Biomedical subjects

Marko Bergovec

Publications and source records attributed to Marko Bergovec.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Acute coronary syndrome and the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina: a 10-year retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina on the occurrence of acute coronary syndrome among civilians. METHODS: The incidences of acute myocardial infarctions (first and recurrent) and unstable angina pectoris were examined among the residents of Mostar and the nine neighboring districts. The study population was the population that lived in the area before the war (182,000 in the 1991 census). Others who immigrated into the area were not taken into consideration. Five consecutive years (1987-1991) before the war and 5 consecutive years (1992-1996) during the war were analyzed. RESULTS: In the 5-year period during the war, 267 men and 161 women suffered from acute myocardial infarctions, compared with 246 men and 119 women in the 5-year period before the war. The wartime increase in acute myocardial infarctions for the combined male-female population was statistically significant (p = 0.025). For women, the wartime increase was statistically significant only for the age group of 60 to 69 years (p = 0.007). The smaller increase among men was not statistically significant (p = 0.354). The increase to a wartime number of 52 cases of recurrent myocardial infarctions from a prewar level of 24 was statistically significant (p = 0.001). The percentage of fatal myocardial infarctions among women, however, was lower during the war (18.6%) than before the war (32.8%) (p = 0.048). During the war, 109 men with unstable angina pectoris were hospitalized, compared with 84 before the war; the cases among women were 76 and 41, respectively. The increase was statistically significant among women (p = 0.001) but not among men (p = 0.072). There was a statistically significant increase (p < 0.001) in the total number of unstable angina pectoris cases during the war (185 cases, compared with 125 prewar cases). CONCLUSION: The common population during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina had increased numbers of acute myocardial infarctions and unstable angina pectoris cases.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed2004

Were today's professors good students? Case study of the Zagreb University School of Medicine.

AIM: To determine whether the medical school grades of today's professors at the Zagreb University School of Medicine could serve as the predictors of their subsequent academic success. METHODS: We performed a retrospective descriptive study of medical school grades of professors and/or assistant professors at the Zagreb University School of Medicine from 1990 to 2003. The professors were divided into four groups according to the course they taught: Basic Science, Clinical Non-Surgery, Clinical Surgery, and Public Health. In total, data for 297 professors were analyzed. RESULTS: Today's professors were above-average students. The analysis of grades of professors teaching different disciplines revealed that Basic Science professors were the best students, followed by Non-Surgery and Surgery professors, whereas Public Health professors were the worst. Grades that professors earned in Public Health courses were the highest, followed by grades in Non-Surgical and Surgical courses. The grades in Basic Science courses were the lowest. CONCLUSION: Professors at the Zagreb University School of Medicine were above-average students and their grades seem to be important predictors of future success in academic career. Among today's professors, Basic Science professors were the best students.

Croatia↗

PubMed2004

[Inflammation markers in acute coronary syndrome].

Inflammation is a component of atherosclerotic plaque, but it is also a possible pathogenetic factor of acute coronary event responsible for coronary instability. Inflammatory markers are considered as new risk factors for atherosclerosis. Among others (C-reactive protein (CRP) is the best known marker of inflammatory response which is most frequently found in patients with acute myocardial infarction preceded by a period of instability. High values of inflammatory markers indicate poor prognosis after acute myocardial infarction. Therapy may lower the inflammatory component and the risk of coronary disease. Specific response of inflammatory marker during diagnostic and percutaneous coronary interventions indicates more severe coronary disease.

Angina, Unstable↗

PubMed2003

Is there grade inflation at medical schools? Case study of the Zagreb University School of Medicine.

AIM: To investigate if students' grades at the Zagreb University School of Medicine increased since the establishment of the School in 1917. METHODS: In this retrospective descriptive study, we analyzed student sex, the length of studying, average of all grades, and grades from 5 major courses--anatomy, physiology, pathology, internal medicine, and surgery. The passing grades at the Zagreb University range from 2 (sufficient) to 5 (excellent). We analyzed data for 2,861 students from 9 representative classes, enrolled in 1920, 1930, 1940, 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1985, and 1990. RESULTS: The number of female students constantly increased up to 1970 and hereafter the female to male ratio remained stable, 60:40. The percentage of enrolled students who graduated from the School increased from 1920 to 1940 and from 1960 to 1985. Between 1940 and 1960, the percentage of students who graduated was lower than 50%. There was a continuous increase in grades during the investigated period (p<0.001), except for students enrolled in 1960, who had lower grades than those enrolled in 1950. Students who enrolled in 1990 also had lower grades than those enrolling in 1985. Grades from the individual courses mostly followed the increasing trend of total grades. CONCLUSION: There has been an increasing trend in grades at the Zagreb University School of Medicine since its establishment in 1917.

Croatia↗

PubMed2002

Zagreb University School of Medicine: students grades during war.

AIM: To investigate whether examination grades of the students at the Zagreb University School of Medicine changed during the 1991-1995 war in Croatia. METHODS: The retrospective descriptive study included examination grades from 5 major courses in the first 5 years of the medical studies: Anatomy (first year), Physiology (second year), Pathology (third year), Internal Medicine (fourth year), and Surgery (fifth year). We compared the war-period (1991-1995) with two control periods: before (1989-1990) and after the war (1996-2000). The passing grades at the Zagreb University range from 2 to 5, with 2 as the lowest and 5 as the highest grade. There were a total of 17,682 examinations from the 5 courses in the studied periods. RESULTS: Grades were higher in the pre-war and post-war periods than in the war period (p<0.001 for both comparisons). Grades in the individual courses followed the general trend, except for the surgery course, where grades during the war were better than in the control periods, and the physiology course, where continual worsening, irrespective of the war, was observed. CONCLUSION: Medical students obtained significantly lower grades in 5 major courses during the war than before or after it. Thus, it is reasonable to assume that different factors, some related and some unrelated to war, could have adversely influenced students performance.

Croatia↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Emergencies in total hip replacement].

Over the last three decades total hip replacement became one of the most common surgical procedures in orthopaedic surgery. According to the number of large joint endoprosthesis, hip replacement is on the first place. Lately, the number of revisional and special tumoral endoprosthesis is increasing, with more severe complications. Dislocation is a leading early complication of total hip arthroplasty. Dislocations after primary total hip arthroplasties occur at an overall incidence of 1-3%, and at 15-20% in revision and tumoral procedures. Closed reduction and eventually immobilization is the method of treatment. If closed reposition in not possible, revision surgery must be performed. Periprosthetic fractures are, as every other fracture, indication for a surgical treatment. Depending on the type of fracture the method of treatment is either open reduction and internal fixation or removal of the primary and implantation of revision endoprosthesis. Deep infection following total joint replacement remains one of the most serious complications, often needing surgical treatment. Treatment consists of incision and debridement. If there is a fever, increased erythrocyte sedimentation and CRP with signs of sepsis, endoprosthesis must be removed. A haematoma appearance after surgical procedure is an emergency which needs a surgical treatment--haematoma evacuation in order to prevent further complication, on the first place infection. Fractured endoprosthesis is one of the most severe complication in the total hip replacement, and need to be surgically treated as soon as possible with endoprosthesis replacement. Aseptic loosening can also be considered as a relative emergency in surgical treatment of total hip replacement. Longer waiting for reoperation can cause losing valuable bone mass needed for revisional endoprosthesis implantation and fixation. Although emergencies in hip replacement are not very common, they must be recognized and eventually surgically treated as soon as possible.

Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip↗