Clozapine levels and outcomes in Serbian patients with treatment-resistant psychotic disorders previously treated without measuring clozapine levels (CLOSER).

Clozapine remains the only pharmacological treatment option for treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of clozapine is recommended, although evidence for the therapeutic range of 350-600 ng/ml is limited. In various countries including Serbia, TDM of clozapine is not routinely performed.

Using machine learning algorithms and techniques for defining the impact of affective temperament types, content search and activities on the internet on the development of problematic internet use in adolescents' population.

Background: By using algorithms and Machine Learning - ML techniques, the aim of this research was to determine the impact of the following factors on the development of Problematic Internet Use (PIU): sociodemographic factors, the intensity of using the Internet, different contents accessed on the Internet by adolescents, adolescents' online activities, life habits and different affective temperament types.

Methods: Sample included 2,113 adolescents. The following instruments were used: questionnaire about: socio-demographic characteristics, intensity of the Internet use, content categories and online activities on the Internet; Facebook (FB) usage and life habits; The Internet Use Disorder Scale (IUDS).

Association between affective temperaments and psychosomatic symptoms in women with Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

Background: Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is a prevalent autoimmune disease of thyroid gland with a shared immunological mechanism with mood disorders. Affective temperament (AT) is a biologically determined personality trait that has been linked to mood disorders. The aim of this study was to examine the association between dominant AT and levels of psychosomatic symptoms in women newly diagnosed with HT in comparison to clinically healthy subjects.

Personality traits and attitude towards euthanasia among medical students in Serbia.

Objective: Various factors may influence the attitudes of medical students towards euthanasia, including personal values, beliefs, and personality traits. The objective of this study was to examine the attitudes of 2 and 5 year medical students about euthanasia and the relationship between these attitudes and students' personality traits.

Methods: Medical students from the Universities of Kragujevac and Belgrade, Serbia, participated in this study.

Clozapine prescription rates in Southeast Europe: A cross-sectional study.

Introduction: International reports indicate that clozapine is under prescribed. Yet, this has not been explored in Southeast European (SEE) countries. This cross-sectional study investigates clozapine prescription rates in a sample of 401 outpatients with psychosis from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo by United Nations resolution, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.

HEXACO-60 Personality Trait Inventory: Psychometric characteristics in a sample of medical students from Serbia.

The 60-item HEXACO (HEXACO-60) Personality Trait Inventory may be strategically more important for researchers compared to the 100-item HEXACO. The aim of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the 60-item HEXACO questionnaire in the Serbian language. This cross-sectional study, conducted at three of five Faculties of Medicine during the summer semester of the 2016/2017 academic year, included 617 students.

Prescription attitudes and practices regarding clozapine among Serbian psychiatrists: results of a nationwide survey.

Objective: Despite clozapine being the most effective treatment for treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS), a clear explanation as to why it is underutilized and why its initiation is delayed remains unclear. The first aim of the study was to conduct a nation-wide assessment of both the psychiatrists' attitudes of the obstacles for prescribing clozapine as well as their prescription practices. The second aim was to make recommendations, based on the results obtained, for improving the Serbian clozapine guidelines.

Which affective temperaments are most expressed in patients with chronic sub-jective tinnitus?

Background: Although chronic subjective tinnitus is one of the most common symptoms, the background of its pathophysiological mechanism and etiology is not fully understood. No studies are exploring various affective temperaments in persons with chronic tinnitus.

Methods: We included in this study 57 patients with tinnitus who filled out the Serbian 41-item version of the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego Auto questionnaire (TEMPS-A) and a short sociodemographic questionnaire.

The Glasgow antipsychotic side-effects scale for clozapine in inpatients and outpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

Background: The inconsistency in clinician and patient ratings of clozapine-induced side effects underscore the need to supplement clinician-based estimates of side effects with patient-reported ones.

Aims: The main aims of the study are validation of the Glasgow antipsychotic side-effects scale for clozapine (GASS-C) in Serbian inpatients/outpatients with schizophrenia or schizo-affective disorder and recommendations for its future use, based on common and rare clozapine-associated side-effects.

Methods: The GASS-C was administered to 95 outpatients/inpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia, schizoaffective, or chronic psychotic disorder.

Factors Influencing The Six-Month Mortality Rate In Patients With A Hip Fracture: DEJAVNIKI, KI VPLIVAJO NA ŠESTMESEČNO STOPNJO UMRLJIVOSTI PRI BOLNIKIH Z ZLOMOM KOLKA.

Background: There are several potential risk factors in patients with a hip fracture for a higher rate of mortality that include: comorbid disorders, poor general health, age, male gender, poor mobility prior to injury, type of fracture, poor cognitive status, place of residence. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of potential risk factors for six-month mortality in hip fracture patients.

Methods: The study included all patients with a hip fracture older than 65 who had been admitted to the Clinic for orthopaedic surgery during one year.

Parameters of Calcium Metabolism Fluctuated during Initiation or Changing of Antipsychotic Drugs.

Objective: Serum parameters of calcium homeostasis were measured based on previously published evidence linking osteoporotic fractures and/or bone/mineral loss with antipsychotics.

Methods: Prospective, four-week, time-series trial was conducted and study population consisted of patients of both genders, aged 35-85 years, admitted within the routine practice, with acute psychotic symptoms, to whom an antipsychotic drug was either introduced or substituted. Serial measurements of serum calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, 25(OH)D, parathyroid hormone, calcitonin, osteocalcin and C-telopeptide were made from patient venous blood samples.

Factors associated with severe postoperative pain in patients with total hip arthroplasty.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the risk factors for the development of postoperative pain following total hip arthroplasty, particularly those connected with psychological distress and personality traits.

Methods: The study included 90 patients with complaints of postoperative pain following cemented total hip replacement divided into two groups based on the intensity of postoperative pain as measured using the numerical rating scale (NRS). Patients with NRS scores of 5 or higher were included in the study group and those with NRS of less than 5 were included in the control group.

Is bioavailability altered in generic versus brand anticonvulsants?

Therapeutic window of anticonvulsants is not a wide one, with phenytoin being one extreme, which can be classified as a narrow therapeutic index drug, since its ratio between the least toxic and the least effective concentration is less than twofold. In order to obtain marketing authorization, a generic anticonvulsant should demonstrate relative bioequivalence with its brand-name counterpart. However, although bioequivalent, generic anticonvulsants still do not have the same bioavailability as brand-name drugs, which may lead to larger fluctuations of steady-state plasma concentrations, and sometimes to loss of seizure control if a patient is switched from brand-name to generic or from generic to generic anticonvulsant.

Risk factors for lethal outcome in patients with delirium tremens - psychiatrist's perspective: a nested case-control study.

Background: The aim was to identify potential risk factors for lethal outcome in patients with delirium tremens (DT) treated in the psychiatric setting.

Methods: In a nested case-control study, a total of 190 medical records of patients with DT hospitalized at the Psychiatric Clinic in Serbia between 2002 and 2011 were reviewed and analyzed. The characteristics of patients who died (cases) were compared with those who survived (controls).

The influence of alcohol intoxication on the severity of injuries suffered by drivers in road traffic accidents.

Purpose: To determine the severity of injuries in drunk and sober drivers in traffic accidents, by using the Injury Severity Score (ISS), as well as the most vulnerable body region of those involved.

Methods: This was an observational case-control study covering a 1-year period of patients treated in the emergency department of the Health Center in Kraljevo, Serbia. Seventy-five patients were identified as drunken drivers [blood alcohol concentration (BAC) >0.

The frequency of dyscalculia among primary school children.

Background: Formal education, daily living activities and jobs require knowledge and application skills of counting and simple mathematical operations. Problems with mathematics start in primary school and persist till adulthood. This is known as dyscalculia and its prevalence in the school population ranges from 3 to 6.

Evaluation of the Beck Depression Inventory in a nonclinical student sample.

Depression is one of the most common psychological disorders in individuals seeking psychiatric treatment, and a frequent psychological disorder among patients who seek primary healthcare. Therefore, it is vitally important to employ reliable and valid diagnostic instruments and norms, both in clinical and research work to investigate this problem. This article is part of a larger study which has been conducted for ten years now with the aim to create a clearer picture about the level of depression which may be expected in the nonclinical population in Serbia, and in that way provide a basis for comparisons when diagnosing the clinical population.

Validation of the Temps-A in university student population in Serbia.

Background And Aims: The TEMPS-A scale is a self-evaluation measure which assesses five affective temperaments. This study is a comparative analysis of affective temperament types in different educational fields, and the first validation of the Serbian version of the TEMPS-A.

Methods: The TEMPS-A questionnaire has been adapted following the translation-back translation methodology from English to Serbian.

Heroin addict with gangrene of the extremities, rhabdomyolysis and severe hyperkalemia.

Introduction: Long-time consumption of narcotics leads to altered mental status of the addict. It is also connected to damages of different organic systems and it often leads to appearance of multiple organ failure. Excessive narcotics consumption or abuse in a long time period can lead to various consequences, such as atraumatic rhabdomyolysis, acute renal failure and electrolytic disorders.

Complex regional pain syndrome type I in the upper extremity - how efficient physical therapy and rehabilitation are.

Aim: To evaluate the effects of early started combined therapy in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome-1 (CRPS-1) on the upper extremities.

Methods: The study included 36 patients in the first stadium of CRPS-1 on the upper extremities The mean age of patients was 42.6±14.