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In one case a steel coil similar to the Gianturco coil accidentally lodged in the outflow tract of the right ventricle during the embolization of a pulmonary arteriovenous fistula. Extraction of the coil with an intravascular foreign body retrieval set (Cook Inc., Bloomington Ind.) was unsuccessful because the extraction wire broke. An improvised device was then employed, using a Cordis 8 French multipurpose catheter and a single stainless steel wire designed for surgical osteosynthesis. The steel coil was successfully caught by the device and pulled out via the femoral vein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: High consumption of benzodiazepines (BDZ) occurs in populations exposed to stress. In the last decade of the 20th century, when the population of Serbia experienced increasing economic hardships due to the civil war in former Yugoslavia, UN sanctions and air raids in 1999, diazepam became the most frequently prescribed drug. This period was also characterized by the free marketing of all drugs, which made them available without prescription., Objective: To investigate the consumption and the pattern of use of BDZ in the population of Belgrade and Serbia in the period of 1990-2001., Materials and Methods: Data on benzodiazepines prescribing and on wholesale in general population of Belgrade and Serbia were collected. In a cross-sectional study of drug prescribing in general practice data were obtained from 1800 patient records in the primary health care centers in Serbia. Statistical analysis was performed by using standard non-parametric tests., Results: Annual rates of BDZ prescribing in Belgrade from 1990 to 1999 were rather uniform (approx. 25 DDD/1000 inhabitants/day), with slight tendency to decrease. In Serbia as a whole, there were significant differences in the annual prescribing rates over the period 1998-2000. The wholesale of BDZ in Serbia significantly increased between 1991 and 2001, with the peak of 133 DDD/1000 inhabitants/day in 1999. The wholesale of BDZ was significantly greater that the rates of prescribing in corresponding years. Over the 10 year period, the numbers of visits to GPs and psychiatrists and the number of neurotic diagnoses were significantly reduced. The use of BDZ in psychiatric hospital increased significantly in 1999 as compared to 1998, although the number of admissions and the occupancy of hospital beds were reduced. In primary health care, diazepam was the most frequently prescribed drug predominantly for non-psychiatric diagnoses., Conclusions: It is concluded that in the last decade, the utilization of BDZ was increased in the population of Belgrade and Serbia, indicating a clear trend to self-medication, particularly in the period of acute war crisis., (Copyright 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

The authors analysed 516 injuries of the thorax. treated in a ten year period (1968-1977). These injuries were 2,2% of 23.300 injuries treated by this Clinic during this time period. The etiology shows that 63,9% of these cases were caused through traffic accidents. In 516 of this cases, there were 5% penetrating injuries. A big percent of polytrauma (42,6%), traumatic, haemorrhagic shock (21,5%) and the difficultes in mechanics of breathing or respiration function (61,2%), shows the difficulties and importance of the medical attitude in curing these injuries in peace time, and in war, or during massive injury. The authors have also stressed the necessity of education for professional medical staff, equipment for the staff and its organization during peace time. This also serves the goals for national defence.