Here, we report magnetic nanoparticle-based biosensor platforms for the rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses in human serum. The use of the proposed system enabled the detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) proteins at a concentration of ng/mL in both buffer and real serum samples. In particular, the protocol, which is considered an indicator of innate immunity after vaccination or post-infection, could be useful for the evaluation of antibody response. We included a total of 48 volunteers who either had COVID-19 but were not vaccinated or who had COVID-19 and were vaccinated with CoronoVac or Biontech. Briefly, in this study, which was planned as a cohort, serum samples were examined 3, 6, and 12 months from the time the volunteers’ showed symptoms of COVID-19 with respect to antibody response in the proposed system. Anti-S Ab and anti-N Ab were detected with a limit of detection of 0.98 and 0.89 ng/mL, respectively. These data were confirmed with the corresponding commercial an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) assays. Compared with ECLIA, more stable data were obtained, especially for samples collected over 6 months. After this period, a drop in the antibody responses was observed. Our findings showed that it could be a useful platform for exploring the dynamics of the immune response, and the proposed system has translational use potential for the clinic. In conclusion, the MNP-based biosensor platform proposed in this study, together with its counterparts in previous studies, is a candidate for determining natural immunity and post-vaccination antibody response, as well as reducing the workload of medical personnel and paving the way for screening studies on vaccine efficacy.

The most prevalent malignancy that complicates both adult and pediatric solid organ transplantation is post‐transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD). This study aimed to analyze the clinical and pathological characteristics, treatments, and outcomes of Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV) DNAemia and PTLD in pediatric liver transplant recipients. A retrospective chart review was performed on 112 patients less than 18 years of age who underwent isolated orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) between 2010 and 2022 at Ege University Children's Hospital. Data gathered for 1‐year post‐OLT included age at OLT, EBV, immunoglobulin (Ig)M/IgG status of the donor and recipient, indication for OLT, induction regimen, all immunosuppression levels, date and result of EBV polymerase chain reaction testing, rejection episodes documented by liver biopsy, and the development of PTLD. Forty‐nine patients (43.75%) developed EBV DNAemia (median interval from surgery: 2 months, min–max: 2–36), of which 43 (87.8%) grafts came from living donors, and 6 (12.2%) came from deceased donors. Nine (18.4%) patients died during follow‐up, and eight (16.3%) developed PTLD. Of these 8 patients; five patients developed EBV‐related disease, one child developed hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, one developed aplastic anemia, and one child developed B cell lymphoma. When PTLD patients and without‐PTLD patients were compared, pediatric intensive care unit hospitalization, abnormal bone marrow biopsy findings, lymphadenopathy, age at diagnosis of EBV DNAemia, EBV viral load, tacrolimus (FK 506) pre‐infection, were higher and tacrolimus 1‐month levels were lower in patients with PTLD ( p < 0.05). In logistic regression analysis, we showed that the age at diagnosis of EBV DNAemia was significantly higher in children with PTLD ( p = 0.045; OR: 1.389; 95% CI: 1.007–1.914). PTLD is a rare but severe complication associated with EBV after OLT. This study demonstrated that PTLD is associated with older age, higher tacrolimus blood levels before EBV DNAemia, and higher peak EBV viral load at 1 month of EBV DNAemia.

Aim: The objective of this study was to explore the potential correlation between COVID-19 infection or vaccination and levels of anti-nucleocapsid (anti-N) and anti-spike (anti-S) antibodies. Methods: Among 6050 healthcare workers at the Ege University Hospital, a cohort study with 162 participants divided into three arms with 54 participants each was conducted. The three groups were selected as follows: those diagnosed with COVID-19 and not vaccinated (group 1), those diagnosed with COVID-19 and subsequently vaccinated with CoronaVac (group 2), and those not diagnosed with COVID-19 but vaccinated with two doses of CoronaVac (group 3). Antibody levels measured at the sixth month of follow-up were defined as the primary outcome. Results: At the sixth month, all serum samples tested positive for anti-S. Anti-S levels were found to be significantly higher in group 2 than in the other groups (p < 0.001). There were no differences in antibody levels between groups 1 and 3 (p = 0.080). Average antibody levels were found to be lower in office workers and males. Anti-N antibodies were found to be positive in 85.1% of subjects at the sixth month. In group 2, anti-N antibodies were detected in all samples at the sixth month. Anti-N antibody levels were not significantly different between groups 1 and 2 (p = 0.165). Groups 1 and 2 had significantly higher antibody levels than group 3 (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Vaccination or infection provide protection for at least 6 months. Those who have previously been diagnosed with COVID-19 do not need to be vaccinated in the early period before their antibody levels decrease.

Merkezi sinir sistemi (MSS) enfeksiyonlarının tanısı zor ve zaman alıcıdır. FilmArray menenjit/ ensefalit paneli (BioFire Diagnostics®, Salt Lake City, UT, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri) (FA-ME), yaygın toplum kaynaklı menenjit/ensefalit etkeni olan 14 mikroorganizmanın hızlı tespiti için tasarlanmıştır. Bu çalışmada, 01.06.2018 ile 31.08.2022 tarihleri arasında MSS enfeksiyonu ön tanısıyla hastanemize başvuran 1588 hastanın beyin omurilik sıvısı (BOS) örneklerinin FA-ME test sonuçlarının; konvansiyonel mikrobiyolojik testler, BOS biyokimyasal testleri, klinik bulgular ve radyolojik görüntüleme sonuçlarıyla birlikte karşılaştırılarak panelin etkinliğinin değerlendirilmesi amaçlanmıştır. BOS örnekleri FA-ME paneliyle test edilen 1588 hastanın sonuçları Gram boyama, kültür-antibiyogram, kriptokok antijen testi, doğrulama amacıyla uygulanan diğer viral multipleks polimeraz zincir reaksiyonu testleri, BOS biyokimyasal test sonuçları, klinik bulgular ve radyolojik görüntüleme sonuçlarıyla birlikte değerlendirilmiştir. Sonuçlar, Ege Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Tıbbi Mikrobiyoloji Anabilim Dalı Laboratuvarlarının arşiv ve doğrulama testi kayıtlarıyla elektronik hasta dosyalarının incelenmesi yoluyla elde edilmiştir. Verilerin değerlendirilmesinde IBM SPSS Statistics 25.0 programı kullanılmıştır. 1588 örnekte ortalama %10 pozitiflik oranı bulunmuştur. En sık tespit edilen etken herpes simpleks virüs tip 1'dir. Bu çalışmada, 10 örnek (%7.8) yanlış pozitif olarak değerlendirilmiş ve 17 pozitif örnek (%13.4) klinik olarak anlamlı bulunmamıştır. Negatif 1488 örnek değerlendirildiğinde, panelde yer almayan mikroorganizmalar 27 olguda konvansiyonel yöntemlerle tespit edilmiştir. Ayrıca, bir klinik örnekte Cryptococcus neoformans yanlış negatif olarak tespit edilmiştir. Nöroloji kliniği 28 pozitif örneğe sahip olan en fazla örnek gönderen bölüm (728) olmakla birlikte, yanlış pozitif ve klinik olarak anlamlı olmayan sonuçlar hariç tutulduğunda bu sayı 14'e düşmüştür. Örneğin laboratuvara kabulünden sonra tanıya kadar geçen süre ortalama 3.2 saat (200 dakika) olarak tespit edilmiştir. Öte yandan 1588 hastanın BOS örneklerinden elde edilen FA-ME panel sonuçları geleneksel test sonuçlarıyla birlikte değerlendirildiğinde genel pozitiflik oranı yaklaşık %10 olarak bulunmuş ve bu oranın literatürle uyumlu olduğu belirlenmiştir. Düzeltme yapılmış pozitif sonuçların analizinde, literatürle uyumlu olarak erkek hastalarda pozitiflik oranının anlamlı derecede daha yüksek olduğu (p= 0.008) saptanmıştır. Nöroloji hastalarında, FA-ME panel pozitifliği, modifiye Reller kriterleri göz önüne alınarak değerlendirildiğinde, gerçek bir MSS enfeksiyonu göstergesi olmamış ve enfeksiyonu dışlamak amacıyla testin gereksiz yere uygulandığı sonucuna varılmıştır. FA-ME testinin yalnızca enfeksiyon hastalıkları uzmanının görüşü doğrultusunda istenmesi sağlanarak pahalı bir testin gereksiz kullanımı önlenmiştir. Panelde saptanan insan herpes simpleks virüs-6 pozitifliklerinin hastanın yaşı, semptomları, immünsupresyon durumu, laboratuvar bulguları ve radyolojik görüntüleme sonuçlarıyla birlikte; ayrıca C.neoformans/Cryptococcus gattii negatif panel sonuçlarının da hastanın klinik bulguları, gerekli konvansiyonel testler ve radyolojik görüntülemeyle birlikte dikkatli değerlendirilmesi gerektiği sonuçlarına varılmıştır. Yirmi yedi olguda, panelde bulunan mikroorganizmalar dışında konvansiyonel yöntemlerle menenjit/ensefalit etkenleri olarak belirlenen mikroorganizmalar tespit edilmiştir. Bu nedenle hastanın klinik bulgularını ve semptomlarını değerlendirerek paneli gerektiğinde kullanmanın, tanı ve maliyet açısından etkili bir yaklaşım olacağı görüşüne varılmıştır. Sonuçların dikkatle değerlendirilmesini gerektirse de, panelin başarılı olduğu ve patojenleri BOS'tan doğrudan ve geniş ölçekte hızlı bir şekilde tespit ettiği belirlenmiştir.

We sought to investigate the impact of heart failure on anti-spike antibody positivity following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. Our study included 103 heart failure (HF) patients, including those with and without left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) selected from our institutional transplant waiting list as well as 104 non-heart failure (NHF) patients who underwent open heart surgery at our institution from 2021 to 2022. All the patients received either heterologous or homologous doses of BNT162b2 and CoronaVac. The median age of the HF group was 56.0 (interquartile range (IQR): 48.0–62.5) and the NHF group was 63.0 (IQR: 56.0–70.2) years, and the majority were males in both groups (n = 78; 75.7% and n = 80; 76.9%, respectively). The majority of the patients in both the HF and NHF groups received heterologous vaccinations (n = 43; 41.7% and n = 52; 50.3%, respectively; p = 0.002). There was no difference in the anti-spike antibody positivity between the patients with and without heart failure (p = 0.725). Vaccination with BNT162b2 led to significantly higher antibody levels compared to CoronaVac alone (OR: 11.0; 95% CI: 3.8–31.5). With each passing day after the last vaccine dose, there was a significant decrease in anti-spike antibody positivity, with an OR of 0.9 (95% CI: 0.9–0.9). Furthermore, hyperlipidemia was associated with increased antibody positivity (p = 0.004).