We sought to evaluate neurologic symptoms and findings in patients with COVID-19 infection hospitalized in a ward and intensive care unit (ICU).This study was designed as a prospective study. Hospi...

Objective: The primary objective of this study was to measure medical students' knowledge, attitudes, and future professional intentions regarding HPV and its vaccines. This study aims to identify the factors that impact these variables within Turkey's distinctive sociocultural and healthcare landscapes. The insights derived from data analysis can be employed to guide focused educational interventions, aiming to enhance HPV vaccination rates and mitigate HPV-related health outcomes in Turkey. Material and Methods: Carried out between November and December 2022, this study employed a descriptive and comparative research design to evaluate HPV-related knowledge, attitudes, and intentions among 687 medical students enrolled in the Medical Faculty of Afyonkarahisar Health Sciences University. A comprehensive 20-question survey was administered, covering demographic details, HPV awareness, and attitudes towards vaccination, followed by statistical analysis. Results: The study population exhibited a mean age of 20.6 years and was predominantly female (60.1%). Overall, 91.6% of the participants were aware of HPV, primarily through their medical education (52.1%) and social media (42.3%). However, only 3.5% of the patients were vaccinated against HPV. Factors influencing vaccine uptake included having close contacts diagnosed with HPV or cervical cancer (p=0.001), gender (p=0.01 for females, p=0.02 for males), and prior HPV awareness (p=0.03). Significant misconceptions existed, notably regarding HPV's association with specific cancers and the vaccine's inclusion in the regular schedule. Conclusions: According to our study, medical students' attitudes and knowledge about HPV and HPV vaccination are critically important for future healthcare providers and policymakers. HPV-related cancers beyond cervical cancer are poorly understood, and vaccine counselling training is inadequate. Students who had been in close contact with HPV or cervical cancer exhibited a significantly higher likelihood of receiving the vaccine. It is crucial to formulate focused educational strategies that enhance HPV vaccine adherence and provide future medical professionals with the skills to educate patients effectively.

Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF); fever, widespread pain in the body, deterioration in liver function tests; it is a tick-borne viral infectious disease that can cause bleeding and death in the skin, mucous membranes, and sometimes internal organs. In this study, we retrospectively evaluated the clinical, laboratory, and epidemiological characteristics of CCHF cases diagnosed in Afyonkarahisar. Demographic and clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, treatments, and prognoses of patients diagnosed with CCHF in Afyonkarahisar were retrospectively analyzed. In Afyonkarahisar, it was determined that 35 case reports were made between 2002 and November 2019, the date when the CCHF was first seen in Turkey. A history of tick attachment was detected in 31 subjects. Tick arrest cases were most common in June (12 cases; 34.3%) and July (9 cases; 2.9%). There was a history of living in rural areas in twenty-seven (77.1%) patients, close contact with animals in 12 patients, and a history of contact with animal blood in 4 patients. All the 35 cases that followed resulted in healing and no mortality was observed. CCHF is an endemic disease that still maintains its importance in our country. The most important factor in the control with the disease is to prevent virus contact to prevent transmission. People living in endemic areas should be informed about the precautions to be taken against tick bites, and awareness should be raised by providing education about the disease.

Amaç: Üriner sistem infeksiyonları (ÜSİ), hastanede yatan hastalarda en sık görülen infeksiyonlardır. ÜSİ’larından sorumlu etkenler genellikle bakteriler olmakla birlikte, %10’unda fungal etkenler saptanmakta, bunlar arasında da Candida türleri ilk sırada yer almaktadır. Bu çalışmada hastanede yatan hastalarda kandidüri için risk faktörlerinin belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Hastalar ve Yöntem: Çalışmaya Ağustos 2012 – Ağustos 2013 tarihleri arasında Afyon Kocatepe Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Hastanesinde yatan ve idrar kültürlerinde kandida türleri üreyen 18 yaş üstü hastalar dahil edildi. Her hasta için genel risk faktörleri, üriner sisteme yönelik risk faktörleri, kateter kullanım bilgileri, fizik muayene bulguları, biyokimyasal ve mikrobiyolojik laboratuar bulguları izlem formumuza kaydedildi. İzole edilen candida türleri Phoenix yeast ID otomatize sistem ile tiplendirildi. Integral system yeast plus kiti ile antifungal duyarlılık testleri gerçekleştirildi. Bulgular: Çalışmaya 45’i kandidüri saptanan çalışma grubu, 45’i bakteriüri saptanan kontrol grubu olmak üzere 90 hasta alındı. Araştırılan risk faktörlerinden DM (p=0.057), üriner kateter kullanımı (p=0.015), son 30 gün içerisinde invaziv girişim öyküsü (p=0.024) , hastanede yatış süresi (p=0.017), antibiyotik kullanımı (p=0.001), yoğun bakım ünitesinde yatış öyküsü (p=0.058) çalışma grubunda, kontrol grubuna göre anlamlı derecede sık tespit edildi. En sık izole edilen Candida türü C.albicans'tır. Sonuç: Antibiyotiklerin kontrollü kullanımının, üriner katater girişiminin uygun endikasyonlarda yapılmasının, diyabetik hastalarda kan şekeri regülasyonun sağlanmasının ve gerek hastane gerekse yoğun bakım ünitelerinde yatış sürelerinin kısaltılmasının kandidüri sıklığının azaltılmasında etkili olacağı düşünülmüştür.

The "Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19)" caused by "Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)" is still active all over the world as a pandemia. It is reported that at least 7000 health care workers (HCW) had lost their lives due to COVID-19 from the beginning of the pandemia till September 2020 in the world. In our country between the dates, March 11, 2020 which the first case was reported, and September 1, 2020, the date which our study has been finalized, 7428 HCW were infected by SARS-CoV-2, and 52 of them were deceased. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the contact and illness of healthcare workers working outside of the pandemic clinics in our hospital and to examine the possible transmission routes and disease prognoses. Healthcare workers who were working outside the pandemic service between March 11, 2020 and September 1, 2020 and who had a definite diagnosis of COVID-19 and all hospital staff who had contacted with these people, and HCW who had contact with patients diagnosed with COVID-19 while receiving inpatient treatment in services other than the pandemic service was evaluated and classified as low, medium and high risk according to the risk scoring defined in the published "Ministry of Health COVID-19 Guidelines". Healthcare workers who were evaluated as contacted were questioned in detail regarding the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) at the time of contact, especially suitability of the masks, contact time and shape and all the data were recorded. A total of 53 index cases (40 HCW and 13 inpatients diagnosed as COVID-19) were detected during the study period. The number of HCW contacted with these index cases was 672. In our study, we examined the data of 40 index cases and 672 contacted HCW (total of 712 HCW). Only 3 of 40 index cases (7.5%) had hospital-acquired COVID-19 infection, the other 37 cases were infected by community sources. COVID-19 was not detected in 94.2% of the contacted HCW during the follow-up while 5.8% of them had positive PCR test results. Considering the possible way of contamination among the contacted HCW who developed COVID-19 during the follow-up period, it was determined that 13.1% of the cases were a result of taken care of patients, 86.9% of the cases were a result of being in hospital social environments (drinking tea, smoking, eating, chatting in the same room without personal precautions) and in the days after the contact, it was in the form of contact with healthcare personnel diagnosed with COVID-19. When the contacted HCW were questioned about using proper masks at the time of contact, we determined that 93.3% of them used masks during patient caring procedures, however, only 48.9% used masks when they were in social areas (p< 0.001). Healthcare workers face an unprecedented risk of occupational disease and death due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is also observed that prolonged pandemia period caused health workers to disregard rigorous infection control precautions in social areas of hospitals which they follow inpatient care although this has shown to be the most common way of contamination. Commonly performed in-service training and causing awareness in all areas of the hospital about following infection control precautions and PPE usage and checking the process regularly are the most important ways to prevent HCW from being affected by COVID-19.

We aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics, laboratory and imaging findings, and outcomes associated with the severity of illness of patients admitted to our hospital with possible COVID-19 diagnosis. The patients admitted to our hospital with a possible diagnosis of COVID-19 between March 25 and December 3, 2020, were evaluated retrospectively. In terms of their clinical, laboratory, imaging findings, and mortality were compared between patients discharged and hospitalized with died and survivors. 12470 patients admitted to our hospital with a possible diagnosis of COVID-19 tested by SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR. Of those tested, 3116 (24.9%) were positive. Of the patients, 2529 (81.2%) were discharged, 587 (18.8%) hospitalized, and 92 (3%) were died. In the comparison of discharged, and hospitalized groups, a significant difference was found in age, symptoms, comorbid diseases, chest CT, laboratory findings, and mortality (p< 0.05). In the comparison of survivor, and dead, the risk of mortality analysis showed similar characteristics. Older age, male gender, comorbidities, lymphopenia, thrombocytopenia, increased levels of CRP, NLR, D-dimer, ferritin, and chest CT findings were significant risk factors. Of the patients who died, 23 (25%) were female and 69 (75%) were male. The outbreak of COVID-19 is a significantly health problem. We were experienced with high numbers of COVID-19 cases and found that age, symptoms, comorbid diseases, chest CT, laboratory findings of inflammation are significant predictors for admission to hospital. Therefore, these risk factors should consider routinely for patients with a high risk of developing severe and critical diseases by clinicians.