Can imaging modalities be used as follow-up criteria after brucellar sacroiliitis treatment?

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to identify a follow-up modality that can be used to evaluate therapeutic responses in patients receiving treatment for brucellar sacroillitis and to determine whether antibiotherapy can be stopped. METHODOLOGY: A total of 32 patients with sacroiliac joint involvement demonstrated via magnetic resonance imaging or bone scintigraphy were followed up and treated. Patients received 200 mg/day of doxycycline and 600-900 mg/day of rifampicin for 3-21 months, and 1 g/day of streptomycin for 21 days. RESULTS: The mean age of the 32 patients involved was 21.81±4.09. In total, 10/32 patients did not complete therapy, and the remaining 22 patients received combination antibiotic treatment for a mean of 8.95±4.34 months. Of the 22 patients, 15 underwent MRI, and 7 of them did not consent to MRI. Similarly, 17 patients were followed up by bone scintigraphy, and 5 patients did not have scintigraphy results. In 9/17 patients followed up with bone scintigraphy, sacroiliitis findings were found to reduce after a mean of 7.44±3.71 months, whereas in 12/15 patients on whom MRI was performed,  there were no active sacroiliitis findings for a mean of 6.95±2.83 months. CONCLUSIONS: While active involvement findings in bone scintigraphy were observed for a longer period in scintigraphy images, active sacroiliitis findings disappeared in a relatively shorter period of time with MRI. Therefore, we have demonstrated that high-resolution MRI is a very sensitive technique compared to scintigraphy.

Hydrocephalus and vasculitis delay therapeutic responses in tuberculous meninigitis: Results of Haydarpasa-III study.

AIMS: There is no report on the factors affecting the resolution of symptoms related to meningitis during treatment of tuberculous meningitis (TBM). Thus, we examined the factors associated with early therapeutic responses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This multicenter study included 507 patients with microbiologically confirmed TBM. However, 94 patients eligible for the analysis were included in this study from 24 centers. Six out of 94 patients died and the statistical analysis was performed with 88 survivors. Early and late responder groups were compared in the statistical analysis. P < 0.05 were considered to show a significant difference. RESULTS: In the multivariate analysis, the presence of vasculitis (P = 0.029, OR = 10.491 [95% CI, 1.27-86.83]) was found to be significantly associated with a delayed fever response whereas hydrocephalus was associated with altered mental status for >9 days duration (P = 0.005, OR = 5.740 [95% CI, 1.68-19.57]). According to linear regression analysis, fever was significantly persisting (>7 days) in the presence of vasculitis (17.5 vs. 7, P< 0.001) and hydrocephalus (11 vs. 7, P = 0.029). Hydrocephalus was significantly associated with persisting headache (21 vs. 12, P = 0.025), delayed recovery of consciousness (19.5 vs. 7, P = 0.001), and a delay in complete recovery (21 vs. 14, P = 0.007) in the linear regression analysis. Following institution of treatment, the complaints seemed to disappear in up to 2 weeks among TBM survivors. CONCLUSIONS: In the absence of hydrocephalus or vasculitis, one week of anti-tuberculosis treatment seems to be adequate for the resolution of TBM symptoms. Hydrocephalus and vasculitis delay the resolution of TBM symptoms in response to antimycobacterial treatment.

A case of mucosal leishmaniasis: Mimicking intranasal tumor with perforation of septum.

A 79-year-old male suffering from nasal congestion was referred to our hospital. Endoscopic examination revealed a hyperemic mass obstructing the left nasal passage. The lesion's surface was smooth. The findings of imaging studies were consistent with a benign tumor despite the erosion and perforation of the septum. The lesion originated from the middle concha and was attached to it with a thin stalk. It was removed easily by endoscopic resection. Histopathology revealed significant infiltration of mononuclear inflammatory cells, mostly lymphocytes and histiocytes, into the edematous subepithelial connective tissue. High-power magnification showed numerous Leishmania amastigotes in the cytoplasm of the histiocytes. A polymerase chain reaction experiment for Leishmania also confirmed the morphological diagnosis. No relapse was observed in the 12 months after surgery and the patient was doing well.

Oropharyngeal tularemia cases admitted to a military hospital in Ankara, Turkey.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to review the possible sources of infection of 16 oropharyngeal tularemia hospital cases, and to document their epidemiological and demographical characteristics, laboratory findings, treatment methods, and treatment results. METHODOLOGY: Sixteen cases from a Turkish military hospital between January 2011 and December 2012 were retrospectively evaluated. The age, sex, occupation, place of residence, symptoms, duration of symptoms, laboratory results, treatment and duration, and treatment results were recorded. Tularemia was diagnosed through tularemia-specific tests once the other conditions that may have caused lymphadenopathy were excluded. RESULTS: Twelve of the patients included in this study were males. The average age of the patients was 32.1 ± 17.2 years. Sore throat, fatigue, and fever were the most frequent symptoms. The mean duration of symptoms was 21.6 ± 6.9 days. All the patients had been treated for tonsillopharyngitis in primary healthcare institutions previously. However, despite the treatment, cervical lymphadenopathy had developed in these cases. Patients were given streptomycin, doxycycline, and ciprofloxacin monotherapy or in combination. Ten of the cases fully recovered, while five required surgical lymph node drainage. Spontaneous drainage occurred in the single remaining case. CONCLUSIONS: Turkey is considered to be an endemic country with regards to tularemia. Prompt diagnosis and proper treatment of the disease is imperative in providing cure. Since it can be potentially confused with tuberculous lymphadenitis, differential diagnosis is vital. Patients presenting with a condition of tonsillopharyngitis in endemic areas must be carefully monitored.

The role of human leukocyte antigen tissue groups in hepatitis B virus vaccination in Turkey.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Between 5% and 10% of the vaccinated population responds less well to standard vaccination schedules irrespective of hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination. This manuscript aims at describing possible correlation of different major histocompatibility complex (MHC) Class-I and MHC Class-II haplotype to anti-HBV humoral responsiveness following HBV vaccination. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted on 944 vaccinated hospital staff members and concentrated on the 38 nonresponders as defined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) results. In order to define significance of the different haplotypes from the nonresponders, their frequency was compared to the frequency of the same haplotype in 18 randomly selected responders. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A and HLA-B antigens were typed among total mononuclear cells using a standard two-stage microlymphocytotoxicity test. The typing method of HLA Class-II is based on a technique that involves amplification of the second exon of different HLA Class-II genes by PCR. RESULTS: Positive correlations were found between four HLA-DR (HLA-DRB1*04X, DRB1*0401X, DRB1*11/13, and DRB1*0401X0201) haplotypes and nonresponders but there was a negative correlation with one Class-I (HLA-B13). CONCLUSION: This study suggested that certain HLA types are associated with nonresponsiveness to vaccination. The different HLA of ethnic groups should also be kept in mind when evaluating the response to hepatitis vaccination. The different HLA gene frequencies of ethnic groups should be examined in further large-scale population-based studies.

First molecular characterization of a Turkish orf virus strain from a human based on a partial B2L sequence.

Cases of orf virus infection in human in Turkey have been reported for many years. Scab material from a man was found positive by PCR using pan-parapox-specific primers for parapoxvirus infection. The amplicon was purified and sequenced. The present study provides for the first time a phylogenetic analysis of parapoxviruses from Turkey. The partial B2L gene sequence of a Turkish orf virus from a human presented here may be useful for characterization of parapoxvirus infections in Turkey based on the phylogenetic analysis studies.

[Comparison of endotracheal aspiration and mini-BAL culture results in the diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia]. / Ventilatörle Iliskili Pnömoni Tanisinda Kullanilan Endotrakeal Aspirat Kültürü ile Mini-BAL Kültürünün Karsilastirilmasi

The objective of this study was to compare the results of cultures obtained by mini-bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and endotracheal aspiration (ETA) techniques, used for rapid and accurate determination of pathogens causing ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in intensive care units. Of the 92 patients on mechanical ventilation followed at the emergency intensive care unit of our hospital between June 2010 and June 2011, 30 (32.2%) patients were diagnosed as VAP and they were included in this study. VAP diagnosis were based on the clinical and radiological findings. Clinical pulmonary infection score (CPIS) of > 6 was accepted as the clinical criteria of VAP. Initially ETA samples were collected from the patients followed by mini-BAL sampling 15 minutes later, together with urine and two blood cultures. Microbiological evaluation and identification were performed by conventional methods and Phoenix 100 (BD Diagnostic Systems, ABD) automated system. In quantitative culture analysis, > 10.000 cfu/ml for BAL and > 100.000 cfu/ml for ETA were accepted as the positive result. The mean ages of VAP-developed (n= 30; 18 were male) and nondeveloped (n= 62; 39 were male) patients were 68.23 ± 16.19 and 52.16 ± 10.41 years, respectively, and the mean durations of mechanical ventilation were 29.57 ± 15.78 and 12.11 ± 6.01 days, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that older age (p< 0.001) and duration of mechanical ventilation (p< 0.001) were independent risk factors for VAP development. There was also a statistically significant difference in CPIS values between patients who developed VAP and not (6.8 ± 1.15 and 2.71 ± 1.06, respectively; p< 0.001). The use of CPIS for VAP diagnosis was found to be useful in patients on mechanical ventilation. In our study, a total of 16 strains (six A.baumannii, three P.aeruginosa, one K.pneumoniae, six S.aureus) were isolated from ETA cultures, while 34 strains (16 A.baumannii, six P.aeruginosa, four K.pneumoniae, two E.coli, six S.aureus) were isolated from mini-BAL cultures of 30 VAP patients. The contamination rate for ETA cultures was found as 27% (8/30), however there was no contamination in mini-BAL samples. The rates of negative cultures for ETA and mini-BAL were 20% (6/30) and 7% (2/30), respectively. Seven (87.5%) of the eight contaminated ETA samples, yielded pathogenic bacterial growth (six A.baumannii, one K.pneumoniae) in mini-BAL samples. Similarly, of the six negative ETA samples, 5 (83%) yielded bacterial growth (two E.coli, two K.pneumoniae, one P.aeruginosa) in mini-BAL samples. Statistical analysis with Spearman test indicated no positive correlation between the culture results of mini-BAL and ETA (p= 0.464), and the concordance between the culture results of those methods was found as 50%. It was concluded that the use of mini-BAL instead of ETA samples for the isolation of causative microorganisms of VAP seemed to be more useful due to the high contamination risk in ETA culturing techniques and higher bacterial isolation rates in mini-BAL sampling.

Efficacy and tolerability of antibiotic combinations in neurobrucellosis: results of the Istanbul study.

No data on whether brucellar meningitis or meningoencephalitis can be treated with oral antibiotics or whether an intravenous extended-spectrum cephalosporin, namely, ceftriaxone, which does not accumulate in phagocytes, should be added to the regimen exist in the literature. The aim of a study conducted in Istanbul, Turkey, was to compare the efficacy and tolerability of ceftriaxone-based antibiotic treatment regimens with those of an oral treatment protocol in patients with these conditions. This retrospective study enrolled 215 adult patients in 28 health care institutions from four different countries. The first protocol (P1) comprised ceftriaxone, rifampin, and doxycycline. The second protocol (P2) consisted of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, rifampin, and doxycycline. In the third protocol (P3), the patients started with P1 and transferred to P2 when ceftriaxone was stopped. The treatment period was shorter with the regimens which included ceftriaxone (4.40 ± 2.47 months in P1, 6.52 ± 4.15 months in P2, and 5.18 ± 2.27 months in P3) (P = 0.002). In seven patients, therapy was modified due to antibiotic side effects. When these cases were excluded, therapeutic failure did not differ significantly between ceftriaxone-based regimens (n = 5/166, 3.0%) and the oral therapy (n = 4/42, 9.5%) (P = 0.084). The efficacy of the ceftriaxone-based regimens was found to be better (n = 6/166 [3.6%] versus n = 6/42 [14.3%]; P = 0.017) when a composite negative outcome (CNO; relapse plus therapeutic failure) was considered. Accordingly, CNO was greatest in P2 (14.3%, n = 6/42) compared to P1 (2.6%, n = 3/117) and P3 (6.1%, n = 3/49) (P = 0.020). Seemingly, ceftriaxone-based regimens are more successful and require shorter therapy than the oral treatment protocol.

Assessment of the requisites of microbiology based infectious disease training under the pressure of consultation needs.

BACKGROUND: Training of infectious disease (ID) specialists is structured on classical clinical microbiology training in Turkey and ID specialists work as clinical microbiologists at the same time. Hence, this study aimed to determine the clinical skills and knowledge required by clinical microbiologists. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out between June 1, 2010 and September 15, 2010 in 32 ID departments in Turkey. Only patients hospitalized and followed up in the ID departments between January-June 2010 who required consultation with other disciplines were included. RESULTS: A total of 605 patients undergoing 1343 consultations were included, with pulmonology, neurology, cardiology, gastroenterology, nephrology, dermatology, haematology, and endocrinology being the most frequent consultation specialties. The consultation patterns were quite similar and were not affected by either the nature of infections or the critical clinical status of ID patients. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study show that certain internal medicine subdisciplines such as pulmonology, neurology and dermatology appear to be the principal clinical requisites in the training of ID specialists, rather than internal medicine as a whole.

Antistaphylococcal activity of dihydrophthalazine antifolates, a family of novel antibacterial drugs.

For a panel of 153 Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates (including 13 vancomycin-intermediate or heterogeneous vancomycin-intermediate and 4 vancomycin-resistant strains), MIC(50)s and MIC(90)s of three novel dihydrophthalazine antifolates, BAL0030543, BAL0030544, and BAL0030545, were 0.03 and 0.25 microg/ml, respectively, for methicillin-susceptible strains and 0.03 and 128 microg/ml), although rates of endogenous resistance development were much lower for the dihydrophthalazines than for trimethoprim. Single-step platings of naïve staphylococci onto media containing dihydrophthalazine antifolates indicated considerable variability among strains with respect to preexistent subpopulations nonsusceptible to dihydrophthalazine antifolates.

Molecular characterization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal isolates from Turkey.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonize most frequently in the anterior nares of the nose and cause serious infections all over the world. The aim of this study was to determine the nasal carriage rate of S. aureus and MRSA strains in Turkish elementary school children. We also analyzed molecular characterizations of MRSA strains by using pulse field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), multi locus sequence typing (MLST), staphylococcal chromosomal cassette mec (SCCmec) typing, and detection of the Panton-valentine leucocidin (PVL) gene. The nasal swabs were obtained from 4,050 children during a 4 month period in Ankara. In vitro antimicrobial susceptibility testing to 1 mug oxacillin and 30 mug cefoxitin was determined by a disk diffusion method. We found that the 1,001 of 4,050 (24.7%) children were colonized with S. aureus. Three S. aureus strains were resistant to oxacillin and cefoxitin. The rate of MRSA among all children was 0.07%. The MRSA strains revealed three different PFGE pattern. All MRSA isolates by harbored the SCCmec type IV element, but not the PVL gene. The two MRSA isolate belonged to sequence type (ST) 30, whereas the other one was a unique type. The results of this study demonstrated that S. aureus nasal carriage rate was consistent with previous studies. However, MRSA carriage rate was low. This study also indicated that the ST30-type IV without PVL gene MRSA clone may be expected to spread in Turkish community.