Aim: The aim of this study is to present the first total number of tested children in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the number of children with positive sweat test. During the study we determined the number of ill children, the median age of children with cystic fibrosis, date of initial diagnosis, an average amount of chloride in the sweat. Material and methods: The study was a retrospective, conducted at the Department of Pulmonology Pediatric Clinic of University Clinical Center of Sarajevo. Results: In the period from March 2003 to December 2014, we have tested 625 children. 351 child were from Sarajevo Canton and 272 children from other cantons. Female children were more affected then male children, in the ratio of 1: 1,105. An average age of female children was 4.19±4.26 years, and the male 2.15±3.11 years. The median concentration of chloride in the sweat measured by sweat test was for male children 103.05±21.29 mmol/L, and for the female children 96.05±28.85 mmol/L. Conclusion: Most of children in Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina have ∆F508 gene mutation. In the post-war period we started to use a sweat test. Male children tend to live longer than female children with CF.

AIM To investigate effects of post-sampling analysis time, a type of blood samples and collection tubes on blood gas testing. METHODS This study included 100 patients at the Clinic for Pulmonary Diseases, Clinical Centre Sarajevo. The partial pressure of oxygen (pO2) and carbon dioxide (pCO2), and the oxygen saturation level of hemoglobin (sO2) were analyzed in the arterial blood samples (ABS) and capillary blood samples (CBS) by a potentiometric method using a blood gas analyzer ABL 555 (Radiometer, Copenhagen, Denmark). Paired measurements of ABS were performed within 15 minutes and after 60 minutes from sampling and compared. The results of CBS obtained within 15 minutes were compared with matching ABS results, as well as the results obtained from CBS within 15 minutes taken into glass and plastic tubes. RESULTS pO2 and sO2 values were significantly lower after 60 minutes compared to those within 15 minutes in ABS (9.20±1.89 vs. 9.51±1.95 and 91.25±5.03 vs. 92.40±4.5; p<0.01, respectively). Values of pO2 and sO2 in CBS were significantly lower than values obtained in ABS (8.92±2.07 vs. 9.51±1.95 and 91.25±4.86 vs. 92.40±4.50; p<0.01, respectively). Obtained pO2 and sO2 values in CBS in the plastic tubes were higher than those in the glass tubes (8.50±1.98 vs. 7.89±2.0 and 89.66±11.04 vs. 88.23±11.22, p<0.01 respectively). pCO2 blood values were not influenced significantly (p>0.05). CONCLUSION The length of post-sampling analysis time, a type of blood samples and collection tubes have significant impact on blood oxygen parameters. Analysis within 15 minutes after blood sampling is considered as appropriate.

Purpose There is a critical need for population-based prospective cohort studies because they follow individuals before the onset of disease, allowing for studies that can identify biomarkers and disease-modifying effects, and thereby contributing to systems epidemiology. Participants This paper describes the design and baseline characteristics of an intensively examined subpopulation of the LifeLines cohort in the Netherlands. In this unique subcohort, LifeLines DEEP, we included 1539 participants aged 18 years and older. Findings to date We collected additional blood (n=1387), exhaled air (n=1425) and faecal samples (n=1248), and elicited responses to gastrointestinal health questionnaires (n=1176) for analysis of the genome, epigenome, transcriptome, microbiome, metabolome and other biological levels. Here, we provide an overview of the different data layers in LifeLines DEEP and present baseline characteristics of the study population including food intake and quality of life. We also describe how the LifeLines DEEP cohort allows for the detailed investigation of genetic, genomic and metabolic variation for a wide range of phenotypic outcomes. Finally, we examine the determinants of gastrointestinal health, an area of particular interest to us that can be addressed by LifeLines DEEP. Future plans We have established a cohort of which multiple data levels allow for the integrative analysis of populations for translation of this information into biomarkers for disease, and which will offer new insights into disease mechanisms and prevention.

AIM To analyse clinical, laboratory and epidemiological characteristics of brucellosis in children in Bosnia and Herzegovina. METHODS The study included 246 children aged 0-18 years, who were hospitalized in Clinics and Departments for Infectious Diseases in Tuzla, Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Zenica and Bihać in the period 2000-2013, in whom the diagnosis of brucellosis was established based on anamnestic data, clinical features and positive results from blood culture and/or positive results from one of the serological tests. RESULTS In this period, a total of 2630 patients, 246 (9.35%) of whom were children, were treated from brucellosis at the Clinics and Departments in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the majority of cases, the children were from rural parts of the country, 226 (91.87%);214 (87.04%) cases had direct contact with sick animals, sick family member or consumption of unpasteurized dairy products from farms where brucellosis had been already established. Male children predominated, 157 (63.82%). The most frequent clinical features in affected children were fever, 194 (78.86%) and joint pain, 158 (64.22%). The average duration of antimicrobial treatment was 42.85 ± 10.67 days. A total of 228 (92.68%) children were completely cured, while relapses occurred in 18 (7.32%) children. CONCLUSION Since brucellosis is an endemic disease in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is important that physicians in their daily practice consider brucellosis and establish proper diagnosis and therapy in children with prolonged fever, arthralgia, leukopenia and positive epidemiological data, especially in rural parts of the country.

Accidental falls are a major problem in later life, reducing the overall well-being, independence, mobility and quality of life of the elderly and those who care for them. The social and economic burden of falls is becoming unsustainable, considering the huge direct and indirect costs associated with each fall and the progressive ageing of the population in industrialised countries. Falls are related to complex and dynamic interactions between intrinsic, subject-specific, and extrinsic, circumstance-related, risk factors. Therefore, the prevention and management of falls in later life still represents a critical challenge for active and healthy ageing. Many healthcare technologies have been proposed to address this in recent years, ranging from fall risk screening and assessment to fall detection and, in more recent studies, fall prediction. However, several critical issues remain, mainly regarding the effectiveness of the proposed solutions, their usability in real environments, sustainability, performance, assessment and technological limitations. The lack of specificity in fall risk assessment, a limited effectiveness in fall prediction and the inability to reliably monitor spontaneous falls in real life conditions with un-obstructive technological solutions remain key unsolved problems. This special issue collects a selection of works across these healthcare technologies giving a snapshot of the latest research in this area. The first paper is an invited literature review on automatic methods for the assessment of fall risk based on statistical machine learning approaches applied to features extracted from wearable accelerometers and/or gyroscopes. This study identified five major recurrent limits identified among the 30 studies included in this review, which the reader of this special issue may consider while designing future studies: publication bias, limited/inadequate sample size, poor model validation, inappropriate model complexity with respect to the available data and poor outcome definition. The second paper in this issue reports a collaborative research effort between Italy, UK and Croatia, investigating the associations between depressed heart rate variability (HRV) and the risk of falling in patients suffering from hypertension. This cross section study enrolled 170 patients over two years, concluding that there is a significant association between depressed HRV and risk of falling, suggesting that it is possible to automatically detect autonomous nervous system states that may lead to falls. The third paper investigates the impact of various parameters on the accuracy vs. energy efficiency of a wearable activity recognition system, based on accelerometers. This study proved that sampling frequency, transmission rate, and method of nodal processing can impact significantly in satisfying the requirement of an activity recognition system. The final paper proposes a framework for fall detection based on wearable accelerometric sensors and machine learning techniques. The paper offers an interesting perspective and reports promising results, although preliminarily tested on a small sample of simulated falls. We hope that you will enjoy reading this special issue, in which some of the challenges of healthcare technologies for fall prediction, detection and risk assessment are examined through a range of different applications.

AIM Recently increased attention and interest for Acinetobacterbaumannii are the result of the occurrence of multidrug resistant (MDR), extensive drug resistant (XDR) and pandrug resistant (PDR) isolates around the world. The aim of this study was to examine the resistance of A. baumannii isolates to antimicrobials in Clinical Centre University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. METHODS Two hundred and fifty-seven A.baumannii isolates were collected between July 2011 and June 2012 in different wards and from different clinical samples. Multidrug resistant, XDR and PDR were defined according to international expert proposal for interim standard definitions for acquired resistance. RESULTS A total of 257 A. baumannii isolates showed eleven different patterns of resistance, of which ten patterns corresponded to MDR and one corresponded to XDR (sensitive only to colistin). Multidrug resistant and XDR strains were the most common at Intensive Care Units and surgical departments. The largest numbers of isolates were found in wound swabs, blood and bronchial aspirate. CONCLUSION This is the first report of XDR A. baumannii in the 2000-bed Clinical Centre University of Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Although XDR strains have been detected, the resistance to colistin has not. The elevated prevalence of these strains indicates that local antibiotic prescription policies should be revised and infection prevention and control should be improved.

Introduction: The efficacy of ureteric stents in the management of various urological conditions causing the upper urinary tract obstruction has been extensively proven, and their contribution to urology remains enormous. The clinical use of ureteric stents is associated with several complications. “Stent syndrome,” encrustation, migration and urothelial hyperplasia are the most common problems related to long-term ureteral stenting. Case report: This work presents an interesting case from our practice: a complete encrustation of a classical polyurethane double J stent two and a half months after its initial instillation, in a 70 year old man, with a solitary functioning kidney, as well as successful removal of it by using a simultaneous treatment of extracorporeal lithotripsy and ureteroscopy with a contact disintegration of encrustations and with percutaneous nephrostomy, as an auxiliary procedure for providing of additional urine derivation. Conclusion: These problems can be overcome by the introduction of new advanced ureteral stent designs and biomaterials.

To investigate association of two LPIN1 gene variations with main traits of metabolic syndrome (MS) (waist circumference, body mass index, blood pressure, triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol and fasting glucose levels) in population from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In this case report we describe a 49 year-old man who presented with chronic urticaria, angioedema and soft stool consistency. During diagnostic examinations Hashimoto's thyroiditis was found even though the patient never had clear symptoms of this disease. Blastocystis hominis was isolated through a stool microbiologic examination, implicating that this parasite can cause the development of Hashimoto's thyroiditis and chronic urticaria. After two-weeks treatment with metronidazole the Blastocystis hominis was eradicated, then urticaria and angioedema disappeared. During the four years of follow-up, the patient presented without any symptoms, whereas thyroid hormones were normalized and anti-thyroid antibodies declined. For the first time in the literature we show that eradication of Blastocystis hominis can prevent the development of both symptomatic Hashimoto's thyroiditis and chronic urticaria.