Nosocomial infections in the departments of orthopedics and traumatology

Aim. To determine the incidence and the localization of nosocomial infections (NI) in the departments of orthopedics and traumatology. Methods. A prospective cohort study carried out between February 1 and July 31, 2002 included all of the surgical patients who were hospitalized longer than 48 hours, as well as 30 days after the discharge. The patients were examined and their diagnoses made according to the definition of NI, that was based on the clinical and/or laboratory findings. Results. Out of 277 hospitalized patients, 78 had a total of 91 NIs. Sixty seven (85.8%) of the patients had 1 registered NI each, 9 (11.6%) of the patient had 2 NIs each, while only the 2 (2.6%) were with 3 NIs. The incidence of the patients with HAI was 28.2% (95% IP = 22.9-33.5), while the incidence of HAI was 32.8%. The patients who developed a NI were hospitalized almost twice as long as the patients who did not (t test = 6.0, DF = 275, p < 0.001). In regard to the duration of hospitalization, the incidence of NI was 12.3 per 1000 patient-hospital days. The patients operated on most frequently had the surgical-site infections (69.2%). Of 63 infections of the surgical site, 3 patients (4.8%) were diagnosed as having the NI at that localization following the discharge, and then the urinary tract infections, 25.3% (23/91), and sepsis, 5.5% (5/91). Conclusion. Epidemiological surveillance was the first step towards the prevention and the eradication of NI. The results of this study could be of use in planning of the adequate measures for the prevention of NI in the departments of orthopedic surgery

Body Mass Index and Late Adverse Outcomes after a Carotid Endarterectomy

A cohort study was conducted to examine the association of an increased body mass index (BMI) with late adverse outcomes after a carotid endarterectomy (CEA). It comprised 1597 CEAs, performed in 1533 patients at the Vascular Surgery Clinic in Belgrade, from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2017. The follow-up lasted four years after CEA. Data for late myocardial infarction and stroke were available for 1223 CEAs, data for death for 1305 CEAs, and data for restenosis for 1162 CEAs. Logistic and Cox regressions were used in the analysis. The CEAs in patients who were overweight and obese were separately compared with the CEAs in patients with a normal weight. Out of 1223 CEAs, 413 (33.8%) were performed in patients with a normal weight, 583 (47.7%) in patients who were overweight, and 220 (18.0%) in patients who were obese. According to the logistic regression analysis, the compared groups did not significantly differ in the frequency of myocardial infarction, stroke, and death, as late major adverse outcomes (MAOs), or in the frequency of restenosis. According to the Cox and logistic regression analyses, BMI was neither a predictor for late MAOs, analyzed separately or all together, nor for restenosis. In conclusion, being overweight and being obese were not related to the occurrence of late adverse outcomes after a carotid endarterectomy

Diet and gastric cancer

The aim of this case-control study, conducted in Serbia during the period 1998-2000, was to investigate whether diet was associated with the development of gastric cancer. The case group consisted of 131 patients with histologically confirmed gastric cancer, and the control group of 131 patients with orthopedics diseases and injuries. Cases and controls were individually matched by age (±± 2 years), gender, and place of residence. On the basis of multivariate logistic regression analysis, following factors were found as independent risk factors for gastric cancer: more frequent consumption of high-fat milk [Odds ratio (OR) =1.45, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.99-2.16]; mutton, lamb and/or calf meat (OR = 2.46, 95% CI = 1.11-5.47), sugar (OR = 2.13, 95% CI = 1.43-3.18), semi-white bread (OR = 2.09, 95% CI = 1.25-3.50), and salting food (OR = 5.72, 95% CI = 2.63-12.42). Factors found as protective were: more frequent consumption of margarine (OR = 0.41, 95% CI = 0.25-0.69), „other“ cheeses (OR = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.29 - 0.77), and fish (OR = 0.39, 95% CI = 0.19-0.76)