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We here report two cases of blood stream infection due to Rothia mucilaginosa. The isolates were identified as R. mucilaginosa using a VITEK 2 automated sytem and a MALDI-TOF MS system. Then, 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed for the confirmation of the isolates. This is the first documented report of bacteremia due to this unusual agent in Turkey.

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is an important cause of chronic liver disease. There are six genotypes and more than 80 subtypes of HCV. The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of HCV genotypes in Middle Anatolia in Turkey, and the association of HCV genotypes with pre-treatment HCV RNA viral load, serum transaminase levels, and histopathological grade of liver fibrosis., Methods: A total of 160 patients (103 female, 57 male) with chronic hepatitis C were retrospectively evaluated. HCV RNA level was determined by commercial real time PCR method. HCV RNA positive sera were genotyped by the Abbott Real Time HCV Genotype II assay and sequenced by the ABI Prism 310 Genetic Analyzer. Gender, age, serum ALT, AST, HCV RNA viral load, and fibrosis staging of liver were determined in all patients., Results: Genotype 1b was the most frequent (64.7%) followed by genotype 4d (28.3%), 2 (4.4%), and la (2.5%). The HCV genotype results were found consistent with both methods. The gender distribution of the 160 HCV infected patients was 57 male/103 female. Log HCVRNA was significantly higher in genotype 1b compared to genotype 4 and 1a. Stage of liver fibrosis, histology activity index, serum ALT and AST levels did not differ between groups depending on genotypes. Advanced liver fibrosis (Group 2) was found in 36 (76.6%) patients with genotype 1b and in 10 (21.3%) patients with genotype 4 and only in 1 patient (2.1%) with genotype 1a., Conclusions: HCV genotype 1b is the most frequent type (64.7%) in this region. Prevalence of genotype 4 in this region is higher than the national HCV genotype distribution. Serum transaminase levels and liver fibrosis scores are not associated with HCV genotypes.

Background: Urine analysis is one of the most common tests for assessing urinary-tract infections, which are the most frequently occurring infectious diseases in community populations. Urine culture is still the 'gold standard' for the detection of urinary tract infection, however, it is time- and labor-intensive and and has a high number of unnecessary cultures. The aim of this study was to evaluate the analytical and diagnostic performance of a new urinalysis system LabUMat with UriSed (77 Elektronika, Budapest, Hungary) in comparison to urine culture as the reference method., Methods: By comparing the test results for 965 urine samples with quantitative urine cultures, we established cutoff criteria for the UriSed. The cut-off values by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve technique, sensitivity, and specificity were calculated for bacteria (BACT) and white blood cells (WBCs)., Results: A bacterial cutoff value of 375/microL provided the best discrimination for community-acquired urinary tract infection, with a sensitivity of 96.5% and a specificity of 82.1% compared with 182 urine culture positive samples (AUC: 0.939). It was possible to forgo 62.6% of cultures with only 8 false-negative results. The best cut-off value for WBCs was 13/microL. When we used an algorithm in which the combination with the positivity for 85 BACT/microL and for 13 WBCs/microL count, the sensitivity and NPV improved to 99.8% and 100%, respectively, but the specificity declined from 78.8% to 52.0%., Conclusions: When screening with the UriSed for community-acquired urinary tract infection, a cut-off value of 85 bacteria/microL and 13 WBCs/microL should be adopted. Diagnostic performance of UriSed is satisfactory and use of this instrument is a reliable method for screening out a major part of the culture negative samples. It would improve the efficiency of microbiology laboratory, and unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions could be reduced.