The Impact of Cytokines on Coagulation Profile in COVID-19 Patients: Controlled for Socio-Demographic, Clinical, and Laboratory Parameters.

Background: Severe coagulation abnormalities are common in patients with COVID-19 infection. We aimed to investigate the relationship between pro-inflammatory cytokines and coagulation parameters concerning socio-demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics. Methods: Our study included patients hospitalized during the second wave of COVID-19 in the Republic of Serbia. We collected socio-demographic, clinical, and blood-sample data for all patients. Cytokine levels were measured using flow cytometry. Results: We analyzed data from 113 COVID-19 patients with an average age of 58.15 years, of whom 79 (69.9%) were male. Longer duration of COVID-19 symptoms before hospitalization (B = 69.672; p = 0.002) and use of meropenem (B = 1237.220; p = 0.014) were predictive of higher D-dimer values. Among cytokines, higher IL-5 values significantly predicted higher INR values (B = 0.152; p = 0.040) and longer prothrombin times (B = 0.412; p = 0.043), and higher IL-6 (B = 0.137; p = 0.003) predicted longer prothrombin times. Lower IL-17F concentrations at admission (B = 0.024; p = 0.050) were predictive of higher INR values, and lower IFN-γ values (B = -0.306; p = 0.017) were predictive of higher aPTT values. Conclusions: Our findings indicate a significant correlation between pro-inflammatory cytokines and coagulation-related parameters. Factors such as the patient's level of education, gender, oxygen-therapy use, symptom duration before hospitalization, meropenem use, and serum concentrations of IL-5, IL-6, IL-17F, and IFN-γ were associated with worse coagulation-related parameters.

Public Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices towards Antibiotic Use and Antimicrobial Resistance in Eastern Region of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The constant worsening of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) imposes the need for an urgent response. Use of antibiotics (AB), both due to irrational prescribing by doctors and irrational use by patients, is recognized as one of the leading causes of this problem. This study aimed to identify knowledge, attitudes, and practices about AB use and AMR within the general population, stratified by age, gender, and urban/rural areas during the COVID-19 pandemic. This questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted in April 2022 among patients who visited three health centers in the eastern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A high frequency of AB use was observed during the COVID-19 pandemic (64.2% of respondents were treated with AB). Age and place of residence have not been shown to be factors associated with AB use practices that pose a risk for AMR. However, female gender (ß = 0.063; p = 0.041), better knowledge (ß = 0.226; p < 0.001), and positive attitudes (ß = 0.170; p < 0.001) about use of AB and towards to AMR proved to be factors associated with better practice by respondents. Women, younger respondents, and respondents from urban areas showed better knowledge, attitudes, and behavior about the use of AB and AMR during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Consumption of Antibiotics in Primary Care Setting before and during COVID-19 Pandemic in Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The pandemic of COVID-19 has brought many changes in health care systems at all levels of health care. The increase in the number of cases of COVID-19 has led to overuse and misuse of antibiotics.The aim of this study was to compare the consumption of antibiotics for systemic use in outpatients in the Republic of Srpska (RS), before and during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the association between antibiotic consumption and the rate of incidence and mortality of COVID-19. The total consumption of the antibiotics for systemic use (J01) in outpatients in the Republic of Srpska during 2019 was 19.40 DDD/TID, with an increase to 30.80 DDD/TID in 2020.Significantly higher use of penicillin (10.58 ± 11.01 DDD/TID in 2019 vs. 17.10 ± 13.63 DDD/TID in 2020), cephalosporins (2.68 ± 1.90 DDD/TID in 2019 vs. 5.93 ± 2.77 DDD/TID in 2020) and macrolides (2.14 ± 2.22 DDD/TID in 2019 vs. 3.40 ± 3.44 DDD/TID in 2020) was observed during the pandemic period. It is necessary to improve the prescribing practice of antibiotics at the primary health care level, public awareness about rational use of antibiotics, as well as the current antibiotic stewardship programs and control their implementation.

2020 consensus guideline for optimal approach to the diagnosis and treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The HERe2Cure project, which involved a group of breast cancer experts, members of multidisciplinary tumor boards from healthcare institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was initiated with the aim of defining an optimal approach to the diagnosis and treatment of HER2 positive breast cancer. After individual multidisciplinary consensus meetings were held in all oncology centers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a final consensus meeting was held in order to reconcile the final conclusions discussed in individual meetings. Guidelines were adopted by consensus, based on the presentations and suggestions of experts, which were first discussed in a panel discussion and then agreed electronically between all the authors mentioned. The conclusions of the panel discussion represent the consensus of experts in the field of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The objectives of the guidelines include the standardization, harmonization and optimization of the procedures for the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of patients with HER2-positive breast cancer, all of which should lead to an improvement in the quality of health care of mentioned patients. The initial treatment plan for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer must be made by a multidisciplinary tumor board comprised of at least: a medical oncologist, a pathologist, a radiologist, a surgeon, and a radiation oncologist/radiotherapist.

Symptomatic isolated thoracic splenosis 11 years after abdominal trauma ­ Case report.

Introduction: Thoracic splenosis is defined as the autotransplantation of splenic tissue into thorax. It occurs due to splenic rupture in association with a diaphragmatic tear on the left side after a traumatic event. It is a rare disease that most commonly remains undiscovered as it is usually asymptomatic. Case Outline: We present a symptomatic case of thoracic splenosis in a 53-year-old smoker male patient with a medical history of abdominal surgery and splenectomy for a thoracoabdominal gunshot. Three years before the medical examination he was suffering from dyspnea, frequent coughing, left pleuritic chest pain and complained about faster fatigue. A chest radiograph obtained during a medical checkup showed a multinodular left pleura-based mass in the upper lobe. Established histopathological diagnosis after surgical removal of the nodule was splenosis. No evidence of malignancy was observed. Conclusion: Splenosis should be considered as a differential diagnosis by the undertaken workup of left pulmonary nodules or masses in patients with a history of trauma.

[Peripheral Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor of the Small Bowel Mesentery - Report of a Case].

INTRODUCTION: Primitive neuroectodermal tumor or Ewing's sarcoma is a tumor of undifferentiated small round cells that arise from the soft tissues, and is believed to be of neural origin. It occurs most often in children, followed by adolescents and young adults. CASE OUTLINE: A case of a 24-year-old patient with ulcerostenosans Ewing's sarcoma of the initial part of the small intestine is presented in our paper. Reviewing the literature and using as an example the case of a female patient with signs of sideropenic anemia caused by primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the small intestine, an attempt was made to clarify the etiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis and therapy with the aim of its rapid detection and treatment. CONCLUSION: Mesenteric primitive neuroectodermal tumor is a rare neoplasm in adults, while it usually occurs in children and young adults. Surgical resection of the lesions with the application of chemotherapy is the main form of treatment of patients suffering from this disease.

[The importance of cytology in diagnosing rare breast carcinoma--two case reports].

INTRODUCTION: This paper presents two cases of very rare tumors of breast: breast sebaceos carcinoma, which has rarely been described in medical literature, and breast carcinosarcoma. Morphological characteristics and biological behavior of sebaceos carcinoma are still rather vague. Carcinosarcoma of the breast is a rare malignancy with distinct cell lines described as a breast carcinoma of ductal type with a sarcoma-like component. CASE REPORT: The first presented case is a 73-year-old female referred to our hospital in January 2008 with tumor of the right breast in the upper outer region of the breast and enlarged lymph nodes in the right axillary region. The second presented case is a 51-year-old female with carcinosarcoma, also a very rare primary breast tumor. She was admitted to our hospital in June 2011 with history of lump in the upper and lower outer quadrant of the left breast. In both cases, biopsy of tumor tissue was carried out with a thin needle, i.e. the aspiration cytology was applied as a diagnostic method, and during the operation the fast diagnostics of frozen sections and cytologic diagnostics were done. Although this methodology is important in diagnosis, in both cases it showed certain limitations in diagnosing such rare tumors. The final diagnosis was made after carefully synthesizing the histological findings and immunohistochemical phenotype. CONCLUSION: An accurate classification of breast tumors on cytological preparations is not possible in case of poorly differentiated and rare tumors. A careful and accurate classification of these tumors is necessary.

[Surgical anatomy of the initial segment of the lateral circumflex femoral artery].

INTRODUCTION: The lateral circumflex femoral artery usually originates from the lateral side of the initial part of the deep femoral artery, or less frequently from the femoral artery. If it is a branch of the femoral artery, it arises directly above the point of origin of the deep femoral artery. The aim of this study was to determine the origin of the lateral circumflex femoral artery, its origin distance from the midpoint of the inguinal ligament and the topographical relations of the origin, which have a great significance in clinical work. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A dissection was performed on the autopsy group of 42 thighs, followed by the analysis of anatomical relationships of the lateral circumflex femoral artery. All data were entered into the custom-made protocol, which contained the case number, age and sex, side, topographical-anatomical relations of the lateral circumflex femoral artery, artery dimensions and variations, and the distance between the place of origin of the lateral circumflex femoral artery and the midpoint of the inguinal ligament. RESULTS: In our study, the lateral circumflex femoral artery most frequently originated from the deep femoral artery, i.e. in 78.6% of cases. In 19.0% of limbs, it originated from the femoral artery, and in one case (2.4%) from a common stem of the deep femoral artery and the lateral circumflex femoral artery, coming from the femoral artery. CONCLUSION: In clinical practice, it is of great importance to know the origin variations of the lateral circumflex femoral artery while planning and performing various surgical and invasive diagnostic procedures in the inguino-femoral region.

Origin of the medial circumflex femoral artery--a cadaver study.

AIM: To determine the pattern of origin of medial circumflex femoral artery (MCFA), its origin distance from the midpoint of the inguinal ligament and the topographical relations of the origin, which have great significance in clinical work. METHODS: Dissections on the autopsy group of 42 thighs were performed, and anatomical relationships of MCFA was analyzed. All data were entered into a scheme of the protocol which was designed for this research containing the case number, age and sex, side, topographical-anatomical relations of MCFA, artery dimensions and variations, and the distance between the place of origin of MCFA and the midpoint of the inguinal ligament. RESULTS: Commonly, in 25 (59.5%) limbs MCFA originated from the deep femoral artery. In 14 (33.3%) limbs MCFA arose from the femoral artery (FA), in one case (2.4%) a common source of deep femoral artery (DFA) and MCFA was identified, and in two limbs MCFA was not noticed. The distance between the level of origin of MCFA and the central point of the inguinal ligament was 44.2 mm, in average, when it was emerging from FA, and 57.9 mm, in average, in cases where MCFA originated from DFA. CONCLUSION: Surgeons and radiologists should be familiar with the variations of clinically important MCFA, which is commonly involved in peripheral occlusive arterial diseases, to improve effectiveness of diagnosis and treatment of various pathological conditions in the femoral region.

[Massive hemorrhage of upper gastrointestinal tract caused by gastrointestinal stromal tumor of the stomach--case report].

INTRODUCTION: Acute bleeding from the upper gastrointestinal system is a medical emergency which is followed by high mortality rate, ranging from 6 to 15% in spite of modern diagnostic methods and treatment. Bleeding from the upper gastrointestinal system may be caused by gastrointestinal stromal tumors of the stomach, which are mainly characterized by occult bleeding, while profuse bleeding rarely occurs accompanied by hemorrhagic shock. Gastrointestinal stromal tumors of stomach are the most common mesenchimal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract. CASE REPORT: In our study we showed a 60-year-old female patient with profuse bleeding from the stomach and the clinical picture of severe hemorrhagic shock, caused by gastrointestinal stromal tumor. An ovoid junction, raised towards the lumen, covered with ulcerated mucosa in several places and followed by massive arterial bleeding was found intraoperatively, after the performed gastrotomy. Histopathological examination with immunohistochemical analysis confirmed that this was a gastrointestinal stromal tumor of the stomach. DISCUSSION: Acute bleeding from the digestive system is a sudden and serious condition of the body. Urgent esophagogastroduodenoscopy is a sensitive and specific diagnostic and therapeutic method of choice. Massive bleeding from the upper gastrointestinal tract is very rarely caused by gastrointestinal stromal tumors, whose clinical picture is very heterogeneous and depends on tumor size and location. Abundant bleeding from the tumor is an indication for urgent surgical intervention. CONCLUSION: According to the literature massive hemorrhage of the upper digestive system can rarely be caused by gastrointestinal stromal tumor of the stomach. It is shown that abundant hemorrhage of the upper digestive tract can be caused with gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumor. Surgical resection is the main form of treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumors of the digestive system and bleeding from these tumors caused by failure of endoscopic hemostasis.

Adenomyomatosis of the gallbladder--case report.

Adenomyomatosis of the gallbladder is a benign, mostly asymptomatic condition of an unknown aetiology. Hyperplastic changes in the gallbladder wall cause an overgrowth of the mucosa, thickening of the muscular wall, and formation of intramural diverticula or sinus tracts termed Rokitansky-Aschoff sinuses. Adenomyomatosis is divided on general, segmental and localised. Ultrasound examination, computerized tomography and magnetic resonance are used in diagnostic procedure. The importance of the disease lies in the fact that it can cause recurrent right upper quadrant pain so it must be concerned in resolving pain cause. This paper was aimed at explaining the aetiology of the disease, its clinical manifestation, making diagnosis and therapy in order to make its diagnosis and treatment possible.