The first aim of the study was to analyze the change in antibody titer at 15‐day intervals until 60 days postsymptom onset (PSO). The second aim was to analyze the relationship between antibody titer and symptom grade, gender, age, body mass index (BMI), medications, vitamin supplements, and herbal therapies. Blood samples were collected from 43 patients (5 mild, 21 moderate, 17 severe diseases), 18 women (41.9%), and 25 men (58.1%), on 15, 30, 45, and 60 days PSO after COVID‐19 infection. The serum antibody titers were determined by measuring the COVID‐19 immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies by enzyme‐linked immunoassay (ELISA). Associations between the duration of symptoms, demographic and clinical parameters, medications and vitamins used, and herbal therapies were evaluated by interviewing the participants. Within the first 15 days of illness, 81.4% of the patients were positive. From Day 45 PSO, seropositivity was 89.5%. The anti‐SARS‐CoV‐2 antibody titers were statistically higher in men than women at all times ( p < 0.01). Antibody titer was higher in older participants compared to younger participants ( p < 0.02). Plaquenil or favipiravir use did not affect antibody response ( p > 0.05). Men had a higher fever ( p = 0.006), shortness of breath ( p = 0.004), and chest pain ( p = 0.03) than women. We found powerful antibody response by 60 days PSO, as well as higher antibody response and severity of symptoms in the men gender. Data also showed that SARS‐CoV‐2 antibodies are higher in individuals with older age, whereas BMI, concomitant chronic disease, and medications had no effect on antibody titers.

Introduction: The genito-urinary system is one of the most common areas of involvement in brucellosis. To present the epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of patients with testicular involvement associated with brucellosis, together with the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Methodology: Patients followed up for brucellosis-related testicular involvement between January 2012 and November 2022 were included in the study. Brucellosis is defined as the production of Brucella spp. in cultures, or clinical symptoms together with the serum standard tube agglutination test titer of ≥ 1/160. Inflammation in scrotal Doppler ultrasonography was based on testicular involvement. Results: A retrospective evaluation was made of the data of 194 patients with brucellosis-related testicular involvement. The rate of determination of testicular involvement in brucellosis was 2.57%. The most affected patients were determined in the 16-30 years age range. On presentation, brucellosis was in the acute stage in 83.7% of patients. The most common symptoms on presentation were swelling and/or pain in the testes (86.6%). In the patients where a spermiogram could be performed, oligospermia was determined in 41.7%, and aspermia in 8.3%. When the testicular involvement of brucellosis was evaluated, epididymo-orchitis was present at the rate of 55.7%, epididymitis at 27.3%, and testis abscess at 5.1%. Conclusions: Although epididymo-orchitis was the most frequently determined form of involvement in this study, there was also seen to be a significant number of patients presenting with epididymitis. Male patients presented with the clinical status of brucellosis should be questioned about swelling and pain in the testes to avoid overlooking testicular involvement.

Introduction: Tuberculous lymphadenitis (TBLN) is the most common infectious etiology of peripheral lymphadenopathy in adults, in Turkiye. This study aimed to identify the demographic, clinical, and laboratory variables that differentiate TBLN from non-tuberculous lymphadenitis (NTBLN), as well as the etiology of lymphadenopathy in adults. Methodology: Patients who were over 18 years old and were referred to the infectious disease outpatient clinics with complaints of swollen peripheral lymph nodes, and who underwent lymph node biopsy between 1 January 2010 and 1 March 2021, were included in this multicenter, nested case-control study. Results: A total of 812 patients at 17 tertiary teaching and research hospitals in Turkiye were included in the study. TBLN was the most frequent diagnosis (53.69%). The proportion of patients diagnosed with TBLN was higher among females; and among those who had a higher erythrocyte sedimentation rate, positive purified protein derivative test, and positive interferon-gamma release test result (p < 0.05). However, TBLN was less frequent among patients with generalized lymphadenopathy, bilateral lymphadenopathy, axillary lymphadenopathy, inguinal lymphadenopathy, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, leukocytosis, and moderately increased C reactive protein levels (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Identifying the variables that predict TBLN or discriminate TBLN from NTBLN will help clinicians establish optimal clinical strategies for the diagnosis of adult lymphadenopathy.

Background: Hepatitis D virus research has advanced in recent decades. In this study, we aim to quantitatively analyze the scientific data in the field of "hepatitis D virus" by using bibliometric analysis. Methods: Research documents published in the Web of Science database between 1984 and 2022 were included in the study. The search keywords were "hepatitis D" or "hepatitis-D" or "HDV" or "hepatitis virus D." The full record and cited references of documents extracted were converted to a "bibtex" file as well. The R-Studio software's Bibliometrix package and Biblioshinny application are used to perform the bibliometric analysis. Results: A total of 1530 publications written by 6042 authors were identified. Most of the publications were articles (62.81%). The number of published articles increased gradually, especially after 2008. The articles of the authors were mostly published in the United States, Germany, and China. The affiliation where the most studies were conducted was Hannover Medical School (8.82%). Also, the United States and Germany were found to be the main countries in the collaboration network. Mario Rizzetto was the author of the most published articles on HDV. The most frequently used words in the articles were "infection," "prevalence," and "b-virus." Conclusion: Clinical and epidemiological studies on HDV were given more focus, while studies on treatment were less numerous. It can also be predicted that potent treatment options will increase more in the coming years, and the frequency of studies on this will increase.

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.

The tetanus vaccine is not routinely given to Turkish adults. Protective tetanus immunity decreases with age. Health-care personnel (HCPs), who are role models in the field of health, are a target group in order to achieve a higher rate of tetanus vaccination in the community. This study was designed to evaluate attitudes and coverage regarding tetanus vaccination among a large sample of Turkish HCPs. This cross-sectional epidemiologic study was conducted from July to August 2019. A questionnaire was sent to HCPs using social media. Of the 10,644 HCPs included in the study, 65% were female. Overall, the tetanus vaccination coverage (TVC) among HCPs was 78.5% (95% CI: 77.7%-79.3%). TVC was significantly higher among physicians [83.4% (95% CI: 82%-84.6%); p < .001] compared with all other HCPs except nurses. Older age (≥40 years) and length of professional experience were significantly correlated with TVC. Of the 8353 HCPs who received tetanus vaccines during their lifetime, 73.03% received tetanus vaccination in the past 10 years. The self-vaccination rate for protection against tetanus was 13.1%. Acute injuries (25.42%) and pregnancy (23.9%) were the most common reasons for having the tetanus vaccine. One-third (33.7%) of HCPs did not have information about whether pregnant women could receive tetanus vaccinations. This survey study provided excellent baseline information about HCPs’ coverage rates and attitudes regarding tetanus vaccination. The present results suggested that tetanus boosters for HCPs should be established as soon as possible, and revealed that the HCPs younger than 30 years with relatively less professional experience and all other HCPs except nurses and physicians should be identified as the target population for future intervention programs.