[Education of patients with asthma, chronic bronchitis and pulmonary emphysema]. / Poduka oboljelih od astme, kronicnog bronhitisa i emfizema pluca.

Patients' education belongs to the most efficient therapeutic measures in the management of asthma, chronic bronchitis and pulmonary emphysema. The following paper reports the experience in the educational programme at the Polyclinic for Respiratory Diseases in Zagreb. Each patient's education lasted 5 days, 3 lessons per day, in groups of 10-15 persons. The education was carried out by a teaching team consisting of pulmonologists, psychosomatologist, pharmacist, physiotherapist and biometeterologist. From March 1995 to February 1996 135 persons completed the educational programme, 65 of whom were asthma patients. Data on cough and dyspnoea, skills in inhaler and breathing technique were collected at the beginning and 3 months after the education in all asthma patients. Three months after the education the asthma patients showed a significant decrease in dyspnoea and a significant improvement in inhaler and breathing technique. A standard questionnaire was given to all patients at the end of the education and in more than 80% the education was well accepted by the patients. Initial results are encouraging and the programme should be expanded to all parts of Croatia.

[Primary mucociliary transport insufficiency]. / Primarni nedostatak mukocilijarnog transporta.

Case histories of 3 patients with primary mucociliary transport failure are described. Two of them had immotile cilia syndrome and one cystic fibrosis. In all three patients the same clinical picture was found and they had the same treatment, although the etiology of diseases was not the same. The treatment in two patients was not much successful since they had associated respiratory failure.

Wartime migration and the incidence of tuberculosis in the Zagreb region, Croatia.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the rate of decline in the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in residents (1985-1994) and in refugees and displaced persons (1992-1994) during prewar and war periods (1985-1994) in the region of Zagreb, Croatia, and to examine a possible change in the trend of decline in the resident population. Data on the incidence of TB were obtained from the Epidemiology Department, Institute for Lung Diseases, Zagreb, Croatia. The sample comprised two groups of subjects: residents (800,000-1,000,000 inhabitants) and all refugees and displaced persons temporarily residing in the Zagreb region (78,000-95,000 persons). Data were analysed by stepwise logistic regression. The most significant predictors of the TB incidence rate were the square of the year and residence status. The rate of TB incidence in nonresidents was significantly higher than in residents. The decline in incidence in residents was significantly slower than in the nonresident group. The results did not indicate a potential change in the natural decline of the incidence of tuberculosis in the resident population during the study periods. The difference between the regression trends of the incidence of tuberculosis in residents and nonresidents was the result of various concomitant factors, including artefacts of the war.