Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an urgent public health issue. The role of medical doctors in proper antibiotic use is crucial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and practices of Polish doctors of antimicrobial prescribing and antibiotic resistance. The study group consisted of 504 medical doctors with an average age 32.8 ± 5.9 years, mostly women (65%). The paper questionnaire was developed on the basis of a survey tool developed by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and Public Health England (PHE). According to our study, physicians were aware that: taking antibiotics has side effects, antibiotics cannot be used against viruses, unnecessary use of antibiotics leads to AMR and that healthy people can carry resistant bacteria (each item ≥98% correct responses). Only 47% of respondents knew that the use of antibiotics as growth stimulants in livestock is illegal in the EU. Of the respondents, 98.61% saw the connection between prescribing antibiotics and AMR. However, 65.28% of the respondents reported a lack of appropriate materials on AMR counseling. Nearly 92.5% of participants “never” or “rarely” gave out resources on prudent antibiotic use. Physicians in Poland underestimate the role of hand hygiene in stimulating antibiotic resistance (ABR) (74.4%), while demonstrating satisfying knowledge about antimicrobial use, the clinical application of antimicrobial guidelines and prevention of ABR. However, educational interventions are needed to help lead challenging communication with assertive patients. Appropriate patient resources would be helpful in reaching this goal.

Psoriasis (Ps) is an immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease that is widely associated with the clinical features of metabolic syndrome (MetS), including hypertension, abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and dyslipidemia. Osteopontin (OPN), a multifunctional protein involved in the modulation of inflammatory processes, may contribute to the development of atherosclerosis and MetS. Therefore, the aim of the study was the assessment of the correlation between OPN concentration in the peripheral blood and the presence of MetS as well as its particular components in the Ps patients. The study comprised 107 male Ps patients (50 patients with MetS and 57 without MetS) and 38 healthy volunteers (HVs). The concentration of OPN in serum was determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Fasting blood glucose and lipid profile components: total cholesterol (total CHOL), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-CHOL), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-CHOL), triglycerides (TG) were examined. Ps patients with MetS had significantly higher obesity, systolic blood pressure, TG, CHOL/HDL, LDL/HDL and TG/HDL ratios than Ps patients without MetS. OPN serum concentration was significantly higher in the Ps patients than in the HVs (p = 0.022) but not significantly different between the Ps patients with and without MetS (p = 0.275). OPN serum concentration in Ps patients correlated negatively with total CHOL (p = 0.004) and TG (p = 0.009). OPN is increased in Ps patients and may serve as a biomarker of some lipid abnormalities in them.

IntroductionThe present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of the arterial ischaemic stroke (AIS) in Polish children, as well as to analyse the parameters related to AIS hospitalization, including age, gender, region, month and season of a year at admission, duration and costs based on data from National Health Fund (NHF) registery in 2011–2020.Material and methodsData from the NHF were analysed statistically. The disease was identified according to the codes I63 and I64 of the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10), and patients included only individuals up to 18 years of age. Results We identified 622 hospitalisations due to paediatric AIS in Poland in the study period.ResultsThe most frequent age subgroups were adolescents, followed by toddlers or pre-school children (34.73% and 24.12%, respectively), while the least frequent – neonates or infants (9.81%). ICD-10 procedures did significantly affect the duration and costs of hospitalisation (p<0.001). The highest costs of hospitalisations concerned the I63.1 procedure (cerebral infarction due to embolism of precerebral arteries), which included thrombectomy. Duration and costs of hospitalisation were positively correlated to each other (r=0.525, p<0.001). Age correlated negatively with duration of hospitalisation (r= -0.154, p<0.001) and positively with costs of hospitalisation (r =0.133, p=0.008).ConclusionsData from the NHF registry proved that AIS occurs more often in boys than girls and is more common in adolescents (15–18 years) than younger children.

The paper was prepared under the project entitled "Maps of Health Needs-Database of Systematic and Implementation Analysis" which was co-financed by the European Union from the European Social Fund as part of the Operational Program Knowledge Education Development. The study was also a part of the "Integrated Analytical Platform", which was a project co-financed by the European Union from the European Social Fund as part of the Digital Poland Project Centre (CPPC). The open access publication costs were funded by the Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education (Warsaw, Poland) Conflict of interest:None declared Background:Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) in children is a rare disease with a complex, multifactorial etiopathogenesis. The Polish National Health Fund (NHF) Registry [Narodowy Fundusz Zdrowia (NFZ)], contains health insurance data from all 16 national provinces, or voivodeships. This study used data from the Polish NHF Registry to evaluate 52 pediatric patients who required 78 hospital admissions for CVST from 2013 to 2020. Material/Methods:The data in the Polish NHF Registry were acquired based on the disease code I67.6 from the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10), and the patients' age (up to 18 years old). Results:We identified 78 hospitalizations of 52 pediatric patients due to CVST in Poland from 2013 to 2020 (63.5% boys and 36.5% girls, mean age 9.7±5.8 years old). The mean duration of hospitalization was 10.5±11.7 days, the mean cost of hospitalization was 3273±2191 Polish zloty (PLN). The most common age subgroup was adolescents (27%). Ten percent of patients were hospitalized in a region other than their region of residence. The duration and cost of hospitalization were positively correlated with each other (r=0.512, P<0.001). The most common type of admission was an emergency (51%), and the most common discharge was referral for further outpatient treatment (50%). Conclusions:Polish registry data showed that from 2013 to 2020, CVST was more commonly diagnosed in male adolescents from 15 to 18 years of age who presented as emergency hospital admissions. There were regional differences in incidence and duration of hospital stay and healthcare costs between patients.

Advances in genotypic technologies enable identification of possible associations between genetic variants of certain genes and increased risk of developing plaque psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis. The aim of the study was to analyze the NOTCH3 (6746T>C) (rs1044009) and PSMA6 (8C>G) (rs1048990) polymorphisms and their role in genetic susceptibility to psoriasis. The study included 158 psoriatic patients and 100 healthy controls. The frequencies of the NOTCH3 genotypes differed between the psoriatic patients and controls (p=0.050). No differences were found in the distribution of PSMA6 genotypes and alleles between the psoriatic patients and controls. The studied psoriatic patients presented a higher frequency of the CC genotype of PSMA6 compared to the healthy controls (8.8% vs 2%, respectively). Psoriatic arthritis was more frequent among patients with the CC genotype of PSMA6 (p=0.059). Simultaneous CC homozygosity of NOTCH3 and PSMA6 was significantly more commonly observed in the studied psoriatic patients than in the controls (p=0.032). The obtained data suggest that genetic variants of NOTCH3 (6746T>C) and PSMA6 (-8C>G) genes may play significant roles in psoriatic patients. Further studies are necessary to unequivocally determine their role as genetic risk factors of psoriasis development.