[Spinal infection with spinal cord/cauda equina affection requires emergency handling].

Seventeen cases of infections in spinal structures were reported 2010-2017 to the Swedish Health and Social Care Inspectorate (IVO), a government agency responsible for supervising health care, for missed or delayed diagnosis. All patient records were scrutinized in order to find underlying causes and common factors. The delayed diagnoses were equally found among men and women and most frequent in in the age-group 65 to 79 years of age.

[Lumbar spine radiography – unreliable diagnostic accuracy and negligible value for the patients].

Lumbar spine radiography - unreliable diagnostic accuracy and negligible value for the patients In 2016 140 000 lumbar spine radiographies were performed in Sweden (14 000 per million inhabitants) to a cost of about 85 million SEK (≈8.5 million Euro) and a negligible value for the patients with low back pain. In the work-up of low back pain, when imaging is indicated, lumbar spine radiography should be replaced by limited magnetic resonance imaging including a whole lower body coronal STIR sequence or computed tomography with radiation dose adapted to indication and patient age.

[Missed diagnosis of Achilles tendon ruptures most common in elderly patients].

We audited forty-six patients with a rupture of the Achilles tendon notified to the Swedish regulatory authority (the Health and Social Care Inspectorate) due to suspicion of malpractice. The patients' history and clinical presentation differed from those with a more classical acute rupture. The diagnostic errors were often found in patients older than 60 years, they were just as common in women as in men and the symptoms often had a subacute start.

[Failing primary clinical investigation is common in missed hip fractures].

Failing primary clinical investigation is common in missed hip fractures Diagnostic errors in 43 patients with hip fracture handled by the Swedish Health and Social Care Inspectorate were analyzed. Diagnostic errors were most likely a consequence of insufficient initial history, examination and/or radiologic examination. The most common isolated cause was delayed examination by a physician outside of a hospital setting.

[Diagnostic imaging no answer in the diagnosis of appendicitis].

Diagnostic errors in 49 patients with appendicitis handled by the Swedish Health and Social Care Inspectorate were analyzed. Diagnostic errors were more common in young or old patients, and among patients with atypical symptoms. Adjunct diagnostic tools, such as computerized tomography and/or ultrasound examination, also have limitations as regards diagnostic precision, and should therefore not be seen as golden standard.

[Systematic analysis of diagnostic errors in patients with myocardial infarction handled by the Swedish Health and Social Care Inspectorate​].

Systematic analysis of diagnostic errors in patients with myocardial infarction handled by the Swedish Health and Social Care Inspectorate​ Diagnostic errors in 51 patients with myocardial infarction handled by the Swedish Health and Social Care Inspectorate​ were analyzed. In more than half of the cases, the diagnostic errors occurred in health-care outside of hospitals. Diagnostic errors were more common when patients presented atypical symptoms, but atypical symptoms were equally common in male and female patients.

Prognosis following surgical bypass compared with laparotomy alone in unresectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Background: Resection with curative intent has been shown to prolong survival of patients with locoregional pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, up to 33 per cent of patients are deemed unresectable at exploratory laparotomy owing to unanticipated locally advanced or metastatic disease. In these patients, prophylactic double bypass (PDB) procedures have been considered the standard of care.

Are There Indications for Total Pancreatectomy in 2016?

An elective total pancreatectomy (TP) was first performed by Eugene Rockey of Portland, Oregon, in 1942. In the 1960s and 1970s, TP was the routine resection for pancreatic cancer in many centers because of fear of a leaking pancreatojejunostomy and multicentricity of the disease but the result used to be dreadful (in today's perspective). However, more recently, postoperative mortality and morbidity after pancreatic resections have improved due to better anastomotic technique and pre-, peri- and postoperative care.

Risk of Gastrointestinal Cancers among Patients with Appendectomy: A Large-Scale Swedish Register-Based Cohort Study during 1970-2009.

Background: Removal of the appendix might induce physiological changes in the gastrointestinal tract, and subsequently play a role in carcinogenesis. Therefore, we conducted a nationwide register-based cohort study in Sweden to investigate whether appendectomy is associated with altered risks of gastrointestinal cancers.

Methods: A population-based cohort study was conducted using the Swedish national registries, including 480,382 eligible patients followed during the period of 1970-2009 for the occurrence of site-specific gastrointestinal cancer (esophageal/gastric/colon/rectal cancer).

[Late pancreatic insufficiency after pancreatic resection – two cases].

Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency may result in urgency and foul smelling steatorrhea that is difficult to flush. The simplest way of diagnosis is by observing the response to therapy with high dose pancreatic enzymes. We here describe two different cases of exocrine insufficiency in elderly patients who earlier had some form of pancreatic surgery.

Pancreatic cancer and thromboembolic disease, 150 years after Trousseau.

The connection between pancreatic cancer and venous thrombosis has been discussed for almost 150 years. The exact pathophysiological mechanisms are still partly understood, but it is known that pancreatic cancer induces a prothrombotic and hypercoagulable state and genetic events involved in neoplastic transformation (e.g.

Impact of delay between imaging and treatment in patients with potentially curable pancreatic cancer.

Background: Locoregional pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) may progress rapidly and/or disseminate despite having an early stage at diagnostic imaging. A prolonged interval from imaging to resection might represent a risk factor for encountering tumour progression at laparotomy. The aim of this study was to determine the therapeutic window for timely surgical intervention.

MONITORING OF RECURRENCE IN PATIENTS RADICALLY OPERATED FOR PANCREATIC CANCER.

Pancreatic cancer is a diagnosis that carries a poor prognosis. It is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in Europe and the United States, despite advances in operative technique and postoperative management. Furthermore, there is no consensus on the optimal follow-up schedule of patients after surgery for pancreatic cancer, all recommendations on surveillance being based on low level evidence or no evidence and the leading societies propose different guidelines.

Surgical decision-making in acute appendicitis.

Background: Acute appendicitis is one of the most common acute abdominal conditions. Among other parameters, the decision to perform surgical exploration in suspected appendicitis involves diagnostic accuracy, patient age and co-morbidity, patient's own wishes, the surgeon's core medical values, expected natural course of non-operative treatment and priority considerations regarding the use of limited resources. Do objective clinical findings, such as radiology and laboratory results, have greater impact on decision-making than "soft" clinical variables? In this study we investigate the parameters that surgeons consider significant in decision-making in cases of suspected appendicitis; specifically we describe the process leading to surgical intervention in real settings.

Short-term Results of a Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Based Swedish Screening Program for Individuals at Risk for Pancreatic Cancer.

Importance: Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in Western countries. In approximately 10% of all patients with pancreatic cancer, it is possible to define a positive family history for pancreatic cancer or for one of the other related genetic syndromes. A screening program for individuals at risk is recommended; however, surveillance modalities have not been defined yet.

Definition of a standard lymphadenectomy in surgery for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: a consensus statement by the International Study Group on Pancreatic Surgery (ISGPS).

Background: The lymph node (Ln) status of patients with resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is an important predictor of survival. The survival benefit of extended lymphadenectomy during pancreatectomy is, however, disputed, and there is no true definition of the optimal extent of the lymphadenectomy. The aim of this study was to formulate a definition for standard lymphadenectomy during pancreatectomy.

Extended pancreatectomy in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: definition and consensus of the International Study Group for Pancreatic Surgery (ISGPS).

Background: Complete macroscopic tumor resection is one of the most relevant predictors of long-term survival in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Because locally advanced pancreatic tumors can involve adjacent organs, "extended" pancreatectomy that includes the resection of additional organs may be needed to achieve this goal. Our aim was to develop a common consistent terminology to be used in centers reporting results of pancreatic resections for cancer.