Introduction: Peptic ulcer is a chronic recurrent disease of the gastrointestinal tract, which most often occurs as gastric or duodenal ulcer. Peptic ulcer is characterized by certain geographical and temporal trends.

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the frequency of gastric and duodenal ulcers among subjects who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGDS) endoscopy due to dyspeptic complaints, as well as to analyze the trend of ulcer disease over a period of 10 years.

Material and Methods: The data of a total of 4074 subjects with an average age of 54.53 ± 15.03 years, both sexes, 1841 men and 2233 women, who underwent EGDS in 2005 and 2015 calendar years were retrospectively analyzed. Results: This study showed that the trend of ulcer disease significantly decreased in the observed ten-year period, accompanied by concomitant decrease in the prevalence of duodenal ulcers, while the frequency of gastric ulcers retained approximately at the same level. The results showed that men were at greater relative risk than women for the development of duodenal ulcers, in both calendar years. In the ten-year period, the average age of patients with ulcer disease increased by about 4 years, especially in the group with duodenal ulcer, and particularly within women with duodenal ulcer. Compared to 2005, the average age of subjects undergoing EGDS in 2015 increased by about 2 years, regardless of whether or not they were diagnosed with ulcer disease.

Conclusions: In the period 2005 - 2015, the age of patients with peptic ulcer tended to increase, whilst the prevalence of ulcer disease, especially duodenal ulcer, has decreased. The relative risk for duodenal ulcer in men was higher than in women. 

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a hemodynamic condition characterized by a mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) ≥ 25 mmHg at rest, pulmonary arterial wedge pressure (PAWP) ≤ 15 mmHg, and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) > 240 dyn·s·cm⁻⁵. The annual incidence of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is approximately 3–10 new cases per million adults. It is estimated that the prevalence of pulmonary hypertension in individuals over 65 years of age is around 10%.The aim of this study is to present the case of a female patient with progressive dyspnea in whom PAH remained undiagnosed for a prolonged period.A 74-year-old female patient, M.P., was hospitalized in the Coronary Care Unit of the Clinical Center in Kosovska Mitrovica due to symptoms of shortness of breath, choking, fatigue, leg swelling, and weakness. The admission ECG revealed: sinus rhythm, normal axis, high R wave in V2, ST depression, and negative T waves in leads II, III, aVF, and V4–V5. Echocardiography findings showed right ventricular enlargement (2.9 cm), pulmonary artery dilation (3.3 cm), 1–2+ pulmonary regurgitation, and 3+ tricuspid regurgitation, with a systolic pulmonary artery pressure (SPAP) of up to 126 mmHg. The right ventricle measured 5.3 cm in the 4Ch view, with a TAPSE of 1.8 cm. Right heart catheterization revealed the following pressures: PA 78/34/57 mmHg, RV 74/8/10 mmHg, RA 6/6/7 mmHg, CO 4.3 l/min, and LV 99/10/8 mmHg. Although primary pulmonary hypertension is predominantly a disease of younger individuals, it should also be considered in older patients presenting with progressive dyspnea in the absence of structural heart disease.

Background: People with diabetes more often experienced severe clinical forms of COVID-19. However, it has been hypothesized that certain antidiabetic drugs may be associated with better outcomes in COVID-19 patients. The aim of this study was to analyze whether the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the change in consumption of antidiabetic drugs in Serbia.

Methods: This descriptive analysis was carried out using publicly accessible data obtained from the official website of the Medicines and Medical Devices Agency of Serbia during the period 2006-2022. The joinpoint regression analysis was applied to investigate the dynamics of antidiabetic drugs utilization over time.

Results: In the Republic of Serbia, this study analyzed the use of 28 antidiabetic drugs between 2006 and 2022.The results showed that at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an increase in consumption of dulaglutide (starting from 2020) and a decrease in consumption of insulin detemir (starting from 2019), insulin lispro (combined) and insulin lispro (fast-acting) (starting from 2020).

Conclusion: Our study revealed significant changes in the usage of certain antidiabetic drugs, such as increased consumption of dulaglutide and decreased use of various insulin types. These changes reflect the evolving strategies in diabetes treatment to better support patients during this global health crisis.

Key words: antidiabetic drugs, impact of Covid-19, consumption, Serbia

Uvod: Dispepsija je čest gastroenterološki sindrom koji značajno narušava kvalitet života. Infekcija bakterijom Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) ključni
 je faktor u razvoju organske dispepsije, dok njena povezanost sa funkcionalnom dispepsijom ostaje predmet istraživanja.
 Cilj: Ispitati prevalenciju H. pylori infekcije kod pacijenata sa dispepsijom i njenu povezanost sa simptomima, endoskopskim nalazima i hematološkim
 parametrima
 Metode: Retrospektivna studija obuhvatila je 117 pacijenata sa dispepsijom pregledanih tokom 2023. godine na Internoj klinici KBC Priština-Gračanica
 u Lapljem Selu. Svi su podvrgnuti gornjoj gastrointestinalnoj endoskopiji i testiranju na H. pylori antigen u stolici. Analizirani su demografski podaci,
 simptomi, endoskopski i hematološki nalazi.
 Rezultati: H. pylori infekcija je potvrđena kod 63,25% pacijenata, bez značajne razlike između polova. Zabeležen je trend porasta prevalencije sa
 godinama, ali bez statističke značajnosti (p=0,060). Epigastrični bol (p=0,0068) i gorušica (p<0,0001) su bili značajno češći kod H. pylori pozitivnih
 pacijenata, dok su hronični gastritis (p=0,005) i duodenalni ulkus (p=0,029) bili dominantni endoskopski nalazi kod ove grupe. Značajno veći procenat
 H. pylori pozitivnih pacijenata imao je snižene vrednosti broja eritrocita i hemoglobina u odnosu na negativnu grupu (p<0,01). Prosečan hematokrit
 bio je niži u H. pylori pozitivnoj grupi (p=0,013), ali se nije značajno razlikovao od referentnih vrednosti.
 Zaključak: H. pylori infekcija je česta među pacijentima sa dispepsijom i povezana sa specifičnim simptomima, patološkim endoskopskim nalazima i
 hematološkim promenama. Testiranje na H. pylori je ključno u proceni dispepsije, dok H. pylori negativni pacijenti sa upornim simptomima zahtevaju
 dodatnu dijagnostiku.
 Ključne reči: Helicobacter pylori; dispepsija; simptomi; endoskopski nalaz; hematološki parametri

INTRODUCTION Chronic non-contagious diseases: heart and blood vessel diseases, malignant tumors, diabetes, obstructive pulmonary disease, injuries and poisoning, mental health disorders and others, have dominated the world and our national pathology for decades. Arterial hypertension is one of the most common diseases of the present, which affects in more than 60% of people over the age of 60, and represents a risk factor for infarction, insult, chronic heart failure, renal insufficiency, progressive atherosclerosis and dementia, indicating the importance of hypertension frequency testing in the geriatric population in our country and in the world. OBJECTIVE is to point out the specificity, the high frequency and the risk of hypertension in the geriatric population in our country and in the world. METHODS We analyzed the data and literature in the field of geriatrics, internal medicine, neurology, public health, social medicine and health statistics in the part dealing with the protection of the health of the elderly in our country and in the world. The research was conducted through the analysis of previous scientific research obtained from the literature and the search of electronic databases in accordance with the areas defined in the aim of the work. Using the analytical observational method, all necessary data on this topic were collected, recorded and analyzed. A systematic review of the literature in the researched area was carried out, with the aim of reviewing the methodological characteristics of published studies in the mentioned area. Relevant papers based on this search were collected in full text. Data were extracted from such works, analyzed and presented in this paper. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Cardiovascular disease is the primary cause of elderly mortality, and it is believed that by removing it in people over the age of 65, the life expectancy would be prolonged for 16 years. The results of some studies show that a third of patients over the age of 65 have isolated systolic hypertension, which is a significant risk factor for apoplexy. In developed countries, the geriatric population is on the rise and reaches more than 30% of the general population, and cardiovascular disease is one of the most common diseases and causes of mortality in this population. Studies have shown that the incidence of myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular events is doubled in patients over 65 years of life with hypertension. Only two groups of diseases, heart and blood vessels diseases and malignant tumors, account for over half of all causes of death. In the Republic of Serbia, in 2021 the population aged 65 and over accounted for 21.28% of the population, while the percentage representation of very old people, over 85 years of age, is constantly increasing. Observed since 2002, more than 100,000 people die annually in Serbia from all causes of death, and almost every second resident of Serbia dies from diseases of the heart and blood vessels. The burden of diseases of the circulatory system or diseases of the heart and blood vessels is on the rise globally, and in recent years in Serbia, on average, 55% of people who have died are victims of one of the diseases from this group. The most common diagnosis within the group of diseases of the cardiovascular system is essential arterial hypertension. The most common causes of death in 2021 belong to the following groups of diseases (according to ICD-10 - International Classification of Diseases of the World Health Organization): Diseases of the circulatory system 41.4%; Tumors 15.1%; Diseases of the respiratory system 5.3%; Diseases of glands with internal secretion, nutrition and metabolism 2.6%. Diseases of the heart, blood vessels and malignant tumors accounted for over half (55.7%) of all causes of death in 2021 in Serbia. As many as 41.4% of all deaths were the result of dying from diseases of the circulatory system, and every sixth person who died (15.1%) was a victim of a malignant tumor. Studies have shown that in patients over 65 years of age with hypertension, the frequency of myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular events is twice as high. CONCLUSION Hypertension is very common in elderly and is a growing problem for them, their family and entire community, as it significantly affects the quality of their lives. The number of elderly in general population is increasing and a growing number of them is with hypertension. Successful prevention can significantly affect the reduction in the incidence of this disease in the population of elderly, which would certainly be one of the priority tasks in improving their health and quality of life.

Aortic dissection (AD) and pulmonary embolism (PE) are both serious and life-threatening conditions that rarely occur concomitantly. We report a case of a male patient with chronic aortic dissection, pulmonary embolism and decompensated cardiomyopathy with focus on the usage of computed tomography (CT) to ensure timely diagnosis and improve patient management. Case report: Aortic dissection (AD) and pulmonary embolism (PE) are both serious and life-threatening conditions that rarely occur concomitantly. We report a case of a 55-year-old man who was admitted to Coronary care unit due to pulmonary embolism and aortic dissection of abdominal aorta. Conclusion: This case highlights the importance of correct aortic dissection diagnosis and management, as well as the rare but possible association between aortic dissection and pulmonary embolism.

INTRODUCTION: The corona virus desease has led to numerous changes in all aspects of our lives. The educational system through numerous innovative learning methods managed the smooth conduct of distance learning. OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study is to examine the attitudes of medical and dental students about quality and effectiveness of online versus traditional teaching, in the course of Hystology and Embriology during the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: The research was conducted online, with the help of a questionnaire designed on the Google Forms platform. The cross-sectional study included second-year students of medicine and dentistry at the Faculty of Medicine in Priština -Kosovska Mitrovica, who during the 2020/21 academic year followed online and classical classes in the subject Histology and Embryology. The results were processed using descriptive statistical methods and appropriate tests for testing the hypothesis about the significance of the difference between two, three or more samples. RESULTS: Out of the total number of surveyed students (n=60), 95% of students attended traditional classes, 88.3% of students attended classes via Zoom platform, while 85% of respondents used Moodle platform. The highest percentage of very satisfied (38.3%) and satisfied (51.6%) students was with traditional teaching. The percentage of available lecturers during online classes is 73.3%, and 76.7% during tradicional teaching. 75% of students believe that tradicional teaching can not be replaced by online teaching method. 68% of students used the literature and available presentations on the Moodle platform to prepare for the exam. A significant correlation was found in the case of satisfaction with the grade and the achieved success in the exam (p=0,001). CONCLUSION: The results of our research show that students preferred traditional over online teaching, which makes traditional teaching a primary and irreplaceable form of education.

This research paper presents a scientometric analysis of wedge resection research productivity. The study aims to evaluate the evolution and different types of literature on wedge resection, identify the principal countries, institutions, and sources that have contributed to publications on wedge resection, track the increase of literature on wedge resection citations each year, and determine the most frequently discussed topics in wedge resection research publications. To achieve these objectives, the study utilized a scientometric approach that involved a systematic analysis of existing research on wedge resection and productivity, with a focus on the application of scientometric methods. The results of the analysis provide a comprehensive examination of wedge resection productivity, which can be used to guide future research in the field. The study demonstrates the potential of scientometric methods in examining research output and productivity in various fields, including wedge resection. Overall, this research paper provides valuable insights into wedge resection productivity that can inform future research and decision-making in the field.

Obesity is one of the most common chronic, non-infectious diseases in the world and our country, and it is characterized by excessive accumulation of fat tissue in the body and an increase in body weight. The increase in the number of obese people is an important global health problem. Obesity is associated with cardiometabolic and psychosocial comorbidities, and may also affect years of healthy life and reduce life expectancy. Numerous factors, such as biological predisposition, socioeconomic factors and environmental factors, interact and influence the development and maintenance of obesity. Excess adipose tissue in the body and its dysfunction is associated with inflammation and increased risk of metabolic, mechanical and mental complications. It is very important to monitor the incidence of obesity and its impact on the development of chronic non-communicable diseases and life expectancy due to the development and implementation of strategies to prevent the increase in the number of obese people.

Cor triatriatum is a rare condition. It comprises around 0.1% to 0.4% of all congenital heart malformations. There are two types of this anomaly: cor triatriatum sinister (CTS), which is more common and accounts for 92% of all cases, and cor triatriatum dexter (CTD). This condition usually presents at an early age and is diagnosed mainly during early childhood. In some patients, who have less severe cases of CTS, diagnosis could be made in adulthood. We report an unusual case of a 78-year-old woman who was diagnosed with CTS for the first time. The patient was admitted to the cardiology department with symptoms of chest pain and dyspnoea. Physical examination revealed diffusely diminished breath sounds, with focal wheezing, and irregular heart rate, with no murmurs, while blood pressure was 140/90 mmHg. A transthoracic echocardiogram revealed an accessory membrane in the left atria suggestive of CTS.