AbstractBackgroundThis study analyses the degree of patient satisfaction regarding the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) by taking into account the waiting time which is considered to be associated with the success of the EMS organizational model.MethodologyBetween 1 Jan 2016 and 31 March 2016 a cross-sectional research study among visitors of the EMS clinics in the EMS of the Primary Health Services of Gorenjska was performed. The EUROPEP survey was used for rating the degree of patient satisfaction. Statistical methods were utilized to determine the differences among the studied variables, namely the t test, one way ANOVA, as well as post-hoc multiple comparisons, were used.ResultsNearly all questions associated with the patient survey scored higher than 4.0, indicating patients were generally very satisfied with EMS treatment. Patients were least satisfied with the length of time spent waiting for an examination. The results showed that the waiting time is a statistically significant factor concerning all four dimensions of patient satisfaction: medical staff, clinical facilities, clinical equipment and organization of services (p < 0.05).ConclusionsResearch results have confirmed that the effectiveness of the EMS organizational model impacts on the degree of patient satisfaction. The research also revealed a deficiency in the current EMS organizational services at the prehospital level, given that triage frequently failed to be carried out upon a patient’s arrival at the EMS clinics.

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Katedra za porodičnu medicinu, Medicinski fakultet, Univerzitet u Mariboru, Slovenija Zdravstveni dom dr Adolfa Drolca, Maribor, Slovenija Kratak sadržajSrčana insuficijencija (SI) predstavlja veliki problem javnog zdravlja. Učestalost se, za razliku od drugih kardiovaskularnih bolesti, povećava. Tome doprinosi starenje stanovništva i efikasnost lečenja etioloških činilaca kardiovaskularnih bolesti, naročito ishemijske bolesti srca. Pacijenti sa SI najčešće traže pomoć kod svog izabranog doktora, pa su tako oni česti posetioci ambulanti porodične medicine. Njihovo stanje je ozbiljno, sa lošom prognozom i kvalitetom života, sa potrebom za čestim hospitalizacijama, a prosečno preživljavanje nakon postavljanja dijagnoze je pet godina. Vođenje bolesnika sa SI predstavlja izazov za svakog lekara porodične medicine. Pažljivo uzimanje anamneze je od velike važnosti, jer simptomi upozoravaju lekara na mogućnost postojanja SI. Ipak, oni su relativno česti u opštoj populaciji i ponekad ih je teško objasniti, posebno kod starih osoba, gojaznih i kod žena. Njihova prediktivna vrednost je niska, zato ih treba tumačiti oprezno i sprovoditi detaljnu dijagnostiku pomoću metoda koje su dostupne i na raspolaganju lekaru porodične medicine u svakodnevnoj praksi. Pacijentima sa SI potreban je pregled kardiologa koji će dopunskim pretragama potvrditi dijagnozu SI. U lečenju SI, lekar porodične medicine ima važnu ulogu ne samo u pružanju savremene terapije nego i u savetovanju i podsticanju pacijenta da provodi nefarmakološke mere, kao i da odgovori na pitanja pacijenta koja se ne odnose samo na bolest, nego i na kvalitet života. Na kraju života, u terminalnoj fazi SI, lekar porodične medicine je često jedini koji ostaje na raspolaganju pacijentima i porodicama u palijativnom zbrinjavanju.Ključne reči: lekar porodične medicine, srčana insuficiencija UvodSrčana insuficijencija (SI) je progresivni klinički sindrom, čijem nastanku doprinose različiti etiološki faktori, najčešće hipertenzija i ishemijska bolest srca. To je često stanje, njegova učestalost raste, prate ga komorbiditeti, a pacijenti imaju loš kvalitet živo-ta. Česte su hospitalizacije, dok je mortalitet visok i može se upoređivati sa mortalitetom kod malignih bolesti. SI kao krajnji rezultat različitih kardiovaskularnih bolesti predstavlja veliki problem javnog zdravlja sa kojima se suočavaju

Immunosenescence is the adverse change in the human immune function during aging, leaving older people more prone to an increased risk of infections and morbidity. Acute upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) are very common among older people, often resulting in continued morbidity and mortality. Therefore, approaches, such as consuming probiotics, that shorten the duration or even reduce the incidence of URTIs in older people are being studied. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of a multi-strain probiotic OMNi-BiOTiC® Active, which contains 11 live probiotic strains, on the incidence, duration, and severity of URTIs in older people. In this randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled study, 95 participants, with an average age of 70.9 years in the probiotic group and 69.6 years in the placebo group, were randomly allocated to two groups: 1010 cfu per day of the multi-strain probiotic intervention OMNi-BiOTiC® Active (49) or placebo (46). The incidence of URTIs in older people after 12 weeks supplementation with OMNi-BiOTiC® showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups (p = 0.5244). However, the duration of the URTI infections was statistically significantly different between the groups (p = 0.011). The participants that consumed the probiotic had an average duration of illness of 3.1 ± 1.6 days, whilst participants that received the placebo had symptoms for an average of 6.0 ± 3.8 days (p = 0.011). Statistically significant differences in lymphocyte counts in both groups after supplementation (p = 0.035 for the probiotic group and p = 0.029 for the placebo group) and between both groups were found (p = 0.009). Statistically significant differences in eosinophil (p = 0.002) and basophil counts (p = 0.001) in the probiotic groups before and after supplementation with probiotics were also found. Supplementation with the multi-strain probiotic OMNi-BiOTiC® Active may benefit older people with URTIs. Larger randomised controlled clinical trials are warranted. Clinical Trial Registration; identifier NCT05879393.