Upsala journal of medical sciences
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To investigate the influence of different treatment factors in the outcome and rehabilitation after hip fractures, a series of 282 consecutive patients with femoral neck or trochanteric fractures were followed up prospectively for two years postoperatively. The long-term results were analysed by a review of the patients' records after 10 years. The hospital stay and aftercare in the total material were shorter when the operation was not delayed. ⋯ Fracture healing was influenced by treatment factors both in the femoral neck group (poor reduction and postoperative infection) and in the trochanteric group (postoperative infection and unstable internal fixation). Mortality was related to preoperative factors and was not influenced by the treatment. The frequency of the occurrence of another hip fracture up to 10 years postoperatively was 17.4%, with an equal distribution of fracture types.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
A lignocaine-prilocaine cream reduces venipuncture pain.
A new, topical anaesthetic formulation, EMLA 5% cream (Eutectic Mixture of Local Anaesthetics), and placebo have been compared in a randomized double-blind study of 51 children. The objectives were to test if EMLA diminishes pain from venipuncture, to evaluate possible adverse reactions, and to determine if there is any influence upon the ease with which the insertion procedure is carried out. Pain was evaluated using a three-graded verbal rating scale. ⋯ No oedema occurred, but a few cases of local redness and paleness were observed after EMLA treatment. However, these reactions were clinically insignificant. It is concluded that EMLA significantly reduces pain from venipuncture, and side effects are mild and transient.
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Comparative Study
Total body haemoglobin estimated with the alveolar CO method as compared with a 51Cr technique.
Total body haemoglobin was estimated by the alveolar equilibrium CO method and by dilution of 51Cr-tagged erythrocytes in 22 patients with a wide range of haemoglobin concentrations (51-190 g/l). The resulting regression equation: THBCO =47 + 0.81 X THbCr, where THn is expressed in grams, shows that with increasing THb successively lower values were obtained with the THbCO method as compared with the THbCr method. ⋯ The findings are consistent with a recent hypothesis that the effect of 2.3-DPG on CO affinity may not be equivalent to its effect on oxygen affinity. The discrepancy between the two methods of estimating THb may therefore be apparent only and due to a systematic variation in the M-factor.