Search

Objective: brucellosis is a zoonosis that affects more than 500 000 people a year, according to World Health Organization data. Brucellosis is endemic in Turkey, and it has a high morbidity. Community-based studies should be performed to detect brucellosis cases, to treat them, and to control the infection. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of brucellosis and the associated risks in adults aged 18 years and older living in Izmir. Methods: the study was carried out between January 2011 and December 2012 in 26 358 people living in Izmir. Sociodemographic characteristics, epidemiological characteristics and complaints specific for brucellosis were questioned, and the questionnaire was applied face to face with each participant. After application of the questionnaire, 5 ml venous blood was taken from everyone. Serum samples were tested with rose-Bengal test and standard tube agglutination (STA) test which was repeated by adding Coombs serum if necessary. chi(2) test and Mann-Whitney U test were used to analyze the data. Statistically, p0.5). The most consumed product (n=23, 58.9%) was fresh cheese made from unpasteurized milk among these people. Their most common complaints were muscle and joint pain (n=15, 38.5%). Conclusions: since our country is an endemic country in terms of brucellosis, it remains a disease that should be taken into consideration in the differential diagnosis of patients admitted to the hospital. We believe that it is important to manage the disease under the one health concept to control the disease. Also, we suggest that current and multicenter prevalence studies are necessary. / Amaç: bruselloz, Dünya Sağlık Örgütü verilerine göre yılda 500 000’den fazla kişiyi etkileyen bir zoonozdur. Ülkemizde bruselloz endemiktir ve morbiditesi oldukça yüksektir. Bruselloz olgularının saptanması, olguların tedavisi ve infeksiyonun kontrolü için toplum tabanlı çalışmalar yapılmalıdır. Bu çalışmada, İzmir ili sınırları içinde yaşayan 18 yaş ve üzeri erişkinlerde bruselloz prevalansı ve ilişkili risklerin saptanması amaçlandı. Yöntemler: çalışma, Ocak 2011 ve Aralık 2012 yılları arasında İzmir ilinde yaşayan toplam 26 358 kişide yapıldı. Sosyodemografik özelliklerinin, bruselloza özgü epidemiyolojik özelliklerinin ve şikayetlerinin sorgulandığı anket formu, her bir katılımcıyla yüz yüze görüşülerek uygulandı. Anket uygulanmasından sonra her bireyden 5 ml venöz kan alındı. Elde edilen serum örneklerine “rose”-Bengal testi ve -gerektiğinde Coombs serumu eklenerek yinelenmek üzere- standard tüp aglütinasyon (STA) testi uygulandı. Verilerin değerlendirilmesinde χ2 ve Mann-Whitney U testi kullanıldı. p0.5). Bu kişilerin en çok tükettiği ürün (n=23, %58.9) pastörize edilmemiş sütten yapılan taze peynir olarak belirlendi. En fazla yakınmaları kas ve eklem ağrısı (n=15, %38.5) idi. Sonuçlar: ülkemiz bruselloz açısından endemik bir ülke olması nedeniyle, hastaneye başvuran hastalarda bruselloz ayrıcı tanıda göz önünde bulundurulması gereken bir hastalık olmaya devam etmektedir. Hastalığın kontrol altına alınabilmesi için tek sağlık çatısı altında yönetimin önemli olduğu kanısındayız. Ayrıca güncel ve çok merkezli prevalans çalışmalarına ihtiyaç olduğunu düşünmekteyiz., NA

Purpose This paper aims to determine the knowledge and attitudes of the physicians regarding human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), to emphasize that these patients exist and they will exist in the future and to raise awareness so as to prevent that their rights to treatment are revoked. Design/methodology/approach The survey was conducted via a link sent through an online system. Random physicians from 81 cities of the country were invited to the survey. The survey has 41 questions regarding knowledge and attitudes in total, including epidemiological information such as age, gender and title. Findings A total of 3,107 physicians has voluntarily participated in the study. In total, 2,195 (70.7%) are internal physicians and 912 (29.3%) are surgical physicians among the participant physicians. In total, 1,452 (46.7%) of the participants are specialist physicians, 608 (19.6%) of the participants are practising physician and the rest of it is physician assistants, academicians and dentists, respectively. Originality/value In this study, it has been found out that the physicians have a lack of knowledge on HIV/AIDS and they adopt a discriminatory attitude towards HIV-positive persons. HIV-positive patients who are exposed to discrimination and scared of being uncovered refrain from applying to hospitals for treatment, which puts public health into jeopardy due to the high viral load and these patients are faced with difficulties in coping with both medical and emotional load of the disease.

WOS:000648816400007 PMID: 33960939 Background: In this study, we aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of sofosbuvir-based therapies in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in real-world clinical practice. Methods: Data from patients with chronic hepatitis C treated with SOF/LDV +/- RBV or SOF/RBV in 31 centers across Turkey between April 1, 2017, and August 31, 2018, were recorded in a nationwide database among infectious disease specialists. Demographics, clinical, and virological outcomes were analyzed. Results: A total of 552 patients were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 51.28 +/- 14.2, and 293 (55.8%) were female. The majority had HCV genotype 1b infection (65%), 75.04% of the patients underwent treatment, and non-cirrhosis was present at baseline in 381 patients (72.6%). SOF/LDV +/- RBV treatment was given to 477 patients and 48 patients received SOF/RBV according to HCV genotype. The total SVR12 rate was 99% in all patients. Five patients experienced disease relapse during the study and all of them were genotype 2. In patients infected with HCV GT2, SVR12 was 77.3%. SVR was 100% in all patients infected with other HCV genotypes. All treatments were well tolerated by patients without causing severe adverse events. Side effects and side effects-associated treatment discontinuation rates were 28.2% and 0.4%, respectively. Weakness (13.7%) was the common side effect. Conclusion: The present real-world data of 525 patients with HCV genotypes 1, 1a, 1b, 3, 4, and 5 who underwent SOF/LDV +/- RBV treatment in Turkey demonstrated a high efficacy and safety profile. HCV GT2 patients should be treated with more efficacious treatment.

demirdal, tuna/0000-0002-9046-5666 WOS: 000440301200015 PubMed: 30249562 Background/Aims: The hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is important cause of chronic hepatitis. Liver biopsy is considered the gold standard for assessment of fibrosis but this procedure is an invasive procedure. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of non-invasive serum biomarkers, separately and in combinations, on liver fibrosis in treatment-naive chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients. Materials and Methods: Two hundred and sixteen treatment-naive CHC patients were enrolled from 32 locations across Turkey in this open-labelled, non-interventional prospective observational study. FibroTest (R), aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index(A-PRI), aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase ratio (AAR), fibrosis index based on four factors (FIB-4), Age-platelet(AP) index and Forns index were measured and compared with Metavir scores got from liver biopsies. Results: Data from 182 patients with baseline liver biopsy were suitable for analysis. One hundred and twenty patients (65.9%) had F0-F1 fibrosis and 62 patients (34.1%) had F2-F4 fibrosis. APRI 0.732 area under the curve(AUC) indicated advanced fibrosis with 69% sensitivity and 77% specificity. FIB-4 0.732 AUC and FibroTest 0.715 AUC indicated advanced fibrosis with 69% and 78.4% sensitivity, and 75% and 71.4% specificity, respectively. The combined use of tests also led to an increase in AUC and specificity. Combinations of FibroTest with APRI and/or FIB-4, and FIB-4 with APRI were optimal for the evaluation of liver fibrosis. Conclusion: Fibrotest, FIB-4, APRI, AP index and Forns index exhibit good diagnostic performance for determining liver fibrosis in CHC patients, and the use of at least two tests together will increase their diagnostic value still further. Roche PharmaceuticalsRoche Holding [ML21920] This study was financially supported by Roche Pharmaceuticals (Protocol No: ML21920).

WOS: 000386954300001, PubMed: 27809934, Background: The aim of this study was to assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients in Turkey and to study related factors. Methods: This multicenter study was carried out between January 01 and April 15, 2015 in Turkey in 57 centers. Adults were enrolled and studied in three groups. Group 1: Inactive HBsAg carriers, Group 2: CHB patients receiving antiviral therapy, Group 3: CHB patients who were neither receiving antiviral therapy nor were inactive HBsAg carriers. Study data was collected by face-to-face interviews using a standardized questionnaire, Short Form-36 (SF-36) and Hepatitis B Quality of Life (HBQOL). Values equivalent to p < 0.05 in analyses were accepted as statistically significant. Results: Four thousand two hundred fifty-seven patients with CHB were included in the study. Two thousand five hundred fifty-nine (60.1 %) of the patients were males. Groups 1, 2 and 3, consisted of 1529 (35.9 %), 1721 (40.4 %) and 1007 (23.7 %) patients, respectively. The highest value of HRQOL was found in inactive HBsAg carriers. We found that total HBQOL score increased when antiviral treatment was used. However, HRQOL of CHB patients varied according to their socio-demographic properties. Regarding total HBQOL score, a higher significant level of HRQOL was determined in inactive HBV patients when matched controls with the associated factors were provided. Conclusions: The HRQOL score of CHB patients was higher than expected and it can be worsen when the disease becomes active. Use of an antiviral therapy can contribute to increasing HRQOL of patients.

EASL International Liver Congress -- APR 13-17, 2016 -- -- Barcelona, SPAIN, WOS: 000398711700582, …, EASL

Study Group for Viral Hepatitis of the Turkish Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases convened a meeting to develop a consensus report on management of chronic hepatitis in special hosts and special situations. Relevant literature and international guidelines were reviewed, and recommendations agreed are presented at the end of each section such as therapy of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in patients with compensated and decompensated cirrhosis, prevention and therapy of recurrent hepatitis B after liver transplantation, management of fulminant hepatitis B, therapy of CHB in hemodialysis patients, management of CHB in nonliver solid organ transplant recipients, management of CHB in immunosuppressed nontransplant patients, therapy of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coinfection, management of HBV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection, management of CHB in alcoholic patients and injecting drug users, therapy of CHB in pregnancy and lactation period, extrahepatic manifestations in HBV infection, HBV, HCV and hepatitis D virus coinfection, therapy of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) in patients with compensated and decompensated cirrhosis, treatment of patients with recurrent HCV infection following liver transplantation, therapy of CHC in hemodialysis patients, management of CHC in nonliver solid organ transplant recipients, therapy of HCV, HBV and HIV coinfection, management of CHC in immunosuppressed nontransplant patients, HCV infection and biological agents, HCV infection and chemotherapy, management of CHC in alcoholic patients and injecting drug users, fatty liver and CHC, hemoglobinopathy and CHC, CHC in pregnancy and lactation period, extrahepatic manifestations in HCV infection. Klimik Dergisi © 2014, AVES Ibrahim Kara. All rights reserved.