The Correlation of Serum Calpain 1 Activity and Concentrations of Interleukin 33 in COVID-19 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is one of the most severe complications of the COVID-19 disease. The role of IL-33 and calpain 1 was previously described in lung infections and lung tissue damage. Our study examined the association between serum calpain 1 activity and IL-33 concentration in patients with COVID-19 ARDS.

SUCCESSFUL REPOSITIONING PROCEDURE FOR BENIGN PAROXYSMAL POSITIONAL VERTIGO AFTER STAPEDOTOMY.

This report aimed to investigate the relationship after successful left-sided stapedotomy and postoperative benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) due to vitamin D deficiency. A 56-year-old woman presented with a complaint of progressive hearing loss and tinnitus in the left ear without dizziness. A successful left-sided stapedotomy was performed, confirming the diagnosis of otosclerosis and closing the air-bone gap to less than 10 dB.

ESTIMATION OF THE GLOMERULAR FILTRATION RATE IN CHILDREN WITH HEMOPHILIA.

Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) is one of the best-performing methods in evaluating kidney function. There are limited data regarding the estimated glomerular filtration rate in children and young adults with hemophilia. The aim of this study was to determine the difference between three commonly used estimated glomerular filtration rate equations in the pediatric population in a cohort of patients with hemophilia.

IMPACT OF GRAVES' DISEASE AND ANTITHYROID DRUG THERAPY ON BONE MINERAL DENSITY - PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE.

Graves' disease is an autoimmune disease characterized by excessive thyroid hormone production. One of the consequences of that state can be a decrease in bone mineral density (BMD). Graves' disease is often treated with antithyroid drugs (ATD) as first line therapy, which can lead to disease remission.

Associations between Endothelial Lipase and Apolipoprotein B-Containing Lipoproteins Differ in Healthy Volunteers and Metabolic Syndrome Patients.

The association between serum levels of endothelial lipase (EL) and the serum levels and composition of apolipoprotein B (apoB)-containing lipoproteins in healthy subjects and patients with metabolic syndrome (MS) remained unexplored. Therefore, in the present study, we determined the serum levels and lipid content of apoB-containing lipoproteins using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and examined their association with EL serum levels in healthy volunteers (HVs) and MS patients. EL was significantly negatively correlated with the serum levels of cholesterol in large very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) particles, as well as with total-cholesterol-, free-cholesterol-, triglyceride-, and phospholipid-contents of VLDL and intermediate-density lipoprotein particles in MS patients but not in HVs.

Medical treatment of acromegaly-experience from the Croatian acromegaly registry.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to review therapeutic outcomes of the medical treatment of patients with acromegaly based on real-world data from the Croatian Acromegaly Registry.

Methods: In this retrospective study we investigated 163 patients (101 female, 62 male, age at diagnosis 47.2 ± 13.

Levonorgestrel as a Potential Trigger of Acute Bilateral Central Serous Chorioretinopathy: Case Report.

This is a first ever report describing a case of acute bilateral central serous chorioretinopathy which developed shortly after the consumption of levonorgestrel as emergency contraception. A 27-year-old female patient visited the emergency department of the clinic due to diminished visual acuity in both eyes. She had taken a single pill of levonorgestrel (1.

The most common indications for measuring metanephrine and normetanephrine in plasma - a rational approach.

Aim To determine the most common indications for measuring metanephrine and normetanephrine in plasma by gender and age and to compare the concentrations of metanephrine and normetanephrine by indication, gender and age. Methods The study was conducted on 224 patients whose plasma metanephrine and normetanephrine concentrations were measured at the Clinical Institute for Laboratory Diagnostics at the University Hospital Centre Osijek for one year, until 1st January 2020. Results The most frequent indications for biochemical testing were adrenal incidentaloma, 138 (6.

Emergence and Spread of Enterobacterales with Multiple Carbapenemases after COVID-19 Pandemic.

Resistance to carbapenems in has become a matter of the highest concern in the last decade. Recently, harboring multiple carbapenemases were detected in three hospital centers in Croatia and in the outpatient setting, posing a serious therapeutic challenge for clinicians. In this study, we analyzed eight and two complex isolates with multiple carbapenemases, with regard to antibiotic susceptibility, β-lactamase production and plasmid content.

Role of galectin-3 in diagnosis and severity assessment of epicardial artery lesions in patients with suspected coronary artery disease.

Background: This study aimed to investigate the possible role of serum galectin-3 (Gal-3) levels in the diagnosis and assessment of significant epicardial artery lesions in patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods: This was a single-center cross sectional cohort study including 168 subjects with suspected CAD and indications for coronary angiography divided into three groups: percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) group (N 64), coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) group (N 57), and group with no coronary stenosis (N 47). Gal-3 levels were measured and the syntax score (Ss) was calculated.

Clinical features, treatment and outcome of pediatric patients with severe cutaneous manifestations in IgA vasculitis: Multicenter international study.

Objective: IgA vasculitis (IgAV) (formerly Henoch-Schönlein Purpura, HSP) rarely causes severe skin lesions in children. The purpose of the research was to determine whether severe skin manifestations were associated with a more severe disease course.

Methods: Severe cutaneous manifestations were defined as presence of hemorrhagic vesicles, bullae, ulcerations and/or necroses.

Effectiveness of Epidural Steroid Injection Depending on Discoradicular Contact: A Prospective Randomized Trial.

Lumbar radicular pain is a major public health and economic problem. It is among the most common reasons for professional disability. The most common cause of lumbar radicular pain is intervertebral disc herniation, which results from degenerative disc changes.

Validation and Cross-Cultural Adaptation of Croatian Self-Evaluation of Communication Experiences after Laryngectomy Questionnaire.

Introduction: The Self-Evaluation of Communication Experiences after Laryngectomy (SECEL) is a 35-item patient-reported questionnaire developed to address the communication needs of patients with laryngectomies. The aim was to translate, cross-culturally adapt, and validate the Croatian version.

Methods: The SECEL was translated from English by two independent translators and back-translated by a native speaker, after which it was approved by an expert committee.

Associations between Endothelial Lipase, High-Density Lipoprotein, and Endothelial Function Differ in Healthy Volunteers and Metabolic Syndrome Patients.

Metabolic syndrome (MS) is characterized by endothelial- and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) dysfunction and increased endothelial lipase (EL) serum levels. We examined the associations between EL serum levels, HDL (serum levels, lipid content, and function), and endothelial function in healthy volunteers (HV) and MS patients. Flow-mediated dilation (FMD), nitroglycerin-mediated dilation (NMD), serum levels of HDL subclasses (measured by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy), and EL serum levels differed significantly between HV and MS patients.

Corneal Fourier and Belin-Ambrósio Enhanced Ectasia Analysis in Healthy 4-Year-Old White Children.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to provide normative databases of Fourier analysis (FA) and Belin-Ambrósio enhanced ectasia display (BAD) in healthy White 4-year-old emmetropic children.

Methods: FA parameters analyzed were spherical component (SRmin), spherical eccentricity (SEcc), maximal decentration (MD), regular astigmatism at the center (Astigm. C) and periphery (Astigm.

SARS-CoV-2 and coinfection: a case report.

Background: A rare case of coinfection of and SARS-CoV-2 disease in Croatia is presented in this report.

Methods: We tracked epidemiological and laboratory findings in a patient with SARS-CoV-2 and coinfection. A complete blood count was performed using the Sysmex XN-2000 analyser (Sysmex Corporation, Kobe, Japan), coagulation analyses were performed using the BCS XP coagulometer (Siemens Healthineers AG, Erlangen, Germany).

(Dis)Agreement with Dysthanasia, Religiosity and Spiritual Experience as Factors Related to Nurses' Workload during End-of-Life Care.

This study intended to investigate whether the workload of nurses in the course of providing end-of-life care correlated with their religiousness, spiritual experience and level of agreement with dysthanasia procedures. The respondents included 279 nurses from four Croatian hospitals. A structured and validated instrument was applied.

Impact of vaccination on the presence and severity of symptoms in hospitalized patients with an infection of the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) of the SARS-CoV-2 (subvariant BA.1).

Objectives: The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants raised questions about the extent to which vaccines designed in 2020 have remained effective. We aimed to assess whether vaccine status was associated with the severity of Omicron SARS-CoV-2 infection in hospitalized patients.

Methods: We conducted an international, multi-centric, retrospective study in 14 centres (Bulgaria, Croatia, France, and Turkey).

Correlation between clinical outcomes and patients' satisfaction using tarsoconjunctival - Hughes flap for the reconstruction of eyelid defects.

Aim To examine and quantify patients' satisfaction and correlate with the objective clinical presentation after the treatment and to present a comprehensive literature review on tarsoconjunctival/ Hughes flap technique. Methods A review of more than 159 peer-review articles and a combined retrospective-prospective two-centres case series of 17 patients who underwent a two-stage modified Hughes flap procedure (2019-2021) to repair a lower eyelid defect caused by epithelial cancer was conducted. All patients were followed up for a minimum of six months.

Serum levels of interleukin 17 and 22 in patients with systemic sclerosis: a single-center cross-sectional study.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic, autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation, vasculopathy, and fibrosis of the skin and internal organs. Immunological response in SSc is still poorly understood. Cytokines play a significant role in this process leading to vasculopathy and fibrosis.

Efficacy and Safety of Obinutuzumab-chemotherapy Combinations in Front-line Treatment of Follicular Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Study of KROHEM, the Croatian Cooperative Group for Hematologic Diseases.

Obinutuzumab (G) has become part of front-line treatment of follicular lymphoma (FL) based on results of a large randomized study. Data on patients treated outside of clinical trials are lacking. We have retrospectively investigated efficacy and safety of G-based immunochemotherapy regimens in 114 patients treated in a real-life setting during a period of 2 years, largely coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stressful Experiences of Parents in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit: Searching for the Most Intensive PICU Stressors.

Hospitalization of a child in the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) is extremely stressful, both for the child and for his or her family. The purpose of this study was to gain deeper insight into the stressful experiences of parents of children hospitalized in the PICU. This study included 96 parents.

Semaglutide might be a key for breaking the vicious cycle of metabolically associated fatty liver disease spectrum?

Metabolically associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is a liver manifestation of metabolic syndrome potentially related to unfavorable hepatic and extrahepatic outcomes and progression to cirrhosis. Up to date, there are no approved pharmacotherapies for the treatment of MAFLD, so management focused on lifestyle interventions to encourage weight loss, and treatment of coexisting conditions is the only available option. Unfortunately, the aforementioned is often not potent enough to offer reversal or slow down hepatic inflammation and fibrosis.