Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Cardiovascular Healthcare in Croatia: A Comprehensive Nationwide Survey.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cardiovascular healthcare in Croatia remains largely unexplored. This study aimed to compare the utilization and provision of cardiovascular services during the pre-pandemic (2017-2019) and pandemic (2020-2021) periods, leveraging nationwide data from the Croatian Health Insurance Fund, which covers 95% of all insurance claims in the country. Our findings reveal that while the use of coronary angiographies decreased during the pandemic, there was a notable increase in the utilization of advanced heart failure treatment modalities and percutaneous coronary interventions, particularly in the context of acute myocardial infarction. Additionally, transcatheter aortic valve implantations saw a significant rise during the pandemic period. Furthermore, laboratory diagnostic testing for troponin and natriuretic peptides experienced a marked increase, while the utilization of most other cardiovascular services remained stable or showed only minor declines compared to the pre-pandemic era. These observations suggest that the Croatian cardiovascular healthcare system displayed resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic, successfully maintaining and even expanding access to various diagnostic and interventional procedures despite facing widespread societal and logistical challenges.

[Transradial approach in interventional cardiology: "quod licet femoralisti, non licet radialisti"]. / Transradijalni pristup u intervencijskoj kardiologiji: "quod licet femoralisti, non licet radialisti".

Transradial approach has been used in invasive cardiology since 1989 and since 1995 for PCI. Croatia is late in using this technique for about one whole decade. The advantage of transradial approach over femoral approach are serious local complications of (2.6-2.8%), more frequent with modem therapy (7.4%), occasionally requiring surgical repair (2.4%). Major adverse cardiovascular events are significantly more occurring with femoral (3.8-6.55%) compared to transradial approach (2.5-3.7%), while in the MORTAL study total mortality is higher as well. Patients prefer transradial approach due to it being less painful and uncomfortable, and also because of greater mobility after the procedure. Time spent for patient care by nurses is shortened by half than what it used to be, and the final savings per patient is $290. An unfavorable aspect of transradial approach is clinically insignificant radial artery occlusion (0.6%-1.4%), as well as higher radiation exposure, for 12% in practice. Procedural time is similar, but it could take up to 3 minutes longer. Access site crossover is more often with transradial (4.7-7.6%), compared to femoral procedure (1.4-2.0%), but PCI failure is independent of approach. All unfavorable aspects are diminishing with experience of a cardiologist. Now, some of the Croatian centers, such as General Hospital Zadar, use transradial approach in 67% of catheterizations, 64% of PCI, and 38% of all primary PCIs.

The analysis of tobacco consumption in Croatia--are we successfully facing the epidemic?

Tobacco is the largest cause of morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study is to analyse several health and economically related indicators of tobacco consumption: smoking prevalence, standardized death rates (SDRs) from lung cancer and the proportion of GDP spent on tobacco in Croatia and other transitional countries--the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Romania, and Bulgaria. The overall smoking prevalence in Croatia decreased by 5.2% during 1994-2005, more among females (-9.9%) than males (-0.3%). There is no significant difference in the smoking prevalence between Croatia (27.4%) and other countries. However, 33.8% of Croatian males smoked during 2002-2005, more than in Romania and the Czech Republic, and less than in Hungary and Poland. The prevalence of female smoking (21.7%) in Croatia is similar to the female smoking prevalence in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, but male smoking is predominant in all countries. The proportion of smokers among youth is above 20% and it is the highest in the Czech Republic (29.7%), followed by Hungary (26.7%), Slovenia (24.9%), Croatia (24.1%), and Poland (21.5%). The proportion of smokers among girls is higher than among boys in Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Croatia, contrary to Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Poland where boys smoke slightly more. There is no significant difference between the prevalence of smoking among girls in Croatia and Bulgaria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, and Slovakia. According to the SDR from lung cancer in males (70.3/100,000), Croatia is ranked high assuming the 3rd place, after Hungary (99.7) and Poland (72.0). With a SDR of 15.9/100,000 for females, Croatia is ranked slightly better--5th place. Tobacco consumption continues to be a major public health problem in transitional countries. Croatia conducted several campaigns and programmes in the past. However, results reveal that current anti-tobacco strategies are ineffective in reducing the smoking prevalence among men and youth. Men do not smoke less than a decade ago and, despite the observed decline among women, increasing trends are observed among teenage girls. Croatia should apply a comprehensive approach that would include raising awareness of health risks, restriction of smoking in public places, higher taxing, implementing stricter bans on advertising and promotion of tobacco as well as supporting smoking cessation. This last measure is believed to bring about some results in the medium term in targeted population groups, provided that it is supported by all health professionals. Otherwise, we may expect progress at the population level in the field of social stigmatization of smoking and wider intolerance to second-hand smoke. The full impact of smoking on the population health is yet to be seen and in the future it will undoubtedly remain one of the major contributors to the poor public health situation in Croatia.

Radial artery spasm during transradial coronary procedures.

Although transradial access (TRA) for coronary procedures has many advantages over the transfemoral approach, it's still not the dominant route used in coronary interventions. Radial artery spasm (RAS) is an important limitation of TRA. We performed a search of published literature to estimate the prevalence and possible risk factors of RAS in patients undergoing transradial coronary procedure. Nineteen published papers including 7197 patients were identified as relevant; reported incidence of RAS was 14.7% altogether. It varies depending upon the criteria used, on applied premedications, and on sheath or catheter selection. Use of hydrophilic coated sheaths and catheters can reduce the incidence of RAS to 1%, while intra-arterial application of verapamil (1.25-5 mg) and nitroglycerin (100-200 µg) can reduce the incidence of RAS up to 3.8%. We concluded that RAS is still problematic in transradial access, and that besides hydrophilic materials, the use of intra-arterial vasodilators remains mandatory in RAS prevention. However, the optimal spasmolytic cocktail is yet to be confirmed by valid spasm criteria.

HIV infection, as opposed to antiretroviral therapy, does not cause changes in the concentration levels of specific salivary electrolytes.

The concentration levels of salivary calcium, magnesium and zinc can vary in different localized oral, as well as systemic diseases and conditions. So far changes in the concentration levels of specific electrolytes in stimulated parotid saliva in HIV-positive/AIDS patients have been proven. The objective of this research was not only to study the concentration levels of calcium in non-stimulated total saliva, but also the concentration levels of magnesium and zinc, which have not been studied so far, and the influence of antiretroviral therapy (HAART). This research was conducted on 60 healthy subjects with an average age of 40.4 years, and 60 HIV-positive patients with an average age of 43.7 years, 45 of whom took HAART therapy. The concentration levels of calcium, magnesium and zinc in saliva were determined by means of an atomic absorption spectrophotometry. No significant differences in the levels of excreted saliva/5 minutes (p = 0.116), the concentration levels of salivary calcium (p = 0.713), magnesium (p = 0.600), nor zinc (p = 0.162) were found between HIV-positive patients and the control group. No any correlation was determined between all three types of electrolytes and the number of CD4+ cells, nor the number of HIV-virus copies in peripheral blood of patients. Within the HIV-positive group, with respect to HAART therapy, no differences were found in the concentration levels of salivary magnesium (p = 0.588), nor zinc (p = 0.096). However, the concentration levels of salivary calcium were significantly higher in HIV-positive patients who underwent HAART treatment (p = 0.004). The results of this research show that HIV, as a systematic infection, does not cause changes in the excretion of magnesium, zinc nor calcium in non-stimulated total saliva. Furthermore, it has been proven that HAART treatment does not cause changes in the concentration levels of magnesium or zinc, but can cause an elevation in the concentration level of saliva, which could be related to the calcium mobilization in blood.

[Stent, endovascular prosthesis, net or strut? What would British dentist Charles Stent (1807-1885) have to say on all this?]. / Stent, endovaskularna proteza, mrezica ili podupirac? Sto bi na sve to rekao britanski stomatolog Charles Stent (1807.-1885.)?

The word stent appears in the Index Medicus as of 1952, while in Croatian articles as of 1993. The origin of the word has been attributed to British dentist Charles. T. Stent (1807-1885), maker of the compound for dental impressions (Stent's compound). Viennese surgeon, Johannes F. S. Esser (1877-1946) used the compound in plastic surgery of the face calling it an eponym Stent's mould. During the 1950's, William H. ReMine and John H. Grindlay used Stent's principle for omentum lined plastic tubes in the bile duct of a dog. The development of today's vascular stents began in 1912 when French Nobel Prize winner Alexis Carrel (1873-1944) implanted glass tubes in the arteries of dogs. The first metal spirals were implanted in the arteries of dogs by Charles T. Dotter (1920-1985), while the first stents in human arteries were implanted by French doctors Ulrich Sigwart and Jacques Puel in Toulouse in 1986. Some authors claim that the origin of the word stent is associated with the Scotish word stynt or stent, meaning stretched out river fishing nets.

Oral burning symptoms and burning mouth syndrome-significance of different variables in 150 patients.

OBJECTIVES: Despite the extensive amount of published literature upon burning symptoms in patients with clinically healthy appearance of the oral mucosa, as well as burning mouth syndrome (BMS) itself, they both remain still challenging topics. The aim of this study was to determine the real prevalence of "true" BMS in comparison to other patients with burning symptoms with clinically healthy appearance of the oral mucosa and then to compare "true" BMS patients with healthy controls regarding gastritis and intake of anxiolytics and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors. STUDY DESIGN: In 150 patients with burning symptoms of clinically healthy oral mucosa, local and systemic investigations were performed and they included detection of candidal infection, salivary flow rate, presence of oral galvanism and parafunctional habits as well as complete blood count, serum ferritin, serum glucose levels, serum antibodies to Helicobacter pylori together with detailed medical history with special regard to medication intake. After "true" BMS patients were identified they have been compared to the controls with regard to the presence of gastritis and the intake of anxiolytics and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors. RESULTS: Our results show that gastritis were significantly more present among "true" BMS patients and that they also significantly more intake anxiolitics, when compared to the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings might lead to the conclusion that every "true" BMS patient should be referred to the gastroenterologist and psychiatrist.

Oral burning symptoms and burning mouth syndrome-significance of different variables in 150 patients

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Objectives: Despite the extensive amount of published literature upon burning symptoms in patients with clinically healthy appearance of the oral mucosa, as well as burning mouth syndrome (BMS) itself, they both remain still challenging topics. The aim of this study was to determine the real prevalence of “true” BMS in comparison to other patients with burning symptoms with clinically healthy appearance of the oral mucosa and then to compare “true“ BMS patients with healthy controls regarding gastritis and intake of anxiolytics and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors. Study design: In 150 patients with burning symptoms of clinically healthy oral mucosa, local and systemic investigations were performed and they included detection of candidal infection, salivary flow rate, presence of oral galvanism and parafunctional habits as well as complete blood count, serum ferritin, serum glucose levels, serum antibodies to Helicobacter pylori together with detailed medical history with special regard to medication intake. After “true“ BMS patients were identified they have been compared to the controls with regard to the presence of gastritis and the intake of anxiolytics and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors. Results: Our results show that gastritis were significantly more present among “true” BMS patients and that they also significantly more intake anxiolitics, when compared to the control group. Conclusions: Our findings might lead to the conclusion that every “true“ BMS patient should be referred to the gastroenterologist and psychiatrist

Cardiovascular diseases in Croatia and other transitional countries: comparative study of publications, clinical interventions, and burden of disease.

AIM: To determine the number of publications on cardiovascular diseases in the MEDLINE database, the rate of medical doctors and clinical interventions in cardiology, and health and socioeconomic indicators for Croatia, and to compare them with those for Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Austria. METHODS: PubMed was used in search for publications on cardiovascular diseases published in 1991-2004. Rates per million population and proportions of publications on cardiovascular diseases in the MEDLINE database were calculated. Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was used as a socioeconomic indicator, whereas human resources in medicine were presented as the rate of medical doctors per million population. Standardized death rates from cardiovascular diseases and ischemic heart disease were used as indicators of cardiovascular health. Clinical interventions in cardiology, such as coronary angiograms, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasties (PTCA), and coronary bypass surgeries (CABG) were expressed per million population per year. RESULTS: Croatia had the lowest GDP per capita among the analyzed countries. The standardized death rate from cardiovascular diseases in Croatia was 91.7 per 100,000 population aged 0-64 in 2001, which was higher than that in Slovenia and Austria (P<0.001), similar to that in the Czech Republic, and lower than that in Hungary (P<0.001). Cardiovascular scientific output in Croatia was the lowest among investigated countries, ie, 1.1 per million population in 2003 (P<0.001). Despite a significantly lower number of medical doctors in comparison with Hungary and the Czech Republic (P<0.001), Croatia experienced a similar increment in the amount of clinical interventions in cardiology. CONCLUSION: In contrast to high cardiovascular mortality rates, cardiovascular scientific production in Croatia was significantly lower than in other investigated countries. A positive trend in cardiovascular medicine was recorded in clinical practice, but has yet to be followed by scientific production.