Candida urinary tract infections in adults.

Candiduria is commonly seen in hospitalized patients and most of the patients are asymptomatic, but it may be due to cystitis, pyelonephritis, prostatitis, epididymo-orchitis or disseminated candidiasis. Major risk factors are diabetes mellitus, indwelling urinary catheters, use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, urinary obstruction, and admission to intensive care units. Candida urinary tract infections can be caused by hematogenous spread following candidemia, or retrograde route via the urethra.

A new experimental flap design: the saphenous artery periosto-fasciocutaneous flap of the rat.

Vascularized periosteal graft is a frequently applied flap model for bone prefabrication studies due to its inhabitance of osteoprogenitor cells and osteoinductive potential. Various bones such as rib and fibula are reported as a potential source for the harvest of the periosteal flap in experimental studies on higher species such as dogs and pigs, which necessitates a rather complicated and expensive experimental setting. Therefore a reliable and inexpensive small animal model on vascularized periosteal flaps is necessary for future research.

T-SPOT.TB assay usage in adults and children.

The diagnosis and treatment of TB infection is one of the public health priorities. Until recently, diagnosis of TB infection has been based on the tuberculin skin test (TST). However, this is neither 100% sensitive nor specific for the diagnosis of TB infection owing to its many drawbacks.

Sternocleidomastoid region restoration with lateral hemisoleus muscle incorporatied in free fibular flap for reconstruction of radical neck dissection and hemimandibulectomy.

In the treatment of head and neck carcinoma, radical cervical lymphadenectomy leaves the affected side of the neck devoid of the sternocleidomastoid muscle, thus more vulnerable to the unwanted side effects of the adjuvant radiotherapy. It also causes asymmetry and cosmetically unpleasant appearance of the cervical region. In the reported case with widely ulcerated squamous-cell carcinoma over mandible, hemimandibulectomy and radical neck dissection was performed.

Do we really need blood cultures in treating patients with community-acquired pneumonia?

Objectives: Positive blood cultures (BC) are considered a gold standard specific test for diagnosing and managing patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). The aims of this study were to determine the positivity rate of BCs performed in patients with CAP, empirically started antibiotic regimens and conformity of the empirically started antibiotics with the results of BCs.

Methods: Patients with the diagnosis of CAP with started empiric antibiotic treatment and performed BC test were included in the study.

Executive dysfunction in Turkish children at high risk for schizophrenia.

Objective: To explore different aspects of executive function (i.e. sequencing, set shifting and mental flexibility) in children who are at high risk for schizophrenia by comparing them with normal controls.

Percentiles of oxygen saturations in healthy term newborns in the first minutes of life.

The aim of this study was to establish the reference values of preductal oxygen saturation (SpO2) in healthy infants immediately after birth. SpO2 recordings of 200 term neonates (vaginal group;n=150 and cesarean group;n=50) with regular respiratory pattern were evaluated. The median SpO2 values in the first, fifth and tenth minutes were 71, 92, and 98% in vaginal deliveries and 70, 79, and 96% in cesarean deliveries, respectively.

An unusual native tricuspid valve endocarditis caused by Candida colliculosa.

Candida colliculosa, which grew in blood cultures of a 71-year-old retired man with fever of unknown origin that had lasted for 7 months, in conjunction with transthoracic echocardiography, demonstrating a 20-mm vegetation, superior to the tricuspid valve, herniating into the right atrial cavity. The finding led to the diagnosis of fungal endocarditis. Fluconazole, 600 mg daily, was commenced for 8 days; followed by amphotericin B, 1 mg/kg daily.

Cardiotoxicity of 5-flourouracil: two case reports.

Cardiotoxicity is a rare but serious side effect of 5-flourouracil (5-FU). The cardiotoxicity incidence of 5-FU is increasing with its frequent use in chemotherapy protocols. To explain the mechanism of this cardiotoxicity, many theories have been suggested by different authors.