The Prevalence of Giardia Intestinalis in Dyspeptic and Diabetic Patients

Background and Aims. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of Giardiasis in patients with dyspepsia and patients with diabetes mellitus. Methods. 400 patients and 100 healthy persons were included in this clinical prospective study. The number of patients in each group was equal, 200 dyspeptic and 200 diabetic, respectively. The antigen of G. lntestinalis was determined in the stool specimens by ELISA method. Results. The frequency of Giardiasis was 7% in dyspeptic and 15% in diabetic patients. There was no positive results in any of the healthy persons. There was a significant difference in prevalence rate of Giardiasis between patients with dyspepsia and diabetes mellitus (P < 0.05). Conclusions. These results revealed that the prevalence of Giardiasis in dyspepsia and with diabetes mellitus was high in our country. This is the first study investigating the prevalence of Giardiasis in diabetic patients. To investigate Giardiasis in diabetic patients, who have dyspepsia or not, may be a good approach for public health

Evaluation of fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C patients treated with direct-acting antivirals

BACKGROUND AND AIM: This study is an evaluation of liver fibrosis measurements determined using transient elastography and aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) scores of patients diagnosed with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) who were treated with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The liver fibrosis measurements recorded using transient elastography, APRI scores, and the biochemical data from before and after treatment of 40 patients with CHC who were treated with DAA were reviewed. Patients who received paritaprevir+ritonavir/ombitasvir+dasabuvir were included in Group 1 (n=20), and patients who received sofosbuvir+ledipasvir±ribavirin in Group 2 (n=20). RESULTS: The mean liver fibrosis measurement of the patients was 15.73±10.63 kPa (min–max: 5.20–45.00 kPa) before treatment and 2.56±8.84 kPa (min–max: 4.30–42.00 kPa) after treatment. There was a significant improvement in liver fibrosis with a regression of 20.16% at the end of treatment compared with the start (p=0.001) with no significant difference between treatment groups (p=0.542). The highest regression rate of 75% was seen in patients with F2 fibrosis at the end of treatment. Significant regression was also found in patients with F3 fibrosis, with a rate of 57.2%, and in those with F4 fibrosis, with a rate of 17.6% (p=0.035). Significant reduction was also observed in the APRI scores of patients at the end of treatment compared with the start of treatment (p<0.001), with no significant difference between treatment groups (p=0.328). CONCLUSION: Noninvasive assessments of CHC patients treated with DAA revealed regression in liver fibrosis measurements and APRI scores and significant improvements were seen in the stage of fibrosis in the early phases following treatment

Are We Aware of Hepatitis C Infection? HCV Results from the Tertiary Reference Center in the Aegean Region from Turkey

Background. With the advent of direct-acting antiviral agents, the rate of sustained virological response in the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has reached 100%. However, it has been observed that many patients still do not have access to treatment. Aim. The aim of this study was to identify patients who are anti-HCV and HCV-RNA-positive, to reveal undiagnosed cases, and thus to reveal the necessity of increasing HCV follow-up tests and diagnosis. Methods. The microbiology database of Tepecik Research and Training Hospital was examined for patients who were tested for anti-HCV and HCV-RNA from January 2013 to January 2023. Patients were indexed based on their entry date, and duplicate values were manually removed. The data were then grouped according to the clinics that requested the analysis. Results. Between 2013 and 2023, a total of 334,537 anti-HCV tests were conducted without duplications. The annual average number of tests was 33,454 ± 10,027. During the ten-year period under review, the total number of patients with a positive result for the anti-HCV test was 3,943. The positivity rate among all anti-HCV tests was 1.18%. The annual average number of positive test results was 394 ± 54. Between 2013 and 2022, out of the 3,943 patients who tested positive for anti-HCV, HCV-RNA analysis was conducted on 2,500 of them (63.4%). Among the 2,500 patients who underwent HCV-RNA analysis, 682 were found to be HCV-RNA-positive (27.4%), while 1,818 were HCV-RNA-negative (72.6%). In the ten-year period, when the distribution of the 334,537 anti-HCV tests according to internal and surgical branches was evaluated, it was found that 157,680 tests (47.1%) were requested from internal branches, while 176,857 tests (52.9%) were requested from surgical branches. Of the 2,500 patients who tested positive for anti-HCV and underwent HCV-RNA analysis, 2,273 (90.9%) were requested by internal branches, while surgical branches requested 227 tests (9.1%). Among the 1,443 patients who tested positive for anti-HCV but did not have HCV-RNA tests ordered, 788 (54.6%) were evaluated in internal branches, and 655 (45.4%) were evaluated in surgical branches. Conclusion. In this study, it was observed that multiple anti-HCV tests were requested for the same individual, and HCV-RNA tests were not ordered for those testing positive for anti-HCV. Moreover, patients were not referred to the infection or gastroenterology clinics for HCV-RNA testing. Consequently, it was concluded that sufficient and necessary tests for diagnosis were not conducted, leading to the inability to access treatment. To achieve the World Health Organization's goals for HCV eradication, it is imperative to increase the rates of HCV-RNA testing, enhance the utilization of reflex testing, and ensure proper referral to the necessary clinics

Hepatitis B virus screening frequency and real life data in immunosuppressive patients

Amaç: Bu çalışmada immünsüpresif tedavi alan hastalarda hepatit B virüsü (HBV) taranma ve uygun tedaviye yönlendirilme oranlarının incelenmesi amaçlandı. Hastalar ve yöntemler: Çalışmamızda Aralık 2015 - Mayıs 2016 tarihleri arasında farklı immünsüpresif tedaviler alan 445 hasta tarandı. Hastaların tedavi başlanmadan önce hepatit B yüzey antijeni (HbsAg), hepatit B yüzey antikoru (AntiHBs) ve hepatit B core protein antikoru (AntiHBcIgG) taranma oranları ve tarama sonuçlarına göre profilaksi veya aşıya yönlendirilme oranları retrospektif olarak incelendi.Objectives: This study aims to examine the ratio of hepatitis B virus (HBV) screening and appropriate treatment recommendation in patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy. Patients and methods: Between December 2015 and May 2016, we screened 445 patients who received different immunosuppressive therapies. We retrospectively examined the patients’ hepatitis B surface antigen (HbsAg), hepatitis B surface antigen (AntiHBs) and hepatitis B core protein antibody (AntiHBcIgG) screening ratios and the ratio of recommendation of prophylaxis or vaccination, according to the scan results prior to the therapy