Introduction: We aimed to evaluate the epidemiology of infections and factors associated with mortality in patients with febrile neutropenia (FEN). Methodology: The adult patients, who developed FEN after chemotherapy due to a hematologic malignancy or a solid tumor in a training and research hospital were evaluated, retrospectively. The demographic data of the patients, underlying malignancy, administered antimicrobial therapy, microbiological findings, and other risk factors associated with mortality were evaluated. Results: A total of 135 FEN episodes of 115 patients, who comprised of 72 (63%) patients with 89 FEN episodes due to hematologic malignancies (hemato-group) and 43 (37%) patients with 46 FEN episodes due to solid organ cancers (onco-group), were evaluated in the study. The median age was 47 years (range: 17-75 years) and 66 (57%) patients were male. A total of 12 patients (8.8%) died during 135 episodes of FEN including nine cases from hemato-group and three cases from onco-group. Those factors including a presence of pneumonia, advanced age, persistent fever despite an antimicrobial treatment, and need for mechanical ventilation in intensive care unit (ICU) with were determined as risk factors associated with mortality. Conclusions: Morbidity and mortality are more common in patients with hematological malignancies compared to patients with solid organ cancers due to prolonged neutropenia. In case of persistent fever, an invasive fungal infection (IFI) should be kept in mind in patients with hematologic malignancies and then antifungal treatment should be initiated. Although a persistent fever is also common in patients with solid tumors, the necessity of antifungal therapy is rare due to the short duration of neutropenia.

Candida auris is an emerging fungal pathogen that has become a critical global health concern due to its high antifungal resistance and potential to cause nosocomial outbreaks. Since its initial identification in Japan in 2009, C. auris has spread rapidly, posing significant treatment challenges across various healthcare settings worldwide. The biofilm formation ability of C. auris enhances its resilience against disinfectants and antifungal agents, complicating infection control in healthcare environments. This consensus report, developed with the collaboration of several Turkish medical specialty societies, including the Turkish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology Specialty (EKMUD), the Turkish Society of Anesthesiology and Reanimation (TARD), the Turkish Intensive Care Society (TYBD), the Infectious Diseases – International Research Initiative (ID-IRI), the Clinical Microbiology Specialist Society (KLIMUD), the Turkish Microbiology Society (TMC), and the Public Health Institution of Türkiye (PHIT) under the Ministry of Health, provides a comprehensive overview of C. auris and its’ management. The report focuses on the epidemiology, antifungal resistance mechanisms, recommendations for diagnostic and therapeutic challenges, infection control and prevention measures and surveillance of C. auris. This consensus report aims to establish standardized diagnostic protocols, improve national surveillance systems, and promote effective infection control measures to mitigate C. auris related health risks in Türkiye. It also offers comprehensive national recommendations and addresses the need for inter-institutional collaboration, improve public health, and strengthen the healthcare response to this pathogens.

Background/aim:It wasaimed herein to investigate coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in cancer patients and compare hematological and solid organ cancer patients in terms of the course and outcome of this disease. Materials and methods:Data from cancer patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection were analyzed retrospectively. Risk factors for poor prognosis and the effect of vaccination on the clinical outcomes of the patients were evaluated. Results:A total of 403 cancer patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19 between March 1st, 2021, and November 30th, 2022, were included, of whom 329 (81.6%) had solid and 74 (18.4%) had hematological cancers. Hospitalization and intensive care unit (ICU) admission rates were significantly higher in the hematological cancer patients compared to the solid organ cancer patients (73.0% vs. 35.9%, p< 0.001 and 25.7% vs. 14.0%, p= 0.013, respectively). The COVID-19-related case fatality rate (CFR) was defined as 15.4%, and it was higher in the hematologicalcancer patientsthan inthe solid organ cancer patients (23.0% vs. 13.7%, p= 0.045) and was higher in patients with metastatic/advanced disease compared to the other cancer stages (p< 0.001). In the solid organ cancergroup, hospitalization, ICU admission, and the COVID-19 CFR were higher in patients with respiratory and genitourinary cancers (p< 0.001). A total of 288 (71.8%) patients had receivedCOVID-19 vaccination; 164 (56.94%) had≤2 doses and 124 (43.06%) had≥3 doses.The hospitalization rate was higher in patients with ≤2 doses of vaccine compared to those with ≥3 doses (48.2% vs. 29.8%,p= 0.002). Patients with COVID-19- related death had higher levels of leucocyte, neutrophil, D-dimer, troponin, C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin, and ferritin and lower levels of lymphocyte than the survivors. In the logistic regression analysis,the risk of COVID-19-related mortality was higher in the hematological cancer patients(OR:1.726), those who were male (OR:1.757), and with the Pre-Delta/Delta variants (OR:1.817). Conclusion:This study revealed that there is an increased risk of COVID-19-related serious events (hospitalization, ICU admission, or death) in patients with hematological cancerscompared with those who have solid organ cancers. It wasalso show cine is more protective against severe illness and the need for hospitalization than ≤2 doses.

Background: This study evaluated the inter-method agreement of an in-house qualitative CMV real-time PCR assay for the detection of cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNA in various non-plasma clinical specimen types, in comparison with a commercially available comparator assay. Methods: In this prospective comparative study, 186 clinical specimens—including bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), stool, urine, colonoscopic biopsy, amniotic fluid, and intraocular fluid—were analyzed. A total of 166 samples with valid results from both test systems were included in the inter-method comparison. CMV DNA was detected using the in-house qualitative PCR assay in parallel with the comparator assay (artus^® CMV QS-RGQ kit). Agreement was assessed using positive percent agreement (PPA), negative percent agreement (NPA), overall percent agreement (OPA), and Cohen’s kappa coefficient (κ), in accordance with CLSI EP12-A2 recommendations. Results: Substantial overall inter-method agreement was observed when all specimens were evaluated collectively (κ = 0.66). Agreement metrics were highest in stool, urine, and invasive specimens, whereas BALF samples demonstrated comparatively lower agreement, reflecting potential matrix-related analytical variability. Conclusion: The laboratory-developed qualitative CMV PCR assay demonstrated substantial inter-method agreement with the comparator assay across multiple non-plasma specimen types. The findings highlight specimen-specific variability in qualitative CMV DNA detection and represent analytical concordance between two molecular assays rather than definitive clinical diagnostic accuracy or viral load quantification.

Aims: To assess the clinical and laboratory characteristics at the time of HIV diagnosis in patients first identified in a hematology outpatient clinic. Methods: This single-center retrospective study included 23 patients diagnosed with HIV in the hematology outpatient clinic of a tertiary center between January 2023 and July 2025. Demographic characteristics, presenting symptoms, opportunistic infections, and initial laboratory parameters-including CD4 counts and HIV RNA levels-were recorded. Late presentation was defined a priori as CD4100,000 copies/ml. Mean hemoglobin was 12.36 g/dl (±2.91); mean WBC 6.02×103/µL (±3.55); mean platelet count 183.87×103/µL (±91.28). Overall, 17 patients (73.9%) were late presenters, and 11 (47.8%) had advanced HIV disease. Conclusion: Most patients diagnosed with HIV in hematology clinics present with cytopenias and generalized lymphadenopathy, often at advanced stages. Given the small, single-center retrospective design, these descriptive findings should be interpreted cautiously; nonetheless, raising awareness among hematologists to routinely consider HIV testing in patients with unexplained cytopenias and lymphadenopathy may facilitate earlier diagnosis and improve clinical outcomes.