Amifostine is well known cytoprotector which is efficient when administered before a wide range of antineoplastic agents. The aim of our study was to investigate amifostine effects on doxorubicin-induced toxic changes in rats. Amifostine (75 mg/kg ip) was given 30 min before each dose of doxorubicin (cumulatively 20 mg/kg ip, for 28 days). The animals’ whole-body, liver, and kidney weight, serum biochemical examination, as well as microscopic examination of bone marrow, peripheral blood, liver, and kidney, were done on day 56 of the study. Hepatic and renal alterations were carefully quantified by semiquantitative grading scales—hepatic and renal damage score, respectively. In amifostine-pretreated rats, the number of peripheral blood leukocytes was significantly higher in comparison to doxorubicin-only treated group, preferentially protecting neutrophils. In the same group of rats, hepatic and renal alterations associated with polymorphonuclear cell infiltrates were significantly less severe than those observed in animals receiving only doxorubicin. Our results showed that amifostine successfully protected rats against multiple-dose doxorubicin-induced toxicity by complex, and still not fully elucidated mechanisms of action.

Antimicrobial agents have a rather special position due to their importance as essential medicines for the treatment of infectious diseases. Evidence-based prescriptions are needed to optimize the use of antimicrobials in humans, as well as to decrease antimicrobial resistance. The aim of this study was to assess the inpatient consumption of antimicrobial drugs for systemic use in the period 2011–2018 in Kazakhstan. This article presents the results of an evaluation of the inpatient use of antibacterial drugs for systemic use (group J01) for the period 2011–2018 using the anatomical therapeutic chemical (ATC) classification)/defined daily dose (DDD) methodology recommended by the World Health Organization. Inpatient antimicrobial utilization is expressed as DDDs/1000 inhabitants/day (DID). The results of the assessment for inpatient antibiotic use (over an eight-year period) showed a decrease in the total consumption of antibiotics for systemic action in Kazakhstan (2011: 12.72 DID; 2018: 2.74 DID). Among oral formulations, levofloxacin was consumed the most, and cefazolin was consumed the most among the parenteral formulations of antimicrobials. The three drugs consumed the most included cefazolin (first-generation cephalosporin), ceftriaxone (third-generation cephalosporin), and cefuroxime (second-generation cephalosporin). The total consumption of antibacterials for systemic action in Kazakhstan decreased during the analyzed period, but there was an irrational use of certain groups of drugs.

Studies in the alcohol consumption area are mostly related to the (ab)use of alcohol in young people. However, today, a growing number of researchers are emphasizing the clinical and public health significance of alcohol consumption in the elderly. In the WHO reports, harmful alcohol consumption is responsible for 5.3% of the global burden of the disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of alcohol consumption among men and women aged 55 and over in Serbia and Hungary, leveraging data from the 2013 Serbian National Health Survey and from the 2014 Hungarian National Health Survey. Respondents aged 55 and over were analysed based on logistic multivariate models. The prevalence of alcohol consumption was 41.5% and 62.5% in Serbia and Hungary, respectively. It was higher among men in both countries, but among women, it was significantly higher in Hungary than in Serbia. The statistically significant predictors affecting alcohol consumption in Serbia included age, education, well-being index, long-term disease and overall health status, with marital status being an additional factor among men. In Hungary, education and long-term disease affected alcohol consumption in both sexes, while age and employment were additional factors among women. In both countries for both sexes, younger age, more significantly than primary education and good health, was associated with a higher likelihood of alcohol consumption.

Background/Aim. Amifostine (AMI) is a broad-spectrum cytoprotector which protects against variety of radio- and chemotherapy-related toxicities without decreasing their antitumor action. The aim of the study was to investigate the potential protective effects of AMI against acute cardiotoxic effects of doxorubicin (DOX) in male Wistar rats. Methods. AMI (300 mg/kg ip) was given 30 min before DOX (6 mg/kg and 10mg/kg b.w., iv). The evaluation of DOXinduced cardiotoxic effects, as well as cardioprotective efficacy of AMI was performed 48 h after their administration by determining serum activities of enzymes known to be markers of cardiac damage (creatine kinase - CK, aspartate aminotransferase - AST, lactate dehydrogenase - LDH, and its isoenzyme α-hydroxybutirate dehydrogenase - α- HBDH), as well as the histopathological and ultrastructural analysis of the heart tissue. Results. AMI successfully prevented a significant increase in serum activity of CK, AST, LDH and α-HBDH in animals treated with DOX in the dose of 6 mg/kg (121.14 ± 18.37 vs 167.70 ± 44.24; 771.42 ± 161.99 vs 1057.00 ± 300.00; 3230.00 ± 1031.73 vs 4243.10 ± 904.06; 202.57 ± 42.46 vs 294.90 ± 80.20 UI/l, respectively), and ameliorated DOX-induced structural damage of the rat myocardium. Pretreatment with AMI in rats given 10 mg/kg DOX reduced the cardiac damage score (CDS) from 2.62 ± 0.51 to 1.62 ± 0.51, i.e. to the CDS value obtained with the lower dose of DOX (6 mg/kg). The ultrastructural analysis of the rat myocardium showed that AMI successfully protected the sarcolemma of cardiomyocytes and reduced mitochondria damage induced by DOX given in the dose of 6 mg/kg. Besides, capillaries were less morphologically changed and apoptosis of endothelial cells was extremely rare in AMI-protected animals. AMI itself did not cause any prominent changes in the examined parameters in comparison with the control rats. Conclusion. AMI provided a significant protection against DOX-induced acute cardiotoxic effects in rats. This finding implies its potential to be a successful cardioprotector in patients treated with DOX due to malignant diseases.

Introduction: Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and irrational use of antibiotics in healthcare settings are major global public health concerns. Surveillance of HAIs in intensive care units (ICU), surgical-site infections (SSIs), and Clostridium difficile infections (CDIs), together with implementation of antibiotic stewardship, are cornerstones of hospital infection prevention programs. The aim of this study was to evaluate antibiotic consumption, especially of broad spectrum antibiotics, in relation to HAI incidence density (ID). Methodology: The study was conducted from 2011 to 2016 in a tertiary hospital, the Military Medical Academy (MMA), in Belgrade, Serbia. Through regular hospital surveillance we identified all patients with a new HAI. Data on consumption of antibacterials for systemic use were expressed as defined daily dose per 100 bed days (DDD/100 BD). Results: The highest incidence density (ID) of HAI was observed among patients in surgical ICUs (47.2 per 1000 patient-days), while the highest incidence rate among SSI was 3.7%. Moreover, the highest ID of CDI in medical patients was 6.2 per 10,000 patient-days, while in surgical patients it was 4.3 per 10,000 patient-days. The most frequently used antibiotics were cephalosporins, aminoglycosides and carbapenems (16.0 ± 2.3, 4.8 ± 0.7, 4.3 ± 0.7 DDD/100 BD, respectively). There was no significant correlation between consumption of any groups of antibiotics and ID of CDI in medical and surgical patients. Conclusion: The multidisciplinary healthcare team would have crucial importance in the implementation of the antibiotic stewardship program in order to decrease unnecessary exposures of patients treated in healthcare settings.

This ecological study is the largest to date examining the association between rates of antibiotic use (AU) and hospital-onset (HO) Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) in a tertiary university hospital in Serbia. There was no clear trend in the incidence of HO-CDI over time. Total utilization of antibacterials for systemic use increased from 38.57 DDD/100 bed-days (BD) in 2011 to 56.39 DDD/100 BD in 2021. The most commonly used antibiotics were third-generation cephalosporins, especially ceftriaxone, with maximum consumption in 2021 (19.14 DDD/100 BD). The share of the Access group in the total utilization of antibiotics ranged from 29.95% to 42.96% during the observed period. The utilization of the Reserve group of antibiotics indicated a statistically significant increasing trend (p = 0.034). A statistically significant difference in the consumption of medium-risk antibiotics from 2011 to 2021 was shown for penicillins and a combination of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim. The consumption of cefotaxime showed a statistically significant negative association with the rate of HO-CDI (r = −0.647; p = 0.031). Ampicillin and the combination of amoxicilline with clavulanic acid have shown a negative statistically significant correlation with the ID of HO-CDI (r = −0.773 and r = −0.821, respectively). Moreover, there was a statistically significant negative correlation between consumption of “medium-risk antibiotics” and the rate of HO-CDI (r = −0.677). The next challenging step for the hospital multidisciplinary team for antimicrobials is to modify the antibiotic list according to the Access, Watch, and Reserve classification, in such a way that at least 60% of the AU should be from the Access group, according to the World Health Organization recommendation.