Inappropriate antimicrobial use remains a common problem in Turkish pediatric hospitals. Consultation with an IDP and prescribing antimicrobial drugs according to microbiological test results could decrease the inappropriate use of antimicrobials.

Determination of the etiology of bacterial meningitis and estimating cost of disease are important in guiding vaccination policies. To determine the incidence and etiology of meningitis in Turkey, cerebrospinal fl uid (CSF) samples were obtained prospectively from children (1 month-17 years of age) with a clinical diagnosis of acute bacterial meningitis. Multiplex PCR was used to detect DNA evidence of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus infl uenzae type b (Hib), and Neisseria meningitidis. In total, 408 CSF samples were collected, and bacterial etiology was determined in 243 cases; N. meningitidis was detected in 56.5%, S. pneumoniae in 22.5%, and Hib in 20.5% of the PCR-positive samples. Among N. meningitidis-positive CSF samples, 42.7%, 31.1%, 2.2%, and 0.7% belonged to serogroups W-135, B, Y, and A, respectively. This study highlights the emergence of serogroup W-135 disease in Turkey and concludes that vaccines to prevent meningococcal disease in this region must provide reliable protection against this serogroup.

Purpose Ceftriaxone is a widely used third‐generation cephalosporin. In this prospective study, we used sonography to investigate the incidence and outcome of biliary complications in children receiving ceftriaxone therapy. Methods Ceftriaxone was administered intravenously at a dosage of 100 mg/kg/day for 1–3 weeks to 118 children hospitalized for severe infection. Serial gallbladder sonograms were obtained on days 1, 5–7, and 10–14 of therapy and the day after therapy ended if it had lasted more than 2 weeks. When sonographic abnormalities were found, additional sonograms were obtained every 3 days until the abnormalities had completely resolved. Results Twenty patients (17%), all asymptomatic, demonstrated sonographic abnormalities: 8 had gallbladder sludge, defined as echogenic material without associated acoustic shadowing, and 12 had pseudolithiasis, defined as echogenic material with acoustic shadowing. These abnormalities spontaneously resolved within 2 weeks of stopping the ceftriaxone (mean time to disappearance, 8.2 ± 3.4 days). No significant differences were found between patients with normal versus abnormal sonographic findings in sex, age, duration of treatment, or other risk factors for drug precipitation. Conclusions Ceftriaxone‐associated biliary pseudolithiasis is usually asymptomatic and was rapidly reversible after cessation of therapy in this group of Turkish children. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 28:166–168, 2000.

Successful vaccination policies for protection from bacterial meningitis are dependent on determination of the etiology of bacterial meningitis. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were obtained prospectively from children from 1 month to ≤18 years of age hospitalized with suspected meningitis, in order to determine the etiology of meningitis in Turkey. DNA evidence of Neisseria meningitidis (N. meningitidis), Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae), and Hemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) was detected using multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In total, 1452 CSF samples were evaluated and bacterial etiology was determined in 645 (44.4%) cases between 2005 and 2012; N. meningitidis was detected in 333 (51.6%), S. pneumoniae in 195 (30.2%), and Hib in 117 (18.1%) of the PCR positive samples. Of the 333 N. meningitidis positive samples 127 (38.1%) were identified as serogroup W-135, 87 (26.1%) serogroup B, 28 (8.4%) serogroup A and 3 (0.9%) serogroup Y; 88 (26.4%) were non-groupable. As vaccines against the most frequent bacterial isolates in this study are available and licensed, these results highlight the need for broad based protection against meningococcal disease in Turkey.

Asymptomatic colonization with carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae in intensive care units of pediatric departments should alert health care providers about forthcoming carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae infection. Those carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae colonized patients at risk of developing infection due to carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae may be targeted for interventions to reduce subsequent infection occurence and also for timely initiation of empirical carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae active treatment, when necessary.

Rotavirus is the main cause of gastroenteritis and dehydration requiring hospitalization among infants and children. Despite the high diarrhea-related mortality rate, there are limited studies describing the prevalence of rotavirus in Turkey. The disease burden of rotavirus gastroenteritis in Turkey was assessed by active, prospective surveillance conducted in accordance with a modified World Health Organization generic protocol from 1 June 2005 through 1 June 2006. A total of 411 children aged <5 years who were hospitalized for gastroenteritis in 4 centers were enrolled. Rotavirus was identified in 53% of samples from the 338 children tested; the range for individual centers was 32.4%-67.4%. Overall, 83.8% of rotavirus-positive children were aged <2 years. Rotavirus gastroenteritis occurred year-round but peaked in the winter. G1P[8] was the most widely prevalent strain (76% of strains), followed by G2P[4] (12.8%). G9P[8] was reported in samples from 3.9% of children. These data support the need for a rotavirus vaccine in Turkey.

The serogroup epidemiology of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD), which varies considerably by geographic region and immunization schedule, changes continuously. Meningococcal carriage data are crucial for assessing IMD epidemiology and designing f potential vaccination strategies. Meningococcal seroepidemiology in Turkey differs from that in other countries: serogroups W and B are the predominant strains for IMD during childhood, whereas no serogroup C cases were identified over the last 10 y and no adolescent peak for IMD was found. There is a lack of data on meningococcal carriage that represents the whole population. The aims of this multicenter study (12 cities in Turkey) were to evaluate the prevalence of Neisseria meningitidis carriage, the serogroup distribution and the related risk factors (educational status, living in a dormitory or student house, being a household contact with Hajj pilgrims, smoking, completion of military service, attending bars/clubs) in 1518 adolescents and young adults aged 10-24 y. The presence of N. meningitidis DNA was tested, and a serogroup analysis was performed using polymerase chain reaction. The overall meningococcal carriage rate was 6.3% (n = 96) in the study population. A serogroup distribution of the 96 N. meningitidis strains isolated from the nasopharyngeal specimens revealed serogroup A in 5 specimens (5.2%), serogroup B in 9 specimens (9.4%), serogroup W in 64 specimens (66.6%), and serogroup Y in 4 specimens (4.2%); 14 were classified as non-grouped (14.4%). No serogroup C cases were detected. The nasopharyngeal meningococcal carriage rate was 5% in the 10-14 age group, 6.4% in the 15-17 age-group, and 4.7% in the 18-20 age group; the highest carriage rate was found in the 21-24 age group (9.1%), which was significantly higher than those of the other age groups (p < 0.05). The highest carriage rate was found in 17-year-old adolescents (11%). The carriage rate was higher among the participants who had had close contact with Hajj/Umrah pilgrims (p < 0.01) or a history of upper respiratory tract infections over the past 3 months (p < 0.05). The nasopharyngeal carriage rate was 6.3% among adolescents and young adults in Turkey and was similar to the recent rates observed in the same age groups in other countries. The most prevalent serogroup was W, and no serogroup C cases were found. In conclusion, the present study found that meningococcal carriage reaches its peak level by age 17, the highest carriage rate was found in 21 - to 24 - year-olds and the majority of the carriage cases were due to serogroup W. Adolescents and young adult carriers seem to be a potential reservoir for the disease, and further immunization strategies, including adolescent immunization, may play a role in the control of IMD.

The data currently available on the epidemiology, severity and economic burden of nosocomial rotavirus (RV) infections in children younger than 5 years of age in the major European countries are reviewed. In most studies, RV was found to be the major etiologic agent of pediatric nosocomial diarrhea (31-87%), although the number of diarrhea cases associated with other virus infections (eg, noroviruses, astroviruses, adenoviruses) is increasing quickly and almost equals that caused by RVs. Nosocomial RV (NRV) infections are mainly associated with infants 0-5 months of age, whereas community-acquired RV disease is more prevalent in children 6-23 months of age. NRV infections are seasonal in most countries, occurring in winter; this coincides with the winter seasonal peak of other childhood virus infections (eg, respiratory syncytial virus and influenza viruses), thus placing a heavy burden on health infrastructures. A significant proportion (20-40%) of infections are asymptomatic, which contributes to the spread of the virus and might reduce the efficiency of prevention measures given as they are implemented too late. The absence of effective surveillance and of reporting of NRV infections in any of the 6 countries studied (France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom) results in severe underreporting of NRV cases in hospital databases and therefore in limited awareness of the importance of NRV disease at country level. The burden reported in the medical literature is potentially significant and includes temporary reduction in the quality of children's lives, increased costs associated with the additional consumption of medical resources (increased length of hospital stay) and constraints on parents'/hospital staff's professional lives. The limited robustness and comparability of studies, together with an evolving baseline caused by national changes in health care systems, do not presently allow a complete and accurate overview of NRV disease at country level to be obtained. RV is highly contagious, and the efficiency of existing prevention measures (such as handwashing, isolation and cohorting) is variable, but low at the global level because of the existence of numerous barriers to implementation (eg, lack of staff, high staff turnover, inadequate hospital infrastructure). Prevention of RV infection by mass vaccination could have a positive impact on the incidence of NRV by reducing the number of children hospitalized for gastroenteritis, therefore reducing the number of hospital cross-infections and associated costs.