SUMMARY -Patient safety culture (PCS) has a crucial impact on the safety practices of healthcare delivery systems. Th e purpose of this study was to assess the state of PSC in Croatian hospitals and compare it with hospitals in the United States. Th e study was conducted in three public general hospitals in Croatia using the Croatian translation of the Hospital Survey Th is suggests that a more comprehensive system for the improvement of patient safety within the framework of the Croatian healthcare system needs to be developed. Our fi ndings also help confi rm that HSOPSC is a useful and appropriate tool for the assessment of PSC. HSOPSC highlights the PSC components in need of improvement and should be considered for use in national and international benchmarking.

Chronic neuropathic orofacial pain along with physical suffering can cause emotional, psychological and social difficulties, which significantly affects the quality of life of patients. Pain in the area of glossopharyngeal nerve innervation, especially chronic neuropathic, is relatively rare, but is significant because of the great suffering it causes to sufferers. It can be life threatening, due to the cardiac arrhythmia, syncope or convulsions it can cause. Drug treatment is often of limited effectiveness and can be fraught with side effects. It is necessary to look for the etiology of the underlying disease, and if possible, to take adequate causal treatment. This review article discusses the etiology, clinical features, differential diagnosis, and treatment modalities of neuropathic pain in the area of glossopharyngeal nerve innervation.