Background/Aim: The most common bacterial diseases in women around the world are urinary tract infections. Aim of this study, was to evaluate the prevalence and current antibiotic resistance rate of uropathogens isolated from the female patients of a tertiary care hospital in Amritsar, Punjab, India. Methods: Samples were collected from patients showing urinary tract infection (UTI) symptoms and analysed using microscopy, dipstick test and urine culturing followed by identification and characterisation of to identify the uropathogens. Antibiotic susceptibility test and MIC were performed. Results: The results revealed that E coli (35.5 %) was the most prominent uropathogen followed by Klebsiella spp (21 %), Enterobacter spp (17 %), Acinetobacter (11 %), Enterococcus spp (6 %), Pseudomonas spp (4.5 %), coagulase negative Staphylococci (4 %), coagulase-positive Staphylococci (0.5 %) and Corynebacterium aurimucosum (0.5 %). The antibiotic susceptibility profile study reported eight isolates with multi-drug resistance properties. However, gentamicin, imipenem and meropenem were found to be the most effective antibiotics against the isolated uropathogens. All the extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-positive isolates possess the quinolone-resistant gene qnrB, while qnrA was absent. Conclusion: The current study revealed that for appropriate treatment, it is crucial to be aware of the epidemiological data regarding the disease and to begin any empirical antibiotic treatment.

Fragility fractures, a form of stress fracture brought on by physiological stress on weak bones are not common. It might be challenging to diagnose a fragility fracture, since a standard X-ray shows signs of fracture repair rather than the actual fracture. Here is presented a case of a young woman who has been complaining of pain in both legs for 4 months and has been unable to stand for 1 week. A further analysis revealed that patient's vitamin D levels were insufficient.

Background/Aim: Dehiscence of the colorectal anastomosis is one of the most serious complications in digestive surgery that is still present in a large percentage today, which significantly increases the cost of treatment and can lead to death. Due to all the above, early detection of anastomotic dehiscence is very important, as well as the decision on surgical treatment. Procalcitonin (PCT) is thought to be an important marker of inflammation and sepsis. Aim of this paper was to confirm PCT as a marker of great sensitivity in early diagnosis of anastomotic leakage. Methods: The study included patients who underwent surgery for colorectal cancer in the period from 2016 to 2020. Patients were operated according to an elective protocol and with an open surgical approach. In patients, PCT values were measured on the 2nd and 4th postoperative day (POD) to determine the association between elevated PCT values and the onset of dehiscence of the colorectal anastomosis. Results: A study was conducted in 118 patients in whom a stapler colorectal anastomosis was created. Colorectal anastomosis dehiscence occurred in 10 patients. In 4 patients with dehiscence, no re-surgical intervention was required, but they were taken care of by conservative methods. Repeated surgery was performed in 6 patients. In all patients with dehiscence, there was a multiple increase in the value of PCT above normal. Conclusion: PCT has high sensitivity and specificity (85 and 74 % respectively) as a marker in dehiscence of colorectal anastomosis. In this study it was found that PCT values were significantly correlated with the dehiscence of anastomo-sis 2nd POD and especially 4th POD.

Background/Aim: The trend of using teledentistry increased significantly during the pandemic. Many studies have analysed patients' perceptions of teledentistry, but no studies have examined the factors that influence these perceptions. Aim of this study was to determine the factors that influenced the patient's perception of teledentistry. Methods: This type of research was a descriptive analysis with a cross sectional design. A total of 170 respondents filled out a questionnaire containing sociodemographic data and statements with a Likert scale related to the five perceptual domains of teledentistry. The data were analysed for correlation test with SPSS and model test with SEM-PLS. Results: There were only two factors, namely age and level of education that appear as factors that affect the patient's perception with a correlation significance value of 0.001 for age and 0.005 for education. The value of the correlation coefficient was positive, which means that the higher the age and level of education, there was a greater tendency for perceived value to be more strongly agreed. These results were reinforced by the results of the coefficient values on the SEM-PLS model test which were positive and significant, namely 0.311. The results of the goodness of fit analysis in this study were in the moderate category with a value of 0.265. However, the imbalance in the number of respondents in each sociodemographic group makes the results of this study less representative. Conclusion: There was a significant positive correlation between the level of education and the perception of teledentistry. This means that the higher a person's education level, the better his perception of teledentistry. Age had a significant positive correlation and influence with the patient's perception of teledentistry.

Background/Aim: Acne can occur in people of all ages, but mostly affects the population at puberty. Given the high prevalence and large impact that acne has on young people, the aim of this study was to assess adolescents' knowledge about factors that improve or worsen the clinical picture of acne, as well as to evaluate the sources used to obtain information on acne. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 460 high school pupils from the Medical School and Gymnasium in Kosovska Mitrovica. A self-administrated questionnaire was used. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to model the association between gender (males/females) or presence of acne (no/yes) and potential exacerbating and ameliorating factors, as well as sources of information. Results: 36.7 % of the respondents were male and 63.3 % were female. 48.9 % of high school pupils confirmed that they had acne. The main factors that worsen the condition of acne, were irregular face washing (88.7 %), hormones (87.0 %), fatty foods (80.9 %) and sweets (79.3 %). The majority of respondents believed that the intake of more water (83.9 %), cosmetic treatment (77.8 %), dietary changes (75.9 %), holiday (54.1 %) and sunbathing (39.3 %) affect improving acne. Taking more water (OR = 1.77; 95 % CI = 1.01-3.11) as a factor in improving acne was significantly more common in girls, while boys more often believed that sunbathing (OR = 0.62; 95 % CI = 0.41-0.94) and weight loss (OR = 0.53; 95 % CI = 0.32-0.88) affect the improvement of acne. The most important sources of information about acne were the Internet (73.0 %) followed by parents (62.6 %), friends (54.1 %), and a doctor (42.8 %). Conclusion: Acne was more common in women and those with a positive family history. The presence of misconceptions among young people regarding the factors that improve or worsen the condition of acne indicates the need for additional education.

Background/Aim: Unintentional injuries among children and adolescents have become a common issue in public healthcare. The study objective was to analyse the characteristics and identify predictors associated with unintentional injuries in children and adolescents treated in emergency medical services (EMS) in the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Methods: A cross-section study with retrospective analysis of WebMedic e-database from 14 EMS, in the period between January 2018 and December 2020 was conducted. Research included patients with unintentional injuries, aged ≤ 19 years, of both sexes. For comparison between groups, Chi-squared and multivariate logistic regression were used in risk factor analysis. Results: A total of 1,856 cases were identified, most injuries resulted from falls (46.7 %) and traffic injuries (26.9 %). Boys were significantly more affected by injuries than girls (p < 0.001). Falls were the major cause for reporting to EMS among age groups of children (0-9 years) and adolescents (10-14 years), whereas injuries in traffic were dominant in adolescents aged 15 to 19. The most common injuries were head injuries (35.7 %). Risk factors of unintentional injuries were age (p < 0.001), sex (p = 0.046), weekday (p = 0.016), winter (p = 0.014), body region (head, abdomen, lower and upper limbs (p < 0.001), thorax (p = 0.009)). Conclusions: There were significant differences in characteristics of unintentional injuries according to age and sex. Chances for occurrence of unintentional injuries among children increased with their age, especially for boys. These differences might indicate areas where preventive measures should be undertaken.

Background / Aim: COVID-19 is acute virus disease caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It was proclaimed as pandemic starting from March 2020 and is still ongoing. COVID-19 pandemic forced all segments of the society, particularly the health sector, to function in changed and aggravating circumstances and because of the transmission and new strains of the virus it resulted in the change of the number of infected people with peaks and oscillations. Aim of this study was to make analysis of the data related to COVID-19 positive/suspect patients examined in the Primary Healthcare Centre Banja Luka in the period 15 March 2020 - 15 March 2021, which refers to the incidence of the infected persons, sex and age representation, laboratory diagnostics and clinical parameters, applied therapy, as well as the number of patients sent for the hospital treatment. Methods: Data for the analysis were obtained by the retrospective analysis of the statistical data from the electronic medical record of the examined COVID-19 positive/suspect patients in the Outpatient Clinic for Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) and in the field. Pearson's ch2 test of contingency was used for the comparison of differences of the observed characteristics of the examined groups. Results: Personnel of the Emergency Department (ED) of the Primary Healthcare Centre Banja Luka, in the period 15 March 2020 - 15 March 2021, examined the total of 3,937 COVID-19 positive patients and patients suspect of COVID-19. Out of that number, 3,601 patients were examined in the ED - ARI and 336 patients were examined in the field. The biggest number of patients was registered in November 2020 (768). Male sex prevailed (55.50 %) and patients of 20-50 years of age were most represented. There were 3.10 % of those highly febrile patients and 2.5 % of those with low SpO2 of under 90 %. 14.90 % of patients had higher values of troponin T and 45.50 % of them had higher values of D-dimer. In the field, 69.60 % of patients had pathological changes on lungs and 33.30 % had pathological ECG report. The number of patients sent from the ARI for further diagnostic procedure or hospitalisation to the Clinic for Infectious Diseases of the University Clinical Centre of Banja Luka was 1,191 and 258 patients were sent from the field. Conclusion: For the purpose of preventing the spread of epidemics, the ED reorganised the existing space by introducing temporary clinics - containers for the patients with acute respiratory infections and febrile status, COVID-19 suspects. Clinical parameters changed depending on the new virus strains, as well as on age distribution and infection complications.

Background: Although India is relatively better resourced as compared with other low middle income countries in several aspects, it shares several challenges and vulnerabilities like high population, resource constraints (limited number of hospital beds, skilled healthcare personnel, intensive care units) and socioeconomic milieu, and it is important that these resources are spent wisely to maximise lives saved and minimise disruption to health services for all COVID-19 patients. Hence for dealing with this pandemic quickly and efficiently, a centre which could be set up urgently at a low cost for efficient oxygen triage was needed and thus cater to the sudden enormous load of patients who were unnecessarily occupying oxygen beds in hospitals. Methods: This study describes the setting up, management and outcome of seven hundred bedded COVID-19 care centre at Jaipur, India, within three days, at low cost, by multidisciplinary efforts of the Government of Rajasthan for efficient triage of patients and to share the excessive patient load of the biggest Government medical college of the state. Results: More than 700 patients were successfully managed at the centre within a period of one month with a favourable outcome. The perceptions of patients assessed via questionnaire also establish the success of this endeavour in sharing the load of hospitals at the peak of the pandemic. Conclusion: This paper describes the positive impact of setting up this COVID-19 care centre, and experience presented in this paper can be utilised as a novel and future oriented solution to address effectively the unprecedented pressure on the healthcare systems, created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: Numerous human migrations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia's northern province of Vojvodina have led to the increased mixing of these population's genetic pool, leading to a reduction in genetic differences. The question is whether there are now genetic differences between the mentioned populations. Methods: Short Tandem Repeat (STR) loci D2S1338 and D18S51 were used in this paper to compare the diversity of alleles and genotypes between the populations of Vojvodina and one of the two Bosnia's entities, the Republic of Srpska (RS). Three hundred ninety unrelated persons, 140 persons from the RS and 260 from Vojvodina, were analysed. The PowerPlex ESX16 System commercial kit was used for profiling persons from the territory of the RS and the AmpF/STR Identifiler commercial kit for persons from Vojvodina. The Mann-Whitney U-test was used for statistical analysis. Results: Data analysis concluded a significant deviation in the allele frequency of the D18S51 locus where p=0.021. There was no statistically significant deviation in the D2S1338 locus allele frequency between these two populations. It was also found that there is a statistically significant deviation in the genotype frequencies of these two populations for the analysed genetic markers. Conclusion: This study confirms the existence of a significant deviation of allelic frequency for the D18S51 gene locus and a significant deviation of both gene markers frequency of genotypes.

Background/Aim: In surgery, and especially in the neurosurgical operations, maintenance of cardiovascular stability during and in the phase of the immediate postoperative recovery is of vital importance. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of continuous esmolol infusion on the values of cardiovascular parameters and quality of the emergence from anaesthesia in neurosurgical patients. Methods: A total of 40 patients of both sexes scheduled for elective supratentorial surgery were randomly assigned to two groups. Esmolol group received intravenous (iv) infusion of esmolol dissolved in 5 % glucose solution (during the first 5 min at a rate of 0.3 mg/kg/min and thereafter at a rate of 0.1 mg/kg/min), while the ones from the control group received a 5 % glucose solution without esmolol at the same volume and rate. Cardiovascular parameters were registered at critical phases of anaesthesia and operation (induction, intubation, placement of Mayfield frame, craniotomy, skull closure, extubation). Recovery after anaesthesia was assessed based on times of eye opening on command, spontaneous eye opening and regaining of full orientation. Results: Values of systolic blood pressure and heart rate were significantly lower in the esmolol than in the control group of patients. Although the durations of anaesthesia did not differ, patients from the esmolol group required significantly less opioids and isoflurane and recovered after the anaesthesia significantly faster than the patients in the control group. Conclusion: Ultrashort-acting beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist esmolol, administered as a continuous iv infusion, assures better cardiovascular stability and smoother emergence from the balanced inhalation general anaesthesia than the control glucose infusion in elective neurosurgical patients.