Turkish Translation and Cross-Cultural Validity of Whoqol-HIV Bref Tool.

BACKGROUND: The assessment of health-related quality of life among people living with HIV (PLWH) has gained increasing importance as it assesses their overall well-being, guides treatment decisions, and addresses psychosocial challenges, improving their quality of life. This study focuses on adapting and validating the Turkish version of the WHOQOL-HIV Bref, a tool developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to measure health-related quality of life in PLWH. This adaptation is based on the generic WHOQOL-Bref Turkish and WHOQOL-HIV Bref inventory. METHODS: In line with WHO guidelines, the tool was translated and tested on 189 PLWH from Istanbul Sisli Hamidiye Etfal Training and Research Hospital's HIV outpatient clinic. A variety of statistical methods were employed to assess content, construct, concurrent, and known-group validity, as well as internal consistency and reliability. RESULTS: Participants' median age was 35 years (IQR: 14), with 178(94%) being male. The Turkish WHOQOL-HIV Bref showed overall satisfactory psychometric properties. Despite limitations in the spirituality domain, it demonstrated good internal consistency (alpha coefficient: 0.93) and strong validity across several metrics, including test-retest reliability (ICC: 0.79). CONCLUSION: The WHOQOL-HIV BREF in Turkish is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing the quality of life in Turkish PLWH.

Evaluation of the late presentation and associated factors of people living with HIV in Turkey.

To identify the frequency of late presentation and late presentation with advanced disease, and associated factors in people living with HIV (PLHIV). Data from PLHIV diagnosed between 2008 and 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Time of diagnosis (categorized based on key events affecting HIV care continuum e.g., national strategies, HIV guidelines, COVID-19 pandemic) and characteristics of late presenters (LP: CD4 ≤350 cells/mm³ or an AIDS defining event) and late presenters with advanced disease (LPAD: CD4 <200 cells/mm³) were describe. Associations between dependent (LP, LPAD) and independent variables were assessed using univariate/multivariate regression tests and presented as odds ratios (95% confidential interval). Of 1585 individuals (93.7% men), 42.5% were LPs and 19.3% were LPADs. Most common route of transmission was sex between men (54.3%). Non-LPs were younger (30 vs. 34 and 36 years; p < 0.001) and included more men who have sex with men (60.3% vs. 46.3% and 39.5%; p < 0.001). Factors associated with being LP and LPAD were age >30 years, heterosexual/unknown route of transmission (vs. sex between men), diagnosis in 2008-2013 or 2020-2021, (vs. 2014-2019). With reference to Turkish subjects, migrants from Africa had higher odds of being LPAD. LP is still an important health issue in HIV care. Heterosexuality, older age (>30 years), migration from Africa, and the COVID-19 pandemic are associated with delays in HIV presentation in Turkey. These factors need to be considered when developing and implementing policies to enable earlier diagnosis and treatment of PLHIV to achieve UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets.

[A Patient Presented with Genital Eruptions: The Second Case of Monkeypox from Türkiye]. / Genital Erüpsiyonla Basvuran Bir Hasta: Türkiye'deki Ikinci Maymun Çiçegi Olgusu.

Human monkeypox (MPX) disease is a re-emerging zoonotic infection caused by the monkeypox virus belonging to the same family as vaccinia and variola. The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has documented an outbreak of MPX with atypical transmission paths throughout Europe. In this report, male-to-male sexual intercourse was first defined as a means of close humanto-human contact. The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Turkey announced via social media on June 30, 2022 that the first case confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the MPX virus in Turkey was admitted and isolated in a hospital. Four days after this statement, a 24-year-old Turkish man was hospitalized in our clinic with a bacterial infection of the penis and scrotum following local radiofrequency ablation therapy. A week ago, lesions resembling warts were noted in his medical history, for which a local radiofrequency ablation procedure was conducted at an external center. One day after his hospitalization, skin lesions of different stages (from macules, papules to umbilical papules) and several eruptions were detected on his face, nose tip, body, arms, and fingers, which gradually became more evident. After evaluating the risk factors, the patient was isolated with a preliminary diagnosis of MPX disease and samples were collected and sent for MPX virus detection to the reference laboratory according to the Ministry of Health guidelines. MPX virus nucleic acid was detected by PCR in samples taken from the lesion. The patient was discharged after 21 days of isolation and treatment for a secondary bacterial infection. In this case report the significance of differential diagnosis and screening tests for sexually transmitted infections (STI), a previously unreported case of MPX disease in Turkey, and a soft tissue infection that developed after local ablation treatment which was administered to a patient with MPX disease were presented. To be prepared for new and re-emerging infectious diseases, it was emphasized that well-structured continuing education based on current epidemiological data is required. Sexual contact has recently been identified as a new mode of transmission for MPX disease, and symptoms and signs may resemble those of other ulcerative sexually transmitted infections (STIs), such as "molluscum contagiousum" or syphilis. ORF disease is also in the differential diagnosis of MPX disease in Turkey. In addition, patients admitted with unreported STIs are permitted to receive health services without additional screenings. For this reason, easily accessible sexually transmitted disease centers with a high diagnostic efficiency can provide greater control over these diseases.

Cognitive Assessment of Young Adults Before and After Initiation of Combination Antiretroviral Therapy.

Objective: In the determination and monitoring of neurocognitive disorders in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive individuals, there is a need for significantly more practical methods which provide results in a shorter time than the tests that require challenging and specialized expertise. This study aimed to evaluate cognitive functions and the factors affecting them in naïve HIV-positive patients using by Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test before and after the initiation of combination antiretroviral therapy. Materials and Methods: HIV-positive, treatment-naïve patients monitored between January-June 2017 were included in the study. The MoCA test was performed at the beginning and the sixth month of the treatment. Results: Forty male patients were included in the study. The mean age was calculated as 29.1±4.0. When the factors affecting the MoCA score were examined, there was a significant relationship between the education level and the MoCA score. Smoking, using alcohol, and substance did not have a significant impact on baseline MoCA values. A significant correlation was found between cluster differentiation 4 (CD4) count and HIV RNA level and attention function. There was a significant increase in the total MoCA score and the MoCA subgroup scores at the end of the sixth month of the treatment. Conclusion: MoCA test is one of the most practical tests that can be applied in a short time period, and it was found useful in evaluating the changes in the cognitive functions of HIV-positive patients during antiretroviral treatment.