[Preoperative fasting: Instructions to patients and length of fasting - a prospective, descriptive survey].

Introduction: Fasting is an important safety precaution for patients before surgery but studies indicate that excessive fasting is common. Explanations for this, including patient education related factors, are not well known. The aim of this study was to explore how long patients fast before surgery and what instructions they received, one year after the introduction of new guidelines for patients and professionals.

Lower extremity blood flow in healthy men: effect of smoking, cholesterol, and physical activity--a Doppler study.

Tobacco smoking is one of the principal risk factors of peripheral arterial disease (PAD); cholesterol level has a lesser impact. The effect of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) has not been studied in depth. The aim of this study was to determine the relative effects of smoking, total cholesterol, and leisure-time physical activity on blood flow parameters in the lower extremities of healthy middle-aged men with no prior symptoms or diagnosis of PAD.

Functional study of the dermal microcirculation in systemic sclerosis.

To measure the effect of cooling on digital blood pressure we used a strain-gauge and photoplethysmograph, with an automatic cooling device. Eighteen patients were compared with 18 matched controls. Laser-doppler technique was used to measure the perfusion changes after heating a small area of the skin in 5 locations on the body, readings were given in perfusion units.