Croatia

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cardiovascular healthcare in Croatia remains largely unexplored. This study aimed to compare the utilization and provision of cardiovascular services during the pre-pandemic (2017-2019) and pandemic (2020-2021) periods, leveraging nationwide data from the Croatian Health Insurance Fund, which covers 95% of all insurance claims in the country. Our findings reveal that while the use of coronary angiographies decreased during the pandemic, there was a notable increase in the utilization of advanced heart failure treatment modalities and percutaneous coronary interventions, particularly in the context of acute myocardial infarction...

Balàka et al [...].

The authors write that the last checklist for Croatia was carried out in 2009 and that 52 chondrichthyan species were reported in Croatian waters [...].

Data on oral lesions of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are conflicting, and there are few evidence-based data on oral lesions directly caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The aim of this case series and literature review is to determine the prevalence of oral lesions associated with COVID-19 in outpatients and identify oral manifestations that are likely associated with COVID-19. We present 15 patients that came for their first specialist examination to the Oral Medicine Outpatient Clinic, Dental Clinic, Split, Croatia between November 2020 and January 2024...

The execution of Covid-19 vaccination drives in former Yugoslavia's successor states has been disappointing. The rapidly evolving literature on the Covid-19 pandemic suggests the levels of support for vaccination are correlated with education, trust in public-health institutions, and exposure to the negative economic and health effects of the pandemic. The explanations of the political foundations of vaccination hesitancy, however, need better empirical grounding. We shed light on this subject by analyzing the results of a survey conducted on more than six thousand respondents from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia, as well as a combination of public-health, economic, and sociodemographic data across more than five hundred municipalities in Croatia...

Despite improvements over recent years, morbidity and mortality associated with heart failure (HF) are higher in countries in the Central and Eastern Europe and Baltic region than in Western Europe. With the goal of improving the standard of HF care and patient outcomes in the Central and Eastern Europe and Baltic region, this review aimed to identify the main barriers to optimal HF care and potential areas for improvement. This information was used to suggest methods to improve HF management and decrease the burden of HF in the region that can be implemented at the national and regional levels...

The highest level of the present-day geomagnetic recordings is presented by the absolute controlled magnetic measurements. This quality is permanently fulfilled in geomagnetic observatories (GO) only. The absolute records are based on nuclear magnetometers for the intensity measurement and on DIM (Declination and Inclination Magnetometer) instruments for the direction determination of the ambient magnetic field. Although the density of GOs is not dense enough for every scientific purpose (i.e., modelling the secular variation in detail), repeat station (RS) networks were founded in a lot of countries on the Earth...

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has accentuated the indispensable role of primary care. Objectives: Recognising this, the PRICOV-19 study investigated how 5,489 GP practices across 38 countries (Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kosovo*, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Republic of Moldova, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and United Kingdom) adapted their care delivery during the pandemic...

UNLABELLED: The aim of this work was to give characteristic stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratio ( δ 13 Choney , δ 13 Cprotein and δ 15 N) ranges and examine their relation with botanical origin of honey. Despite that δ 13 C parameter has primary purpose to detect honey adulteration, stable isotopes generally have become important parameter for detection its botanical and geographical origin. The data about stable isotopes are scarce in comparison to other well-known parameters in honey, and in Croatia there is no data about stable isotopes in unifloral honey...

Thermal waters in Topusko (Croatia), with temperatures of up to 65 °C, have been used for heating, health, and recreational tourism for the past fifty years. Hydrogeochemical monitoring can provide insights into deeper geological processes and indicate system changes from baseline levels. It helps to identify potential anthropogenic impacts, as well as natural changes. Hydrogeochemical, geothermometrical, and environmental isotope studies of thermal waters in Topusko were conducted to improve the existing conceptual model of the Topusko hydrothermal system (THS), providing a baseline for continuous monitoring of the thermal resource...

A new subterranean leptodirine leiodid beetle, Speoplanes biocovensis bosnicus Vrbica, Vesovi, Raa & uri, ssp. n., is described and diagnosed from a pit in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is the first discovery of the genus Speoplanes Mller, 1911 in this country and the first discovery outside Croatia. Important morphological features of the new taxon are presented, including aspects of the male and female genitalia. The subspecies is endemic to the Dinaric mountain range of Bosnia and Herzegovina...

Among the most problematic bacteria with clinical relevance are the carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE), as there are very limited options for their treatment. Treated wastewater can be a route for the release of these bacteria into the environment and the population. The aim of this study was to isolate CRE from treated wastewater from the Zagreb wastewater treatment plant and to determine their phenotypic and genomic characteristics. A total of 200 suspected CRE were isolated, 148 of which were confirmed as Enterobacterales by MALDI-TOF MS...

BACKGROUND: In patients who require venom immunotherapy (VIT), there is a need to identify underlying mast cell (MC) disorders since these may affect the risk and severity of future sting reactions and the long-term effectiveness of VIT. METHODS: 1319 individuals with Hymenoptera venom allergy (HVA) who needed VIT from referral centers in Slovenia, Austria, Croatia, and Poland underwent examination for KIT p.D816V in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) using a highly sensitive PCR test and tryptase genotyping by digital droplet PCR...

BACKGROUND: To estimate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a high-sensitivity troponin I (hsTnI) guided cardiovascular risk assessment program in women in Croatia. METHODS: An observational study of a voluntary program for cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessment in women aged above 45 years with no specific symptoms, no confirmed or known coronary artery disease was conducted (WHP). Participants were stratified into three categories according to their hsTnI level...

Cryphonectria hypovirus 1 (CHV-1) has been widely studied and used as a biocontrol agent because of its ability to infect the chestnut blight fungus, Cryphonectria parasitica , and to reduce its virulence. Knowledge about the hypovirus, its presence, and diversity is completely lacking in South Tyrol (northern Italy), which may obstruct biocontrol measures for chestnut blight based on CHV-1. This work aimed to study the occurrence of CHV-1 infecting C. parasitica in South Tyrol and to perform a genetic characterization of the hypovirus...

Nowadays, when the human impact on the environment becomes prominent daily, specific steps are needed to mitigate or halt those changes. By far, agricultural land is most affected by the degradation process, leading to soil erosion and decreased soil quality. Sustainable measures are needed to find a solution to that problem. This study, located in an agricultural area in northwestern Croatia, gives an insight into how different tillage systems (conventional and conservation) with the addition of manure will affect soil physicochemical properties, hydrology response, and overall yield...

The aim of this study was to investigate lifestyle habits in health and non-health science students from the University of Split, Croatia, and to evaluate their association with perceived stress and psychological well-being. We surveyed 783 students during February-March 2021. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used in the analysis. Health science students spent less time using screens, were sitting less, slept less, but also showed better compliance with the Mediterranean diet compared to non-health science students (10...

This study investigates the spatiotemporal trends of loggerhead turtles along the Croatian Adriatic coast by using stranding data and post-mortem analyses. Information on 620 loggerhead turtles ( Caretta caretta ), collected in the period between 2010 and 2022, has been analysed. Seasonal stranding variations reveal distinct patterns, indicating season-specific abundance and age-specific mortality in different areas, particularly in the key neritic habitat of the northern Adriatic. The analysis identifies four critical areas in the northeast and central Adriatic showing high stranding densities and provides regional managers with a tool with which to effectively conserve and manage this species...

INTRODUCTION: Health disparities represent a crucial factor in cancer survival rates, awareness, quality of life, and mental health of people receiving a cancer diagnosis and their families. Income, education, geographic location, and ethnicity are some of the most important underlying reasons for health disparities in cancer across Europe. Costs of healthcare, access to information, psycho-oncological support options, integration of cancer research and innovative care, and multidisciplinary cancer teams are the main target areas when it comes to addressing disparities in the cancer context...

BACKGROUND: Acute pancreatitis is a rare extrapulmonary manifestation of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) but its full correlation with COVID-19 infection remains unknown. AIM: To identify acute pancreatitis' occurrence, clinical presentation and outcomes in a cohort of kidney transplant recipients with acute COVID-19. METHODS: A retrospective observational single-centre cohort study from a transplant centre in Croatia for all adult renal transplant recipients with a functioning kidney allograft between March 2020 and August 2022 to record cases of acute pancreatitis during acute COVID-19...