Medicina
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Comparative Study
[Radiofrequency modified maze procedure with mitral valve surgery: mid-term follow-up results].
The Cox-maze procedure is an effective established surgical method for elimination of atrial fibrillation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of radiofrequency ablation as a surgical adjunct in treating atrial fibrillation and to adapt maze principles to mitral valve surgery using transseptal approaches. ⋯ The radiofrequency modified maze as an adjunctive procedure is safe and effective in eliminating atrial fibrillation using standard and cooling-tip ablation electrodes in combination with surgery for mitral valve disease.
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Objective of our work was to evaluate: incidence, ethiology, diagnostic and treatment methods of malignant pleural mesothelioma. ⋯ Combined surgical treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma is still the most effective. Most of diagnosed cases were found in delayed stage. Mean survival time after combined treatment is 12.0+/-2 months, after conservative - 6.0+/-2 months, and recurrence of the disease during 3 years - 17.6% and 100% respectively.
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Comparative Study
Evaluation of clinical factors and treatment results in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.
The aim of the study was to assess the benefit of treatment modalities on the survival in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer and clinical factors affecting treatment efficacy and survival. ⋯ Patients diagnosed with locally advanced pancreatic cancer, better performance status at diagnosis and treated with monochemotherapy with gemcitabine or combination of gemcitabine or 5-fluorouracil with radiation survived longer, than patients diagnosed with metastatic disease, patients of worse functional status and treated by palliative methods only.
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The aim of the study was to assess schoolchildren's knowledge on sun exposure, the peculiarities of behavior in the sun, and the possibility of altering these indicators via education program. The study of the efficiency of the self-designed educational program "Let's know the sun better" included 213 fifth grade pupils (113 boys and 100 girls) from Kaunas city schools; the pupils were differentiated into two groups: the experimental (n=106) and the control (n=107) groups. The method employed was anonymous questionnaire-based inquiry. ⋯ The data of this inquiry showed that the knowledge, attitudes, and the peculiarities of behavior in the sun in the experimental group were better compared to the control group. Significantly more schoolchildren in the experimental group (44.1%), compared to the control group (8.5%), used sunscreens properly (p<0.05) and knew which sunscreen is the most suitable (respectively, 42.3% and 20.6%; p<0.05); in addition to that, the children in the experimental group more frequently wore long-sleeved shirts on the beaches (21.0% and 7.5%, respectively; p<0.05), wide-brimmed sunbonnets (37.1% and 10.4%; p<0.05), and sunglasses (61.9% and 44.3%; p<0.05). The findings of the study proved both the necessity and the efficiency of the prepared educational program.
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Comparative Study
[Self-rated health and probability of death among middle-aged Kaunas population (20-year follow-up)].
The aim of this study was to examine the self-rated health differences in relation with risk factors among middle-aged men and women and to assess the probability of death from all causes, from cardiovascular diseases and from ischemic heart disease in the self-rated health groups during the 20-year follow-up. In the framework of the World Health Organization MONICA-1 survey (1983-1984) random samples of Kaunas men and women aged 35-64 and stratified by age and gender (response rate 70.2%) were examined using standard epidemiological methods. Self-rated health was divided into five levels based on information from questionnaire: excellent, very good, good, fair, or ill. ⋯ Among dead women with hypercholesterolemia (> or =5.0 mmol/l), overweight (body mass index > or =25.0 kg/m2), nonsmoking and sufficient physical activity the prevalence of "fair and ill" self-rated health was higher as compared to alive; the prevalence of "fair and ill" self-rated health in men with hypercholesterolemia (> or =5.0 mmol/l) and sufficient physical activity was higher among dead as compared to alive. During the 20 year follow-up the probability of death from all causes, cardiovascular and ischemic heart disease among men with self-rated health as "ill and fair" as compared to "excellent and very good", showed statistically significant difference (log rank=18.5, p<0.001, log rank=10.8 p<0.01, log rank=8.9, p<0.01, respectively); among women there were no significant differences. The results of this study suggest that special attention and care should be directed to persons with reporting self-rated health as "fair and ill".