Knowledge and Prejudice about HIV/AIDS among Physicians and Nurses at a University Hospital

INTRODUCTION: The prejudice of healthcare personnel may be reflected as an important problem in patient follow-up. This study aimed to evaluate knowledge and prejudice regarding HIV/AIDS among physicians and nurses working in a university hospital. METHODS: The sample size of this cross-sectional study was calculated as 191 by taking distance from confidence limit(s) to mean 1 and standard deviation 7 in two-sided 95% confidence interval. In Dicle University Hospitals, 6 nurses, 4 assistant physicians and 1 specialist physician/lecturer/teaching staff were invited by random sampling method from each of the 23 clinics. Total of 218 physicians and nurses were included. A questionnaire including demographic variables and 30 statements about HIV/AIDS was applied. The data obtained were analyzed using R-3.5.1 program. RESULTS: 33.5% of the participants stated that they were involved in the follow-up of a HIV-infected patient. The mean HIV knowledge score was 76.3+-13.7; higher in men(78.9+-13.5) and doctors(83.2+-11.1). The mean HIV prejudice score was 39.0+-21.2; higher in nurses(42.0+-22.3) and lower in participants with HIV-infected relatives/friends(23,6+-14,3). There was a weak negative correlation between HIV knowledge and prejudice scores. 40.6% of the participants stated that HIV/AIDS is not a curable disease. 52.5 percent stated that they would not prefer to follow HIV/AIDS patients. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Considering that the healthcare professionals working in Turkey, which is located in a high endemic area in terms of HIV/AIDS, will encounter this disease more, the results are worrying. Health personnel should be considered as a special group in all studies that will be done to reduce HIV/AIDS stigma

Clinical, Laboratory, and Radiological Evaluation of 32 Cases with Tuberculous Meningitis

Introduction: Tuberculous meningitis is an important central nervous system infection, and it is the most severe clinical form of tuberculosis. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the frequently isolated microorganism, and it is associated with high morbidity and mortality among central nervous system infections. Despite all the advances in medicine, diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis is still a significant problem. In our study, we aimed to evaluate clinical, microbiological and radiological features of the patients with tuberculous meningitis in detail

The Approach of Infectious Diseases Physicians to Patients Infected with HIV in Turkey; Socrates Study

Introduction: In Turkey, the number of infected people with HIV-1 increased five-fold between the years 2011-2018. In 2019, 20202 HIV-infected individuals and 1786 AIDS patients were reported. It is necessary to update the physicians' knowledge on medical, ethical, legal and social issues about HIV infected patients, and to increase the number of physicians following these patients. In this study, it was aimed to determine the problems experienced by infectious diseases and clinical microbiology (IDCM) physicians on diagnosis, treatment and follow-up and to increase their awareness

SARS-CoV-2 Infection may be Prevented with Cytochrome Inhibitors: Cobicistat and Ritonavir

Objective:&nbsp;Highly contagious character of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the lack of specific drugs have led many scientists worldwide to re-evaluate the molecules currently in use for other diseases/viruses. Thus, high-throughput screening with docking studies has the rationale to identify potential therapeutics from existing drug molecules. Conflicting results of the studies, including SARS-CoV-2 and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coinfected population, suggested a possible preventive effect of antiretroviral regimens they have been receiving.&nbsp;Materials and Methods:&nbsp;Interactions between the widely used antiretroviral molecules, in particular; abacavir, cobicistat, dolutegravir, elvitegravir, emtricitabine, lamivudine, raltegravir, and tenofovir, and the main proteins on SARS-CoV-2 that may be targeted for SARS-CoV-2 infection were analyzed using molecular docking studies.&nbsp;&nbsp;Results:&nbsp;Analysis of the compounds strikingly revealed that not the antiretroviral drugs but cobicistat and ritonavir, the inhibitors of cytochrome P450, had strong interactions with the main protease active site and RNA polymerase on SARS-CoV-2, as well as the active site of angiotensin-converting–enzyme 2, the protein that enables the entry of the virus into human cells.&nbsp;&nbsp;Conclusion:&nbsp;Our results suggest cobicistat and ritonavir may be used to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection.&nbsp;Keywords:&nbsp;antiretroviral therapy, cobicistat, ritonavir, SARS-CoV-2</p

Investigation of the Reasons for Influenza Vaccine Refusal in Healthcare Workers in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: Healthcare workers are at high risk for the transmission of upper respiratory tract infections such as influenza. It is therefore recommended that they be immunized. However, many healthcare professionals refuse to get the influenza vaccination because of doubts about its safety and effectiveness. The study was aimed to determine the reasons for influenza vaccination refusal of healthcare workers during the pandemic period. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional-descriptive multicenter study, a questionnaire consisting of 15 questions was applied to healthcare workers who refused and did not receive the vaccine during the influenza vaccine administration between November 30, 2020 and January 5, 2021, and the reasons for influenza vaccine refusal were examined. Results: 877 healthcare workers were included in the study. Of these, 192 (21.9%) were physicians, 83 (43.7%) were nurses, and 302 (34.4%) were assistant health personnel. Not being afraid of influenza (31.9%) is one of the main reasons why healthcare workers are not vaccinated, while the other reasons are; the disbelief that the vaccine is effective and will protect (29.4%), fear that it will harm one’s health in the long term (22.1%), risk of developing an allergic reaction (14.9%) and fear of getting more severe influenza when vaccinated are expressed as (10.0%). Conclusion: The most important reasons for healthcare workers to refuse the influenza vaccine were not being afraid of contracting the disease and not believing in the protection of the vaccine. Clearing up the health workers’ questions and informing them properly with training about this subject can be very effective in terms of both eliminating the hesitancy of healthcare professionals about being vaccinated and providing the vaccination of risky patient groups who are always recommended and directed for vaccination by healthcare workers

Occult hepatitis B infection in Turkish HIV-infected patients: A multicentre, retrospective, cross-sectional study, Schindler study

Objective Occult hepatitis B infection (OHBI) appears to have a higher prevalence in populations at high risk for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection with concomitant liver disease. The aim was to assess the prevalence of OHBI in a sample of human immunodeficiency virus -1 positive and HBV surface antigen-negative (HIV-1+/HBsAg-) Turkish patients