Scandinavian journal of primary health care
-
Scand J Prim Health Care · Jun 1993
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical TrialManual therapy with steroid injections in low-back pain. Improvement of quality of life in a controlled trial with four months' follow-up.
To compare prospectively the effect of manual treatment such as manipulation, specific mobilization, muscle stretching, auto-traction, and cortisone injections with standardized conventional but optimized activating treatment by primary health care teams. ⋯ Manual treatment with steroid injections was superior to conventional treatment in minimizing mental and somatic symptoms and increasing quality of life, in parallel with other measures of improvement.
-
Scand J Prim Health Care · Mar 1993
Comparative StudyFrequent attenders in general practice: a study from Slovenia.
To compare frequent with infrequent attenders at GPs' surgeries in a rural area in Slovenia with respect to morbidity, type of contact with the GP, referral pattern and the prescriptions given, a random sample of 623 records from a population-based register was analysed retrospectively. The frequent attenders had a higher proportion of contacts for malignant disease, mental disorder, and gastrointestinal disease. ⋯ We conclude that there are differences in morbidity between the two groups. The high referring pattern and the high proportion of "superficial contacts" of the frequent attenders may reflect poor doctor/patient relationship of this group.
-
Scand J Prim Health Care · Dec 1992
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialTreatment of pelvic joint dysfunction in primary care--a controlled study.
The study evaluated the manual treatment of dysfunction of the pelvic joints. This is one of many condition causing low back pain. In 1987-1988 a general practitioner with special knowledge of physical examination and manual treatment of lumbar and pelvic dysfunctions made a survey of patients with acute or subacute low back pain as the main cause of the patient-to-doctor contact. ⋯ After a period of three weeks, evaluation was made by an independent observer. Subjective pain measurement and a mobility test showed no significant difference. Sick-leave and consumption of analgesics (both decided by patient) were significantly less in the treatment group.
-
Scand J Prim Health Care · Sep 1992
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical TrialA controlled, multicentre trial of manual therapy in low-back pain. Initial status, sick-leave and pain score during follow-up.
101 outpatients with acute or subacute low-back pain were randomly allocated to one of two treatment groups. One group was given standardized conventional but optimal activating treatment by primary health care teams. The other group received manual treatment such as manipulation, specific mobilization, muscle stretching, auto-traction, and cortisone injections. ⋯ The difference diminished over time but was still significant after eight months. Two slightly different pain scores ("pain at the moment" and "pain during the last weeks"), initially similar in the two groups, diminished in both groups but were significantly lower in the manual treatment group during the study. The group receiving specific manual treatment thus had a significantly better outcome than the group receiving conventional treatment as far as sick-leave and pain score are concerned.
-
Scand J Prim Health Care · Dec 1991
Comparative StudyCost analysis and ethical aspects of hospital-based home-care for terminal cancer patients.
A study was undertaken to measure the costs of caring for 20 terminally ill/dying cancer patients at home, within a hospital-based home-care system. A new method was used, by which all staff expenses were registered and the work costs per minute were calculated for each personnel category (e.g. nurses, physicians). The total number of care days amounted to 857. ⋯ All the patients had relatives at home and were intensely dependent on their families. The important part played by the relatives contributed to the relatively low costs. The ethical aspects of caring for dying cancer patients at home are discussed.