Browsing by Author "Dragojevic Simic, Viktorija (59157732500)"

At present, neither specific antiviral drugs, nor vaccine is recommended for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treatment. In this review we discuss the drugs suggested as therapy for COVID-19 infection, with a focus on chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine. The list of drugs used for COVID-19 treatment includes a combination of lopinavir and ritonavir, remdesivir, favipiravir, alpha-interferon, ribavirin, atazanavir, umifenovir, and tocilizumab. As their efficacy and safety are under investigation, none of the regulatory agencies approved them for the treatment of COVID-19 infection. Although chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine possess antiviral and immunomodulatory effects, in practice benefit of their use for COVID-19 treatment is controversial. Several studies investigating hydroxychloroquine were stopped and the French national medicines regulator suspended its use in clinical trials because of safety concerns. The results from the double-blind, randomised clinical trials, including large number of participants, will add better insight into the role of these two drugs as already available and affordable, antimalarial therapy. The ethical issue on emergency use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in the settings of COVID-19 should be carefully managed, with adherence to the “monitored emergency use of unregistered and experimental interventions” (MEURI) framework or be ethically approved as a trial, as stated by the WHO. Potential shortage of chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine on the market can be overbridged with regular prescriptions by medical doctors and national drug agency should ensure sufficient quantities of these drugs for standard indications. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Cardiovascular diseases, including ischemic heart disease, are the most common causes of morbidity and death in the world, including Serbia, as a middle-income European country. The aim of the study was to determine the costs of preventive examinations for ischemic heart disease in active-duty military personnel, as well as to assess whether this was justified from the point of view of the limited health resources allocated for the treatment of the Republic of Serbia population. This is a retrospective cost-preventive study which included 738 male active-duty military personnel, aged from 23 to 58. The costs of primary prevention of ischemic heart disease in this population were investigated. Out of 738 subjects examined, arterial hypertension was detected in 101 subjects (in 74 of them, arterial hypertension was registered for the first time, while 27 subjects were already subjected to pharmacotherapy for arterial hypertension). Average costs of all services during the periodic-health-examination screening program were €76.96 per subject. However, average costs of all services during the periodic-health-examination screening program for patients with newfound arterial hypertension and poorly regulated arterial hypertension were €767.54 per patient and €2,103.63 per patient, respectively. Since periodic-health-examination screening program in military personnel enabled not only discovery of patient with newfound arterial hypertension but also regular monitoring of those who are already on antihypertensive therapy, significant savings of €690.58 per patient and €2,026.67 per patient can be achieved, respectively. As financial resources for providing health care in Serbia, as a middle-income country, are limited, further efforts should be put on screening programs for ischemic heart disease due to possible significant savings. © Copyright © 2021 Simic, Ratkovic, Dragojevic Simic, Savkovic, Jakovljevic, Peric, Pandrc and Rancic.

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