Turkish Translation and Cross-Cultural Validity of Whoqol-HIV Bref Tool

BACKGROUND

The assessment of health-related quality of life among people living with HIV (PLWH) has gained increasing importance as it assesses their overall well-being, guides treatment decisions, and addresses psychosocial challenges, improving their quality of life. This study focuses on adapting and validating the Turkish version of the WHOQOL-HIV Bref, a tool developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to measure health-related quality of life in PLWH. This adaptation is based on the generic WHOQOL-Bref Turkish and WHOQOL-HIV Bref inventory.

METHODS

In line with WHO guidelines, the tool was translated and tested on 189 PLWH from İstanbul Şişli Hamidiye Etfal Training and Research Hospital's HIV outpatient clinic. A variety of statistical methods were employed to assess content, construct, concurrent, and known-group validity, as well as internal consistency and reliability.

RESULTS

Participants' median age was 35 years (IQR: 14), with 178(94%) being male. The Turkish WHOQOL-HIV Bref showed overall satisfactory psychometric properties. Despite limitations in the spirituality domain, it demonstrated good internal consistency (alpha coefficient: 0.93) and strong validity across several metrics, including test-retest reliability (ICC: 0.79).

CONCLUSION

The WHOQOL-HIV BREF in Turkish is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing the quality of life in Turkish PLWH.

Immunization of guinea pigs with cement extract induces resistance against Ixodes scapularis ticks

As hematophagous parasites, many tick species are important vectors of medical and veterinary disease agents. Proteins found in tick saliva and midgut have been used with some success in immunizations of animal hosts against feeding ticks, and whole saliva has been used effectively in this capacity against Ixodes scapularis, the primary vector of tickborne pathogens in the United States. Tick saliva is a complex substance containing hundreds of proteins, and the identification of specific protective antigens is ongoing. We performed a series of experiments immunizing guinea pigs with extracts prepared from midgut or attachment cement collected from adult female I. scapularis followed by challenge with nymphs of the same species. Midgut extract did not induce protective immunity, while immunization with cement extract resulted in partial protection of hosts as evidenced by premature tick detachment and 34-41% reduction in tick engorgement weights. Proteomic characterization of I. scapularis cement was performed, demonstrating that the cement extract was compositionally different from tick saliva, and vitellogenin-like lipoproteins were the most abundant proteins in cement extract (>40%). Cement was also heavily enriched with lysozymes and defensins, including those originating from both the mammalian host as well as ticks. These results demonstrate that I. scapularis cement contains immunogenic components capable of stimulating host resistance against tick feeding. Because the cement is present at the tick-host interface for an extended period of time during the feeding process, these antigens present auspicious candidates for further evaluation and potential inclusion in an anti-tick vaccine.

Giant isolated mesenteric hydatid cyst case report without organ involvement

A 21-year-old man presented with a 1-year history of intermittent attacks of abdominal distention and abdominal pain. Abdominal ultrasonography (USG) and abdominal computed tomography (CT) showed a large multicystic mass. After the operation, histopathological findings revealed a lamellated ectocyst and germinal layer with a thick outer, non-cellular membrane in the wall of the cyst, making a diagnosis of primary hydatid cyst for sure. He was discharged on the 10th postoperative day with albendazole 800 mg/day treatment. Herein, we report an unusual case of an isolated primary hydatid cyst of the mesenterium. As a conclusion, in endemic areas, hydatid cysts should be considered for the diagnosis of a patient with cystic mass lesions.

Knowledge, attitudes and behaviour towards sexually transmitted diseases in Turkish Cypriot adolescents

BACKGROUND

The incidence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) is increasing among adolescents all around the world. There may be differences in knowledge and attitudes among different cultures and ethnic populations. The aim of this study is to determine knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of Turkish Cypriot adolescents related to STDs.

OBJECTIVES

To assess knowledge of STDs, attitudes towards sexual behaviour and STDs among the secondary school students.

METHODS

A cross sectional study, with a sample size of 423 students, was conducted by using a semi-structured questionnaire. Simple random sampling method was applied during the selection of the sample.

RESULTS

The mean age of all participants was 15.61 +/- 1.22, 211 (49.88%) of them were male and 212 (50.12%) female. The majority of students (91.25%) stated that they had some knowledge about STDs; hovewer, 8.75% of the participants did not have any knowledge at all. Most of them, 42.32% described school as a source of information on STDs, nonetheless, only 7.57% of the group cited health care professionals as the information source. The majority of students (97.64%) has never been treated for STDs. Among 423 applicants, 93.14% indicated that they would have appreciated information about STDs during the high school years.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a general understanding that the students are willing to participate and are in need of seminars that will be held about STDs during high school attendance. Furthermore, awareness raising educational events on this matter should be reviewed and revised in order to come up with more powerful ways of fighting against STDs transmission in this young population group of Turkish Cypriot (TC) community.

[Hydatid cyst presenting with multiple recurrence and pelvic involvement: case report]

Hydatid cyst disease is a parasitic infection which is caused by the metacestode form of Echinococcus granulosus and affects primarily the liver and lung. Bone involvement is found in 1% of patients afflicted with this disease. The spine is involved in about 50% of these cases. Herein, we report a 70 year old male case with pelvic and spinal hydatid cyst who was operated on eleven times.

[A case of brucellosis complicated with endocarditis, pyelonephritis, sacroileitis and thyroiditis]

Brucellosis which is a endemic in Turkey, is a systemic infection which can affect any organ or system in the body. Since signs and symptoms of brucellosis resemble many other diseases, misdiagnosis and related increase in morbidity rate, are common. In this report, a case of brucellosis complicated with endocarditis, pyelonephritis, sacroileitis and thyroiditis, was presented. The case was a 32-years-old female patient in whom the diagnosis of brucellosis was delayed by 12 months since it was not taken into consideration during the clinical follow-up of the patient in various clinical centers. The patient was admitted to our center with the complaints of fever, headache, back pain, night sweats, fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss, dysuria and polyuria. The patient had a history of consumption of raw milk and dairy products. Positive Brucella tube agglutination test (1/1280) and isolation of Brucella spp. in blood cultures led to the diagnosis of brucellosis. Sacroileitis was diagnosed upon pain on right hip joint movements, pain and restriction at the same joint in FABER test. The detection of vegetation during echocardiography, cardiac murmur during physical examination and the determination of increased ESR and CRP levels led to the diagnosis of endocarditis. Abdominal ultrasonography and urinalysis results (hematuria, proteinuria and pyuria) revealed pyelonephritis and increased free T3 and T4, decreased TSH and positive anti-thyroid autoantibodies (anti-TG, anti-TPO) revealed thyroiditis. Treatment was started with combination of rifampisin (1 x 600 mg/day) and doxycycline (2 x 100 mg/day). After the diagnosis of endocarditis, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (3 x 960 mg/day) and streptomycin (1 x 1 g/day) were added to the treatment. Valve replacement surgery was planned, however, the patient didn't accept surgical intervention and antimicrobial treatment continued with streptomycin for 21 days and other antibiotics for six months. The patient exhibited significant improvement after the medical treatment. Although sacroileitis is a frequent complication of brucellosis, endocarditis, thyroiditis and pyelonephritis are among the rare complications. In cases of brucellosis with multiorgan involvement including endocarditis, successful results may be achieved by aggressive antimicrobial treatment. In endemic areas, brucellosis should always be taken into consideration in patients with fever of unknown origin and multisystem involvement.