Bacteremia Related to Vascular Prosthesis and Pseudoaneurysm Infection: A Case Report and Review.

Background: rarely causes gastrointestinal diseases but shows an affinity for the endovascular epithelium.

Methods: We describe a case of bacteremia related to vascular prosthesis and pseudoaneurysm infection, with a review of the literature.

Results: A 67-year-old male was admitted with a history of fever, weakness and painful swelling of the groin.

Delphi-Based Consensus on Interstitial Lung Disease Screening in Patients with Connective Tissue Diseases (Croatian National-Based Study).

The aim of this study was to develop a Croatian Delphi-based expert consensus for screening interstitial lung disease (ILD) associated with connective tissue disease (CTD). A systematic literature review was conducted on risk factors for the development of ILD, prevalence and incidence of ILD, diagnostic and screening methods for ILD, and prognosis of ILD in idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM), mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD), primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and systemic sclerosis (SSc) were performed. Based on the evidence found, experts developed questionnaires for screening and monitoring ILD in each CTD, which were provided via an online survey.

Efficacy and safety of endoscopic drainage of peripancreatic fluid collections: a retrospective multicenter European study.

Background: Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided transmural drainage allows treatment of symptomatic peripancreatic fluid collections (PFCs), with lumen-apposing metal stents (LAMS) and double pigtail plastic stents (DPPS) being the 2 most frequently used modalities.

Methods: Consecutive patients undergoing PFC drainage in 10 European centers were retrospectively retrieved. Technical success (successful deployment), clinical success (satisfactory drainage), rate and type of early adverse events, drainage duration and complications on stent removal were evaluated.

FALSE PHARMACORESISTANCE - A TRUE PROBLEM.

Pharmacoresistant epilepsy poses a great burden to patients, their families, and the whole healthcare system, with numerous social, economic, physical, and psychical consequences. Hence, it is a diagnosis that has to be made only in cases of high certainty, after all potential causes of epilepsy have been evaluated. One of the important causes of pharmacoresistant epilepsy is false pharmacoresistance, an entity that implies a condition in which poor disease control is not a consequence of the biology of the disease itself, antiepileptic drug inefficacy, and/or patient specificity.

DELAYED EFFECT OF VNS ON INTERICTAL EPILEPTIFORM DISCHARGES AND PHARMACORESISTANCE IN A PATIENT WITH REFRACTORY PERINATAL POSTISCHEMIC EPILEPSY.

A 20-year-old female with refractory perinatal postischemic catastrophic epilepsy and frequent daily generalized atonic, tonic, tonic-clonic and focal seizures was hospitalized in the progressive phase of illness. The diagnosis was confirmed by semiology, interictal electroencephalogram (EEG), long-term video EEG monitoring, and brain magnetic resonance imaging. Repeated interictal EEG findings showed generalized spike and slow wave complexes with a 2-3 Hz frequency.

QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH EPILEPSY - SINGLE CENTRE EXPERIENCE.

A prospective study was carried out at the Zagreb University Hospital Centre to evaluate the relationship between epilepsy, antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) and quality of life (QoL) in patients with epilepsy (PE), and its association with depressive symptoms and sexual dysfunction (SD). QoL was assessed by use of the Quality of Life in Epilepsy-31 Inventory (QOLIE-31), SD by the Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale (ASEX), and depressive symptoms by the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D17). The study included 108 PE (women 63% and men 37% men), mean age 39.

INCIDENCE OF ACUTE SYMPTOMATIC SEIZURES IN PATIENTS WITH COVID-19: A SINGLE-CENTER STUDY.

The most common neurological symptoms in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection are headache, myalgia, encephalopathy, dizziness, dysgeusia and anosmia, making more than 90 percent of neurological manifestations of COVID-19. Other neurological manifestations such as stroke, movement disorder symptoms or epileptic seizures are rare but rather devastating, with possible lethal outcome. The primary aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of acute symptomatic seizures among COVID-19 patients, while secondary aim was to determine their possible etiology.

EFFECT OF ANTIEPILEPTIC DRUGS ON P300 EVENT-RELATED POTENTIALS IN PATIENTS WITH EPILEPSY.

Epilepsy is one of the most prevalent chronic neurological diseases, affecting about 70 million people worldwide. Patients with epilepsy often encounter cognitive dysfunction, which is influenced by different factors including age at the onset of epilepsy, etiology of epilepsy, type of seizures, seizure frequency and duration, psychiatric comorbidity, and antiepileptic drug (AED) therapy. Event-related potentials are useful, noninvasive, objective clinical and research instrument for evaluation of cognitive functions in patients.

LEFT-SIDED INFERIOR VENA CAVA ASSOCIATED WITH PROXIMAL DEEP VENOUS THROMBOSIS OF THE LEFT LOWER EXTREMITY.

Left-sided inferior vena cava (IVC) is a rare congenital venous anomaly that is most frequently detected incidentally during abdominal computer tomography scanning. However, as in the case presented, the first clinical manifestation of this anomaly may be deep venous thrombosis (DVT) of lower extremities. Therefore, left-sided IVC should be kept in mind in case of inferior DVT, especially in young patients with no predisposing thrombotic risk factors.

Unrecognized Lower Jaw Fracture in a Physically and Emotionally Abused Child.

Diagnosing child abuse still poses a challenge for healthcare professionals. We will present a case in which a physically and emotionally abused four-year-old boy had an undiagnosed lower jaw fracture for almost eight months. The child first presented with a peri-mandibular swelling and was treated with antibiotics prescribed by his doctor of dental medicine.

Significance of nuclear EGFR and ABCG2 expression in malignant transformation of oral potentially malignant disorders.

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of nuclear EGFR (nEGFR) and the stem cell marker ABCG2 in oral leukoplakia (OL) and oral erythroplakia (OE) and to assess their significance as prognostic biomarkers for malignant transformation.

Methods: In this study we included 50 patients with oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD), 31 with OL and 19 with OE, in whom we examined the expression of nEGFR and ABCG2 by immunohistochemical methods.

Results: Twenty-one (42%) of 50 patients with OL and OE developed oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).

Higher Expressions of SHH and AR Are Associated with a Positive Receptor Status and Have Impact on Survival in a Cohort of Croatian Breast Cancer Patients.

Breast cancers (BC) are usually classified into four molecular subtypes according to the expression of estrogen (ER), progesterone (PR), and human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) receptors and proliferation marker Ki-67. Despite available anti-hormonal therapies and due to the inherent propensity of some subtypes to develop metastasis, there is a permanent need to discover new prognostic and predictive biomarkers, as well as therapeutic targets for BC. In this study, we used immunohistochemical staining to determine the expression of androgen receptor (AR) and sonic hedgehog protein (SHH), the main ligand of the Hedgehog-GLI (HH-GLI) signaling pathway, in 185 archival primary BC tissue samples and correlated it with clinicopathological characteristics, molecular subtypes, receptors statuses, and survival in a cohort of Croatian BC patients.

The Importance of a Multidisciplinary Approach in a Patient with Long-term Multisystemic Manifestations of Unrecognized Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia.

Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT), also called Rendu-Osler-Weber syndrome, is a rare autosomal dominant multisystemic vascular disorder, characterized by widespread mucocutaneous teleangiectasias, frequent visceral arteriovenous malformations (AVM) and a tendency for bleeding. This diagnosis should be suspected in all dermatological patients with generalized mucocutaneous vascular lesions at sites of predilection, associated frequent epistaxis and a positive family history. The aim of this paper is to emphasize the importance of a multidisciplinary approach, the role and timely cooperation of dermatologists and otorhinolaryngologists in the early clinical recognition and diagnosis of the disease.

Liver regeneration as treatment target for severe alcoholic hepatitis.

Severe alcoholic hepatitis (AH) is a distinct entity in the spectrum of alcohol-related liver disease, with limited treatment options and high mortality. Supportive medical care with corticosteroids in selected patients is the only currently available treatment option, often with poor outcomes. Based on the insights into the pathogenetic mechanisms of AH, which are mostly obtained from animal studies, several new treatment options are being explored.

Resistant and Relapsing Collapsing Glomerulopathy Successfully Treated with Rituximab-A Case Report.

Collapsing glomerulopathy (CG) or collapsing focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (cFSGS) is an aggressive disease with a high tendency of progression to end-stage renal disease due to common resistance to conventional immunosuppressants. Rituximab (RTX), a monoclonal antibody against CD20 B cells, showed some benefit in the treatment of CG. We are reporting about female patients with an idiopathic form of CG presenting with nephrotic syndrome (NS) and renal insufficiency resistant to several immunosuppressive agents such as steroids (ST), calcineurin inhibitors (CNI), and cyclophosphamide (CYC).

Spontaneous spinal subdural hematoma in COVID-19 patient: Croatian national COVID hospital experience.

Background: Spontaneous spinal subdural hematoma (SSDH) is a rare condition and causes of acute spinal cord compression, with symptoms varying from mild to severe neurological deficit. SSDH could occur as a consequence of posttraumatic, iatrogenic, or spontaneous causes, including underlying arteriovenous malformations, tumors, or coagulation disorder. Due to its rarity, it is difficult to establish standardized treatment.

Immune-mediated diseases after coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination: rare but important complication.

Since the beginning of mass vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), vaccine-linked immune-mediated diseases have been increasingly reported. The development of these diseases after COVID-19 vaccination may be attributed to the mechanisms of molecular mimicry and cross-reactivity between the viral spike protein and self-antigens. The most frequent vaccine-linked glomerular disease is immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN).

Oligomicrodontia in a Pediatric Cancer Survivor after Chemotherapy: A Case Report.

Chemotherapy used on pediatric patients especially those below 3 years of age causes disturbances in dental development. The aim of this case report was to present the late dental effects of chemotherapy in a patient treated for anaplastic ependymoma (WHO III) at an early age. Radiographic findings at the age of 9 years showed oligomicrodontia of six teeth, maxillary lateral incisors, and maxillary and mandibular first premolars.

Role of empirical isolation of the superior vena cava in patients with recurrence of atrial fibrillation after pulmonary vein isolation-a multi-center analysis.

Background: Non-pulmonary vein (PV) triggers play a role in the initiation of atrial fibrillation (AF), with the superior vena cava (SVC) being a common location. The aim of the current study was to investigate a strategy of empirical SVC isolation (SVCI) in addition to re-isolation of PV in patients with recurrence of AF after index PV isolation (PVI).

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed consecutive patients from two centers with recurrence of AF after index PVI, undergoing a repeat ablation.

Clinical and histopathological characteristics of COL4A3 c.2881+1G>A variant causing Alport spectrum disorders in Croatian population.

Alport syndrome (AS) and thin basement membrane nephropathy (TBMN) are part of the spectrum of kidney disorders caused by pathogenic variants in α3, α4, or α5 chains of the collagen type IV, the major structural component of the glomerular basement membrane (GBM). Using targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS), 34 AS/TBMN patients (58.8% male) from 12 unrelated families were found positive for heterozygous c.

IgG N-glycome changes during the course of severe COVID-19: An observational study.

Background: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes a respiratory illness named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is one of the main global health problems since 2019. Glycans attached to the Fc portion of immunoglobulin G (IgG) are important modulators of IgG effector functions. Fc region binds to different receptors on the surface of various immune cells, dictating the type of immune response.

DOES THE TYPE OF SURGERY IN BRAIN ABSCESS PATIENTS INFLUENCE THE OUTCOME? ANALYSIS BASED ON THE PROPENSITY SCORE METHOD.

There are different options for surgical treatment of brain abscess, mainly standard craniotomy and stereotactic aspiration. It has not yet been established which of these options is associated with a more favorable outcome under similar baseline conditions of patients. Demographic characteristics, microbiology, clinical presentation, and treatment outcome were analyzed for surgically treated adult patients with brain abscess over a 14-year period.