D. Pokorna-Kałwak

• Wroclaw Medical University

Screening is widely considered one of the most effective methods for the early detection of prostate cancer. Early detection allows for prompt treatment, which increases the likelihood of a full recovery. This review sought to summarize studies on screening methods related to prostate cancer. It examined trends in screening practices and organized...

Gastrointestinal cancers, especially colorectal cancer, represent a major health care issue. According to the data, the incidence of these cancers exceeds 50/100,000, mainly in high-income countries. Risk factors for the disease include genetic factors (i.e., Lynch syndrome) and lifestyle factors, e.g., overweight and obesity, smoking tobacco produ...

Obesity is a complex disease with numerous health complications, influenced by factors such as genetics, lifestyle, mental health, societal impact, economic status, comorbidities, and treatments. This multicenter study included adults aged ≥35 years referred to a CVD prevention program, where sociodemographic data, anthropometric examinations, labo...

Since 2017, pneumococcal vaccination has evolved from a recommended chargeable vaccination to a mandatory, and therefore free, vaccination for all children. While a 10-valent vaccine is commonly used, parents have the option to use a 13-valent vaccine for a fee. This study aimed to investigate whether and how the introduction of free pneumococcal v...

The outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war contributed to the largest migration movement in the 21st century. As a result, over 3 million refugees, mainly women, children and the elderly, arrived in Poland in a short space of time. Despite the ongoing war, it is important to remember that the COVID-19 pandemic is still present in the world, and befo...

We investigated pneumococcal carriage among unvaccinated children under five years of age at a time when the conjugate polysaccharide vaccine (PCV) was introduced in Poland into the national immunization program (NIP). Paired nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) and saliva samples collected between 2016 and 2020 from n = 394 children were tested with conventi...

Within a few months, the scientific world achieved a great success, developing effective and safe vaccines against COVID-19. Many countries with full access to vaccines have introduced recommendations for the vaccination of not only people who are at risk of developing severe COVID-19, i.e., the elderly and chronically ill, but all members of socie...

Introduction Yaws, an infectious dermatosis is one of 17 neglected tropical diseases still present in the world despite the efforts aiming at the eradication of the disease undertaken in 2020. It is mainly found in populations living in poor hygiene conditions with a limited access to water and health care facilities. BaAka Pygmies and Bantu people...

Zakażenia rotawirusowe (RV) stanowią istotny problem zdrowia publicznego, a historia szczepień pokazuje ich wysoką skuteczność w zapobieganiu zachorowaniom oraz hospitalizacji i zgonom z powodu ciężkiego zakażenia. W najnowszym Programie Szczepień Ochronnych (PSO) w Polsce wprowadzono powszechne (obowiązkowe) szczepienia przeciw RV w grupie dzieci...

Introduction. Pygmy tribes inhabit tropical environment of Central Africa. After having been expelled from their original habitat by the Bantu people, they have settled in local forest ecosystem where they live in very low sanitary standards and their actual morbidity remains unknown. Objective. The purpose of the study was to analyze the prevalen...

W ciągu ostatnich kilkunastu lat narastające zjawisko antybiotykooporności drobnoustrojów stało się istotnym wyzwaniem dla współczesnej medycyny i jednocześnie zagrożeniem w skali zdrowia publicznego. Najczęstsze wątpliwości co do zastosowania i wyboru antybiotyku w praktyce klinicznej, szczególnie w zakresie podstawowej opieki zdrowotnej (POZ), st...

Extreme travel may be defined as participating in high-risk sports activities in a remote destination. These destinations may either be in developing countries or in the wilderness of a developed country as well. Extreme sports encompass a variety of activities. For travellers journeying to the mountains, it could be backcountry snow skiing or moun...

[PL] Nieżyt nosa jest częstą dolegliwością w praktyce lekarza rodzinnego zarówno u dorosłych, jak i u dzieci. Obejmuje on schorzenia z objawami blokady nosa, przekrwienia błony śluzowej, wycieku z nosa, kichania i świądu, które wynikają z zapalenia (zapalne nieżyty nosa) i/lub dysfunkcji błony śluzowej nosa (niezapalne nieżyty nosa). Nieżyt nosa mo...

Racjonalna antybiotykoterapia w pytaniach i odpowiedziach

[PL] Leki mukoaktywne są powszechnie stosowane w terapii schorzeń układu oddechowego, które przebiegają z nadmiernym wydzielaniem śluzu, m.in. przewlekłego zapalenia oskrzeli, przewlekłej obturacyjnej choroby płuc czy ostrego zapalenia zatok. Głównym celem stosowania leków mukoaktywnych jest zwiększenie zdolności do odkrztuszania plwociny i/lub zmn...

When planning a journey to a destinations where infectious diseases are endemic one needs to undertake appropriate prophylactic measures in order to reduce the risk of developing a travel-related health problem. It is important that a traveller undergoes a medical examination before travel, makes sure that his travel first-aid kit includes all the...

In recent years, the number of studies and scientific reports on the health-promoting properties of probiotics has been increasing. The clinical usefulness and effectiveness of probiotics is highly strain-dependent, so any generalizations should be avoided for the whole, very wide group of preparations. There is still a need for more developed rese...

U ok. 25% pacjentów nieswoiste zapalenia jelit (choroba Leśniowskiego-Crohna i wrzodziejące zapalenie jelita grubego) są diagnozowane przed 20. rokiem życia. Obserwuje się stopniowe zwiększanie liczby zachorowań. Choroba przebiega z okresami zaostrzeń i remisji, stop-niowo prowadząc do pogorszenia jakości życia i powikłań, zatem kluczowe jest wczes...

Systematyczny wzrost zachorowań na choroby nowotworowe niesie poważne konsekwencje oraz wyzwania dla systemu ochrony zdrowia, w tym dla lekarzy podstawowej opieki zdrowotnej. U większości chorych z nowotworem złośliwym, wraz z zaawansowaniem choroby, rozwija się zespół wyniszczenia nowotworowego (nawet do 80% chorych). Rozwój choroby oraz samo lecz...

Zakażenie układu moczowego (ZUM, ang. urinary tract infection, UTI) u dzieci jest częstym schorzeniem w praktyce lekarza rodzinnego. Szacuje się, że ZUM wystąpi u ok. 8 i 10% dziewcząt oraz ok. 2 i 3% chłopców, odpowiednio przed 11 i 16 r.ż.). Z pozoru banalna infekcja może być pierwszym objawem poważnych schorzeń układu moczowego, w tym wad wrodzo...

Ból, a w szczególności ból mięśniowo-stawowy, jest jednym z podstawowych objawów, będących przyczyną konsultacji u lekarza podstawowej opieki zdrowotnej. Przewlekłe zespoły bólowe prowadzą do powikłań oraz do znacznego obniżenia jakości życia pacjentów. Wraz z wiekiem wzrasta częstotliwość występowania jednostek chorobowych, których dominującym obj...

Background. The most common factor of renal damage are diabetes and hypertension. The negative impact of obesity on the level of glomerular filtration rate is also known. Objectives. The aim of the study was to analyze the influence of overweight and obesity, including visceral obesity, on kidney functions. Material and methods. The study was perfo...

Background. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in Poland. Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the world. In our country too often advanced cancerous lesions are detected. This is caused by insufficient knowledge of patients on early signs of malignancy. Thanks to the implementation of educational programs, there is a sl...

Background. The population of patients with hypertension is a group particularly exposed to risk of death from cardiovascular causes. NT affects nearly 30% of the adult population and this proportion increases with age up to 60-70% of elderly patients. Particularly dangerous is the co-existence of NT and diabetes, hence the need for its detection a...

Background. There are many myths around osteoporosis that lead to delayed detection of the illness. The goal of this paper was to investigate which of the myths and fallacies are still in work around women, as well as to make them realize that the illness can affect everyone. Material and methods. The research tool was a self-developed questionnair...

Background. Hypertension is today one of the most important medical problems. Given its prevalence, there is no doubt that the most important element in the care of the patient with hypertension is a family physician. Objectives. The aim of the study was to assess patient satisfaction with anti-hypertensive therapy. Material and methods. The study...

Background. Cervical cancer is the second common cancer among 15-44 year old women. In Poland, the incidence and mortality rates of cervical cancer for many years remained at a consistently high level. The influence of human papillomavirus (HPV) in cervical cancer is proved, and the WHO recognized types 16 and 18 of human papillomavirus as a carcin...

Background. Rotaviruses are the most common cause of diarrhea among infants and the youngest children. They can be found all over the world and are transmitted by the fecal-oral route. The frequency of infections is the highest in autumn-winter months. The average children mortality from rotaviral diarrhea is about 500 000 deaths per year. There is...

Background. Vitamins are substances necessary for proper development and functioning of the organism. Especially in small children their proper supply is important. Objectives. Assessment of vitamins supplementation frequency in the first year of life. Material and methods. The analysis was applied to children born in the 2009 and 2010, who attende...

Background. Hypertension affects more than 30% of the adult population. 95% of cases are spontaneous. Patients with hypertension require special care as regards the detection of risk factors for the development of cardiovascular diseases, such as overweight, obesity, increased cholesterol or smoking. Objectives. The aim of the study was an analysis...

Background. Asthma is one of the fastest growing health problems in children, and its complexity causes diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties. Diagnosis of asthma in children, especially in school age, results in significant changes in their life and applies to all persons in its surroundings: parents, teachers, mentors, and even fellow school [1...

Background. Breast-feeding is the best form of infant's nutrition and has all features of balanced food for small growing organism. In spite of many educational campaigns, family doctor and midwife should play crucial role for young mothers. Objectives. Evaluation of various forms of feeding infants frequency and mothers' satisfaction with the chos...

In the youngest anaemia is diagnosed when in newborns Hb < 14 g/dl and in infants Hb < 10 g/dl. In newborns between 2nd and 3rd month of life so called physiological anaemia appears. There is no need to treat it. In newborns and infants the most common cause of anaemia is decreased production of erythrocytes, mainly because of iron deficiency, but...

Background. Tick-borne encephalitis is a viral disease. The most common way of passing the illness through is being bitten by an infected tick. Fast tick removal cannot be a protection against the infection. There is no causal treatment of a tick-borne encephalitis. The best way of protection against this infection is to carry out a full prophylact...

Background. One of the tasks of a family doctor is care for infants and early detection of pathologies requiring specialized treatment. Regular consultations, usually associated with vaccinations, are used for it. Objectives. Determination of the frequency of individual specialist consultations among children under one year old and a comparison of...

Background. Preventive examination of 2- and 4-year-old children are screening examination in general population including all children in each age group. Their task is to assess children's health, early recognition of children suspected of having a pathology, requiring observation or diagnosis and children who should be qualified for the different...

Background. The influenza is one of the most common diseases, due to high contagiosity. Objectives. Comparison of notification of influenza or cases suspected of influenza in voivodships: Lower-Silesian, Mazovian, Lublin and Western-Pomeranian in 2009 referred to demographic structure. Material and methods. National Influenza Center data - analysis...

Background. Chickenpox is one of the most common infectious diseases in children and also one of the most infectious ones. The illness is caused by one of herpesviruses - Varicella-Zoster virus, which remains in human ganglions in a latent form for the rest of patient's life and may cause shingles in later life. Chickenpox can have different course...

Vitamins are essential substances for normal development of human organism. Vitamin D3 plays an important role in regulation calcium and phosphorus balance and in bone mineralisaton process. Very susceptible to deficiency of vitamin Dare infants and babies in whom it can cause rickets. Current recommendations include supplementation of pregnant wom...

Background. C-reactive protein (CRP) is one of acute phase respondents that has been commonly used to monitor infection and inflammation episodes. We think that CRP rapid test, which results are presented in 2-3 minutes, is a revolutionary diagnostic tool in primary health care, especially in children. Objectives. To show how rapid CRP test can be...

Background. A number of habits in our life style have influence on blood pressure value in children. The most important of environmental factors are diet, obesity and low physical activity. Obesity is a growing pediatric problem. The frequency of overweight and obesity in modern society has achieved a level of epidemic. Objectives. The aim of this...

Background. The authors state that rapid CRP tests are very useful tool in diagnosing process. Thanks to those tests it is possible to assume the etiology of infection, infection that is the main reason for visiting general practitioner by children. The results of rapid CRP test helps a doctor to make the right choice on administering an adequate t...

Background. Polish vaccination schedule includes mandatory vaccinations of children according to age, compulsory vaccination of people at special risk of infection, and recommended vaccines, which are not funded from national budget. Among several vaccines recommended for children between 2 and 5 years of age, vaccines against chicken pox, Pneumocc...

Background. It has been known for a long time that appropriate for individual person physical exercises along with concern with maintaining normal body weight bring invaluable benefits for health. It is very important for children because their body is still growing and transforminging. Unfortunately in today's society we can observe a tendency to...

Background. Professional drivers are exposed to many adverse factors during work, e.g.: physical factors: vibrations, noise, chemical factors (exhaust fumes, carbon oxide), particulates, factors related to the job (forced body position, stress, changing microclimate, shift work - often night shifts), physical stress, and dangerous factor - causing...

Background. Rotaviruses are the main ethological factor of acute diarrhea in Poland. Rotaviral diarrhoeas could be effectively prevented by vaccinations. Decision on vaccination must be made immediately, due to the fact that according to producer's recommendation full vaccination cycle against rotaviruses should be completed until 26 weeks of age....

Background. In the present work a problem of the patient's satisfaction on the quality of provided services and the comprehensive care of a family doctor was brought up. Objectives. Seeking the answer to questions: what is an important factor conditioning staying under the care of one family doctor? Why do patients make a decision to the change the...

A family doctor plays a crucial role in prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of allergic diseases, in children as well as in adults. In the population of patients under control of a family doctor are many people suffering from allergic diseases and the doctor has an influence on diagnosis, treatment and control of the progress of a disease. In...

Background. The aim of this paper is to present the usefulness of rapid CRP tests in acute infections among children concerning their role in taking decision about antibiotic therapy. Moreover the study estimates the effectiveness of symptomatic therapy and observation. Material and methods. The study group consisted of 150 children (76 boys - 51 %...

The frequency of hypertension is higher in elderly patients. Hypertension is one of the risk factors of cardiovascular diseases and sudden deaths. It is the frequent reason of depression and anxiety disorders in this group of patients. The effects of therapy depend on compliance between patients and doctors. Aim of the study was to evaluate the fre...

Background: It has been reported that hypertension is still inadequately controlled in the majority of patients. Recent ESH/ESC guidelines (2007) emphasize that blood pressure should be lowered below 140/90 mm Hg in all hypertensive patients and below 130/80 mm Hg in hypertensive subjects with diabetes or associated cardiovascular disease. The aim...

Hemodialyzed patients with chronic kidney disease are prone to atherosclerosis, which occurs due mainly to lipid abnormalities. Abnormal lipid metabolism could result, among others, from increased formation of free radicals and, consequently, oxidative stress in these patients. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the influence of the...

Background. CRP assay is a routine procedure in diagnosing acute infections in inpatient health service. Its role in outpatient health service is often underestimated, mainly due to long time waiting for the result and CRP concentration dynamics. Today rapid CRP tests are available on the Polish market and might be useful for differentiating infect...

Background. Hypertension is one of the most common diseases. It is mainly a problem of adults but increased number of children with hypertension is being observed (1-2%). In this young group of patients the secondary hypertension is dominant but some children suffer from primary one. It is mainly caused by large number of children with obesity and...

Urinary bladder cancer is the second frequent neoplasm of urinary system and significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the world. Mortality of urinary bladder cancer is especially high in some countries in Eastern Europe, unfortunately including Poland as well. Early diagnosis and proper treatment is crucial for better prognosis. Therefore au...

Background. Acute infections are the most common reasons of visits in general practice. The clinical picture is often not sufficient for a differentiation between viral and bacterial etiology, which is crucial for decision about antibiotic therapy. Rapid diagnostic tests could help the practitioner during diagnostic process. Objectives. Evaluation...

Background. Hypertension in children is not common but increasing problem. Although secondary hypertension is characteristic for this group the primary one is observed more often during last years. Fat diet, low physical activity and not healthy life-style are the most important reasons of obesity, diabetes, hypertension and metabolic syndrome. The...

The diagnosis of pneumonia in general practice is often very difficult because of atypical symptoms and normal physical examination. Symptoms like fever, cough and chest pain are not always present. It is necessary to order the special diagnostic tests in these cases but it is connected with the extension of diagnostic process and may delay therapy...

Background. Human health depends on healthy life-style in more than 50%. The rules of life-style should be determined from the beginning of our life and parents are responsible for this education. Data show that children's life-style is not good. Increasing number of children with overweight, obesity and other metabolic diseases (hypertension, diab...

Background. In epidemiological studies perinatal and infantile mortality may be treated as indicators of health care system status, because lowering those demands not only additional funding but also continuous professional training and excellent job organization among medical personnel. They are also indicators of general consciousness and health...

Background. The essential element of modern neonatology is not only saving lives of the smallest newborns, but also supplying the highest quality of medical service for the purpose of achievement the optimal child development, both physical and psychological. From the early nineties to 1999 the number of births in Poland was declining - in 1999 the...

Background. Influenza is a highly infectious disease. Its clinical course depends on natural features of the virus, patient's age, immunity, alimentation and chronic diseases coexistence (heart, lungs, or diabetes). The proper prophylaxis prevents complicated course and reduces costs of the disease. Evaluation of these costs should include direct a...

Background. Pharmacological therapy, alongside physiotherapeutic methods, plays an important role in the treatment of patients with urinary incontinence. The most classical drugs are anticholinergics, including oxybutynine. The anticholinergics are urinary bladder relaxants, inhibit uncontrolled detrusor muscle contractions, are local anaesthetics...

Background. The modification of risk factors is the only way to decrease the risk of breast cancer. Some of the proved factors cannot be modified but some of them can. That is the reason why knowledge, information and education about breast cancer risk factors are so important. It should be performed especially among young women because they have e...

Background. Cervical cancer is the second most frequent malignant neoplasm in women in the world. Only few percent of Polish women have prophylactic cytology taken. Objectives. An attempt to evaluate patients' knowledge on cytological examination and evaluation of frequency of its execution. Material and methods. The search was performed by means o...

Background. The number of patients chronically treated with hemodialysis in Poland is continuously growing. A lot was done to reduce risk of their death. In the paper we present own observations which may show a new direction for studies. Material and methods. We observed 418 chronically hemodialysed patients (HD) and 63 volunteers (CG). We have us...

Background. Breast cancer is still the most common cancer in women. Therapeutic effects depend on cancer's stage. Many activities are performed to educate Polish women on how they can prevent breast cancer. Objectives. Estimation of Polish women's knowledge of breast cancer prevention. Material and methods. Investigations were based on anonymous qu...

Background. Children health care is one of priorities in the health care system, and primary care medicine professionals play a key role. Statistical data collected by various institutions serve to monitor effectiveness of various activities on this field and as a base to plan them ahead. Material and methods. Data collected and processed by the Lo...

Summary Background It has been reported that hypertension is still inadequately controlled in the majority of patients. Recent ESH/ESC guidelines (2007) emphasize that blood pressure should be lowered below 140/90 mm Hg in all hypertensive patients and below 130/80 mm Hg in hypertensive subjects with diabetes or associated cardiovascular disease. T...