[The well-known gap bet­ween stroke mortality of Eastern and Western Euro­pean countries may reflect the effect of socioeconomic diffe­rences. Such a gap may be present between neighborhoods of different wealth within one city. We set forth to compare age distribution, incidence, case fatality, mortality, and risk factor profile of stroke patients of the poorest (District 8) and wealthiest (District 12) districts of Budapest. We synthesize the results of our former comparative epidemiological investigations focusing on the association of socioeconomic background and features of stroke in two districts of the capital city of Hungary. The “Budapest District 8–12 project” pointed out the younger age of stroke patients of the poorer district, and established that the prevalence of smoking, alcohol-consumption, and untreated hypertension is also higher in District 8. The “Six Years in Two Districts” project involving 4779 patients with a 10-year follow-up revealed higher incidence, case fatality and mortality of stroke in the less wealthy district. The younger patients of the poorer region show higher risk-factor prevalence, die younger and their fatality grows faster during long-term follow-up. The higher prevalence of risk factors and the higher fatality of the younger age groups in the socioeconomically deprived district reflect the higher vulnerability of the population in District 8. The missing link between poverty and stroke outcome seems to be lifestyle risk-factors and lack of adherence to primary preventive efforts. Public health campaigns on stroke prevention should focus on the young generation of socioeconomi­cally deprived neighborhoods. ]

[Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are among the most frequently used pharmaceuticals. Nevertheless, a number of studies emphasized that NSAIDs were damaging not only the gastrointestinal (GI), but also the cardiovascular (CV) system, could increase the blood pressure, the frequency of coronary events (angina, myocardial infarction) and stroke incidence, as well as they might deterio­rate renal functions. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) did not find evidence that administering NSAIDs could increase the risk of developing COVID-19 or worsened the condition of COVID-19 patients. However, unwanted effects of specific drugs differ substantially in their occurrence and seriousness as well. It seemed to be for a long time that the NSAIDs provoked higher GI-risk was closely related to the COX1/COX2 selectivity, like the cardiovascular (CV) risk to the COX2/COX1 selectivity, however, the recent data did not prove it clearly. Based on the available literature while pondering the gastrointestinal and cardiovascular adverse events, among all NSAIDs the aceclofenac profile seemed to be the most favourable.]

[In the healthcare system operating theatres have to put great emphasis on quality work, patient safety and efficiency as well, and to achieve this, optimal utilization of theatres is extremely important. The results of researches in this topic in Hungarian and international literature draw attention to a lot of aspects. The study of perioperative periods, and the evaluation of the analysed processes show that theatres could be operated more effectively. As a result of this, more operations could be carried out and waiting time would also reduce. In order to increase the efficiency of the processes, APNs can play a prominent role at several points. According to the experience, the number of people using health care and the number of people waiting for surgery is increasing, which is further increased by the development of the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) epidemic. Thereby, patients are not satisfied with the service. The work of APNs would also help increasing the contentment of patients during the operation procedures. Taking advantage of the multifunctional role of the nurse due to her knowledge and training, she actively participates in the operation, in the smooth running of the scheduled daily surgical program and contributes to the reduction of the number of missed, planned surgeries.]

[The aim was to assess the levels of burnout and depressive symptoms among nursing staff members. We designed an online questionnaire for the present cross-sectional study, which was filled out by 10 285 participants between 01-27-2022 and 02-14-2022. The mean score of burnout showed a decrease compared to the score measured in 2021; however, the percent of nursing staff members suffering from burnout is still high (64.4%), from which 42% indicates severe burnout which would requires treatment. Concerning depressive symptoms, 57.8% of participants did not indicate the presence of depression, the rest presented different levels of depressive symptoms (6.8% showed severe depressive symptoms). Currently patients’ chance of recovery is under the expected level of what our healthcare system could provide, which is partially due to the affected mental state of healthcare nursing staff.]

Rapid changes of stroke management in recent years facilitate the need for accurate and easy-to-use screening methods for early detection of large vessel occlusion (LVO) in acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Our aim was to evaluate the ability of various stroke scales to discriminate an LVO in AIS. We have performed a cross-sectional, observational study based on a registry of consecutive patients with first ever AIS admitted up to 4.5 hours after symptom onset to a comprehensive stroke centre. The diagnostic capability of 14 stroke scales were investigated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Area under the curve (AUC) values of NIHSS, modified NIHSS, shortened NIHSS-EMS, sNIHSS-8, sNIHSS-5 and Rapid Arterial Occlusion Evaluation (RACE) scales were among the highest (>0.800 respectively). A total of 6 scales had cut-off values providing at least 80% specificity and 50% sensitivity, and 5 scales had cut-off values with at least 70% specificity and 75% sensitivity. Certain stroke scales may be suitable for discriminating an LVO in AIS. The NIHSS and modified NIHSS are primarily suitable for use in hospital settings. However, sNIHSS-EMS, sNIHSS-8, sNIHSS-5, RACE and 3-Item Stroke Scale (3I-SS) are easier to perform and interpret, hence their use may be more advantageous in the prehospital setting. Prospective (prehospital) validation of these scales could be the scope of future studies.