High prevalence of kidney disease in two rural communities in Kosovo and Metohia.

A systematic survey was carried out in an enclave in Kosovo and Metohia, with the aim of assessing the prevalence of kidney diseases. The survey involved 423 (180 males) adult inhabitants from two small settlements, Velika Hoca and Orahovac, and included an interview, medical documentation, physical, ultrasound, and laboratory examinations. Persons with any detected disorder indicating kidney disease were invited for additional examination of kidney function. Using urine dipstick test, proteinuria was detected in 19.1% and hemoglobinuria in 4.5% of the examined subjects. Glomerular filtration rate (Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) formula) below 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) was found in 5.2% of subjects. Kidney ultrasound examination detected reduced length of right and left kidneys in 38 and 24 persons, respectively. Cysts were also a frequent finding, but polycystic kidney, hydronephrosis, and kidney stones were found in about 2% each. The analysis of data obtained by the present examination and available medical documentation revealed kidney and urinary tract diseases in 98 persons: 52 patients with already known disease and 46 patients detected in the survey. Out of them in 22 patients diagnosis of kidney disease could not be established during the survey but laboratory analyses indicated that they might suffer from tubulointerstitial disease: 14 had tubular dysfunctions, 8 of them low-grade proteinuria, and 12 had a positive family history for kidney disease. In the enclave of Velika Hoca and Orahovac the prevalence of kidney disease was 7.0% indicating that these communities might be placed among those with a high prevalence of kidney disease in Serbia.

Screening of chronic diseases and chronic disease risk factors in two rural communities in Kosovo.

BACKGROUND: A cross-sectional study was carried out in Velika Hoca and Orahovac, two rural communities in Kosovo and Metohia, with the aim of assessing the prevalence of chronic diseases and associated risk factors. METHODS: The study involved 423 (180 male) adult inhabitants aged 51 +/- 16 years and included an interview, medical documentation, physical, ultrasound, laboratory examinations and ECG. RESULTS: Hyperlipidemia was the most frequent (70%) risk factor followed by alcohol consumption (47%), hypertension (42%), smoking (36%) and obesity (32%). Ischemic heart disease was diagnosed in 25 patients, hypertensive cardiomyopathy in 17, other cardiomyopathies in 5 and arrhythmia in 20 patients. Nine persons had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Previously diagnosed liver cirrhosis occurred in 5 and chronic hepatitis in 8 subjects, while liver steatosis with elevated serum transaminases (22 persons), elevated transaminases with normal ultrasound (20 persons), tumor or suspected tumor (7 persons) were detected in the survey. Gastrointestinal symptoms were the most prevalent but peptic ulcer and gastritis had been previously diagnosed in 64 and 47 patients. Kidney and urinary tract diseases were known for 52 patients (12 with chronic renal failure and 4 on hemodialysis) and 46 more were detected in the study. Among them in 22 patients with markers of kidney disease and unclear diagnosis 12 had a positive family history, 8 low-grade proteinuria, 14 tubular dysfunctions and 7 eGFR (estimated glomerular filtration rate) below 60 ml/min/1.73 m2. CONCLUSION: In the Serbian enclave of Velika HoEa and Orahovac the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases was similar to that of gastrointestinal, liver and kidney diseases. This differs from other parts of Serbia where cardiovascular disorders are the leading cause of disease burden.

Kidney disease in medieval Serbian manuscripts from the Chilandar monastery (Mount Athos, Greece).

In the Chilandar monastery (Mount Athos, Greece) library, a collection of medical texts written in the Old Serbian Slavonic language was discovered in 1952. Because of its size and comprehensiveness, this manuscript was named the Chilandar Medical Codex. The Collection contains several manuscripts, which according to modern medical terminology, the manuscripts can be classified as texts on Internal Medicine, Infectious diseases, Toxicology, Pediatrics, Pharmacology and Surgery, belonging to different time periods. The oldest part, Text on uroscopy, is considered to have been written in 13th or 14th century and consists of 35 text pages divided into 62 paragraphs. Following the popular uroscopy methodology of macroscopic examination of urine, this text contains detailed descriptions of urine characteristics (color, consistency, sediment, odor), as well as a convincing Hippocratic description of urine formation from the filtration of metabolic and waste materials (involving the four humors) rather than blood and fumes (toxic metabolites) according to the theory of Theophilus Protospatharius and Isaac Israeli. Precise descriptions of normal and pathological urine characteristics are provided. Although kidney anatomy and function is unclear, the urinary bladder is very undoubtedly described as an organ for urine collection. In the Chilandar Medical Codex, there are about one hundred descriptions of kidney and urinary tract diseases and disorders. Many symptoms and syndromes such as hematuria, dysuria, pyuria, renal colic, anuria, polyuria, edema and dropsy, urine retention and fever, are incorporated in the broader clinical pictures of lithiasis of the kidney and/or bladder, pyelonephritis, cystitis, necrotic renal disease indicative of renal tuberculosis and tumors, acute and chronic nephritis, renal failure, and gout. Specific pharmacological prescriptions, mostly simple or compound herbal medicines, are given for each of those renal ailments.

War-related psychological sequelae among emergency department patients in the former Republic of Yugoslavia.

BACKGROUND: Residents of the Republic of Serbia faced civil war and a NATO-led bombing campaign in 1999. We sought to assess the burden of metal health dysfunction among emergency department (ED) patients presenting for care three years post-war in Serbia. METHODS: This study was conducted during July and August 2002 at two sites: a university hospital ED in Belgrade, Serbia and an ED in a remote district hospital serving a Serbian enclave in Laplje Selo, Kosovo. Investigators collected data on a systematic sample of non-acute patients presenting to the ED. All respondents completed a structured questionnaire assessing demographics and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (using the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire), and major depression (using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale). RESULTS: A total of 562 respondents participated (310 in Belgrade, 252 in Laplje Selo); the response rate was 83.8%, 43% were female, and mean age was 37.6 years (SD = 13.4). Overall, 73 (13.0%) participants had symptoms consistent with PTSD, and 272 (49.2%) had symptoms consistent with depression. Sixty-six respondents had both disorders (11.9%). In separate multivariable logistic regression models, predictors of PTSD were refugee status and residence in Laplje Selo, and predictors of depression were older age, current unemployment, and lower social support. CONCLUSIONS: Three years post-war, symptoms of PTSD and major depression in Serbia remained a significant public health concern, particularly among refugees, those suffering subsequent economic instability, and persons living in rural, remote areas.