Clinical trials

The goal of this prospective, randomized, controlled study is to compare remimazolam besilat/sufentanyl and propofol/sufentanyl in patients during colonoscopic polypectomies procedures. Patients undergoing colonoscopic polypectomies in procedural sedation using remimazolam besylate/sufentanyl are circulatory and respiratory as or more stable when compared with propofol/sufentanyl sedation.

Acute brain injury is a major global health problem associated with high mortality and morbidity, limited therapeutic options, prolonged hospital stays, and long-term disability that significantly impairs quality of life and increases healthcare costs. Noninvasive transcutaneous VNS developed as a safer approach for treating cerebral edema, epileptic seizures, and blood-brain barrier disruption, for facilitating the recovery of motoric and cognitive functions, and for immunomodulation. Transcutaneous VNS improves cerebral perfusion pressure and tissue oxygenation, supports reperfusion of the penumbral zone, and reduces neuronal hyperexcitability, thereby suppressing seizures.It may exert anti-inflammatory effects by reducing microglial cytokine and chemokine production. Additionally, vagal stimulation promotes acetylcholine-mediated suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including TNF, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-18. Another anti-inflammatory mechanism involves ghrelin, a peptide hormone whose serum levels increase under vagal stimulation. Elevated ghrelin reduces TNF-α and other pro-inflammatory cytokines and may limit intracerebral hemorrhage by inhibiting the NLRP3 inflammasome and activating the Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway. Biomarkers such as S100 protein and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) are valuable indicators of brain tissue damage and clinical outcomes; tVNS may reduce their levels and support non-invasive monitoring of disease progression. The technique is considered safe in patients . To date, tVNS has not been evaluated in clinical trials in Croatia, nor reported in case studies or cohort analyses. Study outcomes will be correlated with patients' clinical status, duration and course of hospitalization, complication rates, and overall treatment outcomes.

CRAB infections in ICUs are on the rise, leading to higher morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs due to resistance to most antibiotics, including carbapenems. The main resistance mechanisms include carbapenemases, efflux pumps, and changes in the bacterial cell wall. Current treatments include polymyxins (Colistin, Polymyxin B), which are effective but can lead to resistance, aminoglycosides (Amikacin, Gentamicin), which are limited by resistance, and tetracyclines (Tigecycline, Eravacycline), which are effective against CRAB. Fosfomycin is effective in combination treatments, and combination therapy (e.g., colistin with sulbactam, fosfomycin, or eravacycline) can enhance outcomes. Previous research shows promise for combination therapies, improving treatment efficacy and reducing mortality. New regimens are being studied to find optimal combinations. Individualized dosing is crucial, considering patient-specific factors like age, weight, and renal function. Adjustments depend on the infection site and comorbidities. Strict infection control and antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) are essential. ASPs focus on optimizing antibiotic use and reducing resistance through education and surveillance. Future directions include continued research for new drugs or combinations and strategies to overcome resistance and improve treatment efficacy. Study goals include achieving negative samples after 10 days of therapy, 30-day survival, discharge rates, reduced SOFA scores, and improved clinical and radiological findings. A randomized study will compare colistin combined with fosfomycin, ampicillin/sulbactam, and eravacycline. In summary, treating CRAB infections is complex, requiring combination therapy, individualized dosing, and strict infection control measures.

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare two groups of patients going in general anesthesia for intraoral surgery, the first group TIVA with propofol and the second group inhalational with sevoflurane. The main questions it aims to answer are to asses speed and quality of recovery from general anesthesia. Participants will fill out a questionnaire to evaluate the quality of recovery from anesthesia using the QoR-40 1h, 24h, and 30 days after waking up from anesthesia in comparison to the results of the same questionnaire before surgery. Also, the investigators will perform a hand grip and bite strength test on the patients after waking up from anesthesia in the operating room, after 1 hour in the recovery room, and after 24 hours compared to preoperative values. The investigators will compare TIVA and Volatile groups to see if there are any differences in recovery seed, muscle strength recovery, postoperative nausea and vomiting, and shivering between groups.

Ischemic stroke (IS) is one of the leading causes of mortality and disability. Treatment of IS is based on reperfusion methods, thrombolysis and mechanical thrombectomy (MT). However, there are significant limitations in their implementation and success. Also, there is a mismatch between successful recanalization of the blood vessel, recovery of the neurological status as well as treatment outcome. Precisely for these reasons, there is a need for a better understanding of pathophysiology events in the acute IS and for the development of new therapeutic procedures that would include neuroprotection, modification of the inflammatory response and preservation of the integrity of the blood-brain barrier. Acute IS occurs as a result of a blood vessel blockage, which leads to ischemic damage to the brain parenchyma. It causes an early inflammatory response that is extremely complex, involving a large number of inflammatory cytokines whose dynamics and role in the pathophysiology of IS are insufficiently investigated. It is known that inflammatory processes damage the endothelial glycocalyx (EG), a thin luminal layer of the endothelium that has numerous functions such as maintaining the integrity of blood vessels and regulating tone, and itself participates in the inflammatory response. In the brain, EG is a key regulator of the integrity of the blood-brain barrier, and its damage makes the barrier more permeable, which can lead to edema and the passage of potentially harmful substances. Clinical studies have shown that there is a possible relationship between the prognosis of patients with IS and the concentration of EG breakdown products in the peripheral blood. However, the relationship between changes in EG and the inflammatory process in the context of IS, and especially in relation to available treatment methods, remains unclear. The aim of the proposed study is to determine and analyze the dynamics of concentrations of EG degradation products and inflammatory cytokines in patients with acute IS during and after MT. This study would include all adult patients with acute IS who will undergo MT, and the concentrations of EG degradation products and inflammatory cytokines would be determined by the enzyme immunoassay method from peripheral blood and blood samples from the cerebral circulation after reperfusion. The obtained results will be correlated with the collected data on the neurological condition of the patient before and after the intervention, the type and course of the intervention performed, the course and duration of hospital treatment, the occurrence of complications and the outcome of treatment.

The increasing number of coronary revascularization procedures, coupled with improvements in drug therapy, has significantly extended the lifespan of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). However, there remains a significant number of CAD patients who experience disability due to chronic refractory angina pectoris. These patients typically have severe diffuse CAD and are not candidates for further revascularization involving surgical coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The installation of a coronary sinus reducer (CSR) represents a new option for percutaneous treatment of patients with refractory angina pectoris who are not suitable for surgical or percutaneous revascularization. The CSR device is designed as an hourglass-shaped stent that is positioned transcatheterally in the distal part of the coronary sinus. This increases intramyocardial venous pressure, which is believed to lead to a more favorable perfusion ratio between the ischemic subendocardial and non-ischemic subepicardial myocardium. Previous research has demonstrated that the implantation of CSR is a safe and relatively straightforward procedure. However, broader implementation and better patient selection are still limited by the fact that the exact mechanism of action remains controversial. It has not been determined why some patients have better outcomes compared to others with seemingly similar coronary artery disease. It is known that patients with atherosclerotic changes in the epicardial coronary arteries also have a certain degree of coronary microcirculation disease (the coronary vascular bed encompassing vessels with a diameter \< 200 μm), which cannot be assessed through standard coronary angiography. This study aims to assess changes in coronary microcirculation after the implantation of CSR by measuring coronary flow reserve (CFR) and index of microcirculatory resistance (IMR) before and 6 months after the procedure. Furthermore, our goal is to associate these changes with clinical symptoms and myocardial ischemia.