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During the past 10 years, the health of people in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union has undergone changes very different from the health patterns seen in their Western counterparts. Mortality from cardiovascular disease has been decreasing continuously in the USA and many Western European countries, but it has increased or remained unchanged in many of the states of Eastern Europe. Analysis of this phenomenon has been hindered by insufficient information. The International Registry of Acute Coronary Syndromes registry study in Transitional Countries (ISACS-TC) is both a retrospective - over a 1-year period - and prospective study which was designed in order to obtain data of patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACSs) in countries with economy in transition in Central and Eastern Europe, and herewith control and optimize internationally guideline recommended therapies in these countries. Adhesion to the project was given by 112 Collaborating Centres in 17 countries with economy in transition (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarius, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine). A total of 47 cluster sites in 11 countries in Central and Eastern Europe are currently collaborating in ISACS-TC. The registry encourages optimal individualization of evidence-based therapies and the international patient body ensures good representation of multiple practice patterns. It may help to make an additional improvement in clinical outcomes of countries with economy in transition.

Twenty-five patients developed reflux stricture of the esophagus following partial gastrectomy for duodenal ulcer. Stricture formation was rapid and progressive. Postgastrectomy nasogastric intubation

The clinical data, technical considerations, early and late post-operative complications, and long-term follow-up results of esophagocoloplasty in the management of 176 patients with postcorrosive stricture of the esophagus are presented. All 176 colon segments were placed in the isoperistaltic position. Left colon transplants were used in 66.47% and the right colon with terminal ileum was used in 33.52% of patients. The postoperative mortality rate in the entire series was 5.68%. In the past 10 years the postoperative mortality rate was reduced to 1.96%. Long-term follow-up examinations were done for 144 patients (81.81%). Excellent results were noted in 87.50%, satisfactory results in 10.41%, and poor results in 2.08% of surgically treated patients at regular yearly check-ups during a follow-up period ranging from 1 to 24 years after operation.

We sought to investigate characteristics, treatment, and outcome of octogenarian patients during hospital stay for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in a transitional country. This is a cohort study of 437 patients ≥ 80 years old, consecutively admitted with a diagnosis of ACS at 14 hospitals in 8 Eastern European countries reporting data to ISACS-TC registry. The primary endpoint was in-hospital mortality. The mean age of the study population was 83.5 years ; 50.1% of the patients were women. Females, less frequently than males, had a history of myocardial infarction, smoking habit, and episodes of typical chest pain. But they were more often admitted with left ventricular dysfunction. The rate of reperfusion treatment (29.5%) was very low in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Also, most of the overall study population had a non-invasive approach (women, 79% vs. men, 70.6% ; P = 0.042). However, when the coronary anatomy was known, there were no differences in the rates of revascularization between genders. There was no difference in the rates of death between male (21%) and female (21.1%) patients. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that the independent predictors (P < 0.05) of death in octogenarians were systolic blood pressure

It is essential that context-appropriate health research and health interventions take place in countries with economy in transition. The aims of this study were to describe the clinical characteristics, management, and in-hospital outcomes of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients with heart failure (HF) in Montenegro and Serbia. The data of this study are a framework of the International Survey of Acute Coronary Syndromes in Transitional Countries (ISACS-TC; [NCT01218776][1]), a multi-national and multicentre registry of patients hospitalized with ACS in the European countries that emerged from the Socialist era. The present analysis focused on participants admitted to 15 hospitals in Montenegro and Serbia with a diagnosis of ACS during the period between October 2012 and August 2013. Among 1115 patients, 94 (8.4%) had an admission diagnosis of HF (Killip Class II or III). Heart failure patients were significantly older ( P < 0.001). Heart failure was more frequently associated with hypertension. When compared with patients presenting without HF (Killip Class I), those with HF had lower rates of reperfusion therapy either by percutaneous coronary intervention (47.9 vs. 60.7%, P = 0.015) or by fibrinolysis (2.1 vs. 11.8%, P = 0.004). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, older age, prior coronary artery bypass graft, and ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction were the relevant predictor of HF at admission. Heart failure on admission was associated with a marked increase in mortality rates during hospitalization (13.8 vs. 3.7%, P < 0.001). After adjustment for differences in clinical characteristics, HF was still associated with higher mortality (odds ratio 2.88, 95% confidence interval 1.22–6.79, P = 0.016). Heart failure is observed in nearly 9% of patients with ACS in Serbia and Montenegro and is also associated with a significant increase in in-hospital mortality. More aggressive treatment of these patients is warranted to improve prognosis. [1]: /lookup/external-ref?link_type=CLINTRIALGOV&access_num=NCT01218776&atom=%2Fehjsupp%2F16%2Fsuppl_A%2FA61.atom