Ugeskrift for laeger
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Ugeskrift for laeger · Apr 1992
[Incapacitating angina pectoris treated with electric stimulation of the spinal cord].
Thirty patients who had severe incapacitating angina pectoris which had not reacted to the conventional therapeutic measures and which required massive daily opioid consumption were treated with electrical spinal cord stimulation (SCS) by means of a completely implantable stimulation system. The therapeutic effect was good in 87% of the patients who experienced considerably reduced frequency of attacks and markedly reduced opioid consumption (p less than 0.00005). Nine of the patients could reduce opioid consumption and 14 out of 27 could cease their otherwise daily opioid consumption. ⋯ In the first 22 patients in whom a unipolar electrode was introduced, displacement of the electrode and subsequent reoperation was a frequent problem. This problem disappeared after change to multipolar electrodes as slight changes in placing of the electrode could easily be compensated for via the external programming equipment. This investigation reveals that SCS is a good therapeutic alternative for this selected patient category.
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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is frequently regarded as a painless condition. A review of the literature reveals that approximately 2/3 of the patients with multiple sclerosis will experience painful syndromes during the course of disease and that these are associated with the disease. Acute syndromes are described: Trigeminal neuralgia, Lhermitte's sign, optic neuritis and tonic seizure. ⋯ The frequency, causes and suggestions for treatment are mentioned. A Danish investigation has revealed that only 42% of a representative section of DS patients received adequate treatment for pain. It is thus concluded that optimal treatment of pain in MS patients is necessary.
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Technological advances during recent years and developments in anaesthesiology and intensive care have increased the interest in capnometry (measuring the CO2 content in the respiratory air). The physiological background and the principles of the method are presented. The applicability in clinical work and the limits of the method are presented and discussed.
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Ugeskrift for laeger · Apr 1992
Case Reports[Late hemorrhagic disease in newborn infants. Is the current preventive treatment with oral vitamin K adequate?].
During recent years, we have observed two cases of haemorrhage due to vitamin K deficiency which developed late in the neonatal period. One patient was a female infant aged six weeks with severe intracranial bleeding and the other was a female infant aged three weeks with marked haemorrhage from the umbilicus. ⋯ In other European countries, many cases of late haemorrhagic disease of the newborn due to vitamin K deficiency have been registered in infants who had received oral vitamin K prophylaxis. On the basis of these observations and investigations which suggest that oral vitamin K prophylaxis is not so effective as intramuscular administration, it is suggested that the present oral vitamin K prophylaxis should be altered.