Piotr Merks

Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw · Faculty of medicine

Bacteria inhabiting the digestive tract are responsible for our health. The microbiome is essential for the development of the immune system and homeostasis of the body. Maintaining homeostasis is very important, but also extremely complicated. The gut microbiome is related to the skin microbiome. It can therefore be assumed that changes in the mic...

Objective: The problem of urinary incontinence affects half of the adult female population, impacting adversely on their comfort of life and significantly hindering ordinary life activities (laughing, sneezing, coughing, physical activity); it also affects the quality of their sexual life. Physiotherapy is an increasingly common method for the cons...

Proper diet and physical activity are a form of prevention of female genital prolapse disorders. The causal substrate of pelvic floor dysfunction is multifactorial. Fifty percent of women over the age of 50 have pelvic organ prolapse, often accompanied by urinary incontinence. It is a complicated social and medical (urogynecological and sexological...

Objective: The problem of urinary incontinence affects half of the adult female population, impacting adversely on their comfort of life and significantly hindering ordinary life activities (laughing, sneezing, coughing, physical activity); it also affects the quality of their sexual life. Physiotherapy is an increasingly common method for the cons...

Tertiary syphilis is a large diagnostic challenge. It is rarely the case that it affects the skin, bone tissue and the eyes at the same time. The presented case shows that extensive symptomatology of syphilis poses a challenge in making a proper diagnosis in patients whose history does not suspect STDs. The study aims to present the case of a young...

STD-related inflammation may be a symptom of sexual violence against children – it is necessary in suspected cases to implement diagnostics including psychological care. It is important to protect children from violence and to raise awareness of the symptoms of abuse. It is important to be aware of the symptoms that may indicate sexual abuse of a c...

In cancer patients, both men and women, a deterioration in the quality of life is observed. This applies not only to physical symptoms, but also to increased levels of anxiety, mood and libido disorders. This group of patients requires special medical and psychological support, which is also an important issue in the practice of a family doctor. On...

Background Since 2021, pharmacists in Poland have been authorised to administer vaccinations against COVID-19, which is of particular significance in the efforts towards preventing the spread of the pandemic. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the patients’ satisfaction with delivering vaccinations through national vaccination cent...

Background: Non-adherence occurs in various groups of patients, including those with chronic diseases. One strategy to increase adherence among oncological patients is to individualise treatment and expand pharmaceutical care. Pharmaceutical labels that remind patients how they should take their medications are of great importance in this respect....

305 pharmacy and 42 oncology clinic areas were sampled. • 26 Canadian hospitals participating in the study were from: Alberta (49/347, 14%), British Columbia (52/347, 15%), Ontario (240/347, 69%), Quebec (6/347, 2%) • Contamination was detected in 15.2% of the samples.

Backround Dabigatran is a direct thrombin inhibitor used to treat cardiac arrhythmias, and rates of non-adherence to dabigatran in Polish populations are high. The current study examined how a pharmacist-led intervention of counselling with pictogram-enhanced medication instructions, and smartphone medication reminders, can improve adherence to dab...

Dyspareunia is genital pain during sexual intercourse without constriction of the vulva or vagina. This is one of the most significant issues that lies at the border of gynaecology and sexology. Dyspareunia can be caused by endometriosis. Many women can also experience premenstrual syndrome, which can occur as a separate problem. All three of the...

Despite the functioning of the Bologna Declaration, the knowledge and skills of graduates educated in different countries may differ significantly. Therefore, this article aims to present the differences in results of the final exam in pharmacy among Polish pharmacy students. This exam was modeled on the British national exam supervised by the Gene...

Background Since cannabis has been legalized in Canada for medical and recreational use, there has been an increased demand on pharmacists for cannabis counselling. The objective of this study was to determine the concerns, beliefs and attitudes of Canadian pharmacists and pharmacy students towards using cannabis. Methods An online survey was synt...

The aims of this research are to assess the level of satisfaction with medical care among patients treated in osteoporosis clinics and to determine the relationship among the frequency of visits to the doctor, the duration of treatment, socio-demographic factors, and patient satisfaction with the medical care they receive. The study was conducted f...

Movement is a physiological phenomenon and a fundamental aspect of the living human body in a global context (e.g., musculoskeletal system function) and local one (e.g., visceral system function). The local activity of the body is expressed in the rhythm of pulsations, peristalsis and vibrations. Visceral therapy supports movement, articulation and...

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers in Europe and the world. Cancer treatments have side effects and cause significant deterioration of the patient’s nutritional status. Patient malnutrition may worsen the health condition and prevent the deliberate effects of the therapy. The aim of this review was to describe the available data ab...

Background and objective Medication use often causes errors that are dangerous to the health of patients. Previous studies indicate that the use of pharmaceutical pictograms can effectively reduce medication errors. The purpose of this study was to determine the comprehensibility, representativeness, and recall rate of nine medication safety pictog...

Osteoporosis has been recognized as a civilization disease. This chronic condition needs a long-term management plan with a holistic approach to patients. The specificity of the patient’s response to the disease and coping strategies are very important in the treatment process. The aim of this research was to analyze the strategies of coping with d...

ABSTRACT Dyspareunia is genital pain during sexual intercourse without constriction of the vulva or vagina. This is one of the most significant issues that lies at the border of gynaecology and sexology. Dyspareunia can be caused by endometriosis. Many women can also experience premenstrual syndrome, which can occur as a separate problem. All thr...

Background: Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome (PJS) is a rare autosomal dominant genetic condition caused by mutations in STK11 (Ser-ine/threonine kinase 11) gene (OMIM 602216 Serine/Threonine Protein Kinase 11) located in the short arm of chromosome 19 (19p.13.3). Case: We report the case of a 4 and ½ year-old female child with a rare Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome....

Issues related to psychosexual development require an interdisciplinary approach. It is important to have cooperation between paediatricians, paediatric gynaecologists and psychosexologists. One such issue that is also significant in a period of development is autosexual behaviours.

Background: Fragile X syndrome (FRA X) is the most common cause of inherited moderate intellectual disability. The cause of FRA X syndrome is a dynamic mutation in the FMR1 gene (located on the X sex chromosome-long arm, position 27.3, between base pairs 147 911 951 and 147 951 125). Case(s): A patient born in 1993 along with her mother was referre...

The Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) and the Delegated Regulation (DR) impact the pharmaceutical supply chain. Ahead of the deadline for implementation, in February 2019, every entity of the supply chain had to adapt its operations to the regulatory requirements to be compliant with the directive. This paper analyzes the supply chain of a hospit...

(1) Introduction: Pharmacists are medical professionals who play an active role in the protection of public health. Since 2021, pharmacists with an appropriate certification have been authorised to administer vaccines against COVID-19. (2) Objective: The objective of this study was to ascertain the perceptions of patients about receiving vaccinatio...

Background: Pharmacists constitute one of the largest groups of medical professionals and play a significant role in public health. Pharmaceutical care in community pharmacies is one of the key elements that impact the clinical outcomes of patients. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the public perception of pharmacists in Poland, as...

The Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) is an obligatory document concerning a medicine required (among other things) for the authorization of a medicinal product. The purpose of the SmPC is to provide product information to healthcare professionals. A necessary condition for this is to ensure that the SmPC is clear and precise. However, neit...

Introduction: Pharmacists play an important role in healthcare. Their functions are evolving and, in many countries, they actively participate in interdisciplinary patient treatment. One of the most common services provided by pharmacists as part of pharmaceutical care in community pharmacies involves medication reviews. Objective: The objective...

Polypharmacy is a challenging issue in geriatrics. The aim of the study was to characterize correlates of polypharmacy in the PolSenior project. The PolSenior project, was a comprehensive survey in a large and longitudinal representative sample of thePolish older population. The project was conducted by the International Institute of Molecular and...

Pharmacists have been providing essential health services for patients. Their role includes, among other things, dispensing medicines, providing expert advice and participation in screening programs and health promotion. Professional fulfilment is the source of their satisfaction with their work and contributes to positive motivation, affecting the...

Uveal melanoma is the most common intraocular malignancy and arises from melanocytes in the choroid, ciliary body, or iris. The current eye-sparing treatment options include surgical treatment, plaque brachytherapy, proton beam radiotherapy, stereotactic photon radiotherapy, or photodynamic therapy. However, the efficacy of these methods is still u...

The purpose of this article is to examine the applicability of the Beliefs about Pain Control Questionnaire (BPCQ) among cancer patients and develop norms that allow differentiation of patients with diagnosed cancer in terms of beliefs about pain control. Normalization aims to establish the value of test results in the study population. The study i...

Objective: It is important in the context of gynaecology and obstetrics that the risk of many diseases can be significantly reduced by introducing a number of lifestyle changes, such as diet. Mechanism: An unhygienic lifestyle with an unbalanced diet, eating food of inadequate health quality, can have a significant negative impact on a woman's heal...

Introduction: Obstetric and gynaecological care are undoubtedly one of the most important elements in protecting a woman's health. From the period of puberty characterised by many hormonal changes, until late old age, every woman should be cared for depending on her age and state of health. However, women and girls living in rural areas have diffic...

Cancer is associated with discomfort and many changes in patients' lives to which they must adapt. The main objective of the study was to assess the use of the mini-MAC questionnaire scale among persons diagnosed with malignant cancer and to develop standards allowing differentiation of patients with diagnosed cancer in terms of their style of adju...

Triple whammy (TW) is a potentially dangerous drug combination that can lead to acute kidney injury (AKI). This drug interaction (DI) occurs when angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) or angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) are used together with diuretics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). One of the most serious con...

Największe interdyscyplinarne spotkanie tego roku odnoszące się do najważniejszych problemów ochrony zdrowia i osiągnięć medycyny polskiej, zorganizowanym już po raz trzeci Kongresie „Zdrowie Polaków”, który odbywał się pod hasłem „Zdrowie Polaków, zdrowie każdego z nas to największy kapitał i największa inwestycja na przyszłość”

Uveal melanoma is the most common intraocular malignancy and arises from melanocytes in the choroid, ciliary body, or iris. Radiotherapy is the mainstay of therapy for most patients with localized uveal melanoma. Another RT technique used in the treatment of uveal melanomas is charged-particle radiotherapy. Photodynamic therapy is based on the sele...

Abstract: Older adults are particularly susceptible to COVID-19 in terms of both disease severity and risk of death. To compare clinical differences between older COVID-19 hospitalized survivors and non-survivors, we investigated variables influencing mortality in all older adults with COVID-19 hospitalized in Pozna´ n, Poland, through the end of J...

BACKGROUND International patient services in community pharmacies are becoming increasingly common. The growing number of immigrants, as well as the developing trend of medical tourism, make it necessary to provide these people with access to healthcare services, including pharmaceutical services in generally accessible pharmacies. Serving non-Poli...

Polypharmacy is a common issue in patients with chronic diseases. Eastern-European countries and Iran are exploring possibilities for implementing the Medication Use Review (MUR) as a measure for optimizing medication use and ensuring medication safety in polypharmacy patients. The aim of this study was to gain insights into the development of the...

Background This article aims to present the results of the final exam in pharmacy among Polish pharmacy students. This exam was modeled on the British national exam supervised by the General Pharmaceutical Council. Methods The exam was conducted in 3 cities in Poland, among a total of 175 final-year students. Taking the exam was voluntary and anon...

Getting to know the history of syphilis should begin with an attempt to establish the original source of its spread throughout the world. The dispute about the origin of syphilis, a sexually transmitted infection caused by Treponema pallidum (subspecies pallidum), had not been resolved even as late as in the twenty-first century, and to this day th...

Pharmaceutical care requires a patient-centered approach, focusing on the ability of patients to understand drug-related information and follow the instructions delivered by pharmacists as well as other health-care providers included in the circle of care. With the goal of ensuring the prescribed use of medications, called medication adherence, hea...

Objetcive: To determine whether the consumption, together with the frequency and quantity of consumption of wholegrain pasta, rice and groats is related to the risk of reproductive and breast cancer among women. Material and methods: Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) covering the 12 months prior to diagnosis was used. It consisted of questions eva...

Procedury i wytyczne w zakresie przygotowania pomieszczeń i umiejętności praktycznych Materiały dla aptek i farmaceutów

Nowadays, it is very important to put an emphasis on widely understood teamwork. This is of great importance for achieving and maintaining success in all areas, especially in medicine. This kind of unity has many advantages, including unique ideas that are very helpful in a competitive environment, improve performance and knowledge, and create stro...

Objective: The aim of the study was to present selected oncological problems among girls and young women. Mechanism: Malignant ovarian cancers grow faster in girls. Due to the lack of an anatomic barrier, they spread rapidly from the pelvis to the organs in the entire peritoneal cavity. High-grade cancers may be associated with an insufficient immu...

Objective: Evaluation of the implementation of pharmaceutical services to detect comorbidities in at-risk patients. Methods: This study was carried out in community pharmacies across Poland in 2019 inside the specially designed service "Refer the Patient". The project was intended for patients with selected chronic diseases. The patients were id...

Background. Polypharmacy and drug-related problems are common in both the elderly and patients with chronic diseases. Medication Use Review (MUR) is a structured evaluation of a patient’s medicines to optimize the use of medicines and improve health outcomes. In the on-going international project (January 2019 – March 2021), the MUR standard adapte...

The COVID-19 pandemic is currently one of the major global health and economic challenges. An efficient method for reducing the transmission of the virus is a still unmet medical need. Existing experimental data have shown that coronavirus survival is negatively impacted by ozone, high temperature, and low humidity. Therefore, it is feasible to use...

The Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) and the published Delegated Regulation (DR) will have a serious impact on the daily operations in secondary care environments. The following study was developed in a German hospital, using a medicines authentication software to assess the impact of the implementation of the legal requirement under the FMD. Va...

Abstract: Background: In light of a falsified medications pandemic, understanding the patient perspective on falsified medicines is warranted. Our study aimed to investigate the perspectives regarding falsified medicines among patients with cardiovascular diseases. Methods: Computerassisted telephone interviews were conducted based on a questionnai...

Objective: To develop a mentor-supervised, interprofessional, geriatric telemedicine experiential education project in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Medical and pharmacy students collaborated via remote consultations to address the coexistence of multimorbidity and polypharmacy in geriatric patients. In-depth interviews of students...

Objectives: The second part of the study was to assess the effects of the types of anaesthesia along with multimodal analgesia on the stability of vital functions at the critical moment of awakening from anaesthesia. Material and methods: The material comprised the medical records at the Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care in Szczec...

Objectives: The second part of the study was to assess the effects of the types of anaesthesia along with multimodal analgesia on the stability of vital functions at the critical moment of awakening from anaesthesia. Materials and methods: The material comprised the medical records at the Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care in Szczecin...

Pharmaceutical pictograms are important tools that can improve the quality use of drugs and adherence, particularly among people with low health literacy. However, designing high-quality pharmaceutical pictograms requires a multi-step process to make sure that the pictogram is legible and understandable for patients. The success of this tool is ass...

A family doctor, as well as a sexologist, gynecologist, in his medical practice encounters problems related to skin diseases significantly affecting the sense of femininity or masculinity. An example of such an issue, especially in gynecology of developmental age, is the problem of skin changes associated with androgenization syndromes. Typical der...

Background: Pharmaceutical pictograms have been designed to help communicate medication instructions to patients. Pictograms used within a patient counseling service can significantly improve medication compliance and adherence. The study aimed to assess the improvement of adherence to therapy with the use of pictogram intervention in comparison to...

Background: Many OTC drugs are available in non-pharmacy outlets, and as such the risk of overuse and/or improper use of this class of drugs is more likely. In light of this observation, our study was conducted with the aim of exploring opinions on non-pharmaceutical distribution among Polish patients. This study was a part of an informative projec...