Introduction: Changes in hematological parameters are frequently observed in brucellosis patients. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the diagnostic significance of some hematological parameters in patients with brucellosis. Material and methods: In this case-control study, the data of brucellosis patients and healthy volunteers followed up in the Outpatient Clinic of Infectious Diseases between 2018 and 2020 were retrospectively examined. In the hemogram examination of patients with brucellosis and health volunteers; hematological parameters such as the leukocyte, hemoglobin, neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte, platelet, ratio of neutrophil/lymphocyte, ratio of platelet/lymphocyte, ratio of monocyte/lymphocyte and mean platelet volume were compared. Results: 255 people, 169 (66.3%) of whom were diagnosed with brucellosis and 86 (33.7%) from the control group, were included to the study. These participants of 112 (43.9%) were male and 143 (56.1%) were female. The patients diagnosed with brucellosis, of 62 (36.7%) were considered acute, of 62 (36.7%) subacute, and of 45 (26.6%) chronic brucellosis. leukocyte, hemoglobin, neutrophil, and neutrophil/lymphocyte levels were found to be lower in the brucellosis group compared to the control group, while mean platelet volume level was found to be higher. Hemoglobin was found to be lower and mean platelet volume higher in all brucellosis subgroups. Conclusion: In this study, the following findings were determined to be important: the lowness of leucocyte and hemoglobin and highness of mean platelet volume in brucellosis patients, as well as the highness of lymphocyte levels and lowness of neutrophil/lymphocyte and platelet/lymphocyte levels in the subacute brucellosis subgroup. In addition, it was concluded that the mean platelet volume parameter can be used as a diagnostic test for brucellosis.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of adult patients followed up for hydatid cysts disease. Method: Patients over the age of 18 years who were diagnosed with hydatid disease, between January 2015 and September 2021 were included in the study. The clinical, laboratory and radiologic characteristics of the patients were evaluated retrospectively. Results: The study included 66 patients. 59.1% of the patients were female and the mean age was 40.9±15.60 years. The most common presenting symptom was abdominal pain (42.4%). The most common sites of involvement were the liver (78.8%) and lung (18.2%). The majority of patients had solitary cysts (84.8%). The most common finding in laboratory tests was elevated total IgE (74.1%). The indirect hemagglutination (IHA) test was positive in 77.4% of the patients tested. Conclusion: In our study, it was concluded that hydatid cysts are most commonly seen in the liver, often with single organ involvement, and that elevated total IgE in laboratory diagnosis may be helpful in the diagnosis of hydatid cyst disease, although it does not make a definitive diagnosis.

Objective: Brucellosis has significant public health and human health consequences. It causes significant economic hardship, especially in areas where food safety measures, hygiene standards, and veterinary care are inadequate. This study aimed to analyze the demographic and clinical characteristics, laboratory results, complications, and treatment modalities of patients with brucellosis. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included patients aged ≥18 years who were followed for brucellosis between December 2018 and December 2023 in the Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology clinics of two hospitals located in endemic provinces of Türkiye. Demographic characteristics, risk factors, clinical manifestations, laboratory findings, focal complications, diagnostic methods, and treatment regimens were analyzed. Brucellosis was diagnosed based on compatible clinical findings together with culture positivity or serologic test results. Results: The study included 748 patients diagnosed with brucellosis. Of these, 484 (64.7%) were female, and the mean age was 39.2 ± 15.0 years. A significant proportion of patients (91%) lived in rural areas. Regarding transmission routes, 79.4% of patients reported consuming unpasteurized fresh cheese. Patients were categorized as follows: 72.7% had acute brucellosis, 20.6% had subacute brucellosis, and 6.7% had chronic brucellosis. The most frequently reported symptoms were joint pain (89%) and malaise (65.3%). A comparative analysis showed that patients with acute brucellosis had significantly higher erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels, and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels than those in other subgroups. The most prevalent laboratory findings were elevated CRP (50.3%), elevated ESR (37.6%), and anemia (33.3%). Hepatobiliary and osteoarticular complications developed in 22.6% and 6.5% of patients, respectively. Conclusion: Brucellosis in this endemic region predominantly affected women and individuals living in rural areas and was strongly associated with the consumption of unpasteurized dairy products. Our findings emphasize the need for improved public awareness and preventive measures, particularly regarding safe dairy consumption, in endemic settings. Keywords: Brucellosis, Brucella, diagnosis, treatment, epidemiology

Amaç: Çalışmamızda, Hastanemiz Enfeksiyon Hastalıkları ve Klinik Mikrobiyoloji Kliniği’nde Ekstra Pulmoner Tüberküloz (EPTB) tanısı alan olguların retrospektif olarak irdelenmesi amaçlandı. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Çalışmamız, Van Yüzüncü Yıl Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Dursun Odabaş Tıp Merkezi Enfeksiyon Hastalıkları ve Klinik Mikrobiyoloji Ana Bilim Dalı tarafından 1 Ocak 2015 tarihinden, 6 Haziran 2022 tarihine kadar olan süre içinde takip edilmiş akciğer dışı tüberküloz olgularının tanı, takip ve tedavi bilgilerinin retrospektif olarak incelenmesi ile yapıldı. Bulgular: Çalışmamıza, EPTB tanısı konulmuş olan 142 olgu dahil edildi. EPTB’un en sık görülen tutulum şekli, 61 olgu (%43.0) ile lenf nodu tutulumu (lenfadenit) olarak izlendi. 18 olgunun 15’inde (%83.3) ARB, 7 olgunun 5’inde (%71.4) PCR testi pozitifliği saptandı. 16 olgunun 13’ünde (%81.3) M. tuberculosis üremesi oldu. Histopatolojik inceleme için 106 olgudan (%74.7) biyopsi alındı ve sonuçlarda olguların tamamında kronik granülomatöz inflamasyon tespit edildi. Bunların 46'sında (%43.4) kazeifikasyon nekrozu, 20'sinde (%18.9) nekrotizan granülomatöz inflamasyon, 10 (%9.4) olguda non-kazeifiye granülomatoz inflamasyon ve diğer 30’unda (%28.3) ise granülomatoz inflamasyon mevcuttu. Olgulara standart 6-9 ay tedavi verilirken menenjit, dissemine TB ve osteoartiküler tutulumda tedavi süreleri 9-12 ay olarak uygulandı. Tedavide ilk iki ayda dörtlü anti-TB tedavisi verilirken daha sonra izoniazid (İNH) ve rifampisin (RIF) olarak ikili tedavi ile devam edildi. Sonuç: TB hastalığı ülkemiz için önemli bir sağlık sorunudur. En sık lenf bezi tutulumu şeklinde görülen EPTB olgularında erken tanı ve tedavi mortalite ve morbidite oranlarının azaltılması için önemlidir.

Background/Objectives: Potential drug–drug interaction (pDDI) refers to the co–administration of two or more drugs that interact with each other and may have therapeutic effects. Increasing rates of polypharmacy with age increase the risk of pDDIs in geriatric patients. This multicenter study aims to provide real–world data on the incidence of pDDI associated with antimicrobial therapy in hospitalized older adults. Methods: The study screened all hospitalized patients, including those aged 65 years and older. Using the Lexicomp^® Drug Interaction Online Database, researchers screened for pDDIs among all medications taken by patients. Results: 663 (24.0%) aged 65 and over were included in the study. Polypharmacy was present in 64.9%, and hyperpolypharmacy was present in 10.0% of the cases. 480 (72.4%) of the cases used antimicrobial therapy. The mean total number of drugs and antimicrobials used per case was 5.86 and 1.02, respectively. A total of 372 antimicrobial–related pDDIs were detected, and at least one antimicrobial–related pDDI was identified in 202 (42%) patients receiving antimicrobials. Ciprofloxacin (73.3%), clarithromycin (58.3%), and colistin (26.3%) had the highest numbers of D–type pDDIs. The antimicrobials with the highest incidence of X–type pDDIs were metronidazole (23.6%) and clarithromycin (8.3%), respectively. The logistic analysis found a significant association between antimicrobial–related pDDIs and an increase in the number of drugs, length of hospital stays, and ID departments. Conclusions: PDDI rates associated with antimicrobials, like the high pDDI rates associated with all drugs, support the literature. Therefore, strategies should be developed to reduce the risk of pDDI when prescribing antimicrobials to geriatric patients.

Purpose: The correct and early diagnosis of brucellosis is very crucial to decelerate its spread and providing fast treatment to patients. This study aims to develop a predictive model for diagnosing bacteremia in brucellosis patients based on some hematological and biochemical markers without the need for blood culture and bone marrow and to investigate the importance of these markers in predicting bacteremia. Materials/Methods: 162 patients with diagnosing brucellosis, 54.9% of whom are non-bacteremic, 45.1% bacteremia were retrospectively collected. The 20 demographic, hematological and biochemical laboratory parameters and 30 classifiers are used to predict bacteremia in brucellosis. Classifiers were developed by using Python programming language. Accuracy (ACC), Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AROC), and F measure were employed to find the best fit classification method. Feature importance method was used to determine most diagnostic markers to predict the bacteremia. Results: Extratree classifier with criterion “entropy” (ETC1) showed the best predictive performance with Acc values ranging between 0.5 and 1.00, F values between 0.53 and 1, and AROC values between 0.62 and 1. The neutrophil%, lymphocyte%, eosinophil%, alanine aminotransferase, and C-reactive protein were determined as the most distinguishing features with the scores 0.723, 1.000, 0.920, 0.869, and 0.769, respectively. Conclusions: This study showed that the ETC1 classifier may be helpful in determining bacteremia in brucellosis patients and that elevated lymphocytes, alanine aminotransferase, and C-reactive protein and low neutrophils and eosinophils may indicate bacteremic brucellosis.