Cytomorphological and histomorphological features of lung adenocarcinoma with epidermal growth factor receptor mutation and anaplastic lymphoma kinase gene rearrangement.

Lung cancer is among the lethal and most prevalent oncological diseases globally. It is known that two types of mutations, namely anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene rearrangement and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutation, are responsible for the development of lung adenocarcinoma. The present study aimed to investigate the differences in the frequency of clinical, cytomorphological and histomorphological features of ALK and EGFR-positive lung adenocarcinomas.

Efficacy of Atezolizumab in Subsequent Lines of Therapy for NSCLC Patients: Insights from Real-World Data.

Unlabelled: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) like atezolizumab have improved outcomes in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, especially in the second-line setting after progression on platinum-based chemotherapy. However, access to ICIs remains limited in many developing nations. This study evaluated the efficacy of atezolizumab as a second-line versus later-line treatment for advanced NSCLC patients in Serbia.

The LUSBI Protocol (Lung Ultrasound/BREST Score/Inferior Vena Cava)-Its Role in a Differential Diagnostic Approach to Dyspnea of Cardiogenic and Non-Cardiogenic Origin.

: PoCUS ultrasound applications are widely used in everyday work, especially in the field of emergency medicine. The main goal of this research was to create a diagnostic and therapeutic protocol that will integrate ultrasound examination of the lungs, ultrasound measurements of the inferior vena cava (assessment of central venous pressure) and BREST scores (risk stratification for heart failure), with the aim of establishing a more effective differential diagnostic approach for dyspneic patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the emergency medicine department with the educational center of the community health center of Banja Luka.

Breathing for Two: Asthma Management, Treatment, and Safety of Pharmacological Therapy during Pregnancy.

The primary objectives of asthma management during pregnancy are to achieve adequate symptom control, reduce the risk of acute exacerbations, and maintain normal pulmonary function, all of which contribute to ensuring the health and well-being of both the mother and the baby. The Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) recommends that pregnant women with asthma continue using asthma medications throughout pregnancy, as the benefits of well-controlled asthma for both the mother and fetus outweigh the potential risks of medication side effects, poorly controlled asthma, and exacerbations. The classification of asthma medications by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) into categories A, B, C, D, and X is no longer applied.

PHARMACOVIGILANCE IN SERBIA: A TEN-YEAR PHARMACOEPIDEMIOLOGIC ANALYSIS.

Pharmacovigilance as a science and group of activities related to detection, collection, analysis, understanding and prevention of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) is an essential activity in the regulatory system of drugs of any country. Defining increased patient safety as the main purpose of ADR reporting, a well-designed national pharmacovigilance system achieves its ultimate goal, i.e.

Assessing the Impact of the Updated 2021 European Respiratory Society/American Thoracic Society Criteria on Bronchodilator Responsiveness in Asthma.

Introduction The European Respiratory Society/American Thoracic Society (ERS/ATS) Task Force released new technical standards on spirometry interpretation in 2021. Our study compares bronchodilator responsiveness (BDR) in asthma, evaluating the impact of the 2005 and 2021 ERS/ATS criteria and the influence of predictive equations. Methods A retrospective cohort study of adult patients with asthma was referred to spirometry with a BDR test at the Institute for Pulmonary Diseases of Vojvodina, Sremska Kamenica, Serbia.

Cytomorphological Features as a Subtyping Tool of Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer in Brushing Bronchoscopic Samples.

Background And Objective: Nowadays, the separation of adenocarcinomas (ADCs) and squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) is crucial given that there are new specific targeted therapies. So, the aim of this study was to examine the differences in cytomorphological features between ADC and SCC in bronchoscopic brush samples.

Material And Methods: The retrospective study was conducted over a 3-year period at Western Balkan University Hospital.

Perioperative Challenges: Analysis of Surgical Complications in Screening Lung Carcinoma Patient.

Introduction In September 2020, the Institute for Pulmonary Diseases of Vojvodina (IPBV) started a lung cancer screening program using low-dose computed tomography (LDCT). Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lobectomy is the most effective treatment for early-stage lung cancer. However, the frequency of postoperative complications in VATS anatomical lung resections among patients enrolled in the screening program has not been adequately studied.

The efficacy outcomes in non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with PD axis inhibitor agents - a population-based study of the Vojvodina region.

By 2021, the FDA approved the use of the drugs pembrolizumab and atezolizumab in the first-line treatment of patients with high positivity of programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) in locally advanced and metastatic non-small-cell-lung cancer (NSCLC). This approval was the result of statistically significant evidence from international, multicentric clinical studies that all reported increasing progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in these patients. In our study, we reported the demographic and clinical characteristics of 79 patients diagnosed with NSCLC with expression of PD-L1 ≥50% from January 2019 to December 2022 at the Institute for Pulmonary Diseases of Vojvodina, who received pembrolizumab therapy as the first-line treatment.

Biomonitoring Study of Toxic Metal(loid)s: Levels in Lung Adenocarcinoma Patients.

Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate heavy metal(loid)s (Cd, Pb, Hg, Cr, Mn, Mo, Ni, and As) in lung cancer patients in order to elucidate their role as lung cancer environmental risk factors. Sixty-three patients of both sexes with adenocarcinoma stage IIIB or IV were enrolled in this research.

Effects of Combustible Cigarettes and Heated Tobacco Products on Systemic Inflammatory Response in Patients with Chronic Inflammatory Diseases.

Smoke derived from combustible cigarettes (CCs) contains numerous harmful chemicals that can impair the viability, proliferation, and activation of immune cells, affecting the progression of chronic inflammatory diseases. In order to avoid the detrimental effects of cigarette smoking, many CC users have replaced CCs with heated tobacco products (HTPs). Due to different methods of tobacco processing, CC-sourced smoke and HTP-derived aerosols contain different chemical constituents.

Adherence, Disease Control, and Misconceptions Related to the Use of Inhalation Therapy in Patients with Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: A Cross-Sectional Study.

: Inadequate treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) might have a negative impact on their progression. Inhalation therapy is the cornerstone of pharmacotherapy for these conditions. However, challenges such as low adherence, negative attitudes, and misconceptions about inhaled medications still persist, impeding effective disease management.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Acute Lower Respiratory Tract Infections: A Narrative Literature Review.

Both obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and acute lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) are important global health issues. The pathophysiological links between OSA and LRTIs include altered immune responses due to chronic intermittent hypoxia and sleep fragmentation, increased aspiration risk, and a high burden of comorbidities. In this narrative review, we evaluated the current evidence on the association between OSA and the incidence and outcomes of acute LRTIs in adults, specifically community-acquired pneumonia and viral pneumonia caused by influenza and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Attitudes toward Death among Health Care Professionals in the Balkan Region.

: Death is an unavoidable experience in any person's life and affects not only the dying person but also their caregivers. The dying process has been displaced from homes to health care facilities in the majority of cases. Facing death and dying has become an everyday life of health care professionals (HCP), especially in palliative care (PC) settings.

The Association of Asthma and Metabolic Dysfunction With Outcomes of Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19.

Background: There have been conflicting results on the association of asthma with the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Poor metabolic health has been previously associated with both severe COVID-19 and inflammation in asthma.

Objectives: To examine the association between asthma and COVID-19 outcomes and whether these associations are modified by metabolic syndrome.

Effects of combustible cigarettes and heated tobacco products on immune cell-driven inflammation in chronic obstructive respiratory diseases.

Since long-term effects of heated tobacco products (HTP) on the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are unknown, we used COPD mice model to compare immune cell-dependent pathological changes in the lungs of animals which were exposed to HTP or combustible cigarettes (CCs). We also performed intracellular staining and flow cytometry analysis of immune cells which were present in the blood of CCs and HTP users who suffered from immune cell-driven chronic obstructive respiratory diseases. CCs enhanced NLRP3 inflammasome-dependent production of inflammatory cytokines in lung-infiltrated neutrophils and macrophages and increased influx of cytotoxic Th1, Th2, and Th17 lymphocytes in the lungs of COPD mice.

Chondrosarcoma of the Sternum: Surgical Challenges, Chest Wall Reconstruction, and Postoperative Management.

Although rare, primary chondrosarcoma is the most frequent malignant tumor of the sternum. It commonly manifests as a painful, expanding mass arising from the costochondrosternal junction. Since it is resistant to radiotherapy and chemotherapy, surgical resection with reconstruction is the preferred treatment.

Life-Threatening Hemoptysis Leading to Suffocation.

Hemoptysis represents a symptom or sign that typically causes anxiety for patients and draws the attention of the physician because it can be caused by various conditions, ranging from benign to malignant. Depending on the amount of coughed-up blood, hemoptysis can be a life-threatening condition. We present the case of a female patient with a life-threatening hemoptysis that was caused by underlying bronchiectasis and antiplatelet and anticoagulant treatments.

Metaphedrone (3-Methylmethcathinone): Pharmacological, Clinical, and Toxicological Profile.

Synthetic cathinones are a group of novel psychoactive substances used as an alternative to classical recreational drugs. As a result of legal prohibitions on older generations of these compounds, new formulations appeared on the drug market. One of them is metaphedrone (3-methylmethcathinone, 3-MMC), a structural isomer of 4-methylmethcathinone and a psychostimulant drug.

Effective Differences between 2D and 3D Planned Brachytherapy in Lung Cancer: An Institutional Retrospective Study.

: Advanced lung cancer is usually manifested by endoluminal tumor propagation, resulting in central airway obstruction. The objective of this study is to compare the high dose rate brachytherapy treatment outcomes in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) depending on the treatment planning pattern-two-dimension (2D) or three-dimension (3D) treatment planning. : The study was retrospective and two groups of patients were compared in it (a group of 101 patients who underwent 2D planned high-dose-rate endobronchial brachytherapy (HDR-EBBT) in 2017/18 and a group of 83 patients who underwent 3D planned HDR-EBBT between January 2021 and June 2023).

Self-care activities in pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Introduction: Effective diabetes self-management and collaborative responsibility sharing with parents are imperative for pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus, particularly as they gradually assume more self-care responsibilities. The primary goal of this study was to assess differences in adherence to self-care activities regarding sociodemographics and clinical characteristics in pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes. The secondary goal of this study was to understand the level of parental involvement in diabetes management and to assess the pediatric patients' behaviors (independent or dependent on disease self-management) that relate to sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.

Late-Onset Chylothorax After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting.

Chylothorax, the presence of lymph in the pleural cavity, is a significant post-cardiac surgery complication. Historically linked to left internal mammary artery (LIMA) harvesting, its occurrence in cases without LIMA usage is uncommon. This paper details a case of chylothorax in an 84-year-old female patient who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) without LIMA harvesting.