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Biomedical subjects

D Leović

Publications and source records attributed to D Leović.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Oral health status in war veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The aim of this study was to assess the oral health condition of Croatian war veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The study included 50 men who experienced combat stress and had been diagnosed with PTSD. They were compared with the group of 50 age-matched men who did not participate in war and did not have PTSD. Xerostomia, oral mucosal lesion, oral hygiene status, dental, and periodontal conditions, as well as temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) were assessed and compared between the groups. Subjects in PTSD group had poorer oral hygiene, and periodontal status compared with the control subjects. Furthermore, they had less teeth than the control group (P = 0.04). Although, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups in Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth (DMFT) index (P = 0.36), PTSD group had more decayed and missing teeth, but less filled teeth (P < 0.05 for all). According the Research Diagnosis Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorder (RDC/TMD), PTSD patients had more TMD diagnoses compared with the control subjects. The most prevalent diagnosis was myofascial pain (48%) in PTSD group, while in the control group it was disc displacement with reduction (8%). It can be concluded that the oral health condition in PTSD patients is significantly affected compared with the control subjects.

Adult↗

Prognostic factors in carcinoma of the larynx: relevance of DNA ploidy, S-fractions and localization of the tumour.

The influence of the cell cycle profile and the site of the primary tumour on the overall survival were examined in 36 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx. DNA ploidy (p = 0.0091), the overall proliferative activity (p = 0.0001), the overall proliferative activity of diploid tumour cells (p = 0.0017) and primary tumour site (p = 0.0008) were found to be significant single prognostic factors of the overall survival. Multivariate analysis showed that only the overall proliferative activity was prognostically significant (p = 0.013). The results of the study show that the supraglottic site of the tumours correlates significantly with DNA ploidy (p = 0.0334) and the overall proliferative activity of tumour cells (p = 0.0159), whereas the correlation with proliferative activity of diploid tumour cells (p = 0.1416) has not been confirmed by this study. Glottic tumours showed a prognostically significant correlation with the overall proliferative activity (p = 0.0037) and proliferative activity of diploid tumour (p = 0.0054). Such a prognostic correlation was not found for DNA ploidy (p = 0.6542).

Adult↗

War injuries to the head and neck.

During the 1991-1992 war in Croatia, 7,043 wounded persons were treated at Dr Josip Bencević General Hospital in Slavonski Brod. Among them, 728 (580 soldiers and 148 civilians) had war injuries to the head and neck and were admitted to the Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Cervicofacial Surgery. There were 541 (74.3%) patients with head injuries, 117 (16.0%) with neck injuries, and 70 (9.6%) with a combination of head and neck injuries. The wounds were mostly inflicted by shell and bomb fragments (542 wounds, or 74.5%). War injuries of the facial bones were preliminarily or definitively treated. Preliminary treatment was used for the wounds with multifragmentary fractures and extensive soft-tissue defects. Definitive treatment was used in lesions of cervical structures. Immediate exploration of the neck was performed on 84 patients with penetrating neck wounds. Exploration was positive in 49 patients. Concerning long-term complications, two cases of partial paralysis of the cranial plexus and one case each of quadriplegia, hemiplegia, and glottic paralysis were recorded. To our knowledge, primary closure of war wounds to the head and neck (supported by antibiotic therapy) and reconstruction of extensive laryngotracheal injuries with the medial layer of the cervical deep fascia were used for the first time as war surgery procedures.

Blast Injuries↗

Mortality caused by war wounds to the head and neck encountered at the Slavonski Brod Hospital during the 1991-1992 war in Croatia.

From July 1, 1991, until January 1, 1993, a total of 7,720 patients (soldiers and civilians) with war wounds were treated at Dr. Josip Bencević General Hospital in Slavonski Brod, Croatia. Treatment was provided for 7,043 patients, whereas 677 individuals (8.8%) killed in action (KIA) were examined at the Forensic Department. There were 1,456 patients (18.9%) with head and neck wounds: 1,176 soldiers and 280 civilians. The mortality rate was significantly greater in patients with head and neck wounds (N = 271, 40.0%) than in those with injuries to the thorax (N = 163, 24.1%) and abdomen (N = 62, 9.2%; p < 0.01 for both). During treatment, 188 patients (2.4%) died of wounds (DOW). The DOW mortality was 5.2% (61 of 1,185), 4.0% (41 of 1,026), and 2.9% (25 of 867) for wounds of the head and neck, thorax, and abdomen, respectively. There was no significant difference in the mortality rate between head and neck and thorax wounds: however, the former exceeded the mortality rate recorded for abdominal wounds (p < 0.05). No significant differences were observed between soldiers and civilians with head and neck injuries either in the KIA (205 of 1,176, 17.4% vs. 66 of 280, 23.5%, respectively) or the DOW group (51 of 971, 5.3% vs. 10 of 214, 4.7%, respectively. According to the mechanism of head and neck wounding, there were 1,046 explosive (71.9%), 226 gunshot (15.5%), and 184 other (12.6%) wounds. Lethal outcome was significantly more common in gushot than in explosive wounds (79 of 226, 35% vs. 243 of 1,046, 23.2%; p < 0.01). The proportion of head and neck injuries did not differ significantly from literature reports on recent conventional wars. The site of wounding, i.e., at the battlefield or elsewhere, had no effect on the prognosis of wounds to the head and neck. Gunshot head and neck injuries showed a significantly higher mortality rate.

Abdominal Injuries↗

Influence of nasal fontanel receptors on the regulation of tracheobronchal vagal tone.

AIM: To test the hypothesis according that the receptors located in the nasal fontanels influence the regulation of the tracheobronchial tree vagus tone. METHODS: Changes in respiratory parameters (forced expiratory volume in the first second- FEV1 and total resistance- Rt) occurring consequentially to light mechanical nasal stimulation were determined in healthy volunteer, non-smokers using spirometric and body plethysmographic measurements. The parameters were measured before and at 15 and 60 min after mechanical stimulation with cotton pledge. RESULTS: In subjects in whom the middle nasal meatus was stimulated by a cotton pledge soaked in saline, FEV1 decreased (p=0.01) and Rt increased (p=0.03). In subjects in whom the middle nasal meatus was stimulated by a cotton pledge soaked in 5% cocaine solution, no change was observed. In the control group of subjects, in whom the inferior nasal concha was stimulated by a cotton pledge soaked in saline, only a statistically significant decrease for FEV1 (p=0.04) was found. CONCLUSION: There is a reflex communication between the nasal fontanel receptors and lungs, which is regulating the tracheobronchial vagal tone and resistance in lung airways. Further studies of this important physiologic relation are needed.

Administration, Intranasal↗

Management of war-related neck injuries during the war in Croatia, 1991-1992.

From 1 September 1991 to 31 December 1992, a total of 7,043 wounded patients were treated in the War Hospital in Slavonski Brod. Seven hundred and twenty eight patients with head and neck injuries were treated in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Cervicofacial Surgery. Of this number, 187 had neck injuries. Ninety-two (49.2%) of them were treated in outpatient facilities and 95 (50.8%) as inpatients. Immediate exploration was done in 84 patients with penetrating neck injuries. Vital structures were involved in 49 patients: major blood vessels (40 cases), larynx (17 cases), pharynx (8 cases), trachea (5 cases), thyroid gland (3 cases) and esophagus (2 cases). Definitive treatment was given to all of these injuries. Primary wound closure was performed upon exploration in 74 patients who were treated within the first 6 h after trauma. Secondary wound closure was performed in 10 patients with neck exploration performed more than 6 h after injury, and in those with extensive defects of tissue requiring the use of larger local flaps or free flaps. The mortality among patients with neck injuries was 2.1%.

Adolescent↗

Acute laryngeal trauma: a comparison between peace time and war injuries.

Thirty-six patients with acute laryngeal trauma are presented. Sixteen patients had peace-time and 20 had war injuries. Peace-time injuries were mostly due to car accidents, violence and suicide using a knife, whereas the war injuries were caused by shell and mine fragments. Nine patients were treated conservatively (eight peace-time and one war-time) and 27 by surgery (eight peace-time and 19 war-time). Surgical experience showed that acute laryngeal trauma must be treated within the first 24 hours after injury. Primary treatment must be a definite one. In that way complications and uncontrolled healing can be successfully avoided.

Accidents, Traffic↗

Laryngeal war injuries.

During the war in Croatia in the region of Brodska Posavina at the Medical Center in Slavonski Brod, 7,043 wounded were treated. The Otolaryngology and Oral Surgery Service treated 728 wounded, of whom 20 had laryngeal injuries. Most of the injuries were caused by shrapnel from shells, mines, and hand grenades. Nineteen wounded had associated injuries of the neck, head, and the neck and/or other parts of the body. The authors performed in 8 surgical explorations and immediate reconstruction with the median layer of the deep cervical fascia (MLDCF). Upon termination of the treatment, the nineteen wounded had good respiration without signs of stenosis of the larynx. Twelve had good phonation, five satisfactory phonation, and two bad. None had swallowing difficulties. Among the eight wounded on whom the reconstruction of the larynx was done with cervical fascia, four had very good phonation, three satisfactory, and the eight died on the sixth postoperative day because of associated injuries to the cervical spine. The cervical fascia proved itself to be a suitable material in the immediate reconstruction of exogenous war injuries of the larynx.

Adolescent↗