Brunilda Elezi

Scopus Publications

Floral phantosmia and bradycardia: A unique case of digoxin toxicity in an elderly patient
Marsida Kasa, Brunilda Elezi, Eglantina Sinamati, Nereida Spahia, Merita Rroji
Turkish Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2025
This case report presents a rare clinical manifestation of digoxin toxicity in a 73-year-old female with acute kidney injury, bradycardia, and unique sensory disturbances, including phantosmia (floral scent hallucinations) and photopsia (seeing sparkles of light). The patient, with a history of hypertension and atrial fibrillation, had been on digoxin for 2 weeks, raising concerns about possible digoxin intoxication. Upon admission, bradycardia, hypokalemia, and elevated serum digoxin levels confirmed toxicity. The patient’s olfactory and visual hallucinations, rare symptoms in such cases, gradually resolved after stopping digoxin. This case emphasizes the importance of recognizing subtle and unusual symptoms, like changes in smell and vision, which can enhance early detection, especially in older patients, leading to quicker interventions and better patient outcomes.
Demographic and epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 epidemic in Albania
Elona Gaxhja, Gjergji Koja, Brunilda Elezi, Elvin Rada, Shkelqim Hidri
Journal of Infection in Developing Countries, 2024
Introduction: This study provides a general overview of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Albania. The aim was to assess the spread of COVID-19 in the country by describing the demographic and epidemiological characteristics. Methodology: We performed a 12-month national observational, epidemiological study. The data were extracted from the national digital system of Infectious Diseases Information and included all reported COVID-19 cases. Demographic data, number of tests, number of confirmed positive cases, and number of deaths were analyzed to build a general overview of the pandemic in Albania. Results: The database comprised 251,139 tested individuals and 250,926 were reported as confirmed cases. The average age of the tested cases was 44.83 years; 19.8% of the studied individuals were 51–60 years old and this group had the highest proportion (51.7%) of females. The estimated prevalence of COVID-19 in Albania was 51.31% (110,397 cases). Tirana, the capital of Albania, had the highest percentage of COVID-19 positive cases (44.9%) with an incidence rate 3,879.02 individuals/100,000 inhabitants. The COVID-19 curve reached its peak in February 2021 with 54,046 cases. The mortality rate was 1.18/1000 inhabitants. Conclusions: This demographic and epidemiological analysis provides a better understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic, and. the findings can contribute towards perception and re-investigation of the spread of COVID-19 in Albania, However, further studies covering longer periods and deeper analysis are needed for developing an epidemiological mathematical model, as a tool to develop and implement specific strategies for monitoring future pandemics.
Anxiety and depression in geriatric hemodialysis patients: factors that influence the border of diseases
Brunilda Elezi, Erjona Abazaj, Bruno Zappacosta, Malvina Hoxha
Frontiers in Psychology, 2023
IntroductionThe two main psychological issues that people with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) experience are depression and anxiety. We conducted this study to determine both the prevalence of depression and anxiety, and the factors associated with them, among hemodialysis patients.MethodsPatients aged 18 years or older, who had received hemodialysis in a hemodialysis center in Elbasan, for at least 3 months were included in this study. Beck Anxiety Inventory and Beck Depression Inventory Instruments were used to assess hemodialysis patients levels of depression and anxiety.ResultsOverall, 107 hemodialysis patients (men 65.4%) with a mean age of 57 ± 8.9 years were enrolled in the study. The prevalence of anxiety and depression resulted to be 85.98, and 84.11%, respectively. We found a significant difference in depression and anxiety scores in patients age groups of 61–70 years old (OR = 1.8; 95% CI [0.7–3.7]; p = 0.041), in non-smoking patients (OR 3.4; 95% CI [1.09–8.2]; p = 0.04), in diabetic patients (OR 3.4; 95% CI [1.09–8.2]; p = 0.04), and in patients with a time in dialysis of 6–10 years and &gt;11 years, respectively, (OR 3.4; 95% [1.5–9.0]; p = 0.01), (OR1.3; 95% CI [0.4–3.6]; p = 0.04).ConclusionOur study shows that the prevalence of mental disorders (depression and anxiety) is high among patients with ESRD on maintenance hemodialysis. We recommend a routine screening and referral to psychological health specialists to evaluate the mental health disorders among hemodialysis patients with the primary aim of improving their quality of life.
Profile of Obesity and Comorbidities and their Correlation among Hemodialysis Patients, Elbasan
Brunilda Elezi, Skender Topi, Erjona Abazaj
Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences, 2022
INTRODUCTION: Nowadays, obesity is an enormous problem in the public health of undeveloped countries and developing countries. Being overweight, especially obesity in internal organs contributes to increased risk of metabolic and cardiovascular complications in patients with chronic kidney disease. There is no complete data available in our country on the correlation between obesity and comorbidity diseases among persons undergoing dialysis. So we do not know how BMI affects Diabetic or Cardio Vascular Disease (CVD) patients among dialysis patients. We, therefore, undertook this study to evaluate the association of obesity with mobility in hemodialysis patients at the Elbasan dialysis center.METHODOLOGY: This cross-sectional study was performed in 160 patients who have undergone the dialysis process at Elbasan Dialysis Center for three years (2016-2018). A standardized questionnaire was adopted to obtain data from all patients. The subjects were divided a priory into 4 categories based on the body mass index (BMI) (underweight <19, normal 19-25, pre-obese 25-30 and obese ≥30 kg/m2). Software SPSS version 20.0 is used to analyze and evaluate the data. Kaplan-Meier estimate were used to find the correlation between BMI with their prognostic abilities like cardiovascular disease and Diabetes Mellitus Type 2. We have considered statistically significant every p value less than 0.05.RESULT: Over all 160 patients, the men presented the highest number of cases compared to female 73.1% and 26.9% respectively. The mean age resulted 52.7 ± 15.6 years and age groups 50-59 years old and 60-69 years old with 29.4% and 34.3% respectively were the most frequent in this study. About the category of BMI index 8.8% patients resulted underweight, 45% were in normal weight, 28.2% were pre-obese and 6.6% were obese. We observed significant correlations between BMI and some of the demographic data such as: gender, age, place of residence, educational level, smoking and alcohol consumption for p <0.05. Changes in patient survival rates between BMI with DMT2 and cardiovascular disease are not statistically significant (long range p> 0.05). In terms of mortality, a strong significant correlation was observed with the age of 50-69 years and with the index of hemoglobin, urea and creatinine after dialysis with p value <0.05.CONCLUSION: In the paradoxical epidemiology, the overweight becomes chronic on hemodialysis patients and serves as a protective factor which is associated with better survival, but we weren`t found significant association between the BMI and some of the variables analyzed. This study presents a small number of chronic patients on hemodialysis center in Elbasan city. There is a need to better understand the reverse epidemiological causes in individuals on dialysis, which can help us improve the poor outcome in this population.
Introduction of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in Albania from an economic viewpoint
Langenbecks Archiv Fur Chirurgie Supplement Kongressband Deutsche Gesellschaft Fur Chirurgie Kongress, 1997

Brunilda Elezi

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Scopus Publications