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Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immundeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a critical global public health problem that significantly affects both life expectancy and the overall quality of life of individuals in all age groups. The landscape of HIV infection has changed significantly in recent years due to the introduction of effective combination antiretroviral therapies (ART). A key component of first-line ART regimens for HIV treatment is abacavir, a nucleoside HIV reverse transcriptase inhibitor. Although abacavir is effective in suppressing viral replication and managing disease, its clinical utility is overshadowed by the potential for life-threatening hypersensitivity reactions in HLA-B*57:01-positive patients. In our country, local data obtained from various centers regarding the prevalence of HLA-B*57:01 in HIV-1-infected patients are available. In this study, it was aimed to determine the prevalence of the HLA-B*57:01 genotype in HIV-infected patients who were followed up and treated in many regions of our country. This retrospective study consists of the data of the patients aged 18 years and over diagnosed with HIV-1 infection between 01.01.2019 and 31.07.2022. Age, gender, place of birth, mode of transmission of the disease, death status, CD4+ T cell count and HIV RNA levels at the first clinical presentation, HLA-B*57:01 positivity, and the method used, clinical stage of the disease, virological response time with the treatment they received were recorded from the patient files. Data were collected from 16 centers and each center used different methods to detect HLA-B*57:01. These methods were sequence-specific oligonucleotide probe hybridization (SSOP), DNA sequence-based typing (SBT), single-specific primer-polymerase chain reaction (SSP-PCR), allele-specific PCR (AS-PCR) and quantitative PCR (Q-PCR). A total of 608 HIV-infected individuals, 523 males (86%) and 85 females (14%), were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 36.9 ± 11.9 (18-73) years. The prevalence of HLA-B*57:01 allele was found to be 3.6% (22 patients). The number of CD4+ T lymphocytes in HLA-B*57:01 allele-positive patients was > 500/ mm3 in 10 patients (45.5%), while the number of CD4+ T lymphocytes in HLA-B*57:01 negative patients was > 500/mm3 in 216 patients (36.9%) (p> 0.05). Viral load at the time of diagnosis was found to be lower in patients with positive HLA-B*57:01 allele but it was not statistically significant (p> 0.05). Although different treatment algorithms were used in the centers following the patients, it was observed that the duration of virological response was shorter in HLA-B*57:01 positive patients (p= 0.006). Although the presence of the HLA-B*57:01 allele has a negative impact due to its association with hypersensitivity, it is likely to continue to attract interest due to its association with slower progression of HIV infection and reduced risk of developing AIDS. In addition, although the answer to the question of whether it is cost-effective to screen patients for HLA-B*57:01 before starting an abacavir-containing ART regimen for the treatment of HIV infection is being sought, it seems that HIV treatment guidelines will continue to recommend screening to identify patients at risk in this regard.

Background: The aim of this study is to outline the sociodemographic and traumatic characteristics of children who were referred to the Burn Unit of Emergency Service with burn injuries, to discuss the doctors' approach to these cases, and to compare the prognosis of patient groups with and without life-threat., Methods: This epidemiological study was carried out between 14 October 2004 and 31 December 2006 and included a total of 134 pediatric patients aged between 0-18 years. A semi-structured questionnaire form was designed to obtain the information from the study population. The obtained data were statistically evaluated., Results: 66.2% (n=90) of the cases were male and 33.8% (n=46) were female. The mean age of the study population was 3.9+/-4.1 years and the mean percentage of burned body area was 22.47+/-17.37. The main cause of burn was scalding with hot water, with a frequency of 77.2% (n=105). When the percentage of burn area of the body was lower than 20%, the mortality was 6.3% (n=6), whereas it was 61% (n=25) when the burn area exceeded 20% of the body (p=0.0001). While the mortality was 21.0% (n=25) among the cases with first-degree burns, it was 35.3% (n=6) among those with second- and third-degree burns (p=0.189). Mortality ratio among the cases with life-threat was higher than those without life-threat, and this difference was statistically significant (p=0.033)., Conclusion: Extent of burn is a determinative factor for prognosis in children. Evaluation of all burn cases in children should be approached as cases of neglect/abuse; protection of these children in this manner will serve as an important practice of preventive medicine.

Background: We have compared the Injury Severity Score (ISS) at admission to Emergency Surgery and Trauma Center (ES&TC) with the ISS during autopsy. Cases with ISS less than 14 (defined as preventable deaths) were evaluated and the results were compared with those in other countries., Methods: The study was performed between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2002 at Istanbul Medical Faculty TS&ES and the Turkish Council of Forensic Medicine. The 160 autopsies of trauma deaths which could have been performed within this three year period were evaluated., Results: The average age of trauma victims in the study was 32,9+/-15,6 (r=1-79); the majority of victims were males 78,1% (n=125). In four autopsies (3%) ISS were rated as "preventable death" (ISS < or =14). The severely injured (ISS: 16-66) patients with lower survival rates were 96% (n=155). In addition, one case (1%) had an ISS score of 75. In clinical evaluations, ISS scores were found to be between 16-66 (68%), 75 (20%, n=32), and < or =14 (12%; n=19)., Conclusion: Although it is widely used, difficulties in the applications of ISS still exist. Alcohol, drug, pregnancy and the presence of underlying diseases are the factors contributing to death but not being reflected by ISS. Moreover a difficulty exists in the evaluation of anatomical injuries which are not accompanied by physiological changes. ISS should be improved according to updates. In this way, evaluation of clinics' care quality and standardization of trauma centers can be done more accurately.