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Background Hepatitis A virus (HAV) can cause significant pathology in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV), however, HAV can be prevented by vaccination. The aim of this study was to determine the implication of vaccination against HAV vaccine in patients with chronic hepatitis B. Materials and methods The seroprevalence of anti-HAV IgG antibodies was investigated in the patients with chronic hepatitis B. Anti-HAV IgG antibodies were detected by commercially available ELISA kit. Results A total of 673 patients (354 males, 319 females with age range of 17-78 years) with chronic hepatitis B were included the study. Hepatitis A virus seropositivity rate was 34% in the patients younger than 20 years, 79% in the age group of 20 to 29 years, and 100% after 35 years of age. Discussion Hepatitis A virus vaccination may be recommended for young adult patients with chronic hepatitis B in Turkey. How to cite this article Tulek N, Ozsoy M, Moroglu C, Sonmezer MC, Temocin F, Ertem GT, Erdinc FS. Seroprevalence of Hepatitis A Virus Antibodies among the Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B in Turkey. Euroasian J Hepato-Gastroenterol 2015;5(2):95-97.

Objective: To evaluate Turkish nursing students' attitudes towards voluntary induced abortion. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between January and June 2015, comprising students of Ege University Nursing Faculty and Celal Bayar University School of Health, located in two different cities of Turkey. Data was collected with a three-part questionnaire, focussing on students' characteristics, the knowledge of abortion law in Turkey and attitudes towards voluntary induced abortion. SPSS 15 was used for data analysis. Results: The mean score of students' attitude towards voluntary induced abortion was 39.8±7.9 which shows that nursing students moderately support abortion. Female students, students coming from upper class in society, and students who had higher family income and sexual experiences had more supportiveness attitudes towards voluntary induced abortion (p

Previous multicenter/multinational studies were evaluated to determine the frequency of the absence of cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis in patients with central nervous system infections, as well as the clinical impact of this condition. It was found that 18% of neurosyphilis, 7.9% of herpetic meningoencephalitis, 3% of tuberculous meningitis, 1.7% of Brucella meningitis, and 0.2% of pneumococcal meningitis cases did not display cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis. Most patients were not immunosuppressed. Patients without pleocytosis had a high rate of unfavorable outcomes and thus this condition should not be underestimated. © 2017 The Author(s)

We aimed to describe clinical, laboratory, diagnostic and therapeutic features of spinal tuberculosis (ST), also known as Pott disease. A total of 314 patients with ST from 35 centres in Turkey, Egypt, Albania and Greece were included. Median duration from initial symptoms to the time of diagnosis was 78 days. The most common complications presented before diagnosis were abscesses (69%), neurologic deficits (40%), spinal instability (21%) and spinal deformity (16%). Lumbar (56%), thoracic (49%) and thoracolumbar (13%) vertebrae were the most commonly involved sites of infection. Although 51% of the patients had multiple levels of vertebral involvement, 8% had noncontiguous involvement of multiple vertebral bodies. The causative agent was identified in 41% of cases. Histopathologic examination was performed in 200 patients (64%), and 74% were consistent with tuberculosis. Medical treatment alone was implemented in 103 patients (33%), while 211 patients (67%) underwent diagnostic and/or therapeutic surgical intervention. Ten percent of the patients required more than one surgical intervention. Mortality occurred in 7 patients (2%), and 77 (25%) developed sequelae. The distribution of the posttreatment sequelae were as follows: 11% kyphosis, 6% Gibbus deformity, 5% scoliosis, 5% paraparesis, 5% paraplegia and 4% loss of sensation. Older age, presence of neurologic deficit and spinal deformity were predictors of unfavourable outcome. ST results in significant morbidity as a result of its insidious course and delayed diagnosis because of diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. ST should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with vertebral osteomyelitis, especially in tuberculosis-endemic regions. Early establishment of definitive aetiologic diagnosis and appropriate treatment are of paramount importance to prevent development of sequelae. Clinical Microbiology and Infection (C) 2015 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Background Context No direct comparison between brucellar spondylodiscitis (BSD) and tuberculous spondylodiscitis (TSD) exists in the literature. Purpose This study aimed to compare directly the clinical features, laboratory and radiological aspects, treatment, and outcome data of patients diagnosed as BSD and TSD. Study Design A retrospective, multinational, and multicenter study was used. Patient Sample A total of 641 (TSD, 314 and BSD, 327) spondylodiscitis patients from 35 different centers in four countries (Turkey, Egypt, Albania, and Greece) were included. Outcome Measures The pre- and peri- or post-treatment spinal deformity and neurologic deficit parameters, and mortality were carried out. Methods Brucellar spondylodiscitis and TSD groups were compared for demographics, clinical, laboratory, radiological, surgical interventions, treatment, and outcome data. The Student t test and Mann-Whitney U test were used for group comparisons. Significance was analyzed as two sided and inferred at 0.05 levels. Results The median baseline laboratory parameters including white blood cell count, C-reactive protein, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate were higher in TSD than BSD (p

Parallel to the developments in the field of diagnosis and treatment, an increase in the incidence of fungal infections and the number of patients who are in the risk group for the development of opportunistic fungal infections have been observed in the recent years. Among the hospitalized patients, those most at risk in terms of fungal infections are intensive care unit (ICU) patients. The rate of Candida colonization of mucous membranes in hospitalized patients may reach to 80%, and this may predispose to the establishment of severe infections especially in patients under risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate the rate of Candida colonization and to use Candida colonization index in the intensive care unit patients in Ankara Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey. A total of 100 adult patients (46 female, 54 male; age range: 18-93 years, mean age: 65.28 ± 17.53 years) who were hospitalized for ≥ 7 days in the neurology (n= 56), anesthesia-reanimation (n= 24) and neurosurgery (n= 20) intensive care units between September 2008 to February 2009, were included in the study. Throat, nose, skin (axilla), urine, rectal swab cultures and additionally when necessary tracheal aspirates, drain and central vascular catheter cultures were taken weekly from each patient. Candida colonies were identified by using germ tube test, CHROMagar Candida Medium (Becton Dickinson, Germany) and ID 32 C (BioMeriux, France) yeast identification kit. Candida colonization index (CI) was calculated for each patient, and CI was defined as the ratio of the number of culture-positive distinct body sites to the total number of body sites cultured. Patients with CI > 0.2 were considered as Candida colonized. In our study, Candida colonization was found in 42 of 100 (42%) patients, of them 8 were heavily colonized (CI ≥ 0.50), and 34 were slightly colonized (C I < 0.50). The highest Candida colonization was detected in throat, urine and rectal swab samples, while none of the tracheal aspirate samples yielded Candida spp. growth. Invasive Candida infections subsequently developed in 21.4% (9/42) of the colonized patients, namely candidemia in five and Candida associated urinary tract infections in four cases. Our data indicated that, the number of colonized patients were higher in the surgical (anesthesia-reanimation and neurosurgery) intensive care units (p< 0.05), in patients staying in the ICU for longer periods (p= 0.000) and in patients with higher number of application of invasive instruments (p< 0.05) compared to those of non-colonized cases. Additionally Candida colonization emerged more often in patients with bacterial sepsis and in those exposed to broad spectrum antibiotics (p< 0.05). Use of broad spectrum antibiotics in the ICU, length of stay in the ICU and having central venous catheter were found as independent risk factors for Candida colonization. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of colonization index for the detection of developing Candida infections in colonized patients were estimated as 100%, 64%, 21% and 100%, respectively. In conclusion, Candida colonization and Candida colonization index may be used as useful parameters to predict invasive Candida infections.

PubMed: 16128033 Results obtained by standard tube agglutination (STA) test which is the most widely used serological method for brucellosis, are often evaluated together with the clinical and microbiological findings, and the titers of ?1/160 are generally accepted as an indicator of acute infection. However, cross reactions with some other bacteria may lead to false positive results in this test. In this study, the performance of STA test in the diagnosis of brucellosis has been evaluated by using serum samples obtained from 40 culture positive brucellosis patients, 54 patients with bacterial infections other than brucellosis and 40 healthy blood donors. The distribution of infections and number of patients were as follows; urinary infection (n: 16), salmonellosis (n: 15), bacterial meningitis (n: 5), tuberculosis (n: 4), pneumoniae (n: 3), osteomyelitis (n: 3), infective endocarditis (n: 2), peritonitis (n: 2), diabetic foot infection (n: 2), acute cholecystitis (n: 1), and catheter infection (n: 1). STA were positive in all of the brucellosis patients between the titers of 1/160-1/1280 (mean: 1/640), whereas STA were found negative in all of the healthy subjects. Nevertheless two patients whose stool cultures yielded Salmonella spp., one patient whose urine culture yielded E.coli, one patient whose diabetic foot lesion culture yielded group A beta-hemolytic streptococci, exhibited STA positivity at the titers of 1/160. There was no history of brucellosis or presence of co-infections in the patients with non-brucellosis infections and blood donors. In conclusion, cross reactions due to the presence of other bacterial infections should be considered for the evaluation of Brucella STA test results, together with the endemicity of the country of interest and seropositivity rate of the population.

WOS: 000366655100045, PubMed ID: 26386176, BACKGROUND CONTEXT: No direct comparison between brucellar spondylodiscitis (BSD) and tuberculous spondylodiscitis (TSD) exists in the literature. PURPOSE: This study aimed to compare directly the clinical features, laboratory and radiological aspects, treatment, and outcome data of patients diagnosed as BSD and TSD. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective, multinational, and multicenter study was used. PATIENT SAMPLE: A total of 641 (TSD, 314 and BSD, 327) spondylodiscitis patients from 35 different centers in four countries (Turkey, Egypt, Albania, and Greece) were included. OUTCOME MEASURES: The pre- and peri- or post-treatment spinal deformity and neurologic deficit parameters, and mortality were carried out. METHODS: Brucellar spondylodiscitis and TSD groups were compared for demographics, clinical, laboratory, radiological, surgical interventions, treatment, and outcome data. The Student t test and Mann-Whitney U test were used for group comparisons. Significance was analyzed as two sided and inferred at 0.05 levels. RESULTS: The median baseline laboratory parameters including white blood cell count, C-reactive protein, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate were higher in TSD than BSD (p

Amaç: Bu araştırma, okul çocukluğu döneminde olan soyut düşünce yeteneği gelişmiş 10 -12 yaş arası çocuklarda televizyonun günlük yaşam etkinlikleri üzerine etkilerini incelemek amacıyla yapılmıştır. Gereç-Yöntem: Tanımlayıcı tipte olan araştırmanın örneklemini Ödemiş'te Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı'na bağlı bir ilköğretim okulunda öğrenim gören ve çalışmaya katılmayı kabul eden ilköğretim 4. ve 5. sınıf öğrencileri (n=291) oluşturmuştur. Bulgular: Araştırmaya katılan öğrencilerin boş zamanlarını değerlendirmek için %77,5inin televizyon izlediği, %9,7sinin sinemaya / tiyatroya gittiği, %23,4ünün spor yaptığı saptanmıştır. Öğrencilerin %57,2si hafta içi, %51,2si hafta sonu olmak üzere günde ortalama 3-4 saat televizyon izlemektedir. Katılanların %49,77sinin evinde 2 televizyon bulunmakta ve %70,3ü televizyonu ailesiyle birlikte izlemektedir. Televizyon izlemenin öğrenciler üzerindeki etkileri incelendiğinde, %59,3ü derslerdeki başarısını, %39,3ü hobilerini, %46,9u ise günlük etkinliklerini olumsuz yönde etkilediğini belirtmiştir. Öğrencilerden %32,4ü can sıkıntısı, %22,8i bilgi edinmek amacıyla televizyon izlediklerini ve %70,3'ü uzun süre televizyon izledikten sonra bulanık görme yakınmasının olduğunu açıklamıştır. Sonuç : Araştırmanın sonucunda, okul dönemi çocukların televizyon izlemenin günlük yaşam etkinliklerini ve ders başarılarını olumsuz yönde etkilediğini düşündükleri ve uzun süre televizyon izlemenin çocuklarda görme yakınmalarına yol açabileceği belirlenmiştir. Ailelerin çocuklarının günlük TV izleme sürelerini izleyip belirlemeleri ve günlük etkinliklerini birlikte planlamaları önerilmektedir Aim: The study was carried out in order to determine the impact of television on the daily activities of 10 to 12- year- old school children with developed abstract reasoning. Methods: The sample of this descriptive study included 291 fourth and fifth grade students, who attended one of the elementary schools in Ödemiş, and volunteered to participate in the study. Results: The results revealed that 77.5% of the students expressed viewing television, 9.7% of them going to the movies, and 23.4% physical exercising as leisure activities. It was found that 57.2% of the students viewed television for 3-4 hours per week day and 51.2% viewed television for 3-4 hours per weekend day. Of the students, 49.7% had two televisions at their home and 70.3% of them viewed television with their families. When the effects of viewing television were examined, 59.3% of the students indicated that it had negative impacts on their success in the classes; 39.3% of them stated that it had negative impacts on their daily activities. Boredom was the reason expressed by 32.4% of the students as the cause of spending time by the television. Of the children, 22.8% viewed television to gain information and 70.3% were suffering from blurred vision after watching TV for a long time. Conclusion: It was concluded in this study that viewing television had negative impact on success in the classes and on regular daily activities of school children. Wiewing television for a long time may cause complaints of poor vision in children. The daily television viewing time should be followed and arranged by the families and the daily activities of the children can be planned together with them.