Post-ERCP bacteremia caused by Alcaligenes xylosoxidans in a patient with pancreas cancer

Alcaligenes xylosoxidans is an aerobic, motile, oxidase and catalase positive, nonfermentative Gram negative bacillus. This bacterium has been isolated from intestine of humans and from various hospital or environmental water sources. A.xylosoxidans is both waterborne and results from the poor-hygienic conditions healthcare workers are in. In this case report, the bacteremia which appeared in a patient with pancreas cancer after ERCP was described

Immunosuppressive therapy and the risk of hepatitis B reactivation: Consensus report

This consensus report includes expert opinions and recommendations regarding the screening, and if necessary, the follow-up, prophylaxis, and treatment of hepatitis B before the treatment in patients who will undergo immunosuppressive therapy due to the risk of hepatitis B reactivation emergency. To increase awareness regarding the risk of hepatitis B reactivation in immunosuppressive patients, academicians from several university health research and training centers across Turkey came together and discussed the importance of the subject, current status, and issues in accordance with the current literature data and presented solutions

Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever in Turkey

Nineteen cases of suspected Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever reported from Turkey

The Prognostic Significance of Serum Troponin T Levels in Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Patients

KOSTAKOGLU, UGUR/0000-0002-4589-0962;WOS: 000393892900004PubMed: 26693839Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) is a disease transmitted by the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), characterized by severe fever and hemorrhage and with a reported fatality level of 3-30%. Cerebral hemorrhage, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, severe anemia, shock, myocardial infarction, pulmonary edema, and pleural effusion may be seen as causes of death. Cardiac troponin T (cTn-T) is a biochemical marker with high sensitivity and specificity in myocardial injury. the purpose of this study was to determine the prognostic significance of serum troponin T levels in CCHF patients. Patients hospitalized with a diagnosis of CCHF and whose serum cTn-T was investigated were examined retrospectively. Patients were divided into two groups on the basis of presence or absence of hemorrhage. Data were subjected to statistical analysis. One hundred thirty-five CCHF patients and 72 control subjects were included. Hemorrhage was present in 48 (35.6%) patients. Mean serum cTn-T level was 17.3 +/- 28.0 ng/L in the patients with hemorrhage, 9.98 +/- 5.97 ng/L in the non-hemorrhage patients (P = 0.001) and 6.6P = 2.6 ng/L in the control samples (P < 0.001). At a cTn-T level cut-off point of 9 ng/L, area under the ROC curve was 0.797 (95% CI: 0.730-0.854), sensitivity 83.0%, specificity 87.5%, PPD 95.7%, and NPV 60.3%. At logistic regression analysis, a rise in cTn-T level above 14 ng/L increased the probability of hemorrhage in CCHF patients approximately threefold. An increased troponin T level may be a prognostic risk factor for hemorrhage in CCHF patients. This marker should therefore be borne in mind in determining treatment strategy in these patients. (C) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

HANTAVIRUS INFECTION: TWO CASE REPORTS FROM A PROVINCE IN THE EASTERN BLACKSEA REGION, TURKEY

Hantaviruses which are the members of Bunyaviridae, differ from other members of this family since they are transmitted to humans by rodents. More than 200.000 cases of hantavirus infections are reported annually worldwide. Hantaviruses can lead to two different types of infection in humans, namely, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). HFRS is the most common type of hantavirus infection in Europe and Asia and the most common virus types are Dobrava, Puumala, Hantaan and Seoul. A total of 25 hantavirus suspected cases have been reported from the Western Black Sea region of Turkey and 12 of these were confirmed serologically as "Puumala" subtype. Serological tests such as indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA), are used for diagnosis and typing of the hantaviruses, however, since cross-reactions are common between the subtypes, the results of these tests should be confirmed by other methods. In this report two cases with hantavirus infection defined serologically were presented. Two male patients, 55 and 50 years old, respectively, living in Giresun province of Eastern Black Sea region, Turkey, were admitted to the State Hospital with the complaints of fever, sweating and diarrhoea without blood or mucus. Since thrombocytopenia and renal failure were detected in these two cases, they were transferred to the University Hospital. Presence of fever, thrombocytopenia and renal failure, with no laboratory findings of a bacterial infection and no growth of microoorganisms in the clinical specimens, admittance of the patients during summer and history of being present in the fields, necessitated to rule out leptospirosis, Crimean Kongo hemorrhagic fever and hantavirus infection which were all endemic in our area. Further investigation of the serum samples at the National Reference Virology Laboratory by IFA (Hantavirus Mosaic-1, Euroimmun, Germany) revealed hantavirus IgM and IgG antibodies >= 1:100 titer and the results were confirmed by immunoblot test (Hantavirus Profile 1 EUROLINE IgG and IgM, Euroimmun, Germany). Hantavirus Dobrava subtype was determined in both of the cases. Reverse transcriptase real-time PCR (Hantavirus Renal Syndrome General-type I&II Real Time RT-PCR; Shanghai ZJ Bio-Tech, China) revealed negative result. The first case was discharged with complete cure, however, the second case died. These cases which were the first cases from the Eastern Black Sea Region emphasized that hantavirus infections should be taken into consideration in patients presenting with fever, thrombocytopenia and renal function disturbance

Meeting report: First international conference on Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is the most widespread tick-borne disease of humans, occurring from western China to the Balkans in Eurasia and south throughout the length of Africa. Its incidence has increased over the past decade, particularly in Turkey and Iran, and the disease has also emerged in India. Research has been hindered by limited laboratory capacity in many regions where the disease is prevalent, indicating the need for collaboration between investigators in endemic countries and those with greater scientific resources. In an effort to increase such collaboration, the First International Conference on Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever was held in Thessaloniki, Greece, from February 13 to 14, 2015. This meeting followed the conclusion of an EU-supported Collaborative Project under the Health Cooperation Work Programme of the 7th Framework Programme (Grant agreement No. 260427). It is expected to be the first in a series of meetings that will bring together researchers from around the world to exchange knowledge and experience on various aspects of CCHF. This report summarizes major presentations by the invited speakers at the First International Conference on CCHF

SWITCHING TO TENOFOVIR ALAFENAMIDE IN HBV: NATIONWIDE REAL LIFE DATA OF EFFICACY AND SAFETY FROM TURKEY

[No Abstract Available