Probiotics are among those products, the use of which is increasing, and they are available primarily as food/dietary supplements, as well as in the form of medicines. This study aims to assess the attitudes and practices of health professionals and students of health sciences, give a short overview of the probiotics currently on the market, and conduct a screening of five food supplements and one drug with respect to antibiotic resistance. Nearly half of the respondents in our survey state that probiotics have no side effects, while only 6.3% believe that the use of probiotics can lead to antibiotic resistance. In addition, more than 40% of the participants throw unused probiotics into municipal waste. The market analysis results indicate that probiotic products on the Serbian market have highly variable CFU counts, while the declared health claims cover numerous beneficial health effects, and they are sometimes even registered as medicines. Lactobacilli are frequently present in probiotic supplements, and are sold in pharmacies and online. The experimental results showed that antibiotic resistance is present in different types of lactobacilli in probiotic products. The risk of using probiotics, regardless of their beneficial health effects, should be taken into account in the future. An update to the regulations governing probiotics, including a stipulation for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) testing, should be established, and guidelines for their proper use and disposal put into place.

Medicine shortages in Serbia have evidently been present for several decades, but literature data are scarce. The aim of our study was to get an insight on the present situation in Serbia, review the EU actions when managing shortages, and discern a set of potential measures. A short survey was conducted among 500 pharmacists in public pharmacies, in 23 cities in Serbia. The survey questions addressed frequency of drug shortages, professional actions in the event of shortages, main consequences to patients and pharmacies, putative causes, and pivotal measures for the prevention/mitigation of drug shortages under current conditions. Moreover, a Panel of Experts was organized, whose suggestions and opinions were used to analyze the present situation and to form a set of potential solutions and effective measures to mitigate shortages of medicines. In-depth analysis of current Serbian legislation was conducted, with emphasis on specific steps to be made within the actual legal framework. Examples of good practice in the EU, applicable to a country such as Serbia, were examined. Our research showed that although Serbia is, in some aspects, behind EU countries regarding the approaches to overcome medicine shortages, progress can be made within short period of time, by specific well-targeted actions. Both patients and pharmacists would benefit from it.

The available data on the impact of air pollution on acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) are inconsistent. We investigated the influence of air pollution on the number of severe AECOPD hospitalizations of non-infectious etiology in patients residing in Novi Sad, Serbia. In this time-series, we used a quasi-Poisson generalized linear model in conjunction with distributed lag non-linear models, after controlling for lag days, seasonal and long-term trends, and meteorological factors (air temperature and humidity), to estimate the relative risk (RR) of AECOPD hospitalization for each increase of 10 μg/m³ in the air pollutant concentration. A total of 552 AECOPD hospitalizations were registered during 2017–2022. With each 10 μg/m³ increase in the selected air pollutants’ concentration, the cumulative RR (lags0–7) in single-predictor models for AECOPD admission were 1.52 (95% CI 0.98–2.35) for PM₁₀, 1.44 (95% CI 0.93–2.25) for PM_2.5, 1.13 (95% CI 0.87–1.47) for SO₂, and 0.99 (95% CI 0.69–1.42) for NO₂. Similar results were found in multi-predictor models as well as in group analyses between smokers and non-smokers. In conclusion, no significant associations between exposure to air pollutants and the daily AECOPD admissions were found. There is an obvious need for additional research on the topic.

While the impact of air pollution on acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) has been widely studied, its effect on hospitalization outcomes remains less explored. This study examines the influence of short-term air pollution exposure on adverse hospitalization outcomes—mortality, mechanical ventilation use, and prolonged hospitalization—in patients with non-infectious severe AECOPD in Novi Sad, Serbia. Using a five-year time-series analysis, concentrations of selected air pollutants (PM₁₀, PM_2.5, SO₂, and NO₂) and meteorological data were integrated with hospitalization outcomes. Distributed lag non-linear models (DLNMs) revealed significant associations between rising air pollutant levels and some unfavorable outcomes. Exposure to rising PM_2.5 (urban background) and SO₂ (urban traffic) concentrations were linked to higher risks of mechanical ventilation (cumulative OR 21.95 (95% CI 1.07–449.45) and 11.37 (95% CI 1.25–103.27), respectively) and prolonged non-infectious AECOPD hospitalization (cumulative RR 2.27 (95% CI 1.14–4.52) and 2.24 (95% CI 1.38–3.64), respectively). No cumulative lag effects on mortality were observed, though specific patterns emerged in individual lag models. These findings highlight the critical role of improving air quality in reducing some COPD-related hospitalization risks.

In addition to the detrimental health consequences, the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic have yielded unforeseen benefits in terms of reducing air pollution emissions. This study investigated air pollution changes in Novi Sad, Serbia, during the COVID-19 lockdown (March–June 2020) and their correlation with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) hospitalizations. Using quasi-Poisson generalized linear models (GLM) and distributed lag non-linear models (DLNM), we examined the relationship between the number of AECOPD hospitalizations and the concentrations of selected air pollutants (PM₁₀, PM_2.5, SO₂, and NO₂) from March to June of 2019, 2020, and 2021. During the COVID-19 lockdown, significant reductions in most air pollutant concentrations and the number of AECOPD hospitalizations were observed. However, neither the study year nor its interaction with air pollutant concentration significantly predicted AECOPD hospitalizations (p > 0.05). The 95% confidence intervals of the relative risks for the occurrence of AECOPD hospitalizations at each increase in the examined air pollutant by 10 μg/m³ overlapped across years, suggesting consistent effects of air pollution on the risk of AECOPD hospitalizations pre-pandemic and during lockdown. In conclusion, reduced air pollution emissions during the COVID-19 lockdown did not lead to a statistically significant change in the number of AECOPD hospitalizations.