17 research outputs found
determination of cut off level for screening titer of Antinuclear Antibody-Hep-2 Test (ANA)
No full textThe investigation of the effectiveness of TK medium in determining primary anti-tuberculosis drug susceptibilities of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and a newly developed pyrazinamide susceptibility test
No full textBackground and Aim: The rapid and reliable detection of primary drug susceptibility tests for Mycobacterium tuberculosis is crucial for effective treatment and monitoring drug resistance. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of the TK Anti TB PNB Kit and newly developed TK PZA Kit (TiBO, Türkiye), both prepared with the colorimetric TK medium, in determining drug susceptibility against primary anti-tuberculosis drugs (isoniazid, ethambutol, rifampicin, streptomycin and pyrazinamide). METHODS: The primary anti-tuberculosis drug susceptibilities of 13 M. tuberculosis quality control strains (INSTAND, Germany) were tested according to manufacturer instructions, using the TK Anti TB PNB kit and TK PZA kit. The tubes were incubated at 37°C in automated Mycolor TK device (TiBO, Türkiye). RESULTS: The growth of all strains was inhibited in the medium containing PNB, indicating that they are M. tuberculosis complex group (Figure 1). In test tubes, a yellow color change signified resistance, whereas the absence of color change signified susceptibility to the tested antibiotic (Figure1, Figure 2).Sensitivity of TK Anti TB PNB and TK PZA Kits were found to be 100% and 77% concordant, respectively, as compared to the susceptibility results of quality control strains reported by INSTAND (Table 1). CONCLUSIONS: The ready-to-use drug-containing tubes of TK Anti-TB PNB and TK PZA kits prevent preparation errors and contamination. There are usually more errors in PZA testing when rapid culture systems are used. TK PZA Kit provided promising results for PZA susceptibility testing. To eliminate discordant results of PZA susceptibility, breakpoint drug concentrations should further be studied
, Measles Inclusion‐Body Encephalitis: Neuronal Phosphorylated Tau Protein Is Present in the Biopsy but Not in the Autoptic Specimens of the Same Patient, Brain Pathology, doi: 10.1111/bpa.12332
No full textInvestigation of ceftazidime-avibactam susceptibility in clinical isolates of gram-negative bacteria
No full textBackground/aim: Our study investigated the susceptibility rate of ceftazidime-avibactam and the risk factors associated with its resistance by analyzing gram-negative bacteria isolated from various patient samples. Materials and methods: Between March and November 2020, 1119 gram-negative bacteria strains were isolated from patient samples in Acıbadem Healthcare Group hospitals; ceftazidime-avibactam susceptibility results were evaluated using a 10/4µg (Oxoid, UK) disc and evaluated according to Eucast 2020 recommendations. Patient and isolate characteristics that could be risk factors were retrospectively investigated and statistically analyzed using SPSS 25.0. Results: Male patients made up 52% (n = 581) of the study’s total patient population, and they averaged 55.5 ± 24.9 years old. Of 1119 gram-negative strains culture and antibiogram, 1023 (91.4%) were sensitive to ceftazidime-avibactam. An increased risk of resistance was observed with female gender (OR = 2.29; CI 95% [1.45–3.61]; p < 0.05), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (OR = 1.67, CI 95% [1.03–2.7]; p < 0.05), the presence of multidrug-resistance (MDR) (OR = 4.07, CI 95% [2.47–6.7]; p < 0.05) pandrug-resistance (PDR) (OR = 12, (CI) 95% [9.9–14.7] ]; p < 0.05) and admission to intensive care unit (ICU) (OR = 1.89, CI 95% [1.22–2.93]; p < 0.05). Conclusion: The resistance rate of ceftazidime-avibactam was found to be 8.6%, and it was thought that resistant strains produced metallo-ß-lactamase (MBL) type carbapenemase. Risk factors were female gender, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, MDR, PDR, and admission to ICU. Therefore, studying the ceftazidime-avibactam susceptibility test together with gram-negative bacteria identification, especially in groups at risk for resistance, is one of the important factors that can positively affect the success of treatment
Antimicrobial resistance and epidemiological patterns of<i> Streptococcus</i><i> pyogenes</i> in Türkiye
No full textBackground: Drug-resistant Group A beta-hemolytic streptococci remain significant infectious agents globally. This study investigated the major S. pyogenes strains responsible for infections in T & uuml;rkiye and their susceptibility to beta-lactam and macrolide antibiotics. Methods: We determined the minimum inhibitory concentration using the penicillin gradient test and performed emm typing and DNA fingerprinting via pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to analyze the clonal spread of 92 S. pyogenes strains isolated from two hospitals in T & uuml;rkiye between 2020 and 2022. Results: Our findings revealed the predominant S. pyogenes strains causing infections in the population and provided insights into the epidemiological relatedness of these drug-resistant strains. This study also evaluated the correlation between emm typing and PFGE in tracking S. pyogenes epidemiology. In this study, the current resistance patterns of S. pyogenes strains in T & uuml;rkiye identified erythromycin resistance in a few strains, but no resistance to penicillin was detected. Conclusions: This study revealed that emm types 1, 12 and 89 as S. pyogenes strain genotypes were responsible for epidemic infections in T & uuml;rkiye. PFGE genotyping and emm typing were found to provide better phylogenetic classification in the investigation of S. pyogenes epidemiology. (c) 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/)
Concentrated urine as an alternative to cervical smear samples enabling easy screening of HPV in large populations
No full textBackground: Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a leading cause of cervical cancer, necessitating effective screening methods, particularly in large populations and resource limited settings. Current cervical smear-based screening faces challenges related to accessibility, invasiveness, and patient compliance. This study investigated the feasibility of using concentrated urine samples as a noninvasive alternative for HPV detection. Methods: First-void urine samples from 126 patients were collected alongside cervical swabs. A biological fluid concentrator, MyMagiCon®, was used to concentrate the urine samples before HPV detection via RT-PCR. Results: The results demonstrated substantial agreement (Fleiss’ kappa = 0.796, p < 0.0001) between HPV detection in concentrated urine samples and cervical smear samples. Concentrated urine samples showed a 17 % increase in HPV detection compared to unconcentrated urine. Conclusions: This noninvasive and novel approach offers significant advantages in terms of accessibility and patient acceptance, potentially improving screening coverage and early detection rates, especially in underserved populations. Further research is needed to validate these findings in larger, more diverse populations and optimize the methodology for enhanced sensitivity and specificity, but the findings suggest concentrated urine-based HPV testing holds considerable promise as a cost-effective, accessible screening strategy in preventing cervical cancer
Protease-Resistant, Broad-Spectrum Antimicrobial Peptides with High Antibacterial and Antifungal Activity
No full textAntimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a diverse group of small, naturally occurring molecules that orchestrate the innate immune response of various organisms, from microorganisms to humans. Characterized by their broad-spectrum activity against bacteria, fungi and viruses, AMPs are increasingly recognized for their potential as novel therapeutic agents in the face of rising antibiotic resistance. Here, we present several newly designed AMPs, one of which, DTN6, exerts significant activity against several organisms with MIC values as low as 0.5 µg/mL. The D-TN6 peptide influences both bacteria and yeasts. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy results showed that the bacterial membrane is affected by D-TN6, which is resistant to proteases and is effective against antibiotic-resistant pathogens with hemolytic activity and low toxicity. The D-TN6 peptide is effective in vivo against standard S. aureus strains in wounds. Thus, D-TN6 is a potent antibiotic candidate with a broad spectrum of activity. Overall, AMPs are a promising tool for the development of next-generation antimicrobial agents that could mitigate global health threats posed by multidrug-resistant pathogens
Gargle and mouthwash can replace nasopharyngeal swab sampling with a concentration method for diagnosis of COVID-19
No full textComparison of a novel antigen detection test with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assay for laboratory diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection
No full textMolecular diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in respiratory specimens is considered the gold standard method. This method is highly sensitive and specific but it has some limitations such as being expensive and requiring special laboratory equipment and skilled personnel. RapidFor (TM) Antigen Rapid Test Kit is a commercially available Ag-RDT which is produced in Turkey and designed to detect the nucleocapsid antigen of SARS-CoV-2 in nasopharyngeal swab samples. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of this novel SARS-CoV-2 antigen detection considering the RT-PCR method as the gold standard. Four hundred forty-four nasopharyngeal swab samples which were collected from the patients who met clinical criteria of COVID-19 from ten centers in Turkey between September 2020 and February 2021 were included in the study. All the nasopharyngeal swab samples were tested for SARS-CoV-2 RNA using commercial RT-PCR kits (Bioeksen and A1 Lifesciences, Istanbul, Turkey) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Viral loads were assessed according to the cycle threshold (Ct) values. RapidFor (TM) SARS-CoV-2 antigen test (Vitrosens Biotechnology, Istanbul, Turkey) was used to investigate the presence of SARS-CoV-2 antigen in all samples following the manufacturer's instructions. Out of 444 nasopharyngeal swab samples tested, 346 (77.9%) were positive and 98 (22.1%) were negative for SARS-CoV-2 RNA by RTPCR. Overall sensitivity of the RapidFor (TM). Antigen Rapid Test Kit was 80.3% whereas specificity was found to be 87.8%. Positivity rate of rapid antigen test in samples with Ct values over 25 and below 30 was 82.7%, while it increased to 95.7% in samples 20 <= Ct < 25 and reached 100% in samples with Ct values below 20. RapidFor (TM) SARS-CoV-2 Ag test might be a good choice in the screening of symptomatic and asymptomatic patients and their contacts for taking isolation measures early, with advantages over RT-PCR as being rapid, easy and being applicable in every laboratory and even at point of care
