Background: Eagle syndrome, due to the elongation of the styloid process as well as the calcification of the stylohyoid ligament, rarely presents itself with a major neurological disorder such as a brain infarct. Case Description: Authors describe the case report of a previously healthy 64-year-old Caucasian male that complained of inability to control his right upper and lower extremity of an acute nature. Imaging at the emergency department (magnetic resonance of the brain and computerized angiography) showed the presence of elongated styloid process bilaterally with clear predomination at the left side. The brain ischemia (left temporal brain infarct) was due to carotid artery dissection, and the left internal carotid artery was not visualized during the contrast-enhanced angiography. The patient was hospitalized at a neurological facility and thereafter referred to surgery for styloidectomy. Conclusion: The present case underscores the need for a prompt diagnosis and an enhanced awareness of this syndrome, especially among emergency department professionals.

Background and Purpose: Limited information can be obtained as to the availability of neurological in-patient services in the former communist countries of Eastern and Central Europe. The objective was to analyse data received directly from representatives of the particular countries. Methods: The data were collected under the auspices of the ‘First European Cooperation Neurology Workshop’ held in April 2000, in Třešť, Czech Republic. Neurologists from 15 post-communist countries provided information from their respective countries. Linear trends in graphs including the reliability value R² were used in the analysis of correlations. Results: Data from 14 countries were assembled and trends were analysed. Conclusions: Direct relationships were found between: (1) the average department size and the average catchment area (R² = 0.1015); (2) the percentage of districts with a neurological in-patient department and the gross national product (GNP) per capita (R² = 0.1359); (3) the average neurological department size and the GNP per capita (R² = 0.1135), and (4) the average length of treatment and the number of neurological beds/100,000 inhabitants (R² = 0.1745). Inverse relationships were found between: (1) the number of neurological beds/100,000 inhabitants and the average hospital catchment area (R² = 0.2105), and (2) the number of neurological beds/100,000 inhabitants and the GNP per capita (R² = 0.1144).

Objective: The aim of this paper is to evaluate 6‐year trends in community use of prescribed opioid analgesics in Albania, using the Anatomic Therapeutic Chemical Classification-Defined Daily Dose methodology. Methods: We collected the data from the database of the Health Insurance Institute (HII). Analysis of the data includes the period 2014–2019; also, we analyzed the data of import and domestic production of drugs, which represent the real consumption of drugs in the country. These data were subsequently involved in a comparative analysis of the utilization data according to the HII. Results: We report a 2.5 fold increase in opioid utilization over the study period. The maximal rise in consumption refers to fentanyl, oxycodone, and tramadol. Meanwhile, the maximal values of consumption refer to strong opiate, morphine. We note that around 30% of the consumption of this class flows out of the scheme. Furthermore, around 25% of consumption of morphine and oxycodone flows out of scheme too. Meanwhile, the tramadol consumption runs out of the scheme over 200%. Conclusions: The outcomes indicate that patients in Albania have low access to opioids medications mainly because of low opioids availability. A strong opiophobia among the population and the medical professionals constitutes one of the major impediments for efficient palliative care.

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