Figen Kaptan

Gemella morbillorum Endocarditis

Infective endocarditis caused by Gemella morbillorum is a rare disease. In this report 67-year-old male patient with G. morbillorum endocarditis was presented. The patient was hospitalized as he had a fever of unknown origin and in the two of the three sets of blood cultures taken at the first day of hospitalization G. morbillorum was identified. The transthoracic echogram revealed 14 × 10 mm vegetation on the aortic noncoronary cuspis. After 4 weeks of antibiotic therapy, the case was referred to the clinic of cardiovascular surgery for valve surgery.

Prevalence and associated factors of thrombocytopenia among human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients at a tertiary care hospital in İzmir, Turkey

BACKGROUND/AIM The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and associated factors of thrombocytopenia in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in İzmir, Turkey. All HIV-infected patients admitted to the Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology between 2006 and 2011 were recruited. Patients with thrombocytopenia at any time point were defined as the case group and the remaining patients were defined as the control group. RESULTS The frequency of thrombocytopenia was 35.8%. Thrombocytopenia was more frequent in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) than in patients without AIDS (P < 0.05) and in antiretroviral-naive patients than in patients on combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) or those who had ever used cART in the past (P < 0.05). Additionally, rates of tuberculosis infection, prophylactic use of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX), and being anti-HCV seropositive at any time point were higher in patients with thrombocytopenia than in the control group (P < 0.05), and the case group had lower CD4+ T lymphocytes at first admission (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION The main finding was the clear association between thrombocytopenia and advanced and uncontrolled HIV infection. Tuberculosis and HCV coinfections were also identified as associated factors for thrombocytopenia.

Pegylated Interferon and Ribavirin Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C Coinfection in a Patient with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection

İnsan immün yetmezlik virusu (HIV) ve hepatit C virusu (HCV) koinfeksiyonu bulaşma yollarının benzer olması nedeniyle sık görülmektedir. Koinfekte hastalarda kronik hepatit C (KHC) infeksiyonunun progresyonu hızlanmaktadır. Bu çalışmada HIV/ HCV (genotip 1b) koinfeksiyonu saptanan 44 yaşındaki erkek hasta değerlendirilmiştir. KHC tedavisi için 48 hafta süreyle pegile interferon alfa 2a 180 μg haftada bir ve ribavirin 1000 mg/ gün kullanılmış ve kalıcı virolojik yanıta ulaşılmıştır. KHC tedavisi sırasında herhangi bir yan etki gözlenmemiştir. Klimik Dergisi 2011; 24(2): 122-5.