While the problem of vaccine hesitancy is not new, it has become more pronounced with the new COVID-19 vaccines and represents an obstacle to resolving the crisis. Even people who would usually trust vaccines and experts now prefer to wait for more information. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Slovenia in December 2020 to find out the attitudes of the population regarding COVID-19 vaccination and the factors that affect these attitudes. Based on 12,042 fully completed questionnaires, we find that higher intention to get vaccinated is associated with men, older respondents, physicians and medical students, respondents who got the influenza vaccination, those who knew someone who had gotten hospitalised or died from COVID-19 and those who have more trust in experts, institutions and vaccines. Nurses and technicians were less likely to get vaccinated. In answers to an open question, sceptics were split into those doubting the quality due to the rapid development of the vaccine and those that reported personal experiences with side effects of prior vaccinations. Although the Slovenian population is diverse in its attitudes towards vaccination, the results are comparable to those found in other countries. However, there are potential limitations to the generalizability of the findings that should be addressed in future studies.

Background Ischemic stroke is one of the most common causes of death and disability. The most common independent cause is cervical artery dissection, which represents around 20% of all cases of ischemic stroke in young adults. Risk factors for dissection include male gender, migraine (particularly with aura), hyperhomocysteinemia, recent infection, recent history of minor cervical trauma, young age, current smoking status, increased leucocyte count, and shortened activated partial thromboplastin time, whereas hypercholesterolemia and being overweight appear protective. Patients and Methods This retrospective study was based on data of all patients aged 18 to 49 who were hospitalized in the University Medical Centre Maribor for ischemic stroke between 2010 and 2019 inclusive. The results of the research were analyzed by IBM SPSS Statistics 28 software. For statistical significance, a cut-off value of p < 0.05 was used. Results The study includes 196 patients with 198 events of ischemic stroke. Dissection of cervical arteries was presented in 16 (8.2%) cases. The presence of arterial hypertension proved to have a relation with the presence of a dissection; patients with dissection are less likely to suffer from arterial hypertension. Duration of hospitalization in the group with dissection lasted significantly longer than in the group without dissection. Conclusions Dissection of cervical or intracranial artery is an important cause of ischemic stroke, especially in young adults. Therefore, it should be considered in young adults with presentation of stroke who lack traditional and modifiable risk factors.

Coronary artery disease is the most common cause of mortality worldwide. Percutaneous coronary intervention represents an important method of treatment. Over time, the methods have been refined to improve safety and efficacy. With the development of drug-eluting stents, in-stent restenosis has importantly decreased, but it remains a relevant concern in terms of the need for additional revascularization procedures or recurrent coronary events. Different platforms, polymers, and anti-proliferative agents have been tested, mostly demonstrating non-inferiority when compared. Additional devices, such as drug-coated balloons, bioresorbable scaffold systems, gene-eluting stents and bioadaptor implants have been developed. As none of the aforementioned methods demonstrated considerable superiority over the others, the search for the ideal treatment method continues. Based on currently available data, the ideal treatment method could be a personalized approach combining different revascularization methods. Additional research with subpopulation group studies, different associated diseases or vessels affected, and longer follow-up are required to determine better subgroups of patients that would benefit most from specific treatment methods.