Browsing by Author "Bukurov, Bojana (55605047500)"

Purpose: Despite being one of the most common types of the peripheral vertigo encountered in clinical practice, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) remains underdiagnosed and undertreated, even in affluent health care systems. The publication of fully updated clinical practice guidelines significantly facilitated the diagnosis and treatment of BPPV. This study evaluates the adoption of the guidelines in our clinical setting and reviews further recommendations for quality-of-care improvement. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional survey included a total of 1155 adult patients diagnosed with BPPV at the biggest tertiary care center in the country during a 5-year period (2017–2021). The data for the first three years (2017–2020) and 919 patients were collected in full, and for the remaining 236 patients (2020–2021) only partially due to the disturbance in referrals caused by COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The familiarity with and adherence to the published clinical guidelines by physicians judged by patients’ charts and our health care database were overall unsatisfactory. The adherence varied from 0 to 40.5% in our sample. The recommendations for making the diagnosis and for repositioning procedure as first-line therapy were followed in only 20–30% of cases. Conclusion: There are large opportunities for improvement in quality of care of BPPV patients. Apart from constant and systematic education at the primary health care level, the health care system may need to adopt more advanced measures of ensuring better adherence to guidelines and subsequent reduction in medical costs. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

Introduction General anesthesia is frequently employed in neck surgery procedures. However, in patients at high risk for general anesthesia, regional anesthesia options, such as the superficial cervical plexus block, warrant careful consideration. Patients with mediastinal lymph node enlargement face an elevated risk of airway obstruction and hemodynamic mediastinal instability during anesthesia induc-tion. In selected neck surgeries, including thyroglossal cyst excision, thyroglossal fistula repair, bronchial cyst removal, thyroidectomy, and lymph node excision, the superficial cervical plexus block presents a viable and secure alternative to general anesthesia. Case report This report details the case of a patient with mediastinal lymphadenopathy and multiple brain metastases who underwent cervical lymph node excision. Given the patient’s severe comorbidi-ties, pronounced risk of complete distal airway obstruction, hemodynamic instability, and the potential for compression effects from mediastinal mass, a superficial cervical block was administered. This block facilitated effective perioperative analgesia without inducing respiratory or cardiovascular instability. Conclusion The superficial cervical plexus block emerges as a prudent alternative to general anesthesia in high-risk patients requiring cervical lymph node excision procedures. Its utilization should be considered in such cases to enhance patient safety and perioperative management. © 2023, Serbia Medical Society. All rights reserved.

Introduction. Metastatic head and neck carcinoma (HNC) from an unknown primary tumor is defined as a metastatic disease in the neck's lymph nodes without evidence of a primary tumor after appropriate investigation. Multiple na-tional guidelines recommend taking essential steps in diag-nostic protocols which involve a detailed clinical exam with radiological imaging, fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy of the cervical tumor, esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) with palatine and lingual tonsillectomy, immunohistochemi-cal staining, and human papillomavirus (HPV) detection. Treatment of HNCs of unknown primary origin involves surgery (neck dissection) with radiotherapy (RT), while some authors recommend chemo-radiotherapy in cases of advanced regional disease. Case report. A 44-year-old male was referred to the tertiary medical center because of a large ulcero-infiltrative cervical mass on the right side. Examina-tion of the head and neck and flexible nasopharyngolaryn-geal endoscopy was conducted, followed by computed to-mography (CT) of the head, neck, and thorax with intrave-nous contrast. The primary localization of the tumor was not confirmed by these diagnostic methods. An open biop-sy of the neck mass established a histopathology diagnosis of metastatic squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Results of EGD with biopsies and bilateral tonsillectomy were nega-tive for malignancy. Treatment included extended radical neck dissection with reconstruction and postoperative ipsi-lateral RT. The patient presented with an extensive pharyn-golaryngeal tumor five years after the first surgery. Biopsy with histopathology examination confirmed the diagnosis of SCC. Conclusion. A structured step-by-step diagnostic ap-proach to identifying the primary site of the metastatic HNC is mandatory. Substantial advances in diagnostics and operative techniques have increased the likelihood of prima-ry tumor identification and detection of the disease's region-al and systemic spread. The purpose of adherence to guide-lines results in higher overall survival and longer regional disease-free survival in these patients. © 2022 Inst. Sci. inf., Univ. Defence in Belgrade. All rights reserved.

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Intraoperative hypertension (IOHTA) during neck surgery is undesirable because this type of surgery has a propensity to bleed profoundly even in normotensive anesthesia. The purpose of our study was to detect predictors of IOHTA in patients undergoing neck surgery. This single center retrospective study included 880 adult patients who underwent neck surgery under general anesthesia. The impact of gender, age, comorbidity, difficult tracheal intubation, anesthesia duration, and induced hypotension on IOHTA was studied. IOHTA was present in 57 (6.7%) patients. The highest incidence of IOHTA was recorded in patients with ASA 4 status and those with Cormack-Lehane grade 4,: (22.2% and 21.4%, respectively). Significantly more patients with hypertension, hyperlipoproteinemia and ventricular extrasystoles had IOHTA compared with patients without these comorbidities. Statistically significant predictors of IOHTA were age (OR 1.438; 95% CI 1.144-1.808; p=0.002), cardiac arrhythmia (OR 1.702; 95% CI 1.129-2.566; p=0.011), Cormack-Lehane grade (OR 1.407; 95% CI 1.054-1.878; p=0.020), and duration of anesthesia (OR 1.005; 95% CI 1.001-1.008; p=0.005). The risk of IOHTA occurrence was lower in patients with induced hypotension (OR 0.024; 95% CI 0.003-0.185; p=0.000). During neck surgery, special attention is needed in patients of older age, those with cardiac arrhythmia, difficult intubation, and longer anesthesia duration because they are at risk of IOHTA. © 2023, Dr. Mladen Stojanovic University Hospital. All rights reserved.

Background: Postoperative complications (PCs) following total laryngectomy remain a significant challenge, with recent investigations directed toward the impact of nutrition status and vitamin D deficiency. Objectives: To elucidate the association between preoperative vitamin D level status, malnutrition risk score, and surgical and survival outcomes in patients with advanced laryngeal cancer following total laryngectomy. Study design: Prospective cohort study. Methods: Sixty-four patients with advanced laryngeal carcinoma treated with total laryngectomy were included in the study. Serum levels of 25(OH) D3 were measured employing a commercial chemiluminescent immunoassay kit, while nutrition status was evaluated using the nutrition risk index (NRI) and Malnutrition universal screening tool (MUST). Results: The mean serum 25(OH) D level was 37.1 ± 19.4 nmol/L (range 11.0-100.6 nmol/L), with 47% of patients exhibiting vitamin D deficiency and 31% displaying insufficiency. Medium/high MUST score had 53% of patients, and moderate/severe NRI was verified in 48% of patients. Univariate logistic regression analysis identified MUST score, GPS score, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and circulating 25(OH) D levels as predictive for the occurrence of PCs. In multivariate analysis, MUST score and circulating 25(OH) D levels remained significantly associated with PCs. Patients with high nutrition risk had significantly lower two-year OS rates compared to the medium and low nutrition risk groups, respectively (30% vs. 62% and 83%, p = 0.010). Conclusion: Early identification of malnourished or patients with vitamin D deficiency and those who would benefit from specific nutritional support could be beneficial for minimizing the risk of development of surgical complications and help improve our clinical outcomes. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2024.

Background: Recently, demand for and supply of short-form patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) have risen throughout the world healthcare. Our contribution to meeting that demand has been translating and culturally adapting the Chronic Otitis Media Questionnaire-12 (COMQ-12) for adults into Serbian and enhancing its psychometric base on the relatively large Serbian COM caseload. Chronic otitis media can seriously affect quality of life progressively and in long-term, and it remains the major source of hearing problems in the developing world. Methods: The translated questionnaire was given twice to 60 adult patients with chronic otitis media of three types (inactive, active mucosal and active squamous disease) and to 60 healthy volunteers. Both patients and volunteers also filled the generic Short-Form 36 questionnaire (SF-36). Conventional statistical procedures were used in strategically driven development of scoring. Additionally, item responses were scaled by linear mapping against the provisional total score. Generalizability, detailed factor interpretation and supportability of scores were criteria, for the best compromise factor solution. Results: Test-retest reliability was very high (0.924 to 0.989, depending on score). The a priori content dimensions of the questionnaire were strongly supported by 3-factor exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses for content validity, separating (i) ear symptoms from (ii) hearing problems, from (iii) daily activity restriction plus healthcare uptake. The 3-factor structure was furthermore highly stable on replication. The very large effect sizes when contrasting patients with healthy volunteers, and active with inactive disease established construct validity for the total score. A strong association with disease activity and a moderate one with generic health-related quality of life (HRQoL), the SF-36, supported construct validity for two of three factors extracted (ear symptoms, and impact on daily activities plus healthcare uptake). Conclusions: Given the minimal psychometric work to date on COMQ-12, this interim sample with 120 data points adds materially to knowledge of its reliability, several forms of validity and the feasibility of profile sub-scores to supplement total scores. The good psychometric properties shown for COMQ-12 justify both its routine clinical use and acquisition of the necessarily larger sample for generality, score optimisation and the evaluation of responsiveness. © 2017 The Author(s).

Introduction: Studies consistently link excessive smartphone use to poor sleep quality, depression, anxiety, and stress. This study specifically aimed to investigate these associations among medical students in Belgrade and Nis (Central Serbia). Materials and methods: The cross-sectional study included a sample of 761 students, who were selected from both the Faculties of Medicine at the University of Belgrade and the University of Nis. Questionnaires, including the International Physical Activity Questionnaire – Short Form (IPAQ-SF), Smartphone Addiction Scale – Short Version (SAS-SV), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale – 21 items (DASS-21), were completed by the participants. Statistical analysis techniques, such as the Chi-square test, student’s t-test, and logistic regression, were employed to examine the relationship between smartphone addiction, physical activity, sleep quality, depression, anxiety, and stress. Results: The findings indicated a prevalence of smartphone addiction among medical students at 21.7%, with rates of 22.9% among males and 21.1% among females. Females exhibited significantly higher scores on the SAS-SV scale compared to males (p = 0.032). Univariate logistic regression analysis revealed significant associations between smartphone addiction and spending over 4 h daily on smartphones (OR = 2.39; p < 0.001), poor sleep quality (OR = 1.65; p = 0,005), as well as elevated levels of stress (OR = 1.75; p = 0.003), anxiety (OR = 2.04; p < 0.001), and depression (OR = 2.29; p < 0.001). Multivariate regression analysis identified spending more than 4 h daily on smartphones (OR = 2.39; p < 0.001) and increased levels of depression (OR = 2.51; p < 0.001) as independent significant factors associated with smartphone addiction. Conclusion: This study sheds light on the prevalence of smartphone addiction among medical students, with spending excessive time on smartphones and higher levels of depression standing out as significant factors. Future research should delve into the underlying mechanisms and causal relationships between smartphone addiction and these psychosocial factors. Understanding these connections will aid in developing effective interventions and strategies to tackle this growing public health concern. Copyright © 2023 Nikolic, Bukurov, Kocic, Vukovic, Ladjevic, Vrhovac, Pavlović, Grujicic, Kisic and Sipetic.

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Background and Objectives: Smartphone use has been rapidly increasing worldwide, which has brought possible smartphone addiction into the focus of research. In order to identify potential smartphone addicts, several scales were developed to assess smartphone addiction. Among them, the Smartphone Addiction Scale was frequently used. The study aimed to test the reliability and validity of the Serbian version of the SAS-SV and estimate smartphone addiction prevalence among medical students. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in December 2018 on a convenience sample of 323 third-year medical students. The cross-cultural adaptation was performed following the well-established guidelines for cross-cultural adaptation of self-reported measures. Exploratory factor analysis was used to examine the structure of the questionnaire. Factor extraction was performed by principal component analysis with Varimax rotation. For test–retest reliability, students completed the questionnaire twice within seven days. Results: The Serbian version of the SAS-SV showed good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.89) and excellent reliability for test–retest scores (ICC = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.92–0.96). Factor analysis supported the extraction of one factor, which explained 51.538% of the variance. To explore convergent validity furthermore, the SAS-SV was correlated with time indicators of smartphone use. According to cut-off values for the SAS-SV score, 19.5% of students could be regarded as “addicted”, and often spent more time on smartphones and social networks on working days and weekends than “not addicted” students. Conclusions: The Serbian version of the SAS-SV is a reliable and valid instrument for detecting smartphone addiction among university students. Further research on this issue is encouraged to enable a better understanding of this ever-increasing public health issue. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Background and Objectives: Smartphone use has been rapidly increasing worldwide, which has brought possible smartphone addiction into the focus of research. In order to identify potential smartphone addicts, several scales were developed to assess smartphone addiction. Among them, the Smartphone Addiction Scale was frequently used. The study aimed to test the reliability and validity of the Serbian version of the SAS-SV and estimate smartphone addiction prevalence among medical students. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in December 2018 on a convenience sample of 323 third-year medical students. The cross-cultural adaptation was performed following the well-established guidelines for cross-cultural adaptation of self-reported measures. Exploratory factor analysis was used to examine the structure of the questionnaire. Factor extraction was performed by principal component analysis with Varimax rotation. For test–retest reliability, students completed the questionnaire twice within seven days. Results: The Serbian version of the SAS-SV showed good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.89) and excellent reliability for test–retest scores (ICC = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.92–0.96). Factor analysis supported the extraction of one factor, which explained 51.538% of the variance. To explore convergent validity furthermore, the SAS-SV was correlated with time indicators of smartphone use. According to cut-off values for the SAS-SV score, 19.5% of students could be regarded as “addicted”, and often spent more time on smartphones and social networks on working days and weekends than “not addicted” students. Conclusions: The Serbian version of the SAS-SV is a reliable and valid instrument for detecting smartphone addiction among university students. Further research on this issue is encouraged to enable a better understanding of this ever-increasing public health issue. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.