COVID-19 caused by a novel agent SARS-CoV-2 progressed to a pandemic condition and resulted in a major public health concern worldwide, leading to social and economic issues at the same time. The pathogenesis of COVID-19 starts with the bonding of the virus to ACE2 receptors expressed in many tissues, and the triggered excessive immune response plays a critical role in the course of the disease. The cytokine storm that occurs upon excessive production of pro-inflammatory cytokines is considered responsible for the severe progression of the disease and the organ damage. However, the accurate pathophysiological mechanism of the disease, which progresses with various clinical presentations, is still substantially unknown. While various studies have been conducted on the effect of genetic polymorphism on the course and severity of the disease, the presence of a significant effect has not been proven yet. The clinical course of the disease is variable, with clinical representation ranging from 81% mild course to 14% severe course along with 5% critical course in patients. Asymptomatic course is considered to be higher than expected, although its frequency is not known exactly. Older adults and those with comorbidities are exposed to a more severe disease course. The disease progress with various symptoms, such as fever, cough, dyspnea, malaise, myalgia, taste and smell dysfunctions, diarrhea, and headache. A range of complications (acute respiratory distress syndrome, thromboembolic conditions, arrhythmia and cardiac events, secondary infections) could be seen during the course of the disease. Varied laboratory tests are vital to determine these verity and prognosis of the disease, along with the condition and exposure of the affected systems during thecourse of COVID-19.

The aim of this study was to determine the reference ranges of lymphocyte subsets in serologically HIV-negative healthy adults in Turkey. Materials and Methods: Blood samples from 220 healthy adults, 105 female and 115 male, collected into tubes containing EDTA were investigated for lymphocyte subsets using flow cytometry. The age range was 18–80 years (44.80 ± 16.69). Results: The mean percentage and absolute values of the lymphocyte subsets were as follows: CD3: 72.70 ± 8.44%, 1,680 ± 528 cells/µl; CD4: 47.37 ± 9.10%, 1,095 ± 391 cells/µl; CD8: 28.99 ± 5.99%, 669 ± 239 cells/µl; CD19: 10.96 ± 4.44%, 254 ± 122 cells/µl and CD56: 7.03 ± 3.26%, 161 ± 92 cells/µl, respectively. The ratio of CD4/CD8 was 1.68 ± 0.43. There was no statistically significant difference in the percentages and absolute values of lymphocyte subsets between the genders (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Immunophenotyping has been used to establish reference values of lymphocyte subsets in normal healthy adults in Turkey.

BackgroundTraining of infectious disease (ID) specialists is structured on classical clinical microbiology training in Turkey and ID specialists work as clinical microbiologists at the same time. Hence, this study aimed to determine the clinical skills and knowledge required by clinical microbiologists.MethodsA cross-sectional study was carried out between June 1, 2010 and September 15, 2010 in 32 ID departments in Turkey. Only patients hospitalized and followed up in the ID departments between January-June 2010 who required consultation with other disciplines were included.ResultsA total of 605 patients undergoing 1343 consultations were included, with pulmonology, neurology, cardiology, gastroenterology, nephrology, dermatology, haematology, and endocrinology being the most frequent consultation specialties. The consultation patterns were quite similar and were not affected by either the nature of infections or the critical clinical status of ID patients.ConclusionsThe results of our study show that certain internal medicine subdisciplines such as pulmonology, neurology and dermatology appear to be the principal clinical requisites in the training of ID specialists, rather than internal medicine as a whole.

A 39-year-old man who was returning from the Amazon Jungle and had no medical history presented with a furuncular lesion on his right parietal scalp. Despite receiving appropriate antimicrobial treatment, his lesion did not heal. After surgical intervention, a Dermatobia hominis larva was extracted. The human botfly D. hominis is the most common causative agent of furuncular myiasis among travelers returning from Central and South America. Surgery is the main treatment option, and secondary bacterial infection should be kept in mind.

AbstractÖz Daptomycin is the first member of cyclic lipopeptides came into use in the treatment of resistant gram-positive infections. It is shown to be a good option in the treatment of serious infections caused by gram-positive bacteria. Eosinophilic pneumonia may occur rarely during the use of daptomycin. In this paper we described 5 cases of daptomycin-associated eosinophilic pneumonia. Sudden onset of respiratory failure with tachypnea, tachycardia was observed, peripheral eosinophilia was detected in one patient. The symptoms usually resolved with supportive treatment and after discontinuation of the drug, but steroid treatment and mechanical ventilation was required in some patients. Eosinophilic pneumonia in the sudden onset of respiratory failure should be kept in mind during daptomycin treatment.Daptomisin, dirençli gram pozitif enfeksiyonların tedavisinde kullanıma giren siklik lipopeptidlerin ilk üyesidir. Gram pozitif bakteriler ile oluşan ciddi enfeksiyonların tedavisinde iyi bir seçenek olabileceği çeşitli çalışmalarda gösterilmiştir. Eozinofilik pnömoni daptomisin kullanımı sırasında nadiren gelişebilir. Bu yazıda daptomisin ilişkili eozinofilik pnömoni düşünülen 5 olgu sunulmuştur. Hastalarda ani gelişen solunum yetmezliği, takipne, taşikardi görülmüş, bir olguda periferik eozinofili saptanmıştır. Destek tedavisi ve ilacın kesilmesiyle genellikle semptomlar kontrol altına alınmış, ancak bazı hastalarda steroid ve mekanik ventilasyon ihtiyacı olmuştur. Daptomisin kullanımı esnasında ani gelişen solunum yetmezliğinde eozinofilik pnömoni akılda tutulmalıdır.