Nikola Bradić

Constant curiosity to discover new things that can help patients and improve their treatment is an inexhaustible source of energy for my work.

Nikola Bradić, MD, works at the Clinic of Anesthesiology, Resuscitation and Intensive Medicine at the University Hospital Dubrava in Zagreb, Croatia. He is also working at the University North in Varaždin as the senior lecturer in Undergraduate Study of Nursing. 

Bradić was interested in medicine and healing since childhood. After he finished the School of Nursing, he went on to the School of Medicine. During his studies, he was mostly interested in physiology and pathophysiology. Later, he saw special interest in anesthesiology due to the complex treatment of difficult patients in intensive medicine, which led him to the submitted research.

Every day, the importance of studies on infections within hospitals and the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, especially in intensive care units, is growing. Dealing with bacteria that are resistant to multiple drugs is a big challenge in hospitals. Meropenem, a type of antibiotic, is often the first choice for both general and targeted treatments. Meropenem works best when given continuously to keep the drug levels consistently high. 

Our study found that in severely ill patients with sepsis, continuously giving meropenem did not improve the overall outcome, including mortality and the development of highly resistant bacteria, compared to giving it intermittently. The research and its results significantly improve treatment and maintaining the health of patients, which also affects their quality of life after healing.

Balancing daily work with research is possible and it is easy when you are doing a job which you love. The most important thing for Nikola Bradić is the immense support and understanding from his wife and children, who are always by his side.