Approximately 8000 people suffer from an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in the Republic of Croatia every year. OHCA survival rates generally remain low despite major advances in resuscitation. Its incidence and survival rate are well known i...

Introduction: Healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) represent a major public health issue. In Europe, 37 000 patients are affected annually by some sort of HCAI. HCAIs are preventable, and hand hygiene is an important measure in their prevention. During daily clinical practice, hands of healthcare workers (HCWs) are exposed to surfaces, various substances and objects; therefore, proper hand hygiene is the first step in preventing microorganism transmission. Aim: To determine the HCWs hand hygiene compliance with the guidelines of the World Health Organization through a systematic review of literature. Methods: A systematic review of literature based on the PRISMA statement guidelines using the PubMed database in a search for articles that evaluate the hand hygiene compliance among HCWs. Results: Six articles were taken into consideration by the availability of full-text articles and years of publication between 2010 and 2020. Results showed that compliance rate was the highest in studies that implemented World Health Organisation’s Multimodal Hand Hygiene Improvement Strategy or its modifications. Conclusion: The multimodal approach, as World Health Organisation’s multimodal strategy or its local modifications, has been shown as the best approach addressing the problem of hand hygiene compliance. Further areas for research include finding a better method of measuring compliance, technology-driven solutions for both delivery of alcohol-based handrub and monitoring of its use, a greater focus on evaluating proper hand hygiene techniques, and insuring longer-term programs of training and education to achieve the best effectiveness of hand hygiene compliance among HCWs.

Floods can pose a number of safety and health hazards for flood-affected populations and rescuers and bring risk of injuries, infections, and diseases due to exposure to pathogenic microorganisms and different biological and chemical contaminants. The risk factors and possible health consequences for the rescuers involved in evacuation and rescuing operations during the May 2014 flood crisis in Croatia are shown, as well as measures for the prevention of injuries and illnesses. In cases of extreme floods, divers play a particularly important role in rescuing and first-response activities. Rescuing in contaminated floodwaters means that the used equipment such as diving suits should be disinfected afterwards. The need for securing the implementation of minimal health and safety measures for involved rescuers is paramount. Data regarding injuries and disease occurrences among rescuers are relatively scarce, indicating the need for medical surveillance systems that would monitor and record all injuries and disease occurrences among rescuers in order to ensure sound epidemiological data. The harmful effects of flooding can be reduced by legislation, improvement of flood forecasting, establishing early warning systems, and appropriate planning and education.

Background: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains a pivotal health challenge globally. In Croatia, there has been a knowledge gap regarding the prevalence, predictors, and outcomes of OHCA patients. This study aims to determine the prevalence, prediction, and outcomes of OHCA patients in Croatia. Methods: An extensive one-year analysis was performed on all OHCA treated by the Emergency Medical Service in Croatia, based on the Utstein recommendations. Data were extracted from Croatian Institute of Emergency Medicine databases, focusing on adult individuals who experienced sudden cardiac arrest in out-of-hospital settings in Croatia. Results: From 7773 OHCA cases, 9.5% achieved spontaneous circulation pre-hospital. Optimal outcomes corresponded to EMS intervention within ≤13 min post-arrest onset AUC = 0.577 (95% CI: 0.56–0.59; p < 0.001) and female gender OR = 1.81 (95% CI: 1.49–2.19; p < 0.001). Northern Croatia witnessed lower success rates relative to the capital city Zagreb OR = 0.68 (95% CI: 0.50–0.93; p = 0.015). Conclusions: Early intervention by EMS, specifically within a 13-min period following the onset of a cardiac arrest, significantly enhances the probability of achieving successful OHCA outcomes. Gender differences and specific initial heart rhythms further influenced the likelihood of successful outcomes. Regional disparities, with reduced success rates in northern Croatia compared to the City of Zagreb, were evident.

Studies have documented independent contribution of sympathetic activation to the cardiovascular disease continuum. Hypertension is one of the leading modifiable factors. Most if not all the benefit of antihypertensive treatment depends on blood pressure lowering, regardless how it is obtained. Resistant hypertension is defined as blood pressure that remains uncontrolled in spite of the concurrent use of three antihypertensive drugs of different classes. Ideally, one of the three drugs should be a diuretic, and all drugs should be prescribed at optimal dose amounts. Poor adherence to antihypertensive therapy, undiscovered secondary causes (e.g. obstructive sleep apnea, primary aldosteronism, renal artery stenosis), and lifestyle factors (e.g. obesity, excessive sodium intake, heavy alcohol intake, various drug interactions) are the most common causes of resistant hypertension. Cardio(reno)vascular morbidity and mortality are significantly higher in resistant hypertensive than in general hypertensive population, as such patients are typically presented with a long-standing history of poorly controlled hypertension. Early diagnosis and treatment is needed to avoid further end-organ damage to prevent cardiorenovascular remodeling. Treatment strategy includes lifestyle changes, adding a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist, treatment adherence in cardiovascular prevention and, in case of failure to control blood pressure, renal sympathetic denervation or baroreceptor activation therapy. The comparative outcomes in resistant hypertension deserve better understanding. In this review, the most current approaches to resistant hypertension and cardiovascular risk based on the available literature evidence will be discussed.