Cent Eur J Public Health 2020, 28(3)

Compliance with standard precautions in inpatient healthcare settings in the Czech Republic: a cross-sectional survey

Andrea Pokorná, Dana Dolanová, Michal Pospíšil, Petra Búřilová, Jan Mužík

Cent Eur J Public Health 2020, 28(3):167-177 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a5942  

Objective: The study evaluates compliance with declared hygienic standards carried out by healthcare professionals in clinical practice within their scope of direct patient care and the maintenance of medical tools and devices in healthcare facilities in the Czech Republic. Methods: Cross-sectional questionnaire study focused on the standards of safe health care. All 80 addressed healthcare providers were also involved in the 2018 Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS) pilot project. Responses were scored on a 6-level scale, from "always" (100 points) to "never" (0 points). The evaluation was performed according to the frequency of responses and the...

Comparison of opinions of Slovak and Czech female medical students on HPV vaccination

Jozef Záhumenský, Petra Pšenková, Alexandra Nadzámová, Paula Drabiščáková, Lukáš Hruban, Vít Weinberger, Marian Kacerovský, Erik Dosedla

Cent Eur J Public Health 2020, 28(3):178-186 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a5989  

Objectives: This study aims to identify the differences in the use of HPV vaccination between female medical students in the Czech and Slovak Republics and their possible causes. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional survey among female students of general medicine in all faculties of medicine in the Czech and Slovak Republics. Results: We obtained 630 questionnaires from the Czech Republic and 776 questionnaires from the Slovak Republic. In the Czech Republic, 65.4% of female medical students underwent HPV vaccination, while in the Slovak Republic, the figure was 21.1%. In the Czech Republic, residency and religion of students did not influence...

Mediterranean spotted fever in child and adult patients: investigation from an endemic region in Bulgaria

Ivan Baltadzhiev, Ani Kevorkyan, Nedialka Popivanova

Cent Eur J Public Health 2020, 28(3):187-192 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a5608  

Objectives: Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF) is a tick-borne endemic disease caused by Rickettsia conorii conorii and transmitted to humans by the brown dog tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus. It is characterized by fever, maculopapular rash and a tick bite skin lesion "tache noire". The disease affects all age groups and usually has mild to moderate course. It has long been considered a benign infection. However, very severe "malignant" forms with fatal outcome strongly influenced by the patients' age were also observed. We aimed to reveal the features of MSF in children by comparing them with some of the disease patterns in adults. Methods:...

Subjective sensitivity to noise and non-auditory health effects among adults in Niš, Serbia

Ljiljana Stošić, Dušica Stojanović, Konstansa Lazarević, Dragan Bogdanović, Zoran Milošević

Cent Eur J Public Health 2020, 28(3):193-197 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a5869  

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine subjective sensitivity to noise of the citizens of Niš and its impact on their non-auditory health effects. Methods: This study was designed as a cross-sectional questionnaire survey among 908 adult residents of Niš, Serbia, of whom 387 were men (42.6%) and 521 women (57.4%). Streets with day L_eq ≥ 55 dB(A) and night L_eq ≥ 45 dB(A) were regarded as noisy and those with day L_eq ≤ 55 dB(A) and night L_eq ≤ 45 dB(A) were regarded as quiet, in accordance with WHO recommendations. Noise sensitivity was measured with the Weinstein's Noise Sensitivity...

Health aspects of exposure to emissions from burning coal of high beryllium content: interactions with the immune system

Jitka Petanová, Vladimír Bencko

Cent Eur J Public Health 2020, 28(3):198-201 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a5851  

Beryllium has an impact on the human health of professionally or non-occupationally exposed people. Current evidence suggests that beryllium acts as a hapten with limited antigenic properties and is presented by antigen presenting cells to CD4⁺ T cells, which possess specific antigen receptors. The immunological changes in humoral immunoreactivity were considered biomarkers of beryllium exposure. In the present, due to the development of immunologic knowledge, tests of cellular immunity have promising potential for further research in this field. The historical view of the immune response to beryllium in acute and/or chronic beryllium disease...

Comparison of respiratory toxicity of TiO₂ and Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles after intravenous instillation: an experimental study

Marta Hurbánková, Dominika Romančíková, Katarína Volkovová, Soňa Wimmerová, Štefánia Moricová

Cent Eur J Public Health 2020, 28(3):202-207 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a5834  

Objective: Nanomaterials consist of particles smaller than 100 nm - nanoparticles (NPs). Their nano dimensions allow them to penetrate through various membranes and enter into the bloodstream and disseminate into different body organs. Massive expansion of nanotechnologies together with production of new nanoparticles which have not yet been in contact with living organisms may pose a potential health problem. It is therefore necessary to investigate the health impact of NPs after experimental exposure. Comparison of the effect of TiO₂ and NPs Fe₃O₄ in Wistar rats at time intervals 1, 7, 14 and 28 days was performed...

Fruit and vegetable consumption and cardiovascular diseases among Jordanians: a case-control study

Reema F. Tayyem, Ala'a Al-Bakheit, Shatha S. Hammad, Abdel-Ellah Al-Shudifat, Mohammed Azab, Hiba Bawadi

Cent Eur J Public Health 2020, 28(3):208-218 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a6149  

Objectives: Fruit and vegetable intake has been reported as one of the significant protective factors against the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). This study aimed to assess the possible preventive effect of fruit and vegetable consumption on developing CVD. Methods: A total of 398 participants (205 cases and 193 controls) referred for elective coronary angiography with clinical suspicion of coronary artery disease to Prince Hamza Hospital in Amman were enrolled in this case-control study. Dietary data were collected separately from each patient using interview-based food frequency questionnaire. Results: The findings of the present study...

Quality of life of patients with psoriasis

Jindra Šmejkalová, Lenka Borská, Květa Hamáková, Lenka Hodačová, Eva Čermáková, Zdeněk Fiala

Cent Eur J Public Health 2020, 28(3):219-225 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a5611  

Objective: The two main aims of our study were to assess the quality of life (QOL) of patients with moderate or severe psoriasis treated by Goeckerman therapy and to compare QOL of our patients on the date of admission and 1 month after their discharge. Methods: We performed a prospective study on 51 patients treated for chronic plaque psoriasis by Goeckerman regimen (GR). The psoriasis area involvement and severity was measured using the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI). Patients' health-related QOL was evaluated using Psoriasis Disability Index (PDI). Results: In our study we demonstrated that the QOL of this sample of 51 patients with severe...

Medical tourism: its research and implications for public health

Blanka Klímová, Kamil Kuča

Cent Eur J Public Health 2020, 28(3):226-229 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a5744  

Objective: The purpose of this article is to describe current research trends in medical tourism and implications for public health, especially in destination countries. Methods: The methods used for this article include a literature review of available sources on the research topic in the world's acknowledged databases Web of Science, Scopus, MEDLINE, and ScienceDirect. Results: The findings indicate that there is no consensus on the definition of medical tourism. However, there are a few conceptual models which can be used in further medical tourism research and practice. The findings also reveal that there are still certain issues, which hinder...

Complications of planned home births in the Czech Republic between 2016‒2017

Petr Křepelka, Petr Velebil, Alena Měchurová, Zbyněk Straňák, Jaroslav Feyereisl

Cent Eur J Public Health 2020, 28(3):230-236 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a5641  

Objective: This study aimed to analyze the complications of planned home births treated at healthcare facilities in the Czech Republic. Methods: This prospective cohort observational study is based on analysis of women hospitalized with complications related to planned home deliveries in the Czech Republic between 2016 and 2017. The data were collected using an online form made accessible to the directors of all maternity hospitals in the Czech Republic. The results were statistically evaluated. Results: We identified 45 complications during planned home deliveries. Complications occurred most often among women living in largely populated cities with...

Consequences of holocaust on physical health of survivors: bibliography review

Kateřina Horáčková, Andrea Ševčovičová, Zdeněk Hrstka, Markéta Moravcová, Martina Lásková, Ľubica Derňarová

Cent Eur J Public Health 2020, 28(3):237-244 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a5650  

Objective: Period of elderly age preordains the occurrence of many health issues. People deported during World War II to concentration camps suffered from malnutrition, lack of sleep, physical and mental exhaustion. Recently, the health condition of Holocaust survivors is often complicated as a result of physical punishments and different torture methods as well as mental hardships which they had suffered during deportation. The consequences often have psychosomatic nature thus the survivors are often receivers of health care. The topic of bibliography review is based on the need to objectivize and systematically evaluate subjective health issues of...

Tuberculosis drug resistance in Canakkale, Turkey

Tanseli Gonlugur, Gulin Basol, Ugur Gonlugur

Cent Eur J Public Health 2020, 28(3):245 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a5284  

Use of chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine in treatment of COVID-19: is it ethical?

Mohamed Farouk Allam, Fady Andraous

Cent Eur J Public Health 2020, 28(3):246-247 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a6464  

The 90th Birthday of MUDr. Vladimír Vonka, DSc

Ervin Adam

Cent Eur J Public Health 2020, 28(3):248