Cystatin C Concentration During the First Three Postnatal Days in Healthy Term Newborns.

OBJECTIVE: Cystatin C (Cys-C) concentration has not been examined sufficiently among healthy newborn population, particularly in terms of reference values. This study aimed to establish gender-, postnatal age- and birth weight-specific Cys-C concentration for healthy term newborns. Its objective was also to examine if there were any differences between our measured concentration and the reference interval established by the CALIPER study. METHODS: Serum samples from a total of 90 healthy term newborns were used to determine Cys-C concentration. Cys-C was measured within first three days of birth using particle-enhanced turbidimetric immunoassay (PETIA) on the Architect plus ci8200 analyzer. RESULTS: Median concentration of the Cys-C was 2.05 mg/L. There were no statistically significant differences in Cys-C concentration regarding gender (p=0.779), birth weight (p=0.505), postnatal age (p=0.512) or Apgar score (p=0.799). The value of the 2.5th and 97.5th percentile for Cys-C concentrations for girls was 0.93-3.15 mg/L and for boys it was 1.5-3.36 mg/L. CONCLUSION: Cys-C concentration in healthy term newborns does not depend on gender, birth weight, postnatal age, or Apgar score. Our measured concentration range of CyS-C in healthy newborns turned out to be slightly wider than the interval determined in the CALIPER study.

Palivizumab: The Effects of Prophylactic Immunization on the Occurrence of Infections Caused by the Respiratory Syncytial Virus.

Aim The aim of this research is to analyze the characteristics of children immunized during immunization season, and their readmission to hospital due to infections of the respiratory tract in the period from 2008 to 2016. Method The retrospective cohort study included 101 children. The test group consists of infants who met the strict criteria for immunization. The national guidance was determined on the basis of earlier research and recommendations by the AAP. All the children who had been readmitted for hospitalization were quickly tested for RSV. Results Of this total, 47 children were preterm children (46.5%), 43 (42.5%) were children with CHD, and 11 (11%) exhibited other individual risk factors (gestational age 33-34 weeks, neurological disorders, respiratory anomalies, multi-organ anomalies). 25 (24%) patients of the immunized study population readmitted the ward due to respiratory infections. Of these, 50% were under the age of 6 months and were treated for less than a week on average. Upon readmission, a quick test to diagnose for RSV infections was conducted, which was negative for all of the previously immunized children. Conclusion Palivizumab represents an effective prevention to avoid RSV infections, that significantly contributes to mortality for children at risk, especially in developing countries.

[The frequency of burnout syndrome in physicians in Mostar University Hospital]. / Ucestalost sindroma burnout kod lijecnika u Sveucilisnoj klinickoj bolnici Mostar.

AIM: To determine the prevalence of burnout syndrome in clinical physicians in Mostar University Hospital. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study included 94 subjects who were familiar with the purpose of research and were classified into three specialty groups. The first consisted of doctors in the Department of Internal Medicine and Department of Pediatrics, the second group of doctors in the Department of Surgery and Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, while the third group (CL-specialization) were doctors of the Clinic of Dermatology and Venereal Diseases, Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Department of Ophthalmology. All subjects were handed anonymous questionnaire to assess burnout. The questionnaire consisted of 18 statements with numbers from 1 to 3, 1 meaning rarely, 2 often and 3 always The task was to circle an appropriate number depending on how the statement described them. Along with these statements the questionnaire contained information on the place of employment, years of work experience and gender. RESULTS: In the studied sample of respondents most (n = 81, 86.2%) didn't have symptoms of burnout syndrome. As for the people who had these symptoms, they all belonged to the moderate intensity (chi2 test = 49.19, df = 1, P < 0.001), while none had severe symptoms of this syndrome. The intensity of the symptoms in the subjects was not significantly different between males and females (chi2 test = 0.85, df = 1, P = 0.355). Also, the intensity of symptoms in the subjects did not differ significantly depending on the number of working years (exact test, P = 0.888). After the formation of three groups from seven departments involved in the research of so far perceived intensity of stress, no significant differences in the intensity of the symptoms of burnout were found between them (exact test, P = 0.536). Regarding the individual items in the overall survey sample, in five items high intensity symptoms of burnout were most often circled. The most frequently reported high intensity of the symptoms was the sense of inability to change something at work (chi2 test = 78.04, df = 14, P < 0.001) CONCLUSION: The majority of respondents did not have symptoms of burnout syndrome, and those who had them were in the moderate stage of burnout. No statistically significant differences in the incidence of burnout syndrome between the groups of specialties were found.

The Incidence and Effects of Alloimmunization in Pregnancy During the Period 2000 - 2013.

INTRODUCTION: The objective of the analysis was to examine the epidemiological aspects of maternal alloimmunization and to determine the most common antibody specificities resulting in hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The retrospective epidemiological study encompasses all pregnant women who underwent immunohematological screening and the newborn treated for HDN in the period from 2000 to 2013 in the Herzegovina region. RESULTS: The indirect Coombs test (ICT) detected antibodies against antigens in 384 (2.4%) pregnant women of the 18 800 who were tested at the Department of Transfusion Medicine. The direct Coombs test (DCT) detected antibodies against antigens in 160 (0.8%) newborn treated for HDN. The results of our 13-year study, in which 60% of the pregnant women had non-RhD antibodies, confirms this finding. CONCLUSION: However, we have reached the 21st century and the burden of alloimmunisation in pregnancy is still on our backs. The problem of immunization and HDN is still present in our region, which is a neonatal and public health problem.

Does Body Mass Index in Pregnant Women Affect Laboratory Parameters in the Newborn?

Objective The objective of this study was to determine the effect of body mass index (BMI) during pregnancy in laboratory parameters in the serum of the three groups of pregnant women and in their newborns. Methods This prospective study is comparison between the three groups of pregnant women and their newborns categorized according to their BMI. The study included 128 pregnant women and their newborns. In this study, the concentration of blood count, iron, ferritin, and bilirubin were analyzed in the subjects. Results The pregnant women in the three groups significantly differ in the values of blood count (p < 0.001). Statistically significant difference in iron and ferritin was not found between individual three studied groups of pregnant women (p = 0.947). The newborn of the first group of pregnant women had significantly lower values of ferritin (p < 0.001), leucocytes (p < 0.001), and bilirubin (p < 0.001). Significant positive correlation between BMI of pregnant women and leucocytes, ferritin, and bilirubin of the newborn was found (p < 0.001). Conclusion In this study, the tested pregnant women do not have biochemical signs of anemia, neither do their newborns. It was noted that there was no negative correlation between individual tested biochemical parameters for anemia in pregnant women and their newborns.