Browsing by Author "Bogić, Mirjana (18333561400)"

Aim. To test the discriminative metric properties and specificity of the Serbian version of the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ) for assessment of the quality of life in asthma patients. Method. We studied 100 atopic and 60 nonatopic adult asthma patients with different disease severity, who were consecutively recruited from the outpatient and inpatient departments of the Institute of Allergology and Immunology, University Center of Serbia, between March 2000 and June 2002. After linguistic validation, AQLQ was administered, as well as Paykel's scale of stressful life events. Tests of statistical significance and General Linear Model were used to explore the correlation between characteristics of patients, disease, and environment, and AQLQ scores. Reliability of the questionnaire was evaluated by determining its internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Results. A more severe form of the disease (F = 16.05; p < 0.001), life in rural disease areas (t = -2.67; p = 0.008) and changes in weather conditions (t= 3.05; p= 0.003) were significantly associated with worse overall quality of life of the tested asthma patients. Older patients had poorer quality of life in domains of activity limitation (B = -0.024; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.036 to -0. 011; p < 0.001) and exposure to environmental stimuli (B = -0.022; 95% CI, -0.039 to -0.006; p = 0.008). Higher values of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV 1 , % predicted) were correlated with better quality of life in overall (B = 0.017; 95% CI, 0.009-0.025; p < 0.001) and other questionnaire domains, except in domain of environmental stimuli. Poorer overall quality of life was recorded in atopic patients sensitive to house dust mites (t = 2,60; p = 0.011). Form (atopic and nonatopic) and duration of disease, as well as stressful life events were not significantly related to asthmatic patients' quality of life. The Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.72 to 0.93. Conclusion. Disease severity, place of residence, weather conditions, age, and FEV 1 (% predicted) were significantly related to quality of life in our patients. The Serbian version of AQLQ was highly reliable.

Introduction Angioedema is characterized by subcutaneous and/or submucosal swelling usually localized to the lips, eyelids, tongue, oral cavity, larynx and pharynx. Various types of angioedema, caused by different pathophysiologic mechanisms, can have the same or very similar clinical picture and require different diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. The immediate threat to life as a result of rapidly developed edema of the pharynx and larynx with airway obstruction requires endotracheal intubation or emergency tracheotomy. Standard therapy, which includes epinephrine, second-generation antihistamines and steroids, is not effective in the treatment of all types of angioedema. Objective On the basis of the clinical presentation and course of angioedema, this retrospective study was aimed at contributing to a better understanding of the etiopathogenesis of the disease and at helping determine the most effective available treatment modalities. Methods This retrospective study included patients treated under the diagnosis of angioedema of the upper aerodigestive tract between 2000 and 2012 in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Clinical Center of Banja Luka. Results A total of 76 subjects were included in the study. The average age was 62.8 years. There were 40 (52.6%) male and 36 (47.4%) female patients. The largest number of patients (44.7%) had type II angioedema. Almost half of the patients or 36 patients (47.4%) were on treatment with an angiotensinconverting enzyme inhibitor (ACEi), but there was no statistically significant difference under the total number of patients (p=0.678). Conclusion Better understanding of pathophysiologic mechanisms and the adoption of diagnostic protocols contributes to more effective treatment of angioedema. © 2015 Serbia Medical Society. All rightsreserved.