Danish medical journal
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Danish medical journal · Jul 2015
Observational StudyNo differences in post-operative rehabilitation across municipalities in patients with lumbar disc herniation.
Following the municipal reform in Denmark in January 2007, the municipalities gained responsibility for post-operative rehabilitation. In the Region of Southern Denmark, this task was decentralised to 22 municipalities, which implied a possible risk for considerable variation. This study examined rehabilitation in the 22 municipalities of the Region of Southern Denmark for patients with lumbar disk herniation. ⋯ not relevant.
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Danish medical journal · Jul 2015
Multicenter StudyThe incidence and prognosis of patients with bacteremia.
Bacteremia is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, and ranks among the top seven causes of death in Europe and North America. The occurrence of bacteremia has increased for decades while short-term prognosis has remained unchanged or improved only slightly. Consequently, we are facing an increased number of bacteremia survivors for whom we know little about long-term survival and causes of death. ⋯ However, bacteremia is associated with a very poor short- and long-term prognosis and the risk of death remains increased for years compared with the general population. The most common causes of death after bacteremia are cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Among hospitalized patients, the incidence of bacteremia is highest within days of admission and varies with patient and clinical characteristics.
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Danish medical journal · Jul 2015
Recurrent invasive pneumococcal disease in children--host factors and vaccination response.
Streptococcus pneumoniae is still a leading cause of septicaemia, pneumonia and meningitis in young children world-wide with over half a million children dying annually from pneumococcal disease. Some children are prone to repeated episodes of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) because of an underlying predisposing disease. Recurrent IPD (rIPD) is a rarity and published reports on rIPD are limited by having few children included, selected groups of patients or short follow-up periods. Deficiencies in the innate or adaptive immune system have been described in children with rIPD, but the frequency of immunodeficiency among such patients is unknown. ⋯ Moreover, our results underline that rIPD in a child without a known predisposing disease is a major pointer towards primary immune deficiency, such as complement deficiency and B cell dysfunction. This is in line with the guidelines put forward by various specialist committees. Finally, we reported data from the first three years of PCV7 vaccination in the Danish immunization programme, suggesting that the vaccine is effective against all serotypes included in the vaccine when administered in a 2+1 schedule.
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Danish medical journal · Jul 2015
Drugs with potential chemopreventive properties in relation to epithelial ovarian cancer--a nationwide case-control study.
Ovarian cancer has a poor prognosis because the disease in the majority of patients is diagnosed at an advanced stage as a result of nonspecific symptoms and lack of efficient screening methods. Because of the poor prognosis of ovarian cancer and the challenge of early detection of the disease, identification of protective factors is important. It has been suggested that some commonly used drugs may have a protective effect against cancer, including ovarian cancer; however, the literature on chemopreventive measures for ovarian cancer is sparse and the results are inconclusive. ⋯ Additional research, ideally from clinical trials, is needed before our observations may lead to recommendations for chemopreventive measures against ovarian cancer. In case consensus points to a true protective effect of paracetamol or low-dose aspirin, comprehensive risk-benefit evaluations will also have to be performed. We hope that our results will encourage researchers to look more deeply into the potential chemo-preventive effects of the study drugs against epithelial ovarian cancer risk.
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Danish medical journal · May 2015
Experience from multidisciplinary follow-up on critically ill patients treated in an intensive care unit.
International literature describes that former intensive care unit (ICU) patients suffer considerable physical and neuropsychological complications. Systematic data on Danish ICU survivors are scarce as standardised follow-up after intensive care has yet to be described. This article describes and evaluates the knowledge gained from outpatient follow-up at a tertiary intensive care unit at Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, during a three-year period. ⋯ not relevant.