Mikrobiyol Bul
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Comparative Study
[Comparison of glucan and galactomannan tests with real-time PCR for diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis in a neutropenic rat model].
The incidence of aspergillosis which has high mortality rates, has increased gradually. Since invasive aspergillosis (IA) is one of the leading causes of death in immunocompromized and neutropenic patients, early and accurate diagnosis of IA is of crucial importance. The aims of this study were to compare the results of culture, real-time polymerase chain reaction (RtPCR), galactomannan (GM) antigen and glucan (GC) antigen detection tests and to evaluate their performances in view of rapid and accurate diagnosis of IA in neutropenic rat model. ⋯ However, even in proven cases, 41.7% of BAL samples were found negative with PCR, 50% of serum samples were found negative with GC test, and 65% of serum samples were found negative with GM test. Since the pathogenesis of IA has not been completely clarified, the performance of non-culture based diagnostic tests exhibit great variability. Future clinical studies are required to compare the performance of different nonculture based diagnostic methods and the optimal combination of these tests for the most accurate laboratory diagnosis of IA.
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Case Reports
[Hantavirus infection: two case reports from a province in the Eastern Black Sea 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). ⋯ 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.
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Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the high-risk and potential multi-drug resistant microorganisms that leads to infection in intensive care unit (ICU). Although standard antibiotics used for its treatment are glycopeptides, linezolid is considered as an alternative treatment especially in hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP). The aim of this retrospective study was to compare the results of linezolid and teicoplanin treatments in patients with MRSA isolated from their respiratory samples in ICU. ⋯ There was no difference with regards to durations of ICU and hospital stay between the two groups. The mortality rate was found lower in the linezolid group than the teicoplanin group (42.1% vs. 63.6%), however this difference was not found statistically important (p> 0.05). In conclusion; the present study demonstrated that better microbiological eradication was achieved by linezolid therapy in pneumonia caused by MRSA in ICU, however, the clinical efficacy and survival rates were similar to teicoplanin therapy.
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Dengue virus (DENV) and yellow fever virus (YFV) are two of the globally prevalent vector-borne flaviviruses. Data on these viruses from Turkey is limited to a single study originating from the western, Aegean region of Turkey, where evidence for DENV exposure had been confirmed in residents and presence of hemagglutination inhibiting antibodies against YFV had been revealed. The aim of this study was to investigate the rates of seropositivity of DENV and YFV in blood donors from Central/Northern Anatolia, Turkey, for the demonstration of possible human exposure. ⋯ YFV IgM could not be demonstrated in any of the IgG reactive samples and PRNT was evaluated as negative. In conclusion, evidence for DENV exposure, presumably to DENV-2, was identified in residents from Central Anatolian provinces of Ankara and Konya for the first time, however, seroreactivity detected against YFV could not be confirmed by PRNT. These findings indicated that DENV or an antigenically-similar flavivirus was probably present in the study region and sporadic human exposure might have occurred.
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This study was aimed to determine the rates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) carriage in a neonatal intensive care unit in a Training and Research Hospital in Ankara, Turkey. A total of 135 newborns were included in the study. Following 5 days stay in intensive care unit, samples were taken from nose and umbilicus for the detection of MRSA and cultivated in mannitol-salt agar and oxacillin-resistance screening agar (ORSAB), respectively. ⋯ Twenty eight (20.7%) of 135 newborns had nasal MRSA carriage, 30 (22.2%) of 135 had umbilical and 10 (7.4%) had both nasal and umbilical MRSA carriage. No rectal VRE carriage was found among the newborns. As a result, we suggest that periodical MRSA and VRE carriage investigation in the patients hospitalized in neonatal intensive care units is of outmost help to control and prevent nosocomial infections.