Læknablađiđ
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Head injury is a common consequence of accidents and violence. It can result in permanent disability and is one of the leading causes of premature death worldwide. Our aim was to review all visits to Landspitali University Hospital (LUH) from head injuries, to study the incidence, nature and severity of head injuries. ⋯ Accidents and violence caused most head injuries and they are more common among men than women. Patients with intracranial haemorrhage were usually admitted. Incidence of hospital visits and admissions because of head injuries in Reykjavik has decreased over the last decade. Key words: Head injury, accident, violence, brain injury, intracranial bleeding.
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Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the Western hemisphere and the incidence increases with increasing age. Most colorectal cancers are localized with or without lymph node metastases. Up to 20% of patients present with metastatic disease, most commonly to the liver. ⋯ Surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy are the key components of rectal cancer therapy. Selected patients with recurrent and metastatic disease can be salvaged with surgery but chemotherapy remains the mainstay of therapy for advanced colorectal cancer. Substantial progress has been observed in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer in recent years.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
[Old people in the Emergency Department; Icelandic results from the InterRAI multinational ED study].
Old people attend emergency departments (ED´s) in increasing numbers. Old people have age related changes in all organ systems and tend to have multiple chronic diseases, be on multiple medications and often have physical and cognitive functional impairments. Hence, they have complex health and social service needs. The purpose of this study was to describe function and geriatric syndromes of old people who present at Landspitali Emergency Department, Iceland, with comparison to ED´s in six other countries. ⋯ Geriatric syndromes and functional impairment afflicted majority of old people who attended the Landspitali ED. These observations should be taken into account in ED design and care planning for old people to maximize efficiency, safety and quality.
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Due to potential risk of blood transfusions, clinical guidelines emphasize restrictive use of blood components. However, numerous studies indicate that adherence to guidelines is often less than optimal. Furthermore, information regarding use of blood transfusion in intensive care units (ICUs) and compliance to clinical guidelines is lacking. We studied the use of blood components in two adult ICUs in Iceland and the compliance to clinical guidelines. ⋯ One third of patients received blood components during their ICU stay, most commonly RBCs. At least 6% of RBCs, 14% of FFPs and 33% of platelets were not transfused according to recent guidelines at Landspítali. Although our results are in line with findings of other studies it appears that the use of blood components in Icelandic ICUs can be improved. Key words: Blood transfusion, intensive care unit, red blood cells, fresh frozen plasma, platelets, transfusion clinical guidelines.