Acta clinica Croatica
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Strabismus is a common disorder in which eyes are not aligned with their optical axis, resulting in an abnormal binocular interaction, thus leading to amblyopia. Accordingly, early detection and diagnosis are mandatory. ⋯ In this paper, a novel, properly tested and evaluated eye-tracking based method for manifest strabismus diagnosis is presented. The evaluation showed the aforementioned method to have both high sensitivity and specificity in detecting manifest strabismus without the need for a skilled examiner, thus being suitable for population screening and highlighting the need for future research regarding testing of latent strabismus.
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Acta clinica Croatica · Dec 2021
TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES AND PROCEDURAL COMPLICATIONS IN CLOSING MALIGNANT ESOPHAGEAL-RESPIRATORY FISTULAS.
The aim of the study was to outline technical difficulties and procedural complications of using partially covered esophageal self-expandable metal stents (SEMSs) in malignant esophageal respiratory fistulas (ERFs) as a palliative treatment option. In this study, 150 patients with malignant dysphagia underwent treatment with SEMSs. A total of 36 ERFs were detected through endoscopic or clinical assessment. ⋯ Patients with ERFs have a respiratory shunt that makes intubation difficult and is often avoided. Restoring oral feeding increased the patient quality of life. SEMS placement is generally safe, but has few associated postoperative complications.
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Acta clinica Croatica · Dec 2021
PRIMARY HYPERPARATHYROIDISM AND SERUM CALCIUM IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS EVALUATED FOR LOW BONE MASS - A SINGLE CENTER EXPERIENCE.
The bone health guidelines for breast cancer (BC) patients recommend bone mineral density (BMD) testing. Patients with low BMD and elevated serum calcium levels (SCLs) are further evaluated for primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). We aimed to determine the prevalence of PHPT in treated BC patients with low BMD and analyze the association of SCLs with histopathologic tumor features and cancer treatment. ⋯ We found a higher prevalence of PHPT in treated BC patients compared to the general population. Higher SCLs show a trend of positive correlation with some more aggressive histopathologic tumor features and with immunotherapy. The results of this study suggest that assessment of SCLs should be routinely performed to rule out PHPT in treated BC patients with low BMD.
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Epilepsy is one of the most common chronic diseases in children, and cannot be controlled with conventional antiepileptic drugs in 30% of cases. Therefore, in these cases, alternative approach such as corticosteroid therapy (CT) is used. The aim of this study was to analyze different types of CT used to treat drug-resistant childhood epilepsies, treated at Rijeka University Hospital Centre during a 5-year period (2016-2020). ⋯ MRI changes were present in 53.13% and comorbidities in 81.25% of study patients. Prednisone therapy was used in 28.13%, combined therapy with prednisone and methylprednisolone in 65.63%, and methylprednisolone in 6.25% of patients. Study results revealed the use of CT for particular diagnosis to differ among the centers, as well as within the same center, so it is important to highlight the importance of reaching universal guidelines for CT therapy of childhood epilepsies.
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Acta clinica Croatica · Dec 2021
QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH EPILEPSY - SINGLE CENTRE EXPERIENCE.
A prospective study was carried out at the Zagreb University Hospital Centre to evaluate the relationship between epilepsy, antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) and quality of life (QoL) in patients with epilepsy (PE), and its association with depressive symptoms and sexual dysfunction (SD). QoL was assessed by use of the Quality of Life in Epilepsy-31 Inventory (QOLIE-31), SD by the Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale (ASEX), and depressive symptoms by the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D17). The study included 108 PE (women 63% and men 37% men), mean age 39.54±15.91 years. ⋯ Higher QoL was associated with less pronounced depressive symptoms (p=0.000). Significant correlations were found between lower QoL and SD (p=0.001). In 27 patients with DRE having undergone VNS, a favorable effect of VNS implantation on the QoL and mood was observed as compared with 18 patients without VNS (p=0.041).