Ugeskrift for laeger
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Ugeskrift for laeger · Jan 1999
Case Reports[Hydrothorax caused by intravasal triple-lumen subclavian catheter].
A case in which a patient developed right-sided hydrothorax due to extravasal infusion of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) is reported. The catheter was a triluminal catheter and the tip was shown to be correctly placed in the superior vene cava by x-ray after injection of radio-opaque contrast. ⋯ The mechanisms underlying this complication are discussed. The case emphazises the need to control the position of all infusion ports regularly when using central venous catheters with more than one lumen.
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Dyspnea is a symptom experienced by more than half of all cancer patients in their terminal illness, and it is thus a severe problem for patients, relatives, and professionals. Dyspnea in a cancer patient may have a non-malignant origin that may be treated causally. If dyspnea is caused directly by the malignant disease, antineoplastic treatment needs to be considered. ⋯ Opioids given systemically cause respiratory depression. Unfortunately, this has given rise to an overly cautious attitude when facing the terminal patient with dyspnea. However, other treatment modalities are often exhausted and opioids, if indicated in combination with anxiolytics, do have a palliative effect on dyspnea.
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Ugeskrift for laeger · Jan 1999
[An outpatient unit for early pregnancy. Establishment and effects on the pattern of hospital admissions].
The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of an assessment of complications in early pregnancy in an "early pregnancy unit" opened in May 1993. The purpose of the "early pregnancy unit" was to avoid routine admission of women with pain/bleeding in early pregnancy. All general practitioners were informed of the possibility of referring patients to examination and ultrasonography in the "early pregnancy unit" during daytime, instead of acute admission to the ward. ⋯ Women referred between 00:00 hours and 7 a.m. accounted for 23% (1992) and 9% of admissions of total admissions or of deliveries (1996). It is concluded that initiation of the early pregnancy assessment unit resulted in a reduction in the number of admissions. The hospital staff experienced a reduced workload during the night.