BackgroundThe aim of this study was to assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients in Turkey and to study related factors.MethodsThis multicenter study was carried out between January 01 and April 15, 2015 in Turkey in 57 centers. Adults were enrolled and studied in three groups. Group 1: Inactive HBsAg carriers, Group 2: CHB patients receiving antiviral therapy, Group 3: CHB patients who were neither receiving antiviral therapy nor were inactive HBsAg carriers. Study data was collected by face-to-face interviews using a standardized questionnaire, Short Form-36 (SF-36) and Hepatitis B Quality of Life (HBQOL). Values equivalent to p < 0.05 in analyses were accepted as statistically significant.ResultsFour thousand two hundred fifty-seven patients with CHB were included in the study. Two thousand five hundred fifty-nine (60.1 %) of the patients were males. Groups 1, 2 and 3, consisted of 1529 (35.9 %), 1721 (40.4 %) and 1007 (23.7 %) patients, respectively. The highest value of HRQOL was found in inactive HBsAg carriers. We found that total HBQOL score increased when antiviral treatment was used. However, HRQOL of CHB patients varied according to their socio-demographic properties. Regarding total HBQOL score, a higher significant level of HRQOL was determined in inactive HBV patients when matched controls with the associated factors were provided.ConclusionsThe HRQOL score of CHB patients was higher than expected and it can be worsen when the disease becomes active. Use of an antiviral therapy can contribute to increasing HRQOL of patients.

Since the last months of 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, a brand new coronavirus, catches our attention on our agenda as it harms economic and socio-cultural structures almost all around the world. For the elimination of SARS-CoV-2, there has to be an effective and sufficient immune response that includes innate and adaptive immunity against the virus. Also, this immunity should help us to prevent and control the infection. However, there are some complications about our body's response to this virus: Hyperactivation of the immune response can cause tissue damage and organ failures. On the other hand, immunodeficiency is one of the major obstacles to the elimination of the virus. Type I IFN response is essential for COVID-19 disease. Some of the SARS-CoV-2 infection pathogenesis is caused by delay, deficiency, or inhibition of IFN release. The infection can be limited if type I IFN is secreted early and adequately. The overproduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines (such as IL-1, IL-6, and TNFα), neutrophilia, and lymphopenia is associated with COVID-19 disease severity and mortality in patients. Our current understanding of SARS-CoV-2 immunity is still limited. Further clarification of the immunopathogenesis of COVID-19 disease will guide us in both diagnosis and treatment. It will also shed light on new drugs and vaccine studies. Therefore, extensive researches on the host immune response against SARS-CoV-2 are still necessary.

Objective: Nosocomial infections (NIs) in intensive care units (ICUs) are serious problems because of high mortality and morbidity. Here, it was aimed to evaluate diagnoses, distribution and pathogens of NIs in two tertiary general ICUs (GICU) of a hospital and develop new infection control strategies based on the data. Material and Method:NIsfollowed in the infectious diseases department and recorded by active prospective surveillance between January 218-December 2019 in GICUs were retrospectively analyzed.Results: Ninety-five NI episodes were identified in 90 patients during 8468 hospitalization days of 1189 patients in a two-year period. While NI rate in GICUswas 7.98, incidence of NI density was determined as 11.21. Considering the distribution of NIs, lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) (36.8%) were detected as highest and followed as specific laboratory findingsby pneumonia (33.6%), ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) (10.5%), central venous catheter-related bloodstream infections (CVCR-BSI) (9.4%), laboratory-proven BSI (6.3%) and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CR-URI) (3.1%). Given the distribution of the factors concerning system infections, agents leading to LRTI other than pneumonia were as follows: Acinetobacter spp. (48.7%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (25.6%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (12.8%), Serratia marcescens (5.1%), Escherichia coli (2.5%), Enterobacter cloacae (2.5%) and Candida albicans (2.5%), and11.4% were polymicrobial. Conclusion:NIs are inevitable entities in hospitals, especially in ICUs, andone of the vital goals of hospitals is to control and manage such a situation. Timely and appropriate therapeutici nterventions should be designed to reduce NI rates. If needed, catheters should be inserted with correct indication, andcatheter application should be reduced. It is importan tthat hospitals develop comprehensive antibiotherapy programs based on their own surveillance data.

The introduction of NHS verified to improve the early detection of childhood hearing impairment. The early diagnosis allows an early rehabilitation and makes a positive development of the children possible. However, children with permanent hearing impairment require continuous long-term care of competent specialists.

Aim: Healthcare-associated infections are a major source of concern in all areas of hospitals, particularly in intensive care units. The goal of our study was to look at the current situation and evaluate the measures that can be taken based on the data obtained by examining the rates and factors of healthcare-associated infections in the general intensive care units of our hospital over a one-year period. Materials and Methods: Between January 2020 and December 2020, 665 patients who were followed up and treated in the general intensive care unit of Meram State Hospital were followed up in terms of healthcare-associated infections, and their outcomes were evaluated. Results: 5354 hospitalization days of 665 patients who were followed up in the general intensive care units for a year were evaluated, and it was determined that 53 of the patients developed healthcare-associated infections. Twenty-two (41.5%) of patients with healthcare-associated infections were female, while 31 (58.5%) were male. It was discovered that the patients' mean age was 71,7±14 (19-94). The infection rate was calculated to be 5.86 and the density to be 7.28. Furthermore, the rates of invasive device-associated nosocomial infection are as follows: 1.02 for central line-associated bloodstream infections, 0.56 for catheter-associated urinary tract infections, and 0 for ventilator-associated pneumonia. Conclusion: Healthcare-associated infections are a significant cause of mortality and morbidity in intensive care units. Due to the improvement in medical care and the increase in life expectancy in parallel with this, effective surveillance practices are of critical importance.