Ugeskrift for laeger
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A 71-year old man who had had severe rheumatoid arthritis for many years involving all the joints suddenly developed stridor caused by immobilisation of both the vocal cords. Arthritis of the cricoarytenoid joints of the larynx was suspected, and the patient was successfully treated with prednisolone.
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Ugeskrift for laeger · Mar 1999
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial[The effect of pedicle screw instrumentation on posterolateral spinal fusion. A prospective, randomized study with a two-year follow-up].
The aim was to evaluate the effect of supplementary pedicle screw fixation (Cotrel-Dubousset [CD]) in posterolateral lumbar spinal fusion. The study comprises 130 patients undergoing lumbar or lumbosacral fusion for spondyloisthesis grades I-II or degenerative segmental instability conditions. The patients were randomly allocated for no instrumentation (n = 66) or CD instrumentation (n = 64) in posterolateral lumbar fusion. ⋯ Instrumentation increased both operation time, blood loss, and early re-operation rates significantly. A high patient satisfaction was found in both groups. However, the results from this study do not justify the general use of pedicle screw fixation alone as an adjunct to posterolateral lumbar fusion.
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Ugeskrift for laeger · Mar 1999
Case Reports[Diagnosis and treatment of postoperative nerve damage. Chronic neuropathic pain].
Neuropathic pain is caused by lesions in the peripheral and/or central nervous system. Patients with pain due to nerve damage after operations are often misinterpreted and met with suspicion of malingering. Neuropathic pain typically presents with a characteristic set of sensory disorders independent of the cause. ⋯ Instead, antidepressants and anticonvulsants may be tried. The pain condition is unknown to most physicians. This may result in mistreated patients having undergone several unnecessary and ineffective investigations and treatments.
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Ugeskrift for laeger · Mar 1999
[The first Danish experiences with neonatal extracorporeal membrane oxygenation].
In 1995, neonatal extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) was established at the Department of Neonatology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen. The indication for ECMO is circulatory or respiratory failure with arterial oxygen tension below 8 kPa despite maximal conventional treatment. During the first two and a half years 17 newborn infants and one child of 21 months have been treated with ECMO at the Rigshospital. ⋯ Seven of these eight infants died. The need for ECMO treatment in newborn infants is documented but small. We have succeeded in establishing this complicated treatment due to teamwork between different specialities with a good result.