43 research outputs found
Ventilator-associated pneumonia: Microbiology, antibiotic resistance, changing trends, and clinical implications from the 10-year experience of a single center
No full text
Human brucellosis in Turkey: a review of the literature between 1990 and 2009
No full textAim: Brucellosis is a systemic infection, which may involve any organ or system of the body. The aim of this study was a review of the literature related to human brucellosis in Turkey. Materials and methods: In order to find the published reports on this subject, 3 national databases (TUBITAK-ULAKBIM Turkish Medical Literature database, http://www.turkishmedline.com, http://medline.pleksus.com.tr) and 2 international databases [Index Medicus and Science Citation Index (SCI)-expanded] were searched. In addition to the databases, abstracts of congresses held by the Turkish Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Association and the Antibiotic and Chemotherapy Association were searched for reports about brucellosis. Results: The most frequent type of involvement was osteoarticular, followed by hematological abnormalities and nervous system involvement. Conclusion: Brucellosis may present with a broad spectrum of clinical signs and symptoms. Primary health care physicians should be aware of the different clinical presentations of brucellosis
Analysis of HIV/AIDS-Related Stigma and Discrimination in Turkey: Results of the People Living With HIV Stigma Index
No full textA Novel Interactive Fuzzy Programming Approach for Optimization of Allied Closed-Loop Supply Chains
No full textIn recent years, the relationship between companies and suppliers has changed with the continuous rise in environmental awareness and customer expectations. In order to fulfill customers' needs, the actors in a Supply Chain (SC) network sometimes compete and sometimes cooperate with each other. In SC management, both competitive and collaborative strategies have become important and have required different points of view. In a collaborative environment, companies should strive for common targets with mutual relationship. After managers decided to share their resources, some positive effects have appeared on the companies and suppliers' performance such as profitability, flexibility and efficiency. Consequently, many companies are willing to cooperate with each other in a SC network because of these reasons. On the other hand, Closed-Loop Supply Chain (CLSC) management has been attracting a growing interest because of increased environmental issues, government regulations and customer pressures. Based on this initiative, our paper presents a novel allied CLSC network design model with two different SCs including common suppliers and common collection centers. First, a decentralized multi-level Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model that consists of two different levels of Decision Makers (DMs) is developed. The plants of common SCs comprise the upper-level DMs, common suppliers, common collection centers, and the logistics firm comprises the lower-level DMs. A novel Interactive Fuzzy Programming (IFP) approach using Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is proposed to obtain a preferred compromise solution for the developed model. Through use of Fuzzy AHP in the proposed IFP approach, the DMs can identify the importance of the lower-level DMs. In order to validate the developed model and the proposed IFP approach, a numerical example is implemented. According to the obtained results, our proposed IFP method outperforms Sakawa and Nishizaki's(1) and Calik et al.' s(2) approach with respect to the satisfaction degrees of upper-level DMs for the developed CLSC model.Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) (International Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program)In carrying out this study, the third author, Turan Paksoy, is granted by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) (International Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program)
Evaluation of the effects of regulatory T cells on survival outcomes in patients with acute leukemia who developed febrile neutropenia
No full textObjectives Acute leukemia often leads to severe complications such as febrile neutropenia. Mortality rates remain high, underscoring the need for novel prognostic markers. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) have not been extensively studied in this context. Methods This prospective observational, single-center study included 114 patients diagnosed with acute leukemia. Tregs percentages were measured using flow cytometry. Statistical analyses involved logistic regression to identify factors significantly associated with survival. Results Of the 114 patients, 78 recovered, while 36 died. The median Treg percentages were 5.9% in patients under 65 years and 5.38% in those 65 and older. A lower percentage of Tregs was associated with higher mortality in the older group (p = 0.04). Multivariate analysis highlighted the presence of comorbidities, documented infections, and day seven C-reactive protein levels as significant predictors of survival. Conclusion This study supports the importance of monitoring chronic diseases and infection foci alongside traditional markers like C-reactive protein. Future research should explore the mechanistic roles of Tregs in immunosuppression and survival in this vulnerable population
Accuracy of consultations performed by infectious diseases trainees and factors associated with adherence to them § Author's personal copy
No full textSummary Objectives: Infectious diseases (ID) trainees should be familiar with duties relevant to consultation practice. In this study we aimed to analyze the ID trainee night/weekend shift consultation process in terms of consultant characteristics, types of recommendations, and compliance with recommendations. Methods: All consultations performed by ID trainees on the night shift and at the weekends between 10 June and 10 August 2004 were recorded prospectively on standardized forms. Infectious diseases specialists assessed the appropriateness of recommendations the day after each consultation. Recommendations were considered complied with if they were carried out within 72 hours of the consultation. Results: Of 440 consultations, 163 were for a clinically diagnosed infection (without specific antibiotic request) and 79 were for treatment continuation. Overall, 152 consultations were for requesting specific antibiotic(s), and 327 antibiotics were recommended or approved in 270 consultations. Eight of these recommendations were inappropriate. Overall compliance to ID recommendations was 75.3% (418/555). In univariate analysis, the compliance rate to nontreatment recommendations (microbiologic cultures, radiology, biochemistry, etc.) was found to be lower than the rate of compliance to antibiotic recommendations (186/308 vs. 232/247, p < 0.05). In addition, compliance to recommendations made by the first-year trainees was lower than to the recommendations made by the other trainees. In logistic regression analysis only
Vancomycin versus linezolid in the treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus meningitis in an experimental rabbit model
No full textBackground: The aim of this study was to compare the antibacterial efficacy of vancomycin and linezolid in a rabbit model of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) meningitis. Material/Methods: Meningitis was induced by intracisternal inoculation of ATCC 43300 strain. After 16 h incubation time and development of meningitis, the vancomycin group received vancomycin 20 mg/kg every 12 h. The linezolid-10 and linezolid-20 groups received linezolid in 10 and 20 mg/kg dosages every 12 h, respectively. The control group did not receive any antibiotics. Cerebrospinal fluid bacterial counts were measured at the end of 16-h incubation time and at the end of 24-h treatment. Results: Bacterial counts were similar in all groups at 16 h. At the end of treatment the decrease in bacterial counts in the vancomycin group was approximately 2 logs higher than the linezolid-20 group (p>0.05) and approximately 4 logs higher than in the linezolid-10 group (p: 0.037) (Vancomycin group: -2.860 +/- 4.495 versus Linezolid-20: -0.724 +/- 4.360, versus Linezolid-10: 1.39 +/- 3.37). Full or partial bacteriological response was higher in vancomycin versus linezolid-10 (p: 0.01), but not vancomycin versus linezolid-20 or linezolid-10 versus-linezolid-20 groups. Conclusions: Our results suggest that linezolid is not statistically inferior to vancomycin in the treatment of MRSA meningitis in an experimental rabbit model in 20 mg/kg q12 h dosage; however, it is inferior in 10 mg/kg q12 h dosage. Additional data should gathered to confirm these findings in advance of clinical trials to assess efficacy in humans.Ege UniversityEge UniversityEge Universit
Analysis of HIV/AIDS-Related Stigma and Discrimination in Turkey: Results of the People Living With HIV Stigma Index
No full textObjective: HIV-related stigma is a devastating problem with severe negative consequences in terms of further spread of the epidemic as well as the health status and social and psychological well-being of people living with HIV. The present study aimed to determine the current situation of HIV-related stigma and discrimination in Turkey. Methods: Data were gathered through the People Living with HIV Stigma Index, which was developed by a group of international organizations and was administered in Turkey in 2011. One hundred people living with HIV including 21 females, 4 transsexual women and 75 men were included in the study using the purposive sampling technique. Results: The rates of HIV-related stigma/discrimination and violation of human rights were 23.1% and 30% respectively. Being gossiped about (69%), being subject to verbal abuse, threats and injury (46%) were the most common forms of stigma. Thirty percent of the participants lost their jobs due to HIV-related stigma and 20% were denied healthcare services because of HIV positivity. Disclosure of HIV status to third parties by healthcare professionals without the consent of the patients appeared as another major problem. The respondents identified the fear of transmission through casual contact due to lack of knowledge on the transmission routes of HIV as the major reason for stigma. The survey also revealed high levels of internalized stigma among the participants. Conclusions: The findings suggested an urgent need to develop national policies for protecting people living with HIV from stigma and discrimination in Turkey
