Background: Establishing a regional/national/international registry of patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is essential for both research and healthcare, because it enables collection of comprehensive real-life data from a large number of individuals. Objective: The aim of this study was to describe characteristics of COPD patients from the Serbian patient registry, and to investigate actual differences of those characteristics among the COPD phenotypes. Methods: The Serbian registry of patients with COPD was established in 2018 at University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Medical Sciences, based on an online platform. Entry in the Registry was allowed for patients who were diagnosed with COPD according to the following criteria: symptoms of dyspnea, chronic cough or sputum production, history of risk factors for COPD and any degree of persistent airflow limitation diagnosed at spirometry. Results: In the Serbian COPD registry B and D GOLD group were dominant, while among the COPD phenotypes, the most prevalent were non-exacerbators (49.4%) and then frequent exacerbators without chronic bronchitis (29.6%). The frequent exacerbator with chronic bronchitis phenotype was associated with low levels of bronchopulmonary function and absolute predominance of GOLD D group. Anxiety, depression, insomnia, hypertension and chronic heart failure were the most prevalent in the frequent exacerbator with chronic bronchitis phenotype; patients with this phenotype were also treated more frequently than other patients with a triple combination of the most effective inhaled anti-obstructive drugs: long-acting muscarinic antagonists, long-acting beta 2 agonists and corticosteroids. Conclusion: In conclusion, the data from the Serbian registry are in line with those from other national registries, showing that frequent exacerbators with chronic bronchitis have worse bronchopulmonary function, more severe signs and symptoms, and more comorbidities (especially anxiety and depression) than other phenotypes. Other studies also confirmed worse quality of life and worse prognosis of the AE-CB phenotype, stressing importance of both preventive and appropriate therapeutic measures against chronic bronchitis.

Background and Objectives: The Baveno classification represents a new approach to the assessment of the severity of OSA (Obstructive sleep apnea), which takes significant comorbidities into account: atrial fibrillation, arterial hypertension, heart failure, stroke, diabetes mellitus, and OSA symptoms expressed through the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS). The authors believe that the Baveno classification facilitates a better stratification of patients with OSA and can be a good guide for deciding on the therapeutic approach and clinical monitoring of patients with OSA, compared to the AHI (apnea-hypopnea index) itself. The aim of this paper is to confirm the advantage of applying the Baveno classification to the evaluation of symptoms of anxiety and depression in the OSA patients compared to the application of the AHI as a single parameter. Materials and Methods: This research represents an observational retrospective study that was performed at the Pulmonology Clinic of the University Clinical Center in Kragujevac, Serbia. The study sample included 104 patients with diagnosed OSA. Patients were divided into four categories retrogradely according to the Baveno classification (A, B, C, and D). Statistical data processing was performed using the IBM SPSS Statistics version 25.0 program. Results: In our study, we proved that the Baveno classification is better at predicting the depressive disorder in OSA patients compared to the AHI itself, according to abnormal BDI-II (Beck Depression Inventory) score (value greater than ten) and HADS-D (Hospital anxiety and depression) scale (value greater than eight). The average AHI in the entire group of examined patients was 44.3 ± 19.8, while in category A the average AHI was 25.2 ± 10, in category B, 53.4 ± 20.6; in category C, 38.2 ± 18.5; and in category D, 48.1 ± 19.2. In the total sample, AHI did not correlate with the depressive episodes, but individually, the highest frequency of the depressive symptoms was precisely in the categories with the highest AHI (group D and B), where more than half of the subjects had an abnormal score. The frequency of the anxiety disorder (HADS-A) between the analyzed groups did not differ significantly, although the largest number of patients with significant anxiety were in category B, according to the Baveno classification. Conclusions: We proved that the Baveno classification is applicable in real life, and it is better at evaluating anxiety and depression using questionnaires and can identify new patients who need CPAP therapy, independently of other OSAS symptoms, primarily daytime sleepiness.

Background: Early prediction of COVID-19 patients’ mortality risk may be beneficial in adequate triage and risk assessment. Therefore, we aimed to single out the independent morality predictors of hospitalized COVID-19 patients among parameters available on hospital admission. Methods: An observational, retrospective–prospective cohort study was conducted on 703 consecutive COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the University Clinical Center Kragujevac between September and December 2021. Patients were followed during the hospitalization, and in-hospital mortality was observed as a primary end-point. Within 24 h of admission, patients were sampled for blood gas and laboratory analysis, including complete blood cell count, inflammation biomarkers and other biochemistry, coagulation parameters, and cardiac biomarkers. Socio-demographic and medical history data were obtained using patients’ medical records. Results: The overall prevalence of mortality was 28.4% (n = 199). After performing multiple regression analysis on 20 parameters, according to the initial univariate analysis, only four independent variables gave statistically significant contributions to the model: SaO2 < 88.5 % (aOR 3.075), IL-6 > 74.6 pg/mL (aOR 2.389), LDH > 804.5 U/L (aOR 2.069) and age > 69.5 years (aOR 1.786). The C-index of the predicted probability calculated using this multivariate logistic model was 0.740 (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Parameters available on hospital admission can be beneficial in predicting COVID-19 mortality.

Economic Impact of Leading Prosperity Diseases: COPD in South East Europe

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Background and Objectives: This paper aims to show whether obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) severity increases the level of systemic inflammation markers regardless of body mass index (BMI) and body composition. Materials and Methods: In total, 128 patients with OSA were included in the study. Examinees were divided into two groups: one with mild OSA (apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) < 15) and one with moderate and severe OSA (AHI ≥ 15). Nutritional status was assessed using body mass index, body composition by dual X-ray absorptiometry. Systemic inflammation was assessed on the basis of plasma concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and serum level of C-reactive protein (CRP). Results: We found elevated mean values of the evaluated systemic inflammation markers (CRP, TNF-α, IL-6) in a group with AHI ≥ 15, although there was no statistical significance. Our research found a significant positive correlation with BMI (r = 0.633, p < 0.001), as well as with body fat percentage (r = 0.450, p = 0.024) and serum CRP values. Significant correlation was found between the plasma IL-6 concentration and body fat percentage (FM%) (r = 0.579, p = 0.003) and lean body mass (r = −0.501, p = 0.013). Multivariate regression analysis did not show any independent predictor (parameters of OSA, nutritional status, body composition) of the systemic inflammation markers. Conclusions: Neither one tested parameter (nutritional status and body composition) of the severity of OSA was identified as an independent prognostic factor for the severity of systemic inflammation in patients with OSA.