No abstract

In this population, the calculated cardiovascular risk was heterogenic. The prevalence of carotid plaque was high. The Metabolic Syndrome Severity Calculator showed a good predictive power to detect carotid plaque.

No abstract

Let us now turn to the second group of cases, cases in which doctors are accused of crimes in office. It is quite natural to expect such cases, and even in fairly large numbers, since the vast majority of doctors in the Soviet state are in state and public service, and omissions and abuses, as well as misunderstandings, are always possible in the working environment and can be the basis for a legal case. It must be said to the credit of our medical staff that there are very few such cases, and that the majority of such cases are misunderstandings overblown to inadequate proportions.

The growth of legal cases against physicians and, in particular, the apparent futility of the vast majority of charges (81.4%) caused natural unease in the medical community. It was feared that any dissatisfaction with a doctor, any case of failed treatment, prolonged course of illness, death of a patient and other failures and misfortunes natural in the medical profession, might serve as a pretext for legal action against the doctor. The ease and accessibility of prosecution in the hands of people with little understanding of the art of medicine and the limited possibilities of medical science, while at the same time overestimating their rights in relation to the doctor, threatened to put the work of doctors in extremely difficult conditions.