicrobials which leads to positive clinical outcomes. We aimed to identify the causative microorganisms and their antimicrobial susceptibilities in patients with bloodstream infections.

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Hydatid disease is a parasitic disease. Although the disease causes many organ involvement, intracranial involvement is rarely seen. Clinical findings vary according to the number, size, localization of the cyst and the immune status of the patient.

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Article Synopsis
  • * A total of 78 CRBSI episodes were recorded among 60 patients, with methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococcus being the predominant pathogen, followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella spp., and Escherichia coli.
  • * Antibiotic lock therapy (ALT) was used in 42 cases with an 81% success rate, demonstrating that ALT is a safe and effective method to manage CRBSIs, although
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Pneumonia is a significant cause of death for children, particularly those in developing countries. The records of children who were hospitalized because of pneumonia between January 2003 and December 2015 were retrospectively reviewed, and patients who met the recurrent pneumonia criteria were included in this study. During this 13-year period, 1395 patients were hospitalized with pneumonia; of these, 129 (9.

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