Läkartidningen
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This review discusses the treatment of impaired gas exchange in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) using conventional ventilation, the open lung approach, prone position, nitric oxide (NO) inhalation and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). It is concluded that ventilation with high inspiratory pressures or volumes should be avoided, and that the open lung approach should be used as the first step. If this does not lead to satisfactory results, prone positioning is recommended, and if life-threatening hypoxemia persists, ECMO could be considered. NO inhalation is not recommended.
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In a Swedish nationwide case-control study, gastroesophageal reflux and obesity were identified as strong and independent risk factors for esophageal adenocarcinoma. A moderately strong association was found with adenocarcinoma of the gastric cardia. No significant association was found with squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus. ⋯ Our calculations revealed that even in the group with the highest risk, endoscopic surveillance is not readily recommended. Possible reasons for the increasing incidence of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus include 1) a suspected increase in the prevalence of reflux disease; 2) the increasing prevalence of obesity reported in western populations; and 3) the widespread use of medications that relax the lower esophageal sphincter and might cause reflux. All of these hypotheses suffer from inconsistencies that need to be solved before any firm conclusions can be drawn concerning the reasons for the increasing incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma.
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Biography Historical Article
[Sigmund Freud discovered the therapeutic effects of cocaine, but all the credit went to Carl Koller].