Inhibitory effect of thyme and some essential oil components on Salmonella Senftenberg and Salmonella Give

Salmonella is a pathogen of public concern causing health and economic problems worldwide. Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Typhimurium are the serotypes most commonly recognized as causes of human salmonellosis, which is why research is mainly dedicated to prevention or inhibition of these frequently reported serotypes, while less attention is dedicated to the uncommon Salmonella serotypes. Outbreaks of salmonellosis caused by rarer subspecies of Salmonella are increasing, which is why their control is needed. Essential oils derived from plants have gained attention mainly due to their antibacterial properties and potential to be used as a replacement for synthetic additives in the food industry. To the best of our knowledge, there are no literature data about the effect of essential oils on Salmonella Give. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of thyme and oregano essential oils and thymol, carvacrol, cinnamaldehyde and eugenol on Salmonella Senftenberg and Salmonella Give. Results showed that there were no differences between the susceptibility of the examined Salmonella serovars to these essential oils and active compounds. Oregano essential oil, thymol and carvacrol exhibited greater antibacterial activity, followed by cinnamaldehyde, while the Salmonella serovars examined were most resistant to the effect of eugenol

Writing letters to patients as an educational tool for medical students

BACKGROUND: Despite rapid growth and development of medical technology, personal relationship between the patient and physician remains the basis of high quality treatment. The aim of our study was to develop, implement and evaluate patient therapeutic letters written by students as a tool in teaching family medicine. METHODS: The study included all 6(th) year students attending their rounds in family medicine, structured into two 10-day cycles, one in urban offices and one in offices on the Adriatic islands (rural). After receiving detailed instructions, students wrote letters to two patients after a consultation in the office. The letters were audited by patients and 3 family medicine experts who used a grading instrument (scale 0 – poor, 1 – medium, 2 – good) for 1) adequacy and clarity of description of patients’ disease/state, 2) knowledge, 3) adequacy of recommendations, 4) courtesy and respect and 5) language and style. Patients and experts were also asked to underline phrases they thought would be difficult to understand; the underlined text was subjected to content analysis. RESULTS: Both the patients and the experts gave high scores for the value and quality of the letters in terms of the description of the problem, adequacy of recommendations given, and courtesy and respect (mean (±standard deviation) 5.65 ± 0.79 for patients vs. 4.87 ± 0.79 for experts out of maximum score of 6). Family medicine experts were stricter than patients in their evaluation of the content of the letters (adequacy and clarity of disease description (P < 0.001) and adequacy of recommendations (P < 0.001). Both the patients and the experts seemed to like longer letters as the length of the letter showed significant positive correlation with the quality summary score (correlation r = 0.492 vs. r = 0.338, respectively, P < 0.010). Overlapping of the text underlined as difficult to understand by patients and experts was found in 10 (11.6%) out of 86 letters. The highest overlap (20 terms) was found for the category “Technical terms unclear to a lay reader”. CONCLUSIONS: Writing of a letter to their first patients may be a useful tool for students to personally experience the practice of medicine and establish better partnership with patients in health care

Students’ letters to patients as a part of education in family medicine

Family medicine fosters holistic approach to patient-centered practice. Current medical curriculum in Croatia does not have well-structured courses or tools to prepare medicals students for successful communication with the patient and for building lasting and beneficial doctor-patient relationship. We explored the value of students’ practice in writing letters to patients about their illness as a way of building personal and compassionate relationship with patients. Sixth year students at the School of Medicine in Split wrote letters to the patients from consultations under the supervision of the supervisor in a family medicine practice. Structured teaching of communication with the patient brings family medicine back to what has actually always been its main part – communication and doctor-patient relationship. Our future aim is to develop students’ letters to patients as a new tool in the family medicine course examination. Moreover, we will investigate how they can be used in everyday practice of family medicine

Sensory evaluation of cold-smoked trout packaged in vacuum and modified atmosphere

The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of different packaging methods on the sensory properties of cold smoked trout fillets stored at 3°C during six weeks. Cold smoked trout fillets were vacuumed packaged or packaged in one of two modified atmospheres with a gas ratio of 50% CO2:50% N2 or 90% CO2:10% N2. Before and after storage, fillets underwent sensory analysis for colour intensity, odour and taste of smoke intensity, tenderness and overall acceptability (on days 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 and 42 of storage). Colour intensity, odour and taste of smoke intensity and overall acceptability of all examined groups of cold smoked trout fillets decreased during storage, while tenderness of the fish fillets remained virtually unchanged. Cold-smoked trout fillets pack- aged in the modified atmospheres had higher average sensory scores compared to vacuum packaged cold-smoked trout fillets

Effectiveness of treatment of newly diagnosed hypertension in family medicine practices in South Croatia

Abstract Background Uncontrolled blood pressure remains an urgent issue in clinical practice worldwide. This study aimed to compare the characteristics and effectiveness of hypertension control in family medicine pratice in the first treatment year, in relation to the geographical position, socio-economic standard, and access to medical services and public pharmacies in urban, rural and island environments (city of Split vs. Dalmatian Hinterland vs. islands in Southern Croatia). Methods A historical cohort study included 213 patients diagnosed from 2008 to 2014 with essential arterial hypertension (AH) and without related complications or diabetes mellitus. Each patient was followed up for 365 days from the visit when the diagnosis of hypertension was ascertained. Normotension was defined as arterial pressure < 140/90 mmHg. The annual cost of drugs prescribed for treating newly diagnosed hypertensive patient and the total price for defined daily dose per patient were also evaluated. Results More than half patients achieved normotension within a year from the initial diagnosis in all family medicine practices (57.3%), without significant differences among the three geographic regions (P = 0.981). Higher initial systolic blood pressure was a positive predictive prognostic factor on achieveing normotension (odds ratio (OR) 0.96, 95% confidence interval 0.95–0.98). ACE inhibitors were the most commonly prescribed antihypertensive agents in monotherapy (35.1%), as well as considering overall prescriptions (25.2%). Calcium channel blockers were the most commonly prescribed initial BP-lowering single agents in urban areas (28.6%), whereas angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors were more common in rural (28.0%) and island areas (22.7%) (P = 0.037). The median annual antihypertensive drug cost was 169.4 (95% CI 151.5–201.8) Croatian kunas and was similar across the study sites. Conclusion Multiple antihypertensive drugs, prescribed in accordance with the guidelines, lead to similar pharmacological effects. Primary care physicians seem to be able to overcome potential interfering socio-economic factors and successfully achieve normotension in newly diagnosed patients with uncomplicated AH after 1 year of treatment