Ugeskrift for laeger
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Ugeskrift for laeger · Apr 2000
[Use of sedation, analgesia and neuromuscular blockade by intensive care units in Denmark 1996-1997].
To assess the use of sedatives, analgesics and neuromuscular blocking agents in patients requiring mechanical ventilation in Danish ICUs, questionnaires were mailed to all Departments of Anaesthesiology in Denmark. Forty-nine out of 53 hospitals responded (92.5%). All ICUs surveyed used both sedatives and analgesics for patients undergoing mechanical ventilation. ⋯ Neuromuscular blocking agents were used at 65% of the ICUs surveyed, but only rarely. Ninety-eight percent of the ICUs reported side effects, but for less than 20% of the patients, secondary to the sedative treatment. Most frequent side effects were delayed emergence and gastrointestinal disorders.
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Ugeskrift for laeger · Apr 2000
Review[Prehospital cardiac arrest in Denmark. Are emergency services efficient?].
The chain-of-survival concept is an established principle in the treatment of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Survival is improved when out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is followed by a sequence of events: early access to help, early cardiopulmonary resuscitation, early defibrillation and early advanced care. ⋯ The current way of evaluating the efficiency of the system is based mainly upon the driving time for the ambulance, but the time that counts for the patient is the time between the emergency call and the start of adequate treatment. Options for defibrillation and--in some cities--advanced life support are good, but hard to exploit as ambulances frequently arrive too late for treatment to be effective.
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Ugeskrift for laeger · Apr 2000
Comparative Study[Big differences in the frequency of polypharmacy between physicians].
Polypharmacy, the simultaneous use of multiple drugs, is associated with adverse drug reactions, medication errors, and increased risk of hospitalisation. When the number of drugs is five or more (major polypharmacy), a significant risk may be present. We analysed the prevalence of major polypharmacy among listed patients, and identified possible predictors of major polypharmacy related to the practice. ⋯ Possible predictors of major polypharmacy related to the GPs were analysed by backward stepwise linear multiple regression. A six-fold variation between practices in the prevalence of major polypharmacy was found, i.e. from 16 to 96 per 1000 listed patients (median: 42). Predictors related to the practice structure, workload, clinical work profile, and prescribing profile could explain 56% of the variation.