EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF INJURIES IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT OF THE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL OF GEORGIA.

Injuries represent a significant burden on societies, resulting in deaths and health care costs incurred during Emergency Department visits and hospitalizations. This research aimed to estimate the burden of traumatic injury of patients treated and evaluated in the Emergency Department of the University Hospital in Georgia. A retrospective study was conducted at the University Hospital of Georgia for all trauma patients from January 1, 2018 to June 30, 2018. Visits were identified from existing electronic medical records, using the iCREATE Registry as a model. Data collected included patient demographics, injury characteristics, and injury costs. To estimate the direct costs of trauma treatment, data were obtained from the cost accounting database. A total of 2445 injured patients aged 0 to 91 years were medically examined during the study period and about 65% of them were male. Most of the injured patients were school-age children (31%). The leading mechanism of injury in the Emergency Departments were falls (45%). Most of the patients (78%) suffered from moderate injuries and needed only outpatient treatment. The total direct costs for all patients were $248 628. Fall-related injury costs accounted for most direct medical costs (51%), followed by road traffic crashes related costs (23%). Road traffic injured patients had the highest total mean costs ($269). Injuries result in a substantial number of Emergency Department visits and significant medical costs in Georgia. Understanding the characteristics of these injuries is essential for targeting injury prevention.

[THE ROLE OF HELICOBACTER PYLORI IN ROSACEA AND PATHOGENETIC TREATMENT].

Rosacea is a chronic, recurrent skin disease. It may be aggravated by various factors. An increased incidence of rosacea has been reported in those who carry the stomach bacterium Helicobacter pylori. The purpose of this study was determination of the relationship of this infection with rosacea and to investigate effectiveness of eradication therapy of H. pylori. As our results showed, 80.9% of study patients were infected with H. pillory. There was correlation between infection rates and rosacea severity. In most cases the positive test results for H. Pylori was found in patients with moderate to severe form of disease. The results of the treatment of different forms of rosacea confirmed the effectiveness of the eradication therapy of H. Pylori, regarding as one of the pathogenic cause of rosacea and the way in the choice of treatment. More wide studies of pathophysiological aspects of causes of rosacea will be promising and help in treating rosacea. These data indicate the important role of H.Pylori in the development of rosacea and recommend taking into account in the therapy of this dermatosis.

ROTAVIRUS VACCINE IMPLEMENTATION IN GEORGIA - IMPACT OF KNOWLEDGE, APPROACH, AND PRACTICES OF HEALTH CARE WORKERS.

Rotavirus (RV) is the most common cause of severe gastroenteritis in infants and young children worldwide. RV causes approximately half a million deaths each year among children aged <5 years. According to WHO estimates for 2008, there were approximately 10 to 50 deaths annually in young children due to rotavirus diarrhea in Georgia. The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to rotavirus diarrhea and the rotavirus vaccine among health care workers (HCWs). The National Center for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC) conducted a cross-sectional survey of HCWs involved in the expanded program of immunization (EPI). The HCWs were selected by simple random sampling using employee lists, and questionnaires were hand-delivered to selected HCWs during working hours. The majority of HCWs (67.9%) recognized diarrhea as a frequent health-related problem in children under 2 years of age. However, 53.9% partially disagreed with the statement that rotavirus is the most common cause of all forms of diarrhea. Multivariable analysis revealed that the following perceptions among HCWs more than doubled the likelihood that they would not support adoption of the RV vaccine: no perception of need for this vaccine in Georgia specifically (OR=2.54, CI: 1.46-4.42), no perception of need to address burden of disease in developing countries (OR=2.75, CI: 1.59-4.75), and concerns about the vaccine's safety (OR=2.51, CI: 1.56-4.02). Concerns about vaccine safety, low awareness about the RV disease burden and the effectiveness of the RV vaccine, combined with a lack of communication skills represented the main predictors of RV vaccine uptake among HCWs. Intensive vaccine promotion interventions that focus on the epidemiology of disease and vaccine effectiveness are urgently needed.