Background: Covid-19 primarily manifests itself as a respiratory disease, but also with numerous extrapulmonary symptoms and complications. The clinical form of the disease before hospitalization, has a great influence on the further course and occurrence of complications of the disease. Objective: To analyze the clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients with moderate and severe clinical form of the disease, the complications that developed in these patients during hospitalization and the outcome of the disease. Methods: The retrospective study included 520 patients from the Tuzla Canton, treated in the COVID-19 Hospital at University Clinical Center Tuzla in the period from March 27 to October 1, 2020. The source of data were the medical records of hospitalized patients. The clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients with moderate and severe clinical form of the disease and the complications that developed in these patients during hospitalization were analyzed. Results: The number of hospitalized men was statistically significantly higher, p=0.000. Most patients were in the age group of 60-69 years: 152 (29.3%), then in the age group of 50-59 years: 119 (22.9%). Women <70 years had more often a moderate, and women >70 years more often a severe clinical form of the disease, p<0.01. Patients with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, chronic lung diseases, cardiovascular diseases, hematological diseases and tumors of solid organs, with leukopenia and lymphopenia, elevated LDH, CRP, transaminases and serum ferritin, significantly more often had a clinically severe form of the disease (p<0.01). Patients with a severe clinical form of the disease on admission to the hospital had more frequent complications and death as outcome (p<0.01). Conclusion: Patients who were hospitalized with a severe form of COVID-19 had significantly more frequent disease complications and death as outcome.

Introduction: Chronic HCV infection is chronic inflamatory liver disease caused by hepatitis C virus. Anti HCV prevalence among intravenous drug users (IVDU) is very high and it accounts 40% -90% (60%-90%) with the risk of 80% of developing the chronic infection. Aim: The aims of this study were: a) to compare clinical characteristics of chronic HCV infection among IVDU and non-users population and to detect their impact to treatment outcome; b) to investigate the treatment efficacy comparing sustained viral response (SVR) in these two populations in Tuzla Canton. Patients and methods: The study was retrospective-prospective and included 45 IVDU of both sexes from Tuzla Canton which were treated from chronic HCV infection with Pegilated interferon 2a/2b + ribavirin in the Clinic for Infectious Diseases and Clinic for Internal Disease of University Clinical Centre in Tuzla. The control group were presented by non-users who completed therapy in both Clinics. For statistical analyses it was used statistical package SPSS 20,0 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, USA) with tests of descriptive statistics with measures of central tendency and dispersion. Quantitative variables were tested by t-test or by Mann-Whitney test. Qualitative variables were tested by hi-square test or by Fisher’s test. The standard analyse of level’s risk was used too. The analyse of predictive value of EVR for achieving the ETR and SVR was done by cross-tabulation. The impact of known factors for achieving the SVR was evaluated by logistic regression analyses. All tests were done with statistical level of significance of 95% (p=0,05). Results: Men were more dominant in the test group (93,3% / 61,7%), also younger age (p<0,001) and lower BMI (p=0,019). The test group had significant higher basal values of Le, Hb, Plt and ALT and tendency to lower stages of fibrosis (p=0,08). The difference in genotype frequencies was statistically significant (p=0,001) with clearly dominance of G3 and G4 among IVDU. Treatment was not complited by two patients in both groups (4,4% /3,3%). EVR was significantly higher in test group (p=0,001) so did the ETR (p=0,002) and SVR (p<0,001). Predictive factors for SVR were: age (negative predictive factor), male sex, absence of reduction of pegilated interferon and ribavirin, Metavir stage of fibrosis and presence of EVR. Conclusion: Population of IVDU were adherent to treatment protocol and with excellent treatment response they justified the hope of health care workers for success treatment of this population.

INTRODUCTION Etiological factors of community-acquired urinary tract infections (UTI) are specific for age, gender, season, complication of UTI and type of UTI. Their prevalence and susceptibility to antimicrobial agents shows geographic and time variability. PURPOSE To evaluate etiological characteristics of acute community-acquired UTI in hospitalised patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS This retrospective-prospective study included 200 adult patients with community-acquired UTI who were, in view of the serious clinical picture and unsuccessful ambulatory treatment, hospitalised in the Clinic for Infectious Diseases in Tuzla, for a period of two years (2006 and 2007). The data concerning the age, gender, season, complication of UTI and type of UTI were collected from the patient's records. Urine analysis was done following standard microbiological methods, and the antibiogram was done following standard disc-diffusion method on the Mueller-Hinton agar. WORK RESULTS The dominant etiological factors of UTI were: E. coli (73.5%), Klebsiella spp. (8.5%), Proteus mirabilis (5.5%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (4.5%) and Enterococcus faecalis (3%). The predominant etiological factor of this UTI was E. coli (P < 0.0001). E. coli was significantly more frequent etiological factor of UTI in females (P < 0.0001). There was no significant difference in the frequency between etiological factors of UTI for different age groups of patients (P = 0.173), or for different seasons (P > 0.05). All etiological factors are significantly more frequent during warmer periods of the year (P < 0.05). E. coli is a significantly more frequent etiological factor in complicated and non-complicated pyelonephrytis and cystourethritis (P < 0.05), but there was no significant difference of frequency between etiological factors of prostatitis (P = 0.7163). By analyzing the susceptibility for antimicrobials, we found that E. coli has good susceptibility for Cephalosporins of the third generation, for Gentamycin, Nitrofurantoin, Norfloxacin, Ciprofloxacin and Pipemidin acid (susceptibility higher than 88.7%), Klebsiella spp. for Imipenem and Meropenem (susceptibility 100%), Proteus mirabilis for Imipenem (susceptibility 100%) and relatively for Amikacin (susceptibility 81.8%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa for Imipenem (susceptibility 100%) and for Meropenem (susceptibility 87.5%) and Enterococcus faecalis for Vancomycin (susceptibility 100%) and relatively for Ampicillin, Amoxicillin, Ciprofloxacin, Doxicyclin and Nitrofurantoin (susceptibility 83.4%). CONCLUSION Etiological characteristics of UTI are specific for different regions. Evaluation of these characteristics in our region is the basis for empirical antimicrobial therapy of UTI, which is necessary for a timely and successful treatment of UTI.