Publications by authors named "Tatjana Keres"
Aim: In order to gain insight into the current prevailing practices regarding the limitation of life-sustaining treatment in intensive care units (ICUs) in Croatia, we assessed the frequency of limitation and provision of certain treatment modalities, as well as the associated patient and ICU-related factors.
Methods: A multicenter retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in 17 ICUs in Croatia. We reviewed the medical records of patients deceased in 2017 and extracted data on demographic, clinical, and health care variables.
Introduction: We aimed to investigate patterns of corticosteroid use and their relationship with remdesivir use and clinical outcomes in a large real-life cohort of COVID-19 patients treated in a tertiary-level institution.
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed a total of 1558 severe and critical COVID-19 patients, including 779 patients treated with remdesivir and 779 matched control patients.
Results: A total of 167 (10.
COVID-19 patients with severe or critical symptoms are often treated with corticosteroids, per contemporary guidelines. Due to their immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory properties, corticosteroids are associated with the development of superinfections. We aimed to retrospectively assess patterns of corticosteroid use and the profiles of bacterial blood stream infections associated with exposure to different dosing levels, in a cohort of 1558 real-life adult COVID-19 patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComparison of vitamin K and non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants and the bleeding frequency in the emergency department.
High Blood Press Cardiovasc Prev
January 2024
Article Synopsis
- Safety studies have shown that new anticoagulant drugs are at least as safe as older ones like warfarin, but emergency data on bleeding symptoms suggest discrepancies with existing research.
- The study aimed to explore how often patients on different anticoagulants visit the emergency department due to bleeding and related symptoms.
- The findings indicate that a significant portion of warfarin patients were inadequately monitored, with bleeding rates that were slightly higher compared to those on direct oral anticoagulants, highlighting the need for better tracking of bleeding issues in real-life scenarios.
Exhaled breath temperature (EBT) is a known biomarker of inflammation and airways blood flow. As opposed to previous studies, we were able to measure temperature of separate fractions of exhaled breath (fEBT) (those from the peripheral and central airways). The aim was to validate the fEBT measurement method to determine the reference values and the influence of endogenous and exogenous factors on fEBT in healthy subjects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The study examines the impact of prior oral anticoagulant (OAC) use on the outcomes of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, as existing research shows conflicting results.
- A total of 5,392 hospitalized COVID-19 patients were analyzed, revealing that most did not receive prior OAC, with 9% on warfarin and 6.2% on direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs).
- Results indicated that prior warfarin use was linked to higher in-hospital mortality and DOAC use was associated with an increased risk of major bleeding, suggesting that the type of OAC impacts clinical outcomes during COVID-19 hospitalization.
Background: Patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) might have an aggravated course after acquisition of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Aims: To analyse the outcomes of patients with CLD who were hospitalised due to COVID-19.
Methods: The medical records of 4014 patients hospitalised because of COVID-19 in a regional referral hospital over a 12-month period were analysed.
Background: The aim of this study was to determine the distribution of ABO and RhD blood group phenotypes in the general population in the Republic of Croatia and among hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19.
Materials And Methods: Data on ABO and RhD blood groups of all blood donors in Croatia (who donated blood during the period 2015-2020) and patients and pregnant women tested at the Croatian Institute of Transfusion Medicine during the 2-year period, 2019-2020, were obtained from the e-Delphyn blood bank information system. A total of 614,673 results were analyzed in this group.
Background: Decisions about limitations of life sustaining treatments (LST) are made for end-of-life patients in intensive care units (ICUs). The aim of this research was to explore the professional and ethical attitudes and experiences of medical professionals on treatment of end-of-life patients in ICUs in the Republic of Croatia.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among physicians and nurses working in surgical, medical, neurological, and multidisciplinary ICUs in the total of 9 hospitals throughout Croatia using a questionnaire with closed and open type questions.
Article Synopsis
- A study examined liver blood test (LBT) abnormalities in COVID-19 hospitalized patients, finding that 74.9% had deranged LBTs, primarily due to elevated AST, GGT, and ALT levels.
- Analysis showed that higher levels of these liver enzymes, particularly AST, were linked to more severe disease and higher risk of mortality after adjusting for other health factors.
- The findings suggest that monitoring LBTs could help predict serious outcomes in COVID-19 patients.
A1B and BB blood group genotypes are risk factors for pulmonary embolism.
Wien Klin Wochenschr
November 2021
Background: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a potentially life-threatening condition that mainly affects the people of advanced age. While certain blood group phenotypes (non‑O blood group) are known risk factors for the development of venous thromboembolism (VTE), there is no research which investigated the association of blood group genotypes with severity of PE. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of ABO blood group genotypes among the population of patients with PE and to investigate the correlation of the pulmonary embolism severity index (PESI) score to specific ABO blood group genotypes.
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