Religious observance and acute coronary syndrome in predominantly Muslim Albania: a population-based case-control study in Tirana.

Purpose: We aimed to assess the association of religious observance with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in a predominantly Muslim population.

Methods: A case-control study conducted in Tirana, Albania in 2003-2006 included 467 nonfatal consecutive ACS patients (370 men, 97 women; 88% response) and a population-based control group (469 men, 268 women; 69% response). Religious observance was assessed as a composite score based on mosque/church attendance, frequency of prayer and ritual fasting.

Secondary retroperitoneal fibrosis associated with generalized atherosclerosis.

Retroperitoneal fibrosis is an uncommon disease that often presents in a subtle manner. Only a few cases of the combined association of generalized atherosclerosis and retroperitoneal fibrosis are reported in the recent literature, supporting the view that the condition is probably an autoimmune periaortitis. We describe a typical case of retroperitoneal fibrosis associated with generalized atherosclerosis with clinical presentation of progressive renal insufficiency, and claudication from arterial compromise.

Spread of Burn and Non-burn Pathologies, Anaesthetic Support and some Management Data.

In this article we present the surgical activity of the Burns Service in the University Hospital Centre in Tirana. Not only burn patients but also patients with trauma and soft tissue losses are hospitalized in a burns centre, as well as patients needing plastic surgery coming from similar specialities. In 2006, 1127 patients were subjected to surgery in our service.

Gitelman's syndrome (familial hypokalemia-hypomagnesemia).

Gitelman's syndrome (GS) is a heritable renal disorder characterized by hypomagnesemia, hypokalemia and hypocalciuria, and is distinct from Bartter's syndrome (BS). As compared to those with BS, patients with GS present at an older age, and they have a milder clinical picture, normal or slightly decreased concentrating urine ability, reduced urinary excretion of calcium, and permanently decreased serum magnesium level. GS is caused by defective NaCl transport in the distal convoluted tubule, and is linked to the gene encoding the thiazide sensitive Na-Cl-cotransporter located on chromosome 16q.

Esophageal damages in systemic scleroderma.

Aim: to assess the prevalence of esophageal damages and the associations with skin and immunological alterations in patients with scleroderma.

Methods: a case-series study including 74 patients with scleroderma was carried out in 2003-2006. Patients were recruited at the Rheumatology Unit of the University Hospital Center in Tirana, the Albanian capital city.

Electrical burns.

A brief description is given of a case involving a man suffering from deep injuries due to the passage of electric current in both arms. Through this description we wish to demonstrate our strategy for the selection of the most appropriate surgical techniques, illustrating this with relevant photos. The formation of thrombi in the brachial arteries obliged us to proceed to bilateral amputation at the level of the forearms.

The first prevalence survey of nosocomial infections in the University Hospital Centre 'Mother Teresa' of Tirana, Albania.

A survey was conducted in the largest hospital in Albania to estimate the prevalence and risk factors for nosocomial infections (NIs). A one-day prevalence survey was carried out between October and November 2003 in medical, surgical and intensive care wards. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definitions were used.

Planning and technical details when treating a post-burn hand contracture.

Hand contractures are still a problem in everyday plastic surgery practice. We decided to review the hand contractures we had treated over a 5-yr period (2000-2004) and to present some guidelines for their prevention. In the 5-yr period we operated on 206 patients with hand contractures.

Clinical aspects of hyperthyroidism in hospitalised patients in Albania.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate certain clinical aspects of hyperthyroidism in Albania, which is an iodine deficient country, as it is known that iodine intake may influence the type of thyroid hyperfunction. The files of sixty-six patients with thyrotoxicosis who were hospitalised for their disease were retrospectively analysed. 59.

Review of statistical data about severe burn patients treated during 2001 and evidence of septic cases in Albania.

The objective of this study is to review the incidence of severe burns and the complications of burns sepsis in Albanians. The data are from clinical records of the patients hospitalised in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Service of Burns, "Mother Teresa" University Hospital Center (UHC), Tirana, Albania during 2001. For the identification of sepsis in burned patients the classification of the American College of Chest Physicians/Society Critical Care Medicine (ACCP/SCCM) was used.

Voiding cystourethrosonography for the diagnosis of vesicoureteral reflux in a developing country.

The primary causes of renal insufficiency in Albanian children are reflux nephropathy and obstructive uropathies. The poor availability and technical quality of conventional radiological imaging in detecting vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) and lower urinary tract obstruction stimulated this pilot study, with the aim of evaluating the diagnostic efficacy of voiding cystourethrosonography (CUS). The study included 34 patients (aged 0.

Mental health services in Albania.

Albania, situated in the western Balkans, has an area of 28 748 km and a population of 3 069 275 (year 2001), almost one-third of whom are aged 0-14 years. Life expectancy is estimated to be 70.4 years for both sexes (World Health Organization, 2003).

Transmitral pulsed-Doppler echocardiography is a more accurate technique compared with two-dimensional echocardiography using dobutamine, in patients with one vessel coronary artery disease.

Unlabelled: To examine the effects of dobutamine on pulsed-Doppler left ventricular filling indices and its utility for evaluation of CAD we studied 14 patients with normal coronary arteries (Group 1) and 39 patients with significant CAD (>70% diameter stenosis). Patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) were divided into two groups: patients with one-vessel coronary disease (Group 2); and those with multivessel CAD (Group 3). After stopping cardioactive treatment, patients underwent incremental dobutamine stress (5, 10, 20, 30 and 40 microg/kg/min) during pulsed-Doppler interrogation of diastolic filling with simultaneous heart rate and blood pressure measurements.

Factors associated with asthma in Albania.

Background: This study was undertaken to see whether asthma in Albania (where it is particularly uncommon) is associated with certain 'western' characteristics, and with dietary and lifestyle factors that affect its occurrence elsewhere.

Methods: A screening survey was conducted among 2653 persons aged 20-44 years. A more detailed enquiry was conducted among a random subsample plus all others whose response indicated possible asthma.

Asthma and allergy in Albania.

Background: The risk of allergic disease may be influenced by the degree of "westernization". A survey was conducted to ascertain whether the prevalence of allergy was lower in Albania than elsewhere in Europe, as it has been the most isolated European country.

Methods: The subjects were residents of Tirana aged 20-44 years.