Medicina
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Sepsis and its complications are the most common cause of the death in the intensive care unit. In spite of the treatment mortality remains up to 28-50%, and 60-90% of the patients are lost because of the complications of sepsis. So it is very important to diagnose this pathology and start the treatment early. ⋯ In the case of infection the level of procalcitonin rapidly increases during 2-6 hours and reaches the maximum level after 6-12 hours. The measurement of procalcitonin levels can be used for instant diagnosis as well as for evaluation of the treatment effectiveness. In our article we review the new literature data on the importance of procalcitonin level for sepsis diagnosis in comparison with other parameters of systemic inflammatory reaction, and discuss the indications for procalcitonin analysis.
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To evaluate trends in the use of antidepressant drugs in Lithuania between 2002 and 2004 and to perform cost-minimization and reference price analysis enabling more rational use of financial resources of national health system. ⋯ The findings suggest that the use of total antidepressant drugs continues to increase because of the increased use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and other (newer) antidepressant drugs. In comparison with the data in other countries, the consumption of antidepressant drugs in Lithuania is low.
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Review Comparative Study
[Febrile infant and small child: what solution could be rational?].
Fever of infant and small child is one of the greatest parental concerns. Mostly the source of fever is viral infection, but sometimes it can be serious bacterial infection: meningitis, sepsis, osteomyelitis, urinary tract infection, pneumonia and enteritis. Non-identified bacterial infection may be a cause of disablement or even death. ⋯ Criteria introduced in these recommendations demonstrate a safe and effective way of screening febrile infants for a serious bacterial infection. Each management strategy involves criteria such as child's age, temperature, clinical appearance, white blood cell count, urinalysis, cerebrospinal fluid test, stool screening, chest radiography. The purpose of this article is to review the data and to validate optimal recommendation regarding the management of febrile infant and child 3 to 36 months of age.
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Comparative Study
[Investigation of human papillomavirus, its types and variants].
Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers in Lithuania. It is the fourth cancer in women according to the morbidity. The incidence rate of cervical cancer has been increasing in Lithuania since 1992. ⋯ It is important to notice that prevalence of HPV in women with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions was higher than in the control group. HPV 16 (55.8% in squamous cell carcinoma patients and 35.3% in cervical adenocarcinoma patients) and its European HPV 16 L83V variant were detected more frequently in cervical cancer patients. Studies on HPV, prevalence of its types and variants are very important for HPV based preventive strategies, especially for the vaccination.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
[Postoperative analgesia with intraarticular local anesthetic bupivacaine and alpha2-agonist clonidine after arthroscopic knee surgery].
To evaluate the efficacy of intraarticular 0.5% 20 ml bupivacaine and compound of bupivacaine with alpha2-agonist clonidine for postoperative analgesia after arthroscopic knee surgery. A total of 48 patients, scheduled for knee arthroscopy, were enrolled in the study. Patients were randomly assigned to three different groups: placebo (group C), and two experimental groups that received one of the following double-blinded intraarticular solutions: 0.5% 20 ml of bupivacaine (group B) and 0.5% 20 ml of bupivacaine with l microg/kg of clonidine (group B+C). Patients were asked to evaluate on a visual analogy scale (VAS) the intensity of pain at rest and during motion, satisfaction with postoperative analgesia. Side effects and requirements for supplemental analgetics were recorded at the same time. ⋯ The compound of intraarticular bupivacaine and clonidine suppresses pain better than intraarticular injection of bupivacaine or use of usual systemic analgetics (p<0.05). Intraarticular analgesia assures satisfaction with anesthesiologic procedure.