Aynur Eren Topkaya

Antibacterial effects of curcumin An in vitro minimum inhibitory concentration study

Aim: To evaluate the antibacterial effect of curcumin with the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) method in standard bacterial strains. Methods: The in vitro antibacterial activity of curcumin was evaluated against methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) (ATCC 29213), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) (ATCC 43300), Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212), Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 6633), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC 700603) using the macrodilution broth susceptibility test method. After incubation in tubes, the antibacterial activity of curcumin was detected by a lack of turbidity, which indicated the inhibition of bacterial growth. The concentration in the tube with the highest dilution showing no turbidity was defined as the MIC. Results: The curcumin MIC values were 175 µg/ml, 129 µg/ml, 219 µg/ml, 217 µg/ml, 163 µg/ml, 293 µg/ml and 216 µg/ml against P. aeruginosa, B. subtilis, MSSA, MRSA, E. coli, E. faecalis and K. Pneumonia, respectively. Conclusion: This study revealed antibacterial effects of curcumin against standard bacterial strains in high concentrations. Animal experiments have demonstrated that curcumin applied at high doses has strong antibacterial activity. There is a need for further in vivo studies to shed light on antibacterial effects of curcumin with high concentrations.

Streptococcus pneumoniae sepsis as the initial presentation of systemic lupus erythematosus

Objective Infections are among the most important causes of morbidity and mortality in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) but are rare initial presentation of the disease. Therefore, in this study, we describe a case of Streptococcus pneumoniae sepsis in a young woman with previously undiagnosed SLE. Case report A 23-year-old female patient was admitted to our outpatient clinic complaining of high fever (40°C), chills, fatigue, generalized myalgia, and cough with brown sputum for 5 days. Blood cultures grew gram-positive coccus defined as S. pneumoniae using standard procedures. Antinuclear antibody was positive at a titer of 1/1,000, and anti-double-stranded DNA was positive at 984 IU/mL. She was diagnosed with SLE. Her respiratory symptoms and pleural effusion were considered to be due to pulmonary manifestation of SLE. Conclusion The underlying immunosuppression caused by SLE could have predisposed the patient to invasive pneumococcal disease. It may also occur as a primary presenting feature, although a rare condition.

An unusual presentation of brucellosis: hepatic microabscesses

Hepatic abscess due to Brucella species is an extremely rare complication especially in acute illness. Here, we report a case of hepatic microabscesses probably caused by Brucella in a 33‐year‐old woman with acute infection who was successfully treated with a combination of doxycycline and rifampicin for 3 months.

In-vitro Activity of Fosfomycin, Nitrofurantoin and Ciprofloxacin Against Escherichia coli Strains Isolated From Community Acquired Urinary Tract Infections

Escherichia coli, üriner sistem infeksiyonlarından (ÜSİ) en sık izole edilen mikroorganizmadır. Son zamanlarda ülkemizde üropatojen E.coli suşlarında, ÜSİ tedavisinde sık kullanılan antibiyotiklere karşı duyarlılıkta azalma görülmektedir. Bu çalışmada, ÜSİ ön tanısıyla üroloji polikliniğinden gönderilen idrar kültürlerinden izole edilen E.coli suşlarının siprofloksasin, nitrofurantoin ve fosfomisin duyarlılıkları, Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) önerileri doğrultusunda disk difüzyon yöntemi ile belirlenmiş; genişlemiş spektrumlu beta-laktamaz (ESBL) üretimi çift disk sinerji yöntemiyle araştırılmıştır. İncelenen E.coli izolatlarında en yüksek direnç oranı % 32.1 ile siprofloksasine karşı saptanmış, bunu % 5.1 ile nitrofurantoin ve % 4.5 ile fosfomisin takip etmiştir. ESBL pozitiflik oranı % 22.5 olarak tespit edilmiştir. Direnç oranları ESBL pozitif ve negatiflerde sırasıyla siprofloksasine karşı % 85.3 ve % 17.3 nitrofurantoine karşı % 12.6 ve % 2.9, fosfomisine karşı ise % 13.9 ve % 1.9 olarak saptanmıştır. Bölgemizde siprofloksasine direnç oranında yükselme gözlenmesine karşın fosfomisin ve nitrofurantoin, ÜSİ tedavisinde iyi birer alternatif olmayı sürdürmektedir.