Buket Erturk Sengel

Background: Cryptococcal infections remain life-threatening fungal infections affecting both people living with HIV (PLWH) and non-HIV populations. Data from real-world cohorts in middle-income settings, particularly those including both groups, remain limited. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics and identify predictors of one-year mortality in patients with cryptococcal infections. Methods: In this retrospective multicenter cohort study, adult patients diagnosed with cryptococcal infection between 2013 and 2025 were included and followed for one year after diagnosis or until death. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, and treatment data were collected. Survival was analyzed using Kaplan–Meier methods and compared with the log-rank test. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to identify factors independently associated with mortality. Subgroup analyses were performed according to HIV status. Results: A total of 92 patients with an average age of 46 ± 16 years were included; 56.5% were PLWH, and 87% were immunocompromised. Central nervous system involvement was the most common presentation (64.1%). Overall one-year mortality was 46.7%. In the multivariable Cox regression analysis, altered consciousness (HR 3.110, 95% CI 1.624–5.956, p < 0.001) and disseminated infection (HR 2.155, 95% CI 1.156–4.016, p = 0.016) were independently associated with increased mortality, whereas higher serum albumin levels were independently associated with improved survival (HR 0.532, 95% CI 0.328–0.861, p = 0.010). Age remained independently associated with mortality (HR 1.025 per year, 95% CI 1.006–1.045, p = 0.010). Kaplan–Meier analysis showed significantly lower one-year survival among patients with altered consciousness and disseminated infection. Although CNS involvement was more frequent among PLWH (78.8% vs. 45%, p < 0.001), mortality rates were comparable between PLWH and non-HIV patients. Conclusions: Cryptococcal infections are associated with high mortality regardless of HIV status. Altered consciousness and disseminated infection were independently associated with one-year mortality, whereas higher albumin levels were associated with improved survival. Simple clinical parameters may contribute to early clinical risk assessment, particularly in resource-limited settings.

To quantify the prevalence of HIV testing indications among hospitalised adults in Türkiye, assess HIV testing coverage when clinically indicated, and identify missed diagnostic opportunities in a national multicentre point-prevalence survey. We conducted a national multicentre cross-sectional point-prevalence survey across tertiary referral hospitals from all seven geographical regions of Türkiye. Adult inpatients present at 08:00 on a predefined index day were assessed for predefined HIV testing indications, including AIDS-defining conditions, indicator conditions associated with an expected undiagnosed HIV prevalence ≥ 0.1%, and conditions in which unrecognised HIV could substantially affect clinical management. Among 3,425 hospitalised adults without known HIV infection, 699 (20.4%) had at least one documented HIV testing indication. HIV testing was requested by the primary clinical team in 424/699 patients (60.7%). Testing was lowest in patients with indicator conditions associated with an expected undiagnosed HIV prevalence ≥ 0.1%, and these conditions were independently associated with higher odds of non-performance of HIV testing by the primary clinical team than AIDS-defining conditions (corresponding adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 3.05, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.67–5.81). In centres with a specialised HIV outpatient clinic, the odds of non-performance of HIV testing by the primary clinical team were independently lower among patients with an appropriate testing indication (corresponding aOR 0.64, 95% CI 0.43–0.95). Following study-team facilitation, overall testing coverage increased to 677/699 (96.9%). Three reactive screening results were identified, including two confirmed new HIV diagnoses. HIV testing indications were common among hospitalised adults in Türkiye, but non-performance of HIV testing by the primary clinical team remained frequent, particularly for non-AIDS indicator conditions. Strengthening indicator-condition-guided testing through structured clinical pathways and institutional HIV expertise may reduce non-performance and support earlier HIV diagnosis.

Survival rates of human immunodeficiency virus-positive subjects improved in recent years, especially due to innovations in current lymphoma treatments and the addition of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). This study presents demographic and clinical characteristics, prognosis, and survival data of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related lymphoma patients as a single-center experience. This retrospective study included 16 patients with AIDS-related lymphoma treated at our center between August 2010 and March 2022. Demographic data, clinical information, treatment details, and survival analysis of the patients were retrospectively reviewed from the relevant clinical archives. Fifteen out of 16 patients were males with a median age of 46.5 years (range, 24–71 years). The diagnoses were as follows: diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in 6, Burkitt lymphoma in 4, Hodgkin lymphoma in 3, plasmablastic lymphoma in 1, primary central nervous system lymphoma in 1, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia in 1 out of 16 patients. Fifteen patients presented with an advanced stage at diagnosis. Diagnosis of AIDS preceded the onset of lymphoma in 11 patients. The time from human immunodeficiency virus infection to diagnosis of lymphoma was 23.8 months (range, 1–185 months). All patients received cART during lymphoma treatment. The treatment response was evaluated in all patients who completed the initial treatment. Eleven patients (68.8%) are still alive with a complete response. Antitumour treatments administered in conjunction with cART have a favorable impact on survival and response rates in this aggressive group of patients.

Purpose: Mucormycosis is a rapidly progressive angioinvasive fungal infection with limited large-scale outcome data. We aimed to describe the epidemiology, clinical spectrum, treatment strategies, and predictors of outcomes in adult patients with proven mucormycosis in Türkiye. Methods: We conducted a nationwide, retrospective study of 280 adults diagnosed with proven mucormycosis between 2004 and 2024 across 27 tertiary centers. Case definitions were applied according to the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer and the Mycoses Study Group Education and Research Consortium. Clinical characteristics, antifungal management, surgical interventions, and outcomes were systematically analyzed. Results: The median age of the cohort was 60 years, and diabetes mellitus, frequently complicated by ketoacidosis, was the most common underlying condition. Rhino-orbital-cerebral disease represented the predominant clinical form, whereas pulmonary, gastrointestinal, and disseminated presentations were less frequent but carried less favorable prognoses. Liposomal amphotericin B was the main first-line therapy, often combined with surgery, although antifungal treatment was initiated at a median of five days after symptom onset. Ninety-day mortality was 42.1% by Kaplan–Meier estimation (crude 49.3%) and reached 49.3% (crude 55.0%) at 365 days. Crude mortality was lowest in patients who did not undergo surgery; however, this association was not significant in the time-dependent Cox regression analysis, suggesting confounding by baseline severity. Poor outcomes were associated with corticosteroid exposure, prolonged neutropenia, and neurological manifestations, while a history of sinusitis appeared to be associated with improved survival. Conclusion: In this multicenter study, survival was mainly determined by host-related factors rather than the choice of antifungal agent. Corticosteroid exposure, prolonged neutropenia, and neurological involvement independently predicted poor outcomes, whereas a prior history of sinusitis was linked to improved survival, likely reflecting earlier diagnosis and intervention. These findings reinforce the need for heightened clinical awareness, rapid recognition, and prompt multidisciplinary management to improve outcomes in patients with mucormycosis.

Pneumocystis jirovecii (PJ) immünosupresif hastalarda pnömoniye sebep olan fırsatçı bir maya benzeri fungustur. En riskli grup HIV-pozitif hastalardır ancak son yıllarda HIV-negatif immünosuprese hastalarda daha sık görülmektedir. Bu çalışmada Marmara Üniversitesi Pendik Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesinde Pneumocystis jirovecii pnömonisi (PJP) ve diğer fırsatçı solunum yolu patojenleri şüphesi ile bronkoskopik örnekleri değerlendirilen hastalarda PJ polimeraz zincir reaksiyonu (PZR) pozitiflik oranı, hasta risk faktörleri, klinik ve laboratuvar bulgularını retrospektif olarak değerlendirilmiştir. Toplam 133 hastanın bronkoalveolar lavaj örneğinden PJ-PZR çalışılmış ve % 13 (17/133) oranında pozitiflik bulunmuştur. PZR pozitif hastaların % 41’inin HIV-pozitif ve % 59’unun HIV-negatif immünosuprese hastalar olduğu görülmüştür. Örnek gönderilen hastaların 72’sine ampirik trimetroprim/sülfametoksazol başlanmış, PZR pozitif hastalarla beraber toplam 38 hastada tedaviye devam edilmiştir. PJ-PZR negatif 21 hastanın dokuzunda klinik yanıt alınmıştır ve başka bir enfeksiyon etkeni gösterilememiştir. Toplam 66 hastaya hipoksik olmaları nedeniyle steroid verilmiştir. Ampirik tedavi baş- lanan hastaların % 24’ünde PJ-PZR pozitifliği ve % 36’sının tedaviye yanıt verdiği görülmüştür. HIV-negatif immün suprese hastalarda PJP akla gelmeli ve gerekli örnek alındıktan ve ampirik tedaviye başlandıktan sonra başka bir etken gösterilemiyorsa ve yüksek klinik şüphe varsa tedaviye devam edilebilir.

Antiretroviral tedavilerin (ART) etkin şekilde kullanılmasıyla Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) ile yaşayan bireylerin yaşam süreleri uzamaktadır. Hem ilerleyen yaş hem HIV hem de ART’lerin kemik sağlığı üzerine olumsuz etkileri gündeme gelmektedir. Bu çalışmada 1 Ocak 2013 ile 1 Mayıs 2024 tarihleri arasında kliniğimizde takipli HIV ile enfekte, ≥18 yaş, ≥ 50 yaş erkek, postmenapozal kadın ve <40 yaş menapoza girmiş kadınlar çalışmaya dahil edildi. Kemik mineral yoğunluğu (KMY) sonuçları, kullandıkları ART’ler ve süreleri tarandı. Verilerin normal dağılımı Shapiro-Wilk testi ile değerlendirildi. Gruplar arası ve grup içi karşılaştırmalarda Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, Ki-kare ve Wilcoxon “signed-rank” testleri kullanıldı. Kriterlere uyan toplam 263 HIV ile enfekte bireyin 220’sinin en az bir KMY ölçümü mevcuttu. KMY 116 (%52) kişide normal, 84 (%38) kişide osteopenik ve 20 (%9) kişide osteoporotik olarak değerlendirildi. KMY normal tespit edilenlerin tenofovir alafenamid (TAF) kullanım süresi ortalama 10 ay iken, tenofovir disoproksil fumarat (TDF) kullanım süreleri ortalama 39 ay idi. Osteopeni/osteoporoz tespit edilenlerin TAF ve TDF kullanım süreleri sırasıyla ortalama 8 ve 32 ay olarak bulundu. En az bir kez KMY ölçümü yapılmış HIV ile yaşayan bireylerin %48’inde osteopeni ya da osteoporoz tespit edildiğini saptadık. Bu durum KMY taramasında rehberlerin önerilerine uyulmasındaki önemi göz önüne çıkarmaktadır.

Background: Herein, we aimed to develop and test machine learning (ML) models to predict disease severity and/or progression in hospitalized COVID-19 patients through baseline laboratory features. Methods: In this retrospective study of hospitalized COVID-19 patients admitted to a tertiary care center, we evaluated routine admission data to determine the accuracy rates of different ML algorithms: k-nearest neighbor classifier, bagging classifier, random forest (RF), and decision tree. These models were compared over three outcomes: those who needed oxygen supplementation vs. who did not on admission (Analysis 1, n: 180), those who later developed oxygen requirement vs. those who did not (Analysis 2, n: 112), and those who needed invasive mechanical ventilation vs. those who did not during hospitalization (Analysis 3, n: 164). Results: The median age of the patients was 55 (44-68) years, with males constituting 47.2% of the subjects. At admission, 37.8% of the patients required oxygen supplementation. During hospitalization, 17.5% needed mechanical ventilation, and 8.3% died. For all analyses, RF had the highest accuracy in classifying the need for oxygen supplementation on admission (89.4%) or during hospitalization (91.1%) and for invasive mechanical ventilation (92.2%). These were followed by a bagging classifier for Analysis 1 (88.3%) and Analysis 3 (91.0%) and by a decision tree for Analysis 2 (88.4%). C-reactive protein, monocyte distribution width, and high-sensitive troponin-T were the most crucial laboratory contributors to Analysis 1, Analysis 2, and Analysis 3, respectively. Conclusion: Our study showed that ML algorithms could predict the need for oxygen supplementation and mechanical ventilation during hospitalization using baseline laboratory data, suggesting a slight superiority of RF, among others.

Introduction: Favipiravir (FVP) is an antiviral, targeting RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of FVP as a treatment for COVID-19. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study in two centers (San Martino University Hospital in Genova, Italy, and Marmara University Pendik Training and Research Hospital, Turkey). Adult patients (inpatients) diagnosed with COVID-19 between March and June 2020 were included. All patients in the Italian center received the standard of care (SoC) treatment, while in the Turkish center patients received FVP in addition to SoC. Results: Six hundred-nineteen patients were analyzed (225 from Turkey, all treated with FVP, and 394 from Italy, none treated with FVP). Propensity score-matching was done in 142 patients (71 from the SoC group vs. 71 from the SoC + FVP group). A Higher requirement of NIV/CPAP (n = 38; 53.5%) was registered in the SoC group compared to the SoC + FVP group (n = 9; 12.7%). A higher frequency of intubation was registered in the SoC + FVP group (n = 25; 35.2% vs n = 13, 18.3%). There was a trend towards better survival in SoC + FVP treated patients with HR = 0.64 (95% CI 0.30-1.34). At 28 days the OS was, respectively, 70.3% (95% CI: 53.2-82.1) vs 80.3% (95% CI: 69.0-87.8). Conclusions: The addition of FVP to SoC did not show a significant difference in survival and invasive and noninvasive (CPAP/NIMV) mechanical ventilation compared to standard of care in moderate and severe COVID-19-infected patients.

Objectives: Drug -related problems (DRPs) result in serious problems among hospitalized patients, high rates of morbidity and mortality, and increased healthcare costs. This study aimed to identify DRPs by clinical pharmacist -led medication review in hospitalized probable patients with coronavirus disease -2019 (COVID-19) during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at the COVID-19 inpatient services of a tertiary university hospital in T & uuml;rkiye for 3 months (between March 2020 and June 2020) and included hospitalized confirmed or probable COVID-19 patients. The World Health Organization and Turkish Ministry of Health Guidelines case definitions were used to define confirmed and probable COVID-19 patients. Six clinical pharmacy residents provided medication review services during their education and training. DRPs were classified based on the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe V9.00. The physician's acceptance rate of clinical pharmacists' recommendations was assessed. Results: Among 202 hospitalized patients with probable or confirmed COVID-19, 132 (65.3%) had at least one drug -related problem. Two hundred and sixty-four DRPs were identified. Drug selection (85.6%) and dose selection (9.2%) were the most common causes of these problems. Among the 80 clinical pharmacist interventions, 48.8% were accepted by the physicians. Conclusion: Clinical pharmacists identified a significant number of DRPs during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly those related to drug interactions and drug safety, such as adverse drug reactions. This study highlights the importance of detecting and responding to DRPs in the COVID-19 pandemic.