Nederlands tijdschrift voor geneeskunde
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Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd · Jun 2001
Review Case Reports[Subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord: easy diagnosis, effective treatment].
Four patients, three women aged 49, 47 and 74 years, and a man aged 64 years, presented with progressive sensory deficit, pyramidal tract symptoms and postural instability. Tests revealed megaloblastic anaemia and low vitamin B12 levels. Two of the female patients had undergone gynaecological surgery with nitrous oxide anaesthesia, and the male patient had undergone a gastric resection. ⋯ As vitamin B12 deficiency is caused by malabsorption in the gastrointestinal tract, oral supplementation is insufficient. It is essential to recognise this treatable disease at an early stage, and not to reject the possible diagnosis if the MRI findings are abnormal. Simple blood tests can lead to the diagnosis and to effective treatment.
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Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd · Jun 2001
[Hospital infections and risk factors in the intensive care units of 16 Dutch hospitals, results of surveillance of quality assurance indicators].
To gain insight into the incidence of nosocomial infections and associated risk factors in Intensive Care Units (ICUs). ⋯ The aggregated data gave insight into the incidence of nosocomial infections and associated risk factors in ICUs. The data are meant as references to support decision- and policy-making in local infection control programs.