فهرست مطالب meryem merve oren

Even though Istanbul is one of the centers of the world’s fastest-growing tourism and travel sector, there are limited statistics on the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of travelers from this region regarding travel-related infectious diseases. This study aimed to determine the passengers’ KAP about contagious diseases and contribute to developing new solutions for the problems people face while traveling abroad. A questionnaire was administered to 182 Turkish travelers planning on traveling abroad and applied to the Istanbul Travel Health Center and the Istanbul Airport Health Control Center between January and March 2019. The proportion of carrying a vaccination certificate was statistically higher in those who received healthcare services at international terminals (P=0.002), especially those who had yellow fever (P<0.001) and meningococcal vaccine (P=0.011). More than half of the vaccinated passengers did not carry their vaccination certificates, while around half (53.8%) were traveling to Africa. When compared to travelers flying to Europe, vaccination checks were 6.7 times (95% CI: 2.5-17.9) higher in passengers traveling to Africa, 6.1 times (95% CI: 1.5-24.3) higher in passengers traveling to Asia, and 14.8 times (95% CI: 1.3-164.3) higher in passengers traveling to South America. In addition, the vaccination certificate carrying proportion was significantly higher in those with a travel duration of 15 days or more (P=0.028), those who received health services at international terminals (P=0.002), and those vaccinated (P<0.001). Improved knowledge of travel-related infectious diseases and increased adoption of pre-travel health advice and vaccines are urgently needed among Turkish travelers.

In chronic hepatitis B patients with or exposed to the risk of osteoporosis or renal dysfunction, switching from tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) to tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (TAF) or entecavir (ETV) may be the right choice.

This study aimed to present real-life data in terms of the efficacy and safety of a TAF/ETV treatment change while receiving TDF.

This retrospective study was conducted on 344 adult patients from 10 centers. The data of patients who had changed to ETV (n = 107) and TAF (n = 237) while receiving TDF were analyzed. The data collected at 0 and 6 months of treatment were analyzed. The virological response was assessed based on undetected hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) values were used to evaluate the biochemical response. For renal function, serum creatinine and phosphorus, as well as estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), were recorded. Moreover, lumbar spine and hip T-scores along with the serum lipid profile were evaluated.

The mean age of patients was 41.14 ± 13.46 years, and 224 (65.1%) of the participants were male. The treatment arms were not significantly different in terms of demographic characteristics, comorbid diseases, infection duration, family history of HBV infection, blood platelet count, serum biomarkers, such as ALT, phosphorus, creatinine, total bilirubin, albumin, lipid profile, and HBV DNA levels at the beginning. No statistically significant difference was found between the proportion of undetectable HBV DNA of the two treatment groups after 6 months (P = 0.221). The ALT normalization in the ETV and TAF groups at the sixth month compared to the baseline levels was not significantly different (P = 0.853, P = 0.330, respectively). There was no statistically significant difference between the two treatment arms regarding changes in eGFR, creatinine, phosphorus, hip, and spine T-scores from baseline to 6 months (P = 0.296, P = 0.78, P = 0.141, P = 0.832, P = 0.947, respectively). In those who switched to TAF or ETV, low-density lipoproteins cholesterol were observed to be significantly higher after 6 months compared to baseline values (P = 0.002, P = 0.049, respectively). The TC increased significantly in the TAF group (P = 0.035).

Our study showed that switching to ETV and TAF sustained the viral suppression and biochemical response achieved by TDF therapy. The treatment switch to TAF of ETV can control renal dysfunction and reduce bone mineral density caused by TDF.

 Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is a viral infection that can result in life-threatening conditions, such as hepatocellular carcinoma and cirrhosis. Tenofovir, which is used for the treatment of CHB, is a nucleotide analog that inhibits HBV-DNA polymerase and has two formulations: disoproxil and alafenamide. In contrast to tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (TAF) penetrates the whole hepatocyte without being eliminated due to its longer plasma half-life and greater plasma stability. As a result, side effects such as proximal renal tubulopathy and loss of bone density are less common in the treatment of TAF and have similar efficacy to TDF.

 The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness and reliability of TAF using real-life data.

 This retrospective cohort study was carried out in secondary or tertiary healthcare centers in southern Turkey. A total of 480 patients aged 18 years and older were administered TAF for an appropriate indication by the infectious diseases and gastroenterology clinics of the healthcare centers participating in this study. The data collected at t = 0, t = 3, and t = 6 months of treatment were analyzed. The chi-square, Mann-Whitney U, Friedman, Wilcoxon, Cochran’s Q, and McNemar’s tests were used.

 The mean age of the patients was 47.40 ± 14.5, and 327 of them (68.1%) were male. A total of 78.1% of the 480 patients who underwent the TAF treatment had previous antiviral therapy experience (TDF, n = 340; 70.8 %), and 21.9% were treatment-naive. The most common reasons for the initiation of TAF treatment were the use of drugs affecting bone mineral density (BMD) (42.9%) and osteoporosis (22.3%). Patients who had taken TDF experienced a significant improvement in glomerular filtration rate (GFR), hip and spine T-scores, and phosphorus levels from t = 0 months to t = 6 months after switching to TAF (P < 0.05). For this group, no statistically significant difference was observed concerning LDL and cholesterol levels from t = 0 months to t = 6 months. Side effects were reported by 5.7% of patients in the third month and 7.1% in the sixth month, with the most common side effect being hair loss (1%).

 TAF was found to be an effective and safe alternative to TDF with lower incidences of its long-term effects, such as nephrotoxicity and decreased bone density.