Temporal Trends in the Epidemiology of HIV in Turkey.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to analyze the temporal trends of HIV epidemiology in Turkey from 2011 to 2016. METHODS: Thirty-four teams from 28 centers at 17 different cities participated in this retrospective study. Participating centers were asked to complete a structured form containing questions about epidemiologic, demographic and clinical characteristics of patients presented with new HIV diagnosis between 2011 and 2016. Demographic data from all centers (complete or partial) were included in the analyses. For the cascade of care analysis, 15 centers that provided full data from 2011 to 2016 were included. Overall and annual distributions of the data were calculated as percentages and the Chi square test was used to determine temporal changes. RESULTS: A total of 2,953 patients between 2011 and 2016 were included. Overall male to female ratio was 5:1 with a significant increase in the number of male cases from 2011 to 2016 (p<0.001). The highest prevalence was among those aged 25-34 years followed by the 35-44 age bracket. The most common reason for HIV testing was illness (35%). While the frequency of sex among men who have sex with men increased from 16% to 30.6% (p<0.001) over the study period, heterosexual intercourse (53%) was found to be the most common transmission route. Overall, 29% of the cases presented with a CD4 count of >500 cells/mm3 while 46.7% presented with a CD4 T cell count of <350 cells/mm3. Among newly diagnosed cases, 79% were retained in care, and all such cases initiated ART with 73% achieving viral suppression after six months of antiretroviral therapy. CONCLUSION: The epidemiologic profile of HIV infected individuals is changing rapidly in Turkey with an increasing trend in the number of newly diagnosed people disclosing themselves as MSM. New diagnoses were mostly at a young age. The late diagnosis was found to be a challenging issue. Despite the unavailability of data for the first 90, Turkey is close to the last two steps of 90-90-90 targets.

Vertebral osteomyelitis: clinical features and diagnosis.

We aimed to describe clinical and diagnostic features of vertebral osteomyelitis for differential diagnosis and treatment. This is a prospective observational study performed between 2002 and 2012 in Ankara Numune Education and Research Hospital in Ankara, Turkey. All the patients with vertebral osteomyelitis were followed for from 6 months to 3 years. In total, 214 patients were included in the study, 113 out of 214 (53%) were female. Out of 214 patients, 96 (45%) had brucellar vertebral osteomyelitis (BVO), 63 (29%) had tuberculous vertebral osteomyelitis (TVO), and 55 (26%) had pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis (PVO). Mean number of days between onset of symptoms and establishment of diagnosis was greater with the patients with TVO (266 days) than BVO (115 days) or PVO (151 days, p <0.001). In blood cultures, Brucella spp. were isolated from 35 of 96 BVO patients (35%). Among 55 PVO patients, the aetiological agent was isolated in 11 (20%) patients. For tuberculin skin test >15 mm, sensitivity was 0.66, specificity was 0.97, positive predictive value was 0.89, negative predictive value was 0.88, and receiver operating characteristics area was 0.8. Tuberculous and brucellar vertebral osteomyelitis remained the leading causes of vertebral osteomyelitis with delayed diagnosis. In differential diagnosis of vertebral osteomyelitis, consumption of unpasteurized cheese, dealing with husbandry, sweating, arthralgia, hepatomegaly, elevated alanine transaminase, and lumbar involvement in magnetic resonance imaging were found to be predictors of BVO, thoracic involvement in magnetic resonance imaging and tuberculin skin test > 15 mm were found to be predictors of TVO, and history of spinal surgery and leucocytosis were found to be predictors of PVO.

Pregnancy and Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever.

Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a potentially fatal viral infection with reported case fatality rates of 5-30%. Humans become infected through tick bites, by contact with a patient with CCHF during the acute phase of infection, or by contact with blood or tissues from viraemic livestock. In this first report in the literature, we present the characteristics of three pregnant women with CCHF infection and the outcome of their babies. Transmission of the CCHF infection could be either intrauterine or perinatal. In endemic regions, CCHF infection should be considered in the differential diagnosis of HELLP syndrome (haemolytic anaemia, elevated liver enzymes, low platelet count), and obstetricians should be familiar with the characteristics of CCHF infection. In the aetiology of necrotising enterocolitis, CCHF should be considered.

Analysis of risk-factors among patients with Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus infection: severity criteria revisited.

The aim of this study was to determine the predictors of mortality among patients infected with Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus. Among patients with acute febrile syndrome, characterised by malaise, bleeding, leukopenia and thrombocytopenia, who were admitted to hospital during the spring and summer of 2002-2004, 54 had positive IgM and/or PCR results for CCHF virus in blood or tissue. The overall case fatality rate was 7.4%. Among the fatalities, haematemesis (p 0.009), melaena (p 0.001) and somnolence (p 0.022) were more common, the median platelet count was significantly lower (10,600/mL vs. 20,000/mL; p 0.038), the mean prothrombin time (27 s vs. 16 s; p 0.002) and mean activated partial thromboplastin time (73 s vs. 44 s; p < 0.001) were longer, and the mean alanine transferase (ALT) level (1,125 vs. 331; p < 0.001), the mean aspartate transferase (AST) level (3,118 vs. 913; p 0.004) and the mean fibrinogen level (119 vs. 340; p 0.012) were higher. Serum IgM and IgG against CCHF virus was detected in 25% and 0%, respectively, of fatal cases, compared with 94% and 62%, respectively, of cases with favourable outcomes. Oral ribavirin was prescribed to 22 (41%) patients. Of the four fatal cases, it was the intention to prescribe ribavirin to three patients, but this was not possible because of haematemesis and melaena. Higher levels of AST (>or= 700 U/L) and ALT (>or= 900 U/L) are suggested for use as severity criteria. Oral ribavirin was not effective for patients with haematemesis, and intravenous ribavirin is necessary for treatment of CCHF.

The resazurin microplate method for rapid detection of vancomycin resistance in enterococci.

Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are a serious challenge for physicians because of the limited treatment options for infections caused by this organism. Prevention of VRE transmission in hospitals requires early detection of infected or colonized patients. Therefore rapid and correct detection of vancomycin resistance is essential. In this study, we use the resazurin microplate method (RMM), which is a modification of the NCCLS and BSAC broth microdilution methods to rapidly determine the susceptibilities of clinical enterococci isolates to vancomycin. The alteration in the RMM was relevant to the final bacterial count. In this method, inoculum that was 10-fold higher than standard methods was used. A total of 80 enterococci, including 11 VRE isolates and 6 vancomycin intermediate isolates, were screened with this modified colorimetric broth microdilution method. After 4 h of incubation 30 microl of 0.01% resazurin solution were added to each well and the plates were reincubated for color change for 5-10 min. The MICs were obtained at the 4th h. The results were in exact agreement with the NCCLS and the BSAC microdilution methods. Absolute and essential agreements were 100% and there were no minor, major or very major errors. In conclusion, this modified colorimetric broth microdilution method can be used as a reliable, easy, cheap and rapid method for early detection of VRE. Moreover, this method has the potential of being used to test the susceptibilities of different bacteria to other antibiotics.

Analysis of risk factors for laboratory-acquired brucella infections.

The aim of the study was to determine the risk factors for acquiring brucella infection among healthcare workers (HCWs). The study was performed in Ankara Numune Education and Research Hospital, Turkey, before the introduction of Biosafety III measures. A questionnaire was given to HCWs, who were at risk of brucella infection. Twelve HCWs with brucella infection were detected, an incidence of 8% per employee-year. A multivariate analysis of risk factors in seven of the cases and 48 control HCWs was performed. Male physicians were found to be associated with a higher risk of acquiring brucella infection [odds ratio, 25.3; confidence interval (CI), 2.3-283.7; P=0.008]. Using gloves was found to be protective (odds ratio, 0.02; CI, 0.008-0.4; P=0.017).

Analysis of the case fatality rate of tetanus among adults in a tertiary hospital in Turkey.

The aim of this study was to present the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of tetanus as related to case fatality in 43 adult patients hospitalized between 1990 and 2000 in Turkey's largest state tertiary hospital. All patients were > or =15 years of age, with the mean age being 45 years. Sixty-five percent of the patients were male. Most patients (77%) were from rural Anatolia. The most common clinical manifestations were trismus (100%), abdominal rigidity (93%), dysphagia (81%), and risus sardonicus (72%). The overall case fatality rate was 58%. In a multivariable logistic regression model an incubation period of < or =8 days versus >8 days was a significant predictor of case fatality (odds ratio, 4.8; P=0.044; 95%CI, 1.04-22.26), as was each day of delay between onset of symptoms and admission to the hospital (odds ratio, 7.4; P=0.035; 95%CI, 1.15-48.28). Although the case fatality rate of tetanus in our clinic has declined in the last 5 years, the overall rate was high. This suggests a need for adult vaccination programs and/or a plan to educate the public to recognize symptoms early and then rapidly seek medical care.

Surveillance of antimicrobial resistance among gram-negative isolates from intensive care units in eight hospitals in Turkey.

With the participation of eight major reference hospitals in Turkey, 749 aerobic Gram-negative isolates obtained from 473 intensive care patients in 1997 were tested for their susceptibility to 13 commonly employed antibacterial agents. The frequency with which species were isolated and resistance rates were compared with data from the previous 2 years. Imipenem was the most active agent against the majority of isolates (75%), followed by ciprofloxacin, cefepime and amikacin. The per cent susceptibility to all antibiotics declined from 1995 to 1996. With the exception of imipenem, for which there was no change in resistance, the per cent susceptibility somewhat increased in 1997. However, it was still lower than in 1995.