Treatment of head lice with dimeticone 4% lotion: comparison of two formulations in a randomised controlled trial in rural Turkey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Dimeticone 4% lotion was shown to be an effective treatment for head louse infestation in two randomised controlled trials in England. It is not affected by insecticide resistance but efficacy obtained (70-75%) was lower than expected. This study was designed to evaluate efficacy of dimeticone 4% lotion in a geographically, socially, and culturally different setting, in rural Turkey and, in order to achieve blinding, it was compared with a potential alternative formulation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Children from two village schools were screened for head lice by detection combing. All infested students and family members could participate, giving access to treatment for the whole community. Two investigator applied treatments were given 7 days apart. Outcome was assessed by detection combing three times between treatments and twice the week following second treatment.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the intention to treat group 35/36 treated using dimeticone 4% had no lice after the second treatment but there were two protocol violators giving 91.7% treatment success. The alternative product gave 30/36 (83.3%) treatment success, a difference of 8.4% (95% CI -9.8% to 26.2%). The cure rates per-protocol were 33/34 (97.1%) and 30/35 (85.7%) respectively. We were unable to find any newly emerged louse nymphs on 77.8% of dimeticone 4% treated participants or on 66.7% of those treated with the alternative formulation. No adverse events were identified.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results confirm the efficacy of dimeticone 4% lotion against lice and eggs and we found no detectable difference between this product and dimeticone 4% lotion with nerolidol 2% added. We believe that the high cure rate was related to the lower intensity of infestation in Turkey, together with the level of community engagement, compared with previous studies in the UK.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN10431107</p

Evaluation of patients with fibrotic interstitial lung disease: Preliminary results from the Turk-UIP study

OBJECTIVE: Differential diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is important among fibrotic interstitial lung diseases (ILD). This study aimed to evaluate the rate of IPF in patients with fibrotic ILD and to determine the clinical-laboratory features of patients with and without IPF that would provide the differential diagnosis of IPF. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included the patients with the usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) pattern or possible UIP pattern on thorax high-resolution computed tomography, and/or UIP pattern, probable UIP or possible UIP pattern at lung biopsy according to the 2011 ATS/ERSARS/ALAT guidelines. Demographics and clinical and radiological data of the patients were recorded. All data recorded by researchers was evaluated by radiology and the clinical decision board. RESULTS: A total of 336 patients (253 men, 83 women, age 65.8 +/- 9.0 years) were evaluated. Of the patients with sufficient data for diag-nosis (n=300), the diagnosis was IPF in 121 (40.3%), unclassified idiopathic interstitial pneumonia in 50 (16.7%), combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE) in 40 (13.3%), and lung involvement of connective tissue disease (CTD) in 16 (5.3%). When 29 patients with definite IPF features were added to the patients with CPFE, the total number of IPF patients reached 150 (50%). Rate of male sex (p<0.001), smoking history (p<0.001), and the presence of clubbing (p=0.001) were significantly high in patients with IPE None of the women <50 years and none of the men <50 years of age without a smoking history were diagnosed with IPE Presence of at least 1 of the symptoms suggestive of CTD, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and antinuclear antibody (FANA) positivity rates were significantly higher in the non-IPF group (p<0.001, p=0.029, p=0.009, respectively). CONCLUSION: The rate of IPF among patients with fibrotic ILD was 50%. In the differential diagnosis of IPF, sex, smoking habits, and the presence of clubbing are important. The presence of symptoms related to CTD, ESR elevation, and EANA positivity reduce the likelihood of IPF

In vitro Efficacy of Quercus infectoria Oliv. and Achillea millefolium L. Extracts Against Blastocystis spp. Isolates

WOS: 000321750600024Blastocystis is a common intestinal parasite that can inhabit the intestinal tract of humans and many animals. Despite it was firstly described almost 100 years ago; many subjects are still under debate about Blastocystis, including its life-cycle, pathogenic potential and treatment of infected individuals. Historically, local plant species have been used for therapeutic purposes by the local people of Anatolia. Here, hexane and methanol extracts of two local plants, Quercus infectoria (Fagaceae) and Achillea millefolium, which have been used against diarrhea in Anatolia, were examined for their in vitro efficacies against Blastocystis. LC50 and EC50 values of the plant extracts were determined by Brine Shrimp and Graphpad Prism 5 (R) methods, respectively. The results showed that LC50 (500 mu g/ml) and EC50 (198.8 mu g/ml) concentrations of the methanol extract of A. millefolium were lowest compared to other extracts, its anti-Blastocystis activity was found to be comparable to metronidazole and it showed no cytotoxic activity. These initial results suggest that the methanol extract of A. millefolium may be a novel option for the treatment of Blastocystis infections in humans in future, if confirmed by further, larger-scale studies.Scientific Research Projects Department of Celal Bayar UniversityCelal Bayar University [BAP, Tip 2009-048]The present study was financially supported by the Scientific Research Projects Department of Celal Bayar University (Project no: BAP, Tip 2009-048

Epidemiology and Risk Factors of Hepatitis Delta Infection in Turkey

WOS: 000331428900039This study is aimed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of HDV co-infection in patients with chronic HBV infection in Turkey, where HBV infection is endemic. The date of this study was obtained from Turk-Hep-Net project. The project includes real-life cohort of HBV patients from 15 centers in Turkey and is supported by Viral Hepatitis Society. Of the 7366 HBsAg positive individuals tested for the presence of anti-HDV antibodies, 63,6 were male and 36.4 % were female. Of the 7366 HBsAg positif patients, 206 (2.8%) contained anti-HDV. Southeastern Anatolia Region of the country's anti-HDV positivity rate was found to be 4.5%. The risk factors in anti-HDV positivity patient were; male gender, long-term (>5 year) HBsAg positivity and living in Southeastern Anatolia. Our study revealed that recognizing the risk factors associated with HBV and HDV co-infection will be beneficial to control of these infections

Comparison of two combs in the detection of head lice in school children

The diagnostic efficacies of two metal pin lice combs having different spacing between their teeth were compared in two cohorts of school children, aged between 7 and 15 years, from different villages of Manisa, Turkey. Head lice infestation was evaluated with comb A (0.18 mm of distance between the teeth) in 95 children in Cavusoglu village, and with comb B (0.15 mm of distance between the teeth) in 146 children in Yesilk;ouml;y village, compared to visual inspection. Five of 95 (5.3%) children in Cavusoglu village and 5 of 146 (3.4%) children in Yesilk;ouml;y village were found to harbor live head lice with combing, while none was detected during the visual inspection. The difference between the infestation rates of two cohorts was statistically insignificant (p;gt;0.05). With visual screening, 15 and 16 children with louse eggs were identified in Cavusoglu and Yesilk;ouml;y villages, respectively. With combing in these villages, 5 and 8 children, respectively, with louse eggs were identified and 3 and 5 children, respectively, were detected only with combing, not with visual screening. In conclusion, combing is more effective than visual inspection in head lice detection, but there were no significant difference between the two combs either in lice detection or in usage.Manisa'nın farklı iki köyündeki ilköğretim okullarında okuyan yaşları 7 ile 15 arasındaki iki öğrenci grubunda, metal diş aralıkları birbirinden farklı iki bit tarağının tanısal etkinlikleri gözle muayene yöntemiyle karşılaştırılarak değerlendirildi. Bunun için Çavuşoğlu köyündeki 95 çocukta Tarak A (diş aralığı 0.18 mm), Yeşilköy' deki 146 çocukta ise Tarak B ile (diş aralığı 0.15 mm) saç biti (Pediculus capitis) varlığı araştırıldı. Çavuşoğlu köyündeki 95 çocuğun 5'inde (% 5,3) ve Yeşilköy'deki 146 çocuğun 5'inde (%3.4) tarama ile canlı saç bitine rastlanırken gözle muayene ile ise hiç saç bitine rastlanmadı. İki kohort arasındaki saç biti infestasyon oranları arasındaki fark istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bulunmadı (p>0.05). Gözle muayene sırasında, Çavuşoğlu ve Yeşilköy okullarındaki sırasıyla 15 ve 16 çocukta bit yumurtasına rastlandı, ancak hiçbirinde canlı saç bitine rastlanmadı. Tarama ile ise sırasıyla 5 ve 8 çocukta bit yumurtası görüldü ve bunların sırasıyla 3 ve 5 tanesi sadece tarama sırasında görülüp gözle muayenede görülmedi. Yapılan değerlendirmede, saç bitinin tanısında taramanın gözle muayeneye kıyasla daha etkili olduğu ve karşılaştırılan iki tarağın tanısal etkinlik ya da kullanım kolaylığı açılarından birbirlerinden farklı olmadıkları gösterild

Okullarda Düzenli Aralıklarla Gerçekleştirilen Kontroller Saç Biti (Pediculus capitis) İnsidansını Düşürmekte Yeterli Olabilir mi?

In the present study, school children of similar age-groups from two villages of Manisa province, namely Osmancalı and Maldan, were examined in regular time periods to monitorize the changes in the incidence of head lice (Pediculus capitis). A total of 2091 children (1565 in Osmancalı and 526 in Maldan) were combed with a newly-designed lice comb (PDC;reg;, KSL Consulting, Helsinge, Denmark) four times in May and November in 2008 and 2009. The assessment of the results was conducted with SPSS;reg; v.15 program using CHAID and logistic regression analysis. The results of the periodic examinations of the children showed that the infestation rate of girls were found to be higher significantly compared to boys (P;lt;0.001), and the incidence of head lice infestation in boys from Osmancalı was found three times higher than the incidence in boys in Maldan (P=0.002). In addition, regular dry combing and treatment lowered the infestation rates among girls significantly (P=0.001). According to the results of the study, regular dry combing of school children with specially-designed lice combs may be essential for the control of this common infestation, especially in rural areasÇalışmamızda Manisa'nın Osmancalı ve Maldan köylerindeki ilköğretim okullarında aynı yaş grubundaki çocuklarda belirli aralıklarla saç biti (Pediculus capitis) taramaları yapılmış ve çocuklardaki bit varlığındaki değişimler izlenerek kaydedilmiştir. Bu bağlamda, 2008 ve 2009 yıllarının Mayıs ve Kasım aylarında o zaman için yeni geliştirilmiş bir bit tarağı (PDC®, KSL Consulting, Helsinge, Danimarka) kullanılarak yapılan düzenli taramalarda, (1565'i Osmancalı, 526'sı Maldan'dan) toplam 2091 çocuk çalışmaya dâhil edilmiştir. Sonuçların değerlendirilmesi SPSS® v.15 programının CHAID ve lojistik regresyon analizi kullanılarak yapılmıştır. Düzenli aralıklarla toplam 4 kez gerçekleştirilen taramalar sonucunda, kızlarda saç biti infestasyonunun erkeklerden çok daha yüksek düzeylerde olduğu (P0.001), Osmancalı'daki erkek öğrencilerdeki insidansın Maldan'daki erkeklerin yaklaşık 3 katı olduğu (P=0.002) gözlenmiştir. Ayrıca, düzenli tarama ve tedaviler sonucunda kızlardaki saç biti infestasyonunun anlamlı düzeyde azaldığı belirlenmiştir (P=0.001). Bu çalışmanın sonuçları, saç biti infestasyonunun kontrol altına alınmasında düzenli aralıklarla yapılan muayene ve tedavilerin özellikle kırsal kesimde başarılı olabileceğini göstermişti

Evaluation of Patients with Fibrotic Interstitial Lung Disease: Preliminary results from the Turk-UIP Study

OBJECTIVE: Differential diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is important among fibrotic interstitial lung diseases (ILD). This study aimed to evaluate the rate of IPF in patients with fibrotic ILD and to determine the clinical-laboratory features of patients with and without IPF that would provide the differential diagnosis of IPF