Completeness of reporting in abstracts of randomized controlled trials in dental medicine published from 2015-2023: A methodological study.

Background: Well-reported scientific abstracts are essential as they provide a concise summary of key research findings. Our study aimed to assess the completeness of reporting in abstracts of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in dental medicine using the CONSORT for Abstracts (CONSORT-A) checklist.

Methods: This was a methodological cross-sectional study.

Enablers and barriers in the professional development of nurses employed full-time at university nursing studies in Croatia: a qualitative study.

Background: Multiple studies have highlighted the challenges faced by nurse educators working in an academic setting. However, to date, no published research has explored this issue in the Croatian context. This study explored and described the enablers and barriers to the professional development of full-time nurses employed in university-level nursing education programs in Croatia.

Adaptation and validation of the Croatian version of the inventory of parent/caregiver responses to the children's pain experience (IRPEDNA).

Background: Research has shown that parental behavior significantly influences children’s pain experiences. The Inventory of Parent/Caregiver Responses to Children’s Pain Experience (IRPEDNA) is a validated tool used to measure these reactions. Studies using the IRPEDNA have found that parental responses, shaped by cultural influences and individual perceptions, are closely linked to children’s pain coping strategies and overall distress levels.

Experiences and challenges faced by systematic review authors in using the GRADE approach: a qualitative study.

Objectives: This study aimed to gather feedback from systematic review authors on the use of the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations (GRADE) approach and to explore potential barriers to its implementation.

Study Design And Setting: A qualitative study was conducted using semistructured interviews with principal investigators who are experienced in systematic review methodology and the use of the GRADE approach, about their experiences and challenges in using GRADE. Before the interview, all participants completed a structured questionnaire about their experience with GRADE and in conducting systematic reviews.

Students' motives for enrolling in the master of nursing program in Croatia despite degree recognition uncertainties: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Despite global recognition of Master of Nursing (MN) degrees for career advancement, less than a quarter of MN graduates in Croatia hold MN-specific roles, and salary incentives are limited. Yet, MN programs remain popular among Croatian students. This study aimed to explore students' intentions and motives for enrolling in the MN program in Croatia despite the uncertainties regarding degree recognition in the healthcare sector.

Informed consent and ethics committee involvement in case reports and case series: cross-sectional meta-research study.

Background: Although the research should guarantee the protection of privacy and personal data, case reports and case series frequently lack the involvement of the ethics board and informed consent that includes the required information. This study aimed to analyze the reporting about informed consent and ethics committees in case reports and case series.

Methods: This cross-sectional meta-research study analyzed case reports and case series published in 2021, indexed in PubMed, and available as open-access articles.

Croatian nursing students' motives for enrolling in the Master of Nursing program despite limited career opportunities: a qualitative study.

Background: In 2022, only 1.7% of nurses in Croatian healthcare were employed at a job defined as a Master of Nursing (MN) graduate. In the current labour market, most MN graduates in Croatia cannot hope for salary increases or better employment opportunities after graduation.

Pharmacists' experience with patients suspected to be addicted to over-the-counter codeine and their attitudes towards potential remediation strategies: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Croatia is one of the European Union (EU) countries where low-dose codeine products (LDCP) can be purchased over the counter (OTC) directly from community pharmacists without a prescription. The misuse and dependence potential of OTC LDCP have raised growing public health concerns. As the first point of contact for patients seeking these medications, pharmacists play a critical role in identifying misuse and implementing harm-reduction strategies.

Signals from randomized clinical trials predicting hepatotoxicity of flupirtine: systematic review.

Background: The aim of this study was to systematically review clinical trials evaluating the flupirtine to identify any biochemical or clinical indicators that could signal serious hepatotoxicity.

Methods: This systematic review included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating flupirtine-containing medicines for any clinical condition. Trials involving any population, comparator, or outcome were considered eligible for inclusion.

Potential Role of in Pterygium Development.

Pterygium is a condition affecting the ocular surface, marked by a triangular-shaped growth of fibrotic tissue extending from the nasal conjunctiva toward the corneal center, potentially causing visual impairment. While ultraviolet (UV )light exposure is the primary risk factor for pterygium, its underlying cause remains unclear. In order to better understand the true genesis of pterygium development, we investigated pterygium tissue and compared it with healthy conjunctiva controls.

Medical students' mental health after the first year of war in Ukraine: A cross-sectional study.

Ukrainian medical students face a high risk of mental health issues, including depression and anxiety, which exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing war. This study examines their mental health one year into the war, focusing on depression, anxiety, and coping strategies while identifying vulnerable groups. A cross-sectional study was conducted during 2023, involving 506 students from Bogomolets National Medical University in Kyiv and 380 from the University of Split, Croatia, as a control group.

Scoping review indicates heterogeneous methods for developing and integrating patient decision aids in the context of clinical practice guidelines.

Objectives: To review the methods used to develop and integrate patient decision aids (PDAs) based on the recommendations of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs).

Study Design And Setting: We conducted a scoping review covering bibliographic databases (PubMed, Embase; searched until December 2023), gray literature, references, and expert consultations to identify eligible documents. Documents published from 2000 onwards and describing methods related to guideline-based PDA development or linking CPGs and PDAs were included.

Heterogeneity across outcomes in clinical trials on sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors in chronic heart failure: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the outcomes, outcome domains, and prevalence of the use of clinical outcome endpoints (COE) in clinical trials on sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors for chronic heart failure (CHF) registered on ClinicalTrials.gov and compare them to COE for cardiovascular trials.

Study Design And Setting: We conducted a cross-sectional methodological study.

Usage, knowledge and attitudes towards electronic cigarettes use among nursing students in Croatia: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Evidence shows harmful effects of e-cigarettes on health. There is limited data on the use of e-cigarettes among nursing students. This study aimed to investigate the usage, knowledge, and attitudes towards e-cigarettes among nursing students in Croatia, as well as their views on the role of nurses in counseling patients and assisting with smoking cessation.

Changes in the number and characteristics of tertiary hospital psychiatric admissions in south Croatia before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a retrospective study.

Background: There is mixed evidence on the impact of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on psychiatric hospital care for people with severe mental diseases, possibly due to regional differences. There is a significant gap in knowledge regarding the specific impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in Croatia, a country in South-Eastern Europe. Our study aimed to evaluate the number and characteristics of psychiatric hospitalizations in the year before and during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in a tertiary hospital in south Croatia.

Resilience in the Face of War: a Collaborative Autoethnography of a Ukrainian Refugee Student's Journey through Europe Striving to Find Oneself.

Objective: This study presents the personal experience of a 19-year-old student who fled the war in Ukraine, journeyed across multiple countries, and ultimately enrolled in a university psychology program in Croatia.

Methods: A collaborative autoethnographic approach was employed to explore the student's experience as a war refugee, traversing Europe, and beginning university life in a foreign country. Data were collected through the student's reflective writing.

Pain, dietary habits and physical activity of children with developmental disabilities in Croatia, North Macedonia and Serbia: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Multiple studies have shown that children with developmental disabilities (CDD) often live with unrecognized and untreated pain, consume inadequate diet and have inadequate levels of physical activity. This study aimed to analyze pain, dietary habits and physical activity of CDD in Croatia, North Macedonia and Serbia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Croatia, North Macedonia and Serbia in March-April 2023 within the Erasmus+ SynergyEd project.

A pain research strategy for Europe: A European survey and position paper of the European Pain Federation EFIC.

Background: Pain is the leading cause of disability and reduced quality of life worldwide. Despite the increasing burden for patients and healthcare systems, pain research remains underfunded and under focused. Having stakeholders identify and prioritize areas that need urgent attention in the field will help focus funding topics, reduce 'research waste', improve the effectiveness of pain research and therapy and promote the uptake of research evidence.

Academic performance, perceptions, and motivations of medical PhD students in Ukraine during wartime: a mixed methods study.

Background: The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, initiated on February 22, 2022, has created numerous challenges, including the need to study under the constant threat of bombardment. This study aimed to analyze the effects of the war on the academic performance of medical PhD students in Ukraine, explore their perceptions of stressful wartime events, and identify their motivations and future aspirations.

Methods: This mixed-method study included medical PhD students from Bogomolets National Medical University in Kyiv, Ukraine, during the 2022-2023 academic year amid ongoing Russian military attacks.

The optimal approach for retrieving systematic reviews was achieved when searching MEDLINE and Epistemonikos in addition to reference checking: a methodological validation study.

Background: Systematic reviews (SRs) are used to inform clinical practice guidelines and healthcare decision making by synthesising the results of primary studies. Efficiently retrieving as many relevant SRs as possible is challenging with a minimum number of databases, as there is currently no guidance on how to do this optimally. In a previous study, we determined which individual databases contain the most SRs, and which combination of databases retrieved the most SRs.

Fostering Shared Decision-Making Between Patients and Health Care Professionals in Clinical Practice Guidelines: Protocol for a Project to Develop and Test a Tool for Guideline Developers.

Background: Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are designed to assist health care professionals in medical decision-making, but they often lack effective integration of shared decision-making (SDM) principles to reflect patient values and preferences, particularly in the context of preference-sensitive CPG recommendations. To address this shortcoming and foster SDM through CPGs, the integration of patient decision aids (PDAs) into CPGs has been proposed as an important strategy. However, methods for systematically identifying and prioritizing CPG recommendations relevant to SDM and related decision support tools are currently lacking.

Frequency of exposure incidents in hospital workers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic based on the hospital status and the use of personal protective equipment: a descriptive study with a historical comparison group.

Background: An occupational exposure, i.e. exposure incident (EI), is contact with potentially contaminated material that may contain bloodborne pathogens and that occurs during occupational activities inside or outside a health care facility, either during direct work with a patient or during contact with a patient's body fluids and tissues.

Methodology of clinical trials on sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors registered on ClinicalTrials.gov: a cross-sectional study.

Background/objective: The research on sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors has been increasing rapidly in the last decade, as well as indications for their use. This study aimed to analyze the methodological characteristics of clinical trials on SGLT2 inhibitors registered on ClinicalTrials.gov.

Trials of interventions for ovarian and testicular germ cell tumors registered in ClinicalTrials.gov: A cross-sectional study.

Introduction: There is unmet need in the treatment of ovarian and testicular germ cell tumors (GCTs). This study analyzed registered trials of interventions for GCTs.

Materials And Methods: We included trials of interventions for GCTs registered on ClinicalTrials.