Knjiga Odrednice razvoja globaliziranih zdravstvenih sustava daje uvid u značajke, trendove razvoja i potrebe prilagođavanja suvremenih zdravstvenih sustava. Predstavlja rezultat zajedničkoga ...višegodišnjeg rada suautora na istraživanju stanja, problema i perspektiva razvoja zdravstvenih sustava. Nastala je kao prirodni slijed dosadašnjih istraživanja, prikupljanja i analize literature, iskustva u radu te promišljanja o zdravstvenim sustavima današnjice i izazovima razvoja koji su pred njima. Usporedo s knjigom Odrednice razvoja globaliziranih zdravstvenih sustava izdajemo i knjigu Globalizacija, učinkovitost i održivost zdravstvenih sustava na engleskom jeziku.U knjizi Odrednice razvoja globaliziranih zdravstvenih sustava raspravljamo o upravljanju i financiranju globaliziranih zdravstvenih sustava te potrebama njihova prilagođavanja suvremenim trendovima. Posebnu pozornost usmjerili smo na analizu izvora neučinkovitosti zdravstvenih sustava te ulogu decentralizacije, ugovaranja i poticaja u zdravstvu. Istaknuli smo važnost ljudskih resursa kao ključa uspjeha te problem održivog financiranja i mnogobrojnih izazova u financiranju s kojima se zdravstveni sustavi susreću. Posebna se pozornost posvetila području financiranja i upravljanja bolnica kao ključnim zdravstvenim ustanovama. Raspravlja se i o politici lijekova i ugradbenih materijala, a budući da su informacije ključne u zdravstvenom sustavu kako bi se mogle ispuniti sve njegove funkcije i unaprijediti zdravlje stanovništva, raspravlja se i o mjerenju ishoda zdravstvenih sustava.Detaljno se raspravlja i o prilagodbi zdravstvenih sustava suvremenim izazovima, odnosno odrednicama razvoja zdravstvenih sustava: pravima i uključivanju pacijenata, demografskim trendovima, informatizaciji zdravstvenih sustava, problematici razvoja e-zdravstva i telemedicine, procjeni medicinske tehnologije, upravljanju kvalitetom u zdravstvu te potrebi razvoja zdravstvenog turizma.
The Republic of Croatia's accession to the European Union (EU) will affect all segments of economy and society, including the health care system. The aim of this paper is to establish the potential ...effects of joining the EU on Croatian health care, as well as to assess its readiness to enter this regional economic integration. The paper identifies potential areas of impact of EU accession on Croatian health care and analyzes the results of the conducted empirical research. In this research, a method of in-depth interviews was applied on a sample of 49 subjects; health professionals from public and private sectors, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, drug wholesalers, and non-governmental organisations (patient associations). Once Croatia joins the EU, it will face: new rules and priorities in line with the current European health strategy; the possibilities of drawing funds from European cohesion funds; labour migrations; new guidelines on patient safety and mobility. From the aspect of harmonising national regulations with EU regulations in the area of health care, Croatian system can be assessed as ready to enter the EU. Croatia's accession to the EU can result in a better information flow, growth of competitiveness of Croatian health care system, enhanced quality, inflow of EU funds, development of health tourism, but also in increased migration of health care professionals, and potential increase in the cost of health care services. Functioning within the EU framework might result in adaptation to the EU standards, but it could also result in the concentration of staff and institutions in larger cities.
The main aim of the research done in this paper was to establish key challenges and perspectives for health care development in the Republic of Croatia in the next two decades. Empirical research was ...conducted in the form of semi-structured interviews involving 49 subjects, representatives of health care professionals from both, public and private sectors, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, drug wholesalers, and non-governmental organisations (patient associations). The results have shown that key challenges and problems of Croatian health care can be divided into three groups: functioning of health care systems, health care personnel, and external factors. Research has shown that key challenges related to the functioning of health care are inefficiency, financial unviability, inadequate infrastructure, and the lack of system transparency. Poor governance is another limiting factor. With regard to health care personnel, they face the problems of low salaries, which then lead to migration challenges and a potential shortage of health care personnel. The following external factors are deemed to be among the most significant challenges: ageing population, bad living habits, and an increase in the number of chronic diseases. However, problems caused by the global financial crisis and consequential macroeconomic situation must not be neglected. Guidelines for responding to challenges identified in this research are the backbone for developing a strategy for health care development in the Republic of Croatia. Long-term vision, strategy, policies, and a regulatory framework are all necessary preconditions for an efficient health care system and more quality health services.
Concern about health is a continuous necessity, and in modern living conditions information and communication technology enables faster and simpler access to health care and overcomes the gap between ...spatial and time distance, which simplifies provision of services. There is great potential for e-health in the future, it is even likely to become an imperative of modern society. A well organized and efficient health care system that promotes innovation in areas such as e-health brings benefits for individuals, society and the economy as a whole. In this paper, advantages, disadvantages and obstacles to the use of e-health are determined in the case of EU countries and the Republic of Croatia, with focus on the potential of e-health to improve the health care system. A qualitative research was conducted in the form of semi-structured interviews with 49 participants in the Republic of Croatia from June to October 2011. In Croatia there are several different models of health informatization and this diminishes both the transparency and efficiency of the whole process as well as undermines e-health benefits for health and health care system improvement. Factors are described that influence the success of e-health implementation and delivery, ultimately enabling the development of a systematic, successful and sustainable e-health development strategy in Croatia. Adapted from the source document.
Background and Aims: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a frequent complication among long-term dialysis patients. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and side effects of ...pegylated interferon-α2a (PEG-IFN-α2a) treatment in hemodialysis patients. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed charts of 16 HCV-RNA-positive hemodialysis patients. Results: There were 11 male and 5 female patients treated with dialysis for 6–28 years. Twelve patients had HCV genotype 1b, 2 patients had 3a, and 1 patient had genotype 2a. Although only 10 out of 16 patients completed 48 weeks of treatment, early virological response and end-of-treatment virological response were achieved in 9 and 13 patients, respectively. Sustained virological response was recorded in 9 patients. The most common side effect was anemia. A flu-like syndrome was documented in 6, myalgia in 4, and arthralgia in 5 patients. Rectorrhagia, endocarditis and severe cough were recorded in 1 patient each. Nine patients received a renal transplant, and all 6 responders remained HCV-RNA-negative. Conclusions: PEG-IFN-α2a has limited efficacy in dialysis patients. A significant proportion of patients discontinued treatment because of side effects. Additional studies with long-term follow-up are needed to determine the optimal treatment of HCV infection in the dialysis population.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a term describing excessive accumulation of fat in hepatocytes, and is associated with metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance. NAFLD prevalence is on ...increase and goes in parallel with the increasing prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components. That is why Croatian guidelines have been developed, which cover the screening protocol for patients with NAFLD risk factors, and the recommended diagnostic work-up and treatment of NAFLD patients. NAFLD screening should be done in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, or persons with two or more risk factors as part of metabolic screening, and is carried out by noninvasive laboratory and imaging methods used to detect fibrosis. Patient work-up should exclude the existence of other causes of liver injury and determine the stage of fibrosis as the most important factor in disease prognosis. Patients with initial stages of fibrosis continue to be monitored at the primary healthcare level with the management of metabolic risk factors, dietary measures, and increased physical activity. Patients with advanced fibrosis should be referred to a gastroenterologist/hepatologist for further treatment, monitoring, and detection and management of complications.
Colonic lipomas (CL) are rare benign adipose tumours usually found incidentally during colonoscopy. Endoscopic resection of symptomatic large CL remains controversial, since significant rates of ...perforation have been reported. In recent years, a novel technique for removal of large CL has been described, consisting of looping and ligating the lipoma with a nylon snare. The aim of our study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the "loop and let go" technique for large colon lipomas in a large case series.
Consecutive patients referred to our institution for colonoscopy were eligible for the study. The diagnosis of CL was confirmed endoscopically by "pillow" and "naked fat" signs. Following diagnosis, lipomas were looped and ligated by endoloop. Follow-up colonoscopies were scheduled at 1- and 3-months interval.
A total of 11 patients with large CL were enrolled in study. The indications for the colonoscopy included altered bowel habits (7 patients, 64%), screening for colorectal neoplasm (3 pts, 27%) and lower gastrointestinal bleeding (1 pts, 9%). The median lesion size was 3 cm (range 2,5-6 cm). Lesions were located at the hepatic flexure in 4 patients (36%), cecum and ascending colon (4 pts, 36%), rectosigmoid (2 pts, 18%) and transverse colon (1 pts, 9%). There were no immediate and late complications. On follow-up (median follow-up time 11.9 months, range 8-24), there was one small residual lipoma (<1 cm).
The results of this study confirm that "loop-and-let-go" technique is safe and efficacious treatment of large colonic lipomas.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Nealkoholna bolest masne jetre (engl. nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, NAFLD) oznacava prekomjerno nakupljanje masti unutar hepatocita, a povezana je s metabolickim sindromom i inzulinskom ...rezistencijom. Ucestalost NAFLD-a je u porastu i prati rastucu ucestalost metabolickog sindroma i njegovih komponenata. Stoga su izradene hrvatske smjernice koje obuhvacaju postupnik probira bolesnika s rizicnim cimbenicima za NAFLD te preporucenu dijagnosticku obradu i lijecenje bolesnika s NAFLD-om. Probir na NAFLD potrebno je raditi bolesnicima s dijabetesom tipa 2 ili osobama s dva ili vise rizicnih cimbenika u sklopu metabolickog sindroma, a probir se izvodi neinvazivnim laboratorijskim i slikovnim metodama za otkrivanje fibroze. Obradom bolesnika potrebno je iskljuciti postojanje drugih uzroka ostecenja jetre te utvrditi stadij fibroze kao najvaznijeg cimbenika u prognozi bolesti. Bolesnici s pocetnim stadijima fibroze nastavljaju se pratiti na razini primarne zdravstvene zastite uz lijecenje metabolickih rizicnih cimbenika, dijetetske mjere i pojacanu tjelesnu aktivnost. Bolesnike sa znacajnom fibrozom preporuca se uputiti gastroenterologu/hepatologu radi daljnjeg lijecenja, pracenja te prepoznavanja i zbrinjavanja komplikacija bolesti. Kljucne rijeci: Nealkoholna bolest masnejetre (NAFLD); Nealkoholni steatohepatitis (NASH); Metabolicki sindrom; Fibroza; Ciroza; Probir; Neinvazivne metode; Dijagnostika; Lijecenje; Hepatocelularni karcinom
Infection with non-1 genotype in Croatia is detected in 41.2% of patients with chronic hepatitis C. Since the last treatment guidelines for hepatitis C patients, little has been changed. With today's ...standard of care, sustained viral response can be achieved in 43% to 85% of non-1 CHC patients, which is not satisfactory at all. The lowest cure rate is usually found among patients with genotype 3 and 4 infection. The grouping of genotype 2 and genotype 3 patients to "easy to treat" genotypes was an unfortunate consequence of their underrepresentation in previous large registration clinical trials. Careful re-examination of the data obtained shows clearly enough that patients with genotype 3 infection respond less to treatment than genotype 2 patients. They sometimes behave more like patients with genotype 1 infection. Small progress is found in treatment approach and viral kinetics might be a useful tool for tailoring therapy to improve efficacy. Rapid virologic response is the best parameter to predict success of therapy. For patients who achieve a rapid viral response, consideration of shortened therapy (< 24 weeks) may be reasonable although sustained viral response is still slightly higher with 24 weeks of therapy. Nevertheless, the presence of poor prognostic factors (high viral load, advanced fibrosis, obesity, increased age, insulin resistance and liver non-viral steatosis) may discourage a shortened course of therapy. Extending therapy (> 24 weeks) in patients who do not achieve a rapid viral response would be beneficial, particularly in patients with genotype 3 infection and poor prognostic factors, but formal recommendation should be confirmed in prospective trails. New data suggest a prognostic role for IL28B polymorphisms mostly in genotype 3 patients not achieving a rapid viral response and these could also be considered for improved tailoring of therapy. In conclusion, new treatments are urgently needed for non-1 genotype chronic hepatitis C patients. So far, telaprevir and boceprevir have failed to show a satisfactory activity in these genotypes. Evaluation of many promising molecules such as second generation of protease inhibitors or NS5B nucleos(t)ide inhibitors, NS5A inhibitors, cyclophilin inhibitors or their combinations with or without pegylated interferon or ribavirin is still in progress.
Background: Derangement of liver blood tests (LBT) is frequent in patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We aimed to evaluate (a) the prevalence of deranged LBT as well as their ...association with (b) clinical severity at admission and (c) 30-day outcomes among the hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Methods: Consecutive patients with COVID-19 hospitalized in the regional referral center over the 12-month period were included. Clinical severity of COVID-19 at hospital admission and 30-day outcomes (need for intensive care, mechanical ventilation, or death) were analyzed. Results: Derangement of LBT occurred in 2854/3812 (74.9%) of patients, most frequently due to elevation of AST (61.6%), GGT (46.1%) and ALT (33.4%). Elevated AST, ALT, GGT and low albumin were associated with more severe disease at admission. However, in multivariate Cox regression analysis, when adjusted for age, sex, obesity and presence of chronic liver disease, only AST remained associated with the risk of dying (HR 1.5081 and 2.1315, for elevations 1–3 × ULN and >3 × ULN, respectively) independently of comorbidity burden and COVID-19 severity at admission. Patients with more severe liver injury more frequently experienced defined adverse outcomes. Conclusions: Deranged LBTs are common among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and might be used as predictors of adverse clinical outcomes.
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