Visceral Leishmaniasis Mimicking Autoimmune Hepatitis, Primary Biliary Cirrhosis, and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Overlap

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a life-threatening infection caused by Leishmania species. In addition to typical clinical findings as fever, hepatosplenomegaly, and cachexia, VL is associated with autoimmune phenomena. To date, VL mimicking or exacerbating various autoimmune diseases have been described, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis, and autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). Herein, we presented a patient with VL who had overlapping clinical features with SLE, AIH, as well as antimitochondrial antibody (AMA-M2) positive primary biliary cirrhosis

In a real-life setting, direct-acting antivirals to people who inject drugs with chronic hepatitis c in Turkey

Background: People who inject drugs (PWID) should be treated in order to eliminate hepatitis C virus in the world. The aim of this study was to compare direct-acting antivirals treatment of hepatitis C virus for PWID and non-PWID in a real-life setting. Methods: We performed a prospective, non-randomized, observational multicenter cohort study in 37 centers. All patients treated with direct-acting antivirals between April 1, 2017, and February 28, 2019, were included. In total, 2713 patients were included in the study among which 250 were PWID and 2463 were non-PWID. Besides patient characteristics, treatment response, follow-up, and side effects of treatment were also analyzed. Results: Genotype 1a and 3 were more prevalent in PWID-infected patients (20.4% vs 9.9% and 46.8% vs 5.3%). The number of naïve patients was higher in PWID (90.7% vs 60.0%), while the number of patients with cirrhosis was higher in non-PWID (14.1% vs 3.7%). The loss of follow-up was higher in PWID (29.6% vs 13.6%). There was no difference in the sustained virologic response at 12 weeks after treatment (98.3% vs 98.4%), but the end of treatment response was lower in PWID (96.2% vs 99.0%). In addition, the rate of treatment completion was lower in PWID (74% vs 94.4%). Conclusion: Direct-acting antivirals were safe and effective in PWID. Primary measures should be taken to prevent the loss of follow-up and poor adherence in PWID patients in order to achieve World Health Organization’s objective of eliminating viral hepatitis

In Vitro Susceptibility of Clinical Candida lusitaniae Isolates Against Amphotericin B: A Multicenter Study

Amaç: Amfoterisin B (AmB) invazif mantar enfeksiyonlarının tedavisinde kullanılan poliyen grubu bir antifungaldir. Klinikte Candida lusitaniae ile oluşan mantar enfeksiyonlarının AmB tedavisine yanıt vermediği, in vitro duyarlılık testlerinde kökenlerin dirençli bulunduğu bildirilmiştir. AmB ile karşılaşma sonrasında minimum inhibitör konsantrasyon (MİK) değerlerinin yükseldiği ile ilgili çalışmalar bulunduğu gibi, tersine kökenlerin bütünüyle AmB'ye duyarlı olduğunu bildiren çalışmalar da bulunmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, C. lusitaniae kökenlerinin AmB duyarlılığının gösterilmesidir.Gereç ve Yöntem: Bu çalışma kapsamında dört ayrı merkezden tür düzeyinde tanımlanmış 60 C. lusitaniae kökeni toplanmıştır. Toplanan kökenlerin tür düzeyinde tanımlanmaları üç merkezde klasik mikolojik yöntemler ile yapılmıştır. Acıbadem Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Tıbbi Mikrobiyoloji Anabilim Dalı'nda tür tanımı MALDI-TOF cihazı ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Gazi Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Tıbbi Mikrobiyoloji Anabilim Dalı'nda kökenlere in vitro duyarlılık testi uygulanmıştır. Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) mikrodilüsyon yöntemi ve E-test yöntemi ile MİK değerleri elde edilmiştir. Bulgular: Mikrodilüsyon yönteminden elde edilen MİK değerlerine göre MİK aralığı 0.125-2 ?g/ml, MİK50 değeri 0.5 ?g/ml, MİK90değeri 1 ?g/ml olarak hesaplanmıştır. E-test sonucunda elde edilen MİK değerlerine göre MİK aralığı 0.012-2 ?g/ml, MİK50 değeri 0.25 ?g/ml, MİK90 değeri 0.75 ?g/ml olarak hesaplanmıştır. Mikrodilüsyon yöntemi sonuçlarına göre 60 kökenden 8 tanesinden (%13), E-test sonuçlarına göre 6 tanesinden (% 10) >= 1 ?g/ml MİK değerleri elde edilmiştir. Mikrodilüsyon ile iki, E-test ile bir köken için MİK değeri 2 ?g/ml olarak bulunmuştur. Sonuç: Bu in vitro çalışma, AmB'ye intrensek dirençli olduğu ileri sürülen C. lusitaniae kökenlerinin in vitro duyarlı olduğunu, bu nedenle C. lusitaniae enfeksiyonlarında AmB kullanımı seçeneğinin yeniden gözden geçirilmesi gerektiğini ortaya çıkarmıştır. Sonuçlarımız in vivo modeller ile desteklendiğinde daha kesin yargılara varılabilecektirAim: Amphotericin B (AmB) is a wide spectrum antifungal drug which is used for the treatment of invasive fungal infections. Among the fungal pathogens, Candida lusitaniae has been reported to be resistant to AmB in-vitro. Therefore, AmB is not recommended for the treatment of C. lusitaniae infections. There are conflicting data on this subject in the literature. Some of the studies showed that minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values increased following exposure to AmB, while the others indicated that all C. lusitaniae were fully susceptible to AmB. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the AmB susceptibility of the C. lusitaniae strains.Materials and Methods: The study included 60 C. lusitaniae strains obtained from four different teaching hospitals in Turkey. The strains were identified at species level by using conventional methods in three of the centers and by MALDI-TOF method in one center. In vitro susceptibility testing was performed by E-test and Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) reference microdilution method. Results: AmB MIC range was found as 0.125-2 ?g/ml, MIC50 value was 0.5 ?g/ml, and MIC90 value was 1 ?g/ml by microdilution method. MIC range, MIC50, and MIC90 values were 0.012-2 ?g/ml, 0.25 ?g/ml, and 0.75 ?g/ml by E-test method, respectively. The number of isolates with MIC >=1 ?g/ml were 8 (13%), and 6 (10%), for microdilution and E-test methods, respectively. MIC value was 2 ?g/ml for two strains by microdilution method, and one strain by E-test method. Conclusion: Our results showed that C. lusitaniae strains which were considered as intrinsically resistant, were susceptible to AmB. Although, more definite conclusions achieved by in vivo studies are required, this study indicated that AmB could be a good choice for the treatment of infections caused by C. lusitania

[Detection of virulence factors and antifungal susceptibilities of Fusarium strains isolated from keratitis cases].

Fusarium species have gained importance as a cause of keratitis. The pathogenicity and virulence factors of genus Fusarium remain largely unknown. Several putative virulence factors have been reported for fungal pathogens, including biofilm formation, production of proteinases and other hydrolytic enzymes. It has been emphasized that Fusarium species are generally resistant to antifungals but the resistance may vary depending on the species and even according to the isolate. For this reason, pathogenic features and antifungal susceptibility of the clinical isolates gained importance for the management of keratitis cases. The aim of this study was to identify clinical Fusarium isolates, to evaluate their virulence factors and to show antifungal susceptibility patterns. The identification of Fusarium was made on genus level isolated from 25 keratitis cases. Among them, 13 of the isolates were identified by ITS sequencing on species complex level. The production of hemolytic activity, caseinase, esterase, proteinase and phospholipase activity were investigated in 13 of the isolates. Biofilm production was searched among all 25 isolates. Galleria mellonella larvae was used as in vivo infection model. Antifungal susceptibility for amphotericin B, itraconazole, voriconazole and posaconazole was performed according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) M38-A2 microdilution assay guidelines. As the subcommittee on antifungal susceptibility tests did not determine the clinical resistance breakpoints (CBP) specific to Fusarium species complex, the epidemiological cut off values (ECV) were used for the interpretation of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of the antifungal drugs. Isolates were identified as six F.oxysporum, six F.solani species complex and one F.brachygibbosum. One F.solani, one F.oxysporum were positive for hemolytic activity; all isolates were caseinase positive; three F.oxysporum and two F.solani isolate were esterase positive; one F.solani isolate was proteinase positive; five F.oxysporum and two F.solani isolates were phospholipase positive; biofilm activity was positive in 52% of the 25 isolates. The larvae survived for seven days after Fusarium inoculation in the G.mellonella larvae model. MIC range was 0.5-8 µg/ml for amphotericin B, 2-32 µg/ml for itraconazole, 0.5-8 µg/ml for voriconazole, 0.5-16 µg/ml for posaconazole and according to the ECV values F.solani and F.oxysporum isolates were determined as wild type for four antifungal agents. As a result, it was shown that Fusarium isolates have some virulence factors, there was a concordance between in vitro virulence properties and in vivo virulence characteristics and some of the isolates were classified as antifungal susceptible wild type isolates

Protective Effect of Beta Glucan on Pulmonary Aspergillosis Model in Neutropenic Rats

Objective: Pulmonary aspergillosis is a serious opportunistic infection which might be fatal in immunocompromised patients. Immunity against aspergillosis requires the coordinated action of components of the innate and adaptive immune systems. Beta-glucan is one of the immunomodulatory agents which got much attention in recent years. It was used as a preventive agent for the development of infections. However, information about its the possible protective effect on fungal infections are limited. The aim of this study aimed to investigate the possible protective effects of beta-glucan against Aspergillus fumigatus infection. Material and Methods: We evaluated oral beta glucan administration for its ability to enhance resistance of the rats to experimentally induced pulmonary aspergillosis. Fifty-eight rats were divided into three groups: Thirty five rats were immunosuppressed and infected with Aspergillus fumigatus (infected group); 15 were immunosuppressed, infected and treated with oral beta-glucan (beta-glucan group); and eight were healthy controls. Rats were sacrificed on the tenth day of the experiment and tissue specimens were cultured. Chitin, galactomannan antigen and glucan levels were detected. Results: Beta-glucan enhanced the resistance against Aspergillus infection. The survival rates were 62.9% and 93.4% in the infected and beta-glucan groups, respectively (p<0.05). Beta glucan also limited the fungal burden. Conclusion: Our results suggested that Aspergillus invasion did not develop in beta-glucan group in spite of the occurence of fungal colonization in neutropenic rats. Beta-glucan was able to improve the resistance against A. fumigatus infection.WoSScopu

Efficacy and safety of direct-acting antivirals in elderly patients with chronic Hepatitis C: A nationwide real-life, observational, multicenter study from Turkey

Background: The number and proportion of elderly patients living with chronic hepatitis C are expected to increase in the coming years. We aimed to compare the real-world efficacy and safety of direct-acting antiviral treatment in elderly and younger Turkish adults infected with chronic hepatitis C. Methods: In this multicenter prospective study, 2629 eligible chronic hepatitis C patients treated with direct-acting antivirals between April 2017 and December 2019 from 37 Turkish referral centers were divided into 2 age groups: elderly (≥65 years) and younger adults (<65 years) and their safety was compared between 2 groups in evaluable population. Then, by matching the 2 age groups for demographics and pretreatment risk factors for a non-sustained virological response, a total of 1516 patients (758 in each group) and 1244 patients (622 in each group) from the modified evaluable population and per-protocol population were included in the efficacy analysis and the efficacy was compared between age groups. Results: The sustained virological response in the chronic hepatitis C patients was not affected by the age and the presence of cirrhosis both in the modified evaluable population and per-protocol population (P = .879, P = .508 for modified evaluable population and P = .058, P = .788 for per-protocol population, respectively). The results of the per-protocol analysis revealed that male gender, patients who had a prior history of hepatocellular carcinoma, patients infected with non-genotype 1 hepatitis C virus, and patients treated with sofosbuvir+ribavirin had a significantly lower sustained virological response 12 rates (P < .001, P = .047, P = .013, and P = .025, respectively). Conclusion: Direct-acting antivirals can be safely used to treat Turkish elderly chronic hepatitis C patients with similar favorable efficacy and safety as that in younger adults