Brain death and cadaveric organ donation for transplantation present many challenges to society and even to the medical community; therefore, an ethical and legal framework is mandatory. Social values, death taboo, ignorance and procrastination are often issues that can influence the act of organ donation. This article sets out the close link between modern bioethics principles, legal framework, social and cultural value and cadaveric organ donation in the Romanian society. Organ donation, brain death and transplantation will continue to present challening questions for laws and bioethics and it is crucial that medical comunity and society members understand the involved principles, so that they can contibute to increasing the rate of organ donation and maintaining public confidence.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance is one of the world’s most serious health issues. Antibiotic resistance, excessive drug expense, and an increased risk of adverse reactions are all common outcomes of incorrect antibiotic prescribing. The goal of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of antibiotic prescriptions for inpatients to find areas for improvement. Methods: A retrospective study at Emergency Clinical County Hospital of Oradea, Romania was performed for five years between 2017 and 2021. Data was collected using medical records of the patients and reports from the pharmacy. Antibiotic consumption was expressed as DDD/100 BD according to the World Health Organization (WHO) by antibiotics, classes, and AWaRe classification. Results: The prevalence of antibiotic prescription was 53.8% during five years evaluated with a significant increase in 2021. A total of 13,677.42 DDD/100 BD antibiotics were prescribed, especially for surgical and medical prophylaxes. The most prescribed antibiotics were ceftriaxone, followed by metronidazole, and cefuroxime but there were some differences between years and wards. The most frequent antibiotic classes prescribed were cephalosporins (43.73%). The use of Watch Group antibiotics was high in all wards (59.69%). Conclusions: The prevalence of antibiotic use was high with cephalosporins being the most prescribed antibiotics. As a result, interventions are required.

Background and Objectives: Antibiotics are the most frequently prescribed drugs in hospitals and their prescription is increased during pregnancy and labor. There are limited data about this issue, and the safe use of antibiotics in pregnancy and antibiotic resistance remains a concern. The aim of the study is to evaluate the use of antibiotics among pregnant women attending hospital for five years. Materials and Methods: Antibiotic consumption and treatment information of patients were retrospectively collected from a hospital software program and expressed as defined daily dose (DDD) according to the World Health Organization (WHO) methodology for inpatients between 2017 and 2021. We evaluated antibiotic prescription by name, classes, and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) categories. Results: Antibiotic consumption shows a decreasing trend between 2017 and 2019, but an increasing one between 2020 and 2021. Ceftriaxone was the most prescribed antibiotic in each year, followed by cefixime, amoxicillin, metronidazole, cefuroxime, ampicillin, and ciprofloxacin. We noticed that first- and fourth-generation cephalosporins were not prescribed to these patients. A very small percentage of women in this study received antibiotics such as aminoglycosides; fluoroquinolones were generally contraindicated in the perinatal period. A large percentage of prescriptions were antibiotics classified as category B by the FDA. The most common infections that occurred in the perinatal period were those of the kidney and urinary tract in a higher number than in other studies. Conclusions: Our study shows that many classes of antibiotics used in perinatal women belong to category B antibiotics, the most prescribed being cephalosporins. Because of insufficient safety evidence and the potential for teratogenic effects on the fetus, restricted use among the category C and D antibiotic classes was seen and anticipated. Improving maternal health requires the involvement of healthcare experts in risk assessment and evaluation of existing data for appropriate antibiotic selection, dose, duration of medication, and monitoring.

Background and Objectives: With one of the lowest donation rates in the European Union, Romania faces challenges in organ donation from brain death donors, within an opt-in system. This study aims to measure the attitudes and knowledge of ICU patient’s relatives toward organ donation. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the intensive care unit of the Emergency Clinical County Hospital of Oradea, Romania. A 24-item self-administered questionnaire (N = 251) was used to collect data on knowledge about organ and tissue donation and transplantation, as well as the willingness to donate. Results: A high degree of awareness and willingness for organ donation and transplantation was recorded. The main positive predictor of willingness to donate was the perception of helping others by donating their organs after brain death (β = 0.537, OR = 1.711, p < 0.05), and the main negative predictor was the idea that the whole body should be buried intact (β = −0.979, OR = 0.376, p < 0.01). Conclusions: A basic understanding of organ donation and transplantation and favorable attitudes toward organ donation were registered. Families’ interviews for organ donation consent may be affected due to extreme emotional distress.

Identifying the best practices to obtain consent for organ donation involves several strategies. This retrospective analysis of the activity in the field of organ donation identifies the most critical impediments, of which the refusal of families to donate is one of the most frequently encountered. Our main aim was to determine the factors that negatively influence the activity of organ and tissue donations from brain dead donors and to summarize the total number of potential and actual deceased donors, their yearly characteristics, and the organ and tissue donation types performed. A retrospective descriptive study, covering data from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2023, was conducted in the intensive care unit of the Emergency Clinical County Hospital of Bihor, a recognized facility engaged in organ donation and transplantation from Romania. All potential and actual deceased donors were included in our research. During a period of 10 years, between 2014 and 2023, of the 488 potential and actual deceased donors, 355 (72.7%) were potential donors and 133 (27.3%) actual deceased donors. From 2014 to 2023, a significant percentage [15.28% (133)] of the total number of actual deceased organ donors registered at the national level (870) were identified by us in the Emergency Clinical County Hospital of Bihor.

Nurses in Intensive Care Units (ICU) may be exposed to considerable stress of work. High levels of stress in ICU nurses affect the quality of nursing and the quality of life at work. Determination of occupational stress levels, burnout syndrome and overall job satisfaction among ICU nurses. The research was conducted in Intensive Care Unit of Emergency Clinical County Hospital of Oradea, Romania. Data were collected from the questionnaires, 29 nurses (of the 35) were selected for this study. Professional stress factors have been assessed through Expanded Nurses Stress Scale (ENSS), burnout syndrome through Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS), while overall job satisfaction was measured by a 7-step Likert scale. The highest levels of stress were associated with workload and conflicts with other health professionals, professional relationship between nurses have been described as the least stressful. About burnout levels: a high score for emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, and a low score for professional achievements. Professional satisfaction has reached an average level. The fidelity of the scales was verified by the Cronbach’s alfa coefficient: Expanded Nurses Stress Scale (ENSS) (0.98) and Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) (0.73).