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Vlado Jukić

Publications and source records attributed to Vlado Jukić.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Alcohol--health effects, working environment and prevention.

Alcoholism is a growing medical and public health issue both in adults and in the younger generation. It is a multietiological phenomenon influenced by genetic, psychological, cultural and other factors. Alcoholic beverages have traditionally been prepared from various ingredients such as grapes, hops, rice, honey, etc. Drinking prevalence has varied and is more pronounced in women and the youth. Alcoholism is shown to be of neurophysiological etiology and may lead to impairment of all human body systems. The most frequent cause of death in alcoholics are diseases of the cardiovascular system. The problem of alcoholism at workplace is very important since by affecting health and reducing work productivity it leads to accidents, injuries and decreased working capacity. Efficient solving of alcoholism and related problems includes early detection, so it is necessary to orient the health care services towards primary prevention and early interventions.

Alcoholic Beverages↗
PubMed2005

[Introducing computer units into the reception office as part of the Vrapce Psychiatric Hospital Information System].

Computerized medical record has become a necessity today, because of both the amount of present-day medical data and the need of better handling and processing them. In more than 120 years of the Vrapce Psychiatric Hospital existence, the most important changes in the working concept of the reception office took place when computer technology was introduced into the routine use. The reception office of the Hospital is the vital place where administrative activities intersect with medical care for a patient presenting to the Hospital. The importance of this segment of the Hospital is emphasized by the fact that the reception office is in function and at patients' disposition round-the-clock, for 365 days a year, with great frequency of patients. The shift from the established way of registering medical data on patient admission in handwriting or, later, typescript, to computer recording was a challenging and demanding task (from the aspects of hardware, software, network, education) for the development team as well as for the physicians because it has changed the concept (logic of the working process) of previous way of collecting the data from the patient (history, status, diagnostic procedures, therapy, etc.). The success in the development and implementation of this project and the confirmation of its usefulness during the four-year practice at Vrapce Psychiatric Hospital are best illustrated by the fact that other psychiatric hospitals in Croatia have already introduced or are introducing it in their daily practice.

Croatia↗
PubMed2005

Implementation of first Croatian Law on Protection of Persons with Mental Disorders.

The aim of this article was to examine Croatian psychiatric practice regarding involuntary hospitalization, after the Law on Protection of Persons with Mental Disorders became effective, on January 1, 1998. Data on the practice of involuntary hospitalizations of patients with mental disorders in Vrapce Psychiatric Hospital were collected from the medical records, for the years 1998 and 1999. Data regarding involuntary hospitalizations from other Croatian hospitals and departments were obtained from heads of psychiatric hospitals and departments for the first five months of 1998. The rate of involuntarily hospitalized patients in Vrapce Psychiatric Hospital rose significantly from 1998 to 1999 (p < 0.01). The rate of patients involuntarily hospitalized under section 21, subsection 3 rose significantly from 1998 to 1999 (p < 0.01), while rate of patients involuntarily hospitalized under section 22, subsection 1 decreased significantly in the same period (p < 0.01) in Vrapce Psychiatric Hospital. The implementation of the Law on protection of persons with mental disorders was not applied uniformly in all Croatian psychiatric institutions during first five months of 1998. Further analyses on this subject are necessary in order to investigate the influence of changes and supplements to the Law on the protection of persons with mental disorders on the practice of involuntary hospitalizations.

Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders↗
PubMed2004

Prevalence and risk factors of substance use among urban adolescents: questionnaire study.

AIM: To examine the prevalence and possible interconnections among the frequencies of consuming various psychoactive substances in Zagreb adolescents. Also, to assess risk factors associated with the use of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana. METHOD: We applied an anonymous, multi-dimensional, self-reporting questionnaire on a representative sample of 2,404 elementary and high school students (total age range, 13-23 years) from Zagreb, Croatia. The questionnaire was designed to explore the extent to which examinees consumed various psychoactive substances, as well as to assess their attitudes and knowledge about the substances. The socio-demographic data were collected on all examinees, their hierarchy of values, family relations, adjustment to school, relationships with peers, and high-risk and delinquent behavior. We analyzed the interconnections among the frequencies of consuming various psychoactive substances, and assessed the factors possibly predictive of substance use. RESULTS: Almost 90% of all examinees experimented with alcohol at least once, 80% with tobacco, 39% with marijuana, and 9% with Ecstasy. Thirty-six percent consumed alcohol and 11% marijuana several times a month, whereas 28% smoked tobacco daily. Although there was no statistically significant difference according to sex in experimenting with psychoactive substances, day-to-day abuse was significantly more frequent among young men than women. About 43% of our examinees believed consuming marijuana should become legally permitted, 37% were against this policy, and 21% were undecided on this issue. Our results showed a high degree of interconnection among the frequencies of consuming tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana. We also found that the best predictive factors for consumption of these three substances were a history of high-risk and delinquent behavior, troubled adjustment to school, domination of hedonistic values, and poor family relations. Regression analysis and pondering for ratios of particular predictors of psychoactive substances use gave values for coefficients of multiple regression as follows: R=0.548 (R(2)=0.300; p<0.001) for tobacco, R=0.575 (R(2)=0.330; p<0.001) for alcohol, and R=0.608 (R(2)=0.370; p<0.001) for marijuana. Knowledge about the consequences of consuming psychoactive substances positively correlated with the frequency of consuming tobacco (r=0.213, p<0.001), alcohol (r=0.226, p<0.001), and marijuana (r=0.320, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Most adolescents had personal experience with psychoactive substance abuse, mostly alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana, but only a smaller proportion became regular consumers. The frequency of substance consumption implied a generalized tendency towards substance abuse among Zagreb adolescents. Our findings could serve as empirical basis for the re-evaluation of the current drug prevention programs and programs aimed at preventing other forms of risk behavior among children and adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

The impact of novel antipsychotic drugs on quality of life among people suffering from schizophrenia.

More attention is increasingly being paid to quality of life of people suffering from schizophrenia. The results of numerous clinical trials indicate that novel antipsychotic drugs are as efficient (if not more so) than the conventional drugs. Novel drugs also cause fewer side effects and allow for better quality of life. In order to confirm these thesis we have studied the quality of life of 80 female outpatients in good social remission that have been under psychiatric evaluation for at least six months and were on antipsychotic drugs. Of those 80 outpatients, half were on the conventional medication, while the other half were on the novel antipsychotic drugs. Their life quality was evaluated with the questionnaire "Heinrichs-Hanlon-Carpenter--Quality of life questionnaire", which is one of the most frequently used QL scales. The results demonstrate that the only difference between the two groups lies in the field of social activity. While leaving the question of different influence of novel and conventional drugs open, the authors are trying to find the possible reasons for such results.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Forensic importance of jealousy.

The aim of the investigation is to define as clearly as possible specific forensic psychiatric characteristics of persons who committed homicide and or attempted due to jealousy (the nature and severity of psychopathology, the level of responsibility, danger for the community, intensity and nature of aggression, the victimologic dimension, the relation of alcohol and jealousy). A retrospective method based on forensic psychiatric expertises in the period 1975-1999 was used. They encompassed 200 examinees that committed murder or attempted it. The results show the connection of psychotic jealousy with the highest degree of danger in diagnostic categories of paranoid psychosis and paranoid schizophrenia. The time span from the first manifestations of jealousy until the actual commitment of a crime is the longest in personality disorders and the shortest in schizophrenia. Exogenous provoking situations were dominant for committing homicide due to jealousy in personality disorders. Acute alcohol intoxication has a specific significance in crime due to jealousy in the same diagnostic category. Clear criteria were designed for forensic psychiatric evaluation of murder and attempts of homicide caused by jealousy, which will be of help in everyday practice in the field forensic work and treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Involuntary hospitalizations of patients with mental disorders in Vrapce Psychiatric Hospital: five years of implementation of the first Croatian law on protection of persons with mental disorders.

AIM: To analyze data on the practice of involuntary hospitalizations of patients with mental disorders in Vrapce Psychiatric Hospital from January 1, 1998, when the Law on Protection of Persons with Mental Disorders came into power, to December 31, 2002; with particular reference to the changes and supplements to the Law on December 1999. METHOD: The data on patient's sex, age, and diagnosis were collected from the medical records. Patients were diagnosed according to ICD-10 criteria. When a patient had two or more diagnoses, he or she was placed in category of the primary diagnosis. Results were statistically analyzed by descriptive statistics and chi-square test. Statistical significance was set to p<0.01. RESULTS: The rate of involuntarily hospitalized patients increased by significantly from 1998 to 1999 (from 30.8% to 39.6%; p<0.01, chi square test). This rate decreased to 5.6% in 2000 (p<0.01), and continued to decrease in 2002 (3.5%). There was no difference between involuntarily hospitalized patients regarding sex in 1998 (p=0.302) and 1999 (p=0.136). Men were significantly more often involuntarily hospitalized than women in 2000, 2001, and 2002 (p<0.01). Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders were the most common diagnoses among involuntarily hospitalized patients in each of the observed years. CONCLUSION: Changes and supplements to the Law on Protection of Persons with Mental Disorders from December 1999, which abolished the necessity for a written consent for hospitalization and the necessity for prescribed procedure of hospitalized persons who were mentally incompetent to consent for hospitalization, led to significant decrease in the number of involuntary hospitalizations.

Chi-Square Distribution↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Intoxication with henbane].

Henbane, Hyoscyamus niger, is a hallucinogenic plant, widely spread and easy accessible, which contains anticholinergic substances. Ingestion, intentional or accidental, can provoke serious worsening of psychophysical state and can cause even death. Intoxication resembles the one with atropine. Symptoms like mydriasis, tachycardia, arrhythmia, agitation, convulsion and coma can appear. Diagnosis is made by clinical symptomatology and history. Therapeutic acts include stomach lavage, supportive therapy and physostigmine as a specific antidote. Prognosis is usually good.

Adolescent↗