Swiss medical weekly
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In many epidemiological pain studies, women more frequently report more intense, frequent and long-lasting or chronic transient pain than men. In our retrospective study including hospitalised patients referred to a pain centre, prevalence of headaches, musculoskeletal pain and somatoform pain was observed in women, as described in the literature. ⋯ Drug treatments were adapted to pain aetiologies, which accounted for the observed differences. In hospitalised patients the significant differences observed in intensity, pain control and treatment reflect the heterogeneity of pain aetiologies rather than gender differences.
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Swiss medical weekly · Nov 1998
Case Reports[A patient with rapidly progressing renal failure, florid syphilis and positive HIV serology].
We describe the frist reported case in Switzerland of HIV-associated nephropathy (HIVAN). HIVAN shows a typical combination of clinical findings: black race, proteinuria, large hyper-echogenic kidneys, normal blood pressure, positive HIV serology and no autoantibodies. ⋯ Therapy consists of a combination of nucleoside reverse transcriptase and proteinase inhibitors, ACE inhibitors, and possibly steroids. In end-stage renal disease patients can be managed by haemodialysis, continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) or kidney transplantation.
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Swiss medical weekly · Oct 1998
Comparative Study[Comparison of Quick/INR values of whole capillary blood (CoaguChek Plus) and venous citrate plasma in patients with and without oral anticoagulation].
The prothrombin time, also called thromboplastin time ("Quick"), is usually measured by using citrated plasma from venous blood. Recently, portable coagulation monitors have been developed which measure prothrombin time using non-anticoagulated capillary whole blood from a finger-stick. In the present study we evaluated the CoaguChek Plus coagulation monitor in comparison with a standard laboratory method in various patient groups: patients on oral anticoagulation with or without heparinisation, patients receiving heparin without oral anticoagulation, patients with a deficiency of one of the coagulation factors of the extrinsic or common pathway, and patients with liver disease. Furthermore, we studied the influence of the haemoglobin concentration on the test results. ⋯ Our results show the CoaguChek Plus coagulation monitor to be a valuable tool for measuring prothrombin time in patients on oral anticoagulation, in patients with liver disease to estimate the capacity of protein synthesis, and to screen for possible deficiencies of one of the coagulation factors of the extrinsic or common pathway. However, based on our preliminary data we cannot recommend the use of the CoaguChek Plus coagulation monitor in heparinised patients.
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Swiss medical weekly · Oct 1998
[Conventional heart surgery with the fast-track-method: experiences from a pilot study].
Early release after cardiac surgery can be promoted by implementation of a standard protocol for accelerated perioperative and early postoperative care, with optimal education and support of the patient playing a key role. We report on our preliminary experience with 100 selected patients who underwent a "fast track" protocol following coronary artery bypass (n = 61), valve replacement or reconstruction (n = 34) or closure of an atrial septal defect (n = 5) between 1996 and 1998. Surgery was performed through a midline sternotomy using normothermic or mild hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass. ⋯ According to our experience and the most recent literature, this approach does not expose patients to higher mortality or morbidity. In addition, fast-tracked patients have shown a higher level of satisfaction. Under optimal cooperation between surgery, anaesthesiology and intensive care unit, the fast-track protocol can be applied in approximately 30% of overall adult cardiac surgery patients.
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Regulation of megakaryocytopoiesis and platelet production is a complex phenomenon. It has been demonstrated that numerous pleiotropic cytokines act in vivo and in vitro on megakaryocytopoiesis. Historically, studies on the regulation of megakaryocytopoiesis were largely dominated by the concept of humoral regulation. ⋯ As a single cytokine Mpl-L is the most potent growth factor for the MK lineage in vitro. However, a combination of cytokines can totally replace the effects of Mpl-L both on proliferation of MK progenitors and their maturation. In addition, Mpl-L has a major effect on primitive hematopoietic progenitors.