Otomycosis (OM) is a superficial fungal infection of the external auditory canal (EAC) with a worldwide prevalence ranging from 9% to 30%. Commonly, otomycoses are caused by Aspergillus (A.) niger complex and Candida spp. Other causative agents are yeasts of the genera Cryptococcus spp., Rhodotorula spp., Geotrichum candidum, dermatophytes (Trichophyton mentagrophytes), and non-dermatophytes molds (Fusarium spp., Penicillium spp., Mucorales fungi). The widest range of different species causing OM are found in the territories of Iran, India, China, Egypt, Mexico, and Brazil. Fungal infection of the EAC varies from mild to severe forms. It can be acute, subacute, or chronic, and is often unilateral, while the bilateral form is more common in immunocompromised patients. From an epidemiological point of view, tropical and subtropical climates are the most significant risk factor for the development of otomycosis. Other predisposing conditions include clothing habits, EAC hygiene practices, long-term antibiotic therapy, diabetes, and immunodeficiency. Since it is often difficult to distinguish otomycosis from an infection of a different origin, laboratory-based evidence, including standard procedures (microscopy and cultivation), is essential for diagnosis. For the treatment of this superficial fungal infection, there are no official therapeutic guidelines and protocols. However, many antifungals for local application, such as polyene, imidazoles, and allylamines, can be applied, as well as systemic antimycotics (triazoles) in severe forms of infection.

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the performance of ChatGPT (GPT-3.5 and GPT-4) as a study tool in solving biostatistical problems and to identify any potential drawbacks that might arise from using ChatGPT in medical education, particularly in solving practical biostatistical problems.Methods: ChatGPT was tested to evaluate its ability to solve biostatistical problems from the Handbook of Medical Statistics by Peacock and Peacock in this descriptive study. Tables from the problems were transformed into textual questions. Ten biostatistical problems were randomly chosen and used as text-based input for conversation with ChatGPT (versions 3.5 and 4).Results: GPT-3.5 solved 5 practical problems in the first attempt, related to categorical data, cross-sectional study, measuring reliability, probability properties, and the t-test. GPT-3.5 failed to provide correct answers regarding analysis of variance, the chi-square test, and sample size within 3 attempts. GPT-4 also solved a task related to the confidence interval in the first attempt and solved all questions within 3 attempts, with precise guidance and monitoring.Conclusion: The assessment of both versions of ChatGPT performance in 10 biostatistical problems revealed that GPT-3.5 and 4’s performance was below average, with correct response rates of 5 and 6 out of 10 on the first attempt. GPT-4 succeeded in providing all correct answers within 3 attempts. These findings indicate that students must be aware that this tool, even when providing and calculating different statistical analyses, can be wrong, and they should be aware of ChatGPT’s limitations and be careful when incorporating this model into medical education.

During the years 2012–2014, a total of 158 outdoor dogs from Pančevo and Đurđevo (northern Serbia) and Niš and Prokuplje (southern Serbia) were submitted to molecular analyses (PCR and sequencing) for canine babesioses. An overall prevalence of 21.5% was found, due to the species Babesia sp. ‘spanish dog’ (10.1%), B. gibsoni (5.7%), B. canis vogeli (1.9%), B. caballi (1.9%), and B. microti (1.9%). In addition, sequence analysis showed the presence of Hepatozoon canis in a dog from Niš. No significant difference between infected and noninfected dogs was found by age, sex, and place of residence, whereas there was difference regarding the presence of ticks (p<0.005) and application of preventive measures such as applying of antitick drugs/devices. Moreover, a significant difference was established by area: Dogs from Prokuplje showed infection rates (59.1%) higher than dogs from Pančevo (11.9%), Niš (4.5), and Đurđevo (where infected dogs were not found), and a different geographical distribution of the species was found. The presence of so many Babesia species and the first identification of H. canis will allow investigations on the pathogenic role played by each one and suggests entomological studies on the tick species that are more suitable vectors for each of them. Finally, the presence of so many infected dogs offers the opportunity of evaluating the hypothesis of a possible zoonotic role of babesial species affecting dogs.