Introduction/Objective: The efficacy and safety of bevacizumab (BEV) in combination with capecitabin and irinotecan in first-line therapy of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) were studied. In order to improve safety and efficacy of chemotherapy, as well as to reduce adverse reactions to a minimum, doses of active agents applied were changed in relation to previously employed schedules. Methods: Patients with histologically documented mCRC who have not previously received chemotherapy or had received adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy, which ended 6 months before capecitabin treatment (1000 mg/m2 per os from 2nd to 8th day of each cycle), irinotecan (175 mg/m2 every 2 weeks), plus bevacizumab (5 mg/kg i.v. every 2 weeks) were observed. Results: The study, conducted as a prospective one included 35 patients of both sexes. Overall response rate (ORR) of 28.6%, partial response (PR) of 28.6%, progressive disease (PD) of 28.6% and stable disease (SD) of 42.8% were found. Progression-free survival (PFS) of the patients analyzed was 11.3 months (95% CL: 9.1 - 12.9) while overall survival (OS) of the patients included was 25.2 months (95% CL: 17.4 - 28.4 months) and 117 adverse effects were recorded in 24 patients. Alopecia, nausea and vomiting, hemorrhage, hand-foot syndrome, diarrhea, abdominal pain, proteinuria, and hypertension (51.4%, 37.1%, 37.1%, 25.7%, 22.8%, 20.0%, 20.0% and 17.1%, respectively) were most frequently observed adverse effects. Conclusion(s): The results of this clinical trial support and recommend the use of bevacizumab plus capecitabin and irinotecan in the doses and schedule applied throughout this study as first-line treatment of mCRC patients.

Introduction Chronic right ventricular pacing can deteriorate cardiac function. Consequently, pacemaker system upgrades are more frequently indicated. These interventions can be hindered by venous thrombosis. In literature, it is rarely described that this problem is resolved by implanting a new lead for left ventricle (LV) stimulation on the opposite side of the previously implanted pacemaker and then subcutaneously transferring it to the old pocket. Case outline A 75-year-old male patient was hospitalized due to a planned pacemaker upgrade in December 2015. A dual-chamber pacemaker had been implanted due to sinus node dysfunction in 2011. During the previous 18 months he had been complaining about symptoms of heart failure. An upgrade to the cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) with a new CRT-P device was indicated due to the LV dilatation with the ejection fraction decrease, clinical deterioration, and the presence of high percentage of ventricular pacing. In October 2015, the mentioned intervention was unsuccessful due to total left subclavian vein thrombosis on the side of the previously implanted pacemaker. Anticoagulation therapy was ordinated and the reevaluation was postponed. During this hospitalization, venography confirmed total left subclavian vein thrombosis despite the anticoagulation therapy. It was decided to implant a new LV lead on the right side and then subcutaneously shift it by pre-sternal tunneling to the previous left prepectoral pocket. The intervention was uneventful. The first controls have shown stable pacemaker parameters. Conclusion This case report confirms that contralateral lead placement and subcutaneous pre-sternal tunneling of the lead is feasible and safe in patients with an implanted pacemaker, an indication for system upgrade and ipsilateral vein obstruction.

Stray dogs are the ones not microchipped, which live across the streets and other public surfaces unattended, and so represent a serious public-health problem. Lack of human support for the stray dogs causes a range of problems from territorial status to ensuring food. Such conditions force them to activate a self-preservation mechanism and return to natural behavioral patterns. Regarding the fact that several thousands of stray dogs were recorded in observed regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the period from 2008 – 2009, it was obvious that such conditions could endanger the health of both humans and domestic animals. The problem in Bosnia and Herzegovina attempted to be solved using various approaches during the period from 1996 – 2009. Some solutions were: using hygiene services of public utility companies in some places, or establishing dog shelters. The third solution for the problem was the employment of hunting associations and their active participation for reducing the number of stray dogs. Minimization of large number of stray dogs required number of measures and activities such as aplicable legal framework, education for dog owners, neutering of dogs, building shelters, euthanasia of ill and agressive dogs and permanent hosting of dogs.

The laboratory rat, as important biomedical model, was often fed with unconventional diet usually made up of products from the bakery industry. Such diet consisted of insufficient caloric and nutritionally unbalanced meals could cause unreliable results in biomedical research. The study investigates the effects of malnutrition on the haematological profile of rats. The study is performed on Wistar male and female rats which were fed for 4 weeks exclusively with bakery products ad libidum. The following hematological parameters were observed in peripheral blood smears: red blood cell count, content of haemoglobin, haematocrit, MCV, MCH, MCHC, white blood cell count, differential blood count, diameter of red blood cells, as well as the presence of atypical forms of red blood cells. Despite there were no statistically significant differences in overall haematological results (p > 0.05, with > 0.05), the significant part of obtained results were below physiological limits (HGB, MCHC and MCH). Other haematological parameters, including white blood corpuscles were kept in physiological limits, except for mild neutrophils in males. Also, the forms of anulocytes and spherocytes were recorded in peripheral blood smears. The results indicated the beginning of normocytic hypochromic anaemia which was caused by unbalanced meals.