Läkartidningen
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Blood loss in total knee arthroplasty is some-times profuse and often necessitates transfusion which is associated with a risk of disease transmission and immunological burden to the recipient. The fibrinolytic system is activated during surgery, an activation augmented by the tourniquet often used in knee arthroplasty. ⋯ For optimal efficacy, the tranexamic acid should be administered as prophylaxis before release of the tourniquet. We have found no adverse effects of the drug.
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Although the stethoscope is used daily by almost every physician, the full potential of the art of stethoscopy is seldom tapped. It has been replaced by newer and more costly techniques. In the article it is argued that more time in medical education should be allocated to stethoscopy, so that it can be used in selecting patients who will benefit most from examination with modern diagnostic tools. The medical technological background of stethoscopy is also reviewed, as are the reasons why it is difficult to give sound advice on the choice of stethoscope.
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Rock festivals are popular summer attractions in Scandinavia, and each of the largest festivals has its own voluntary medical crew of doctors, nurses and nursing auxiliaries. The medical crew is an important part of the festival safety facilities, providing free acute health care to festival visitors, and thus relieving pressure on local primary health centres and hospitals. In 1998, 797 of the 25,000 visitors to the three-day Hultsfred Festival were treated at the medical tent, 465 of them by a doctor; and 305 of the 17,000 people attending the two-day Fanclub88 event were treated at the medical tent, 132 by a doctor. No figures are available for the 1998 Roskilde Festival in Denmark, but at the 1997 festival, 3,369 of the 95,000 visitors were treated at the medical tent.