Satisfaction with services among service users is an important aspect of quality in mental health care. This prospective study investigated associations between service and treatment factors at baseline and satisfaction with services at 18-month follow-up among service users with psychosis in specialist mental health services. Data were collected from 119 service users with psychosis and their clinicians from 26 clinical sites across Norway at baseline and after 18 months.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Considering that the remission rate for major depressive disorder (MDD) in elderly patients is below 50%, there is a compelling requirement for an enhanced comprehension of the underlying mechanisms. Chronic low-grade inflammation has been posited as one potential contributor to treatment-resistant MDD in the elderly. Accordingly, the objective of our study was to explore the longitudinal trends of systemic immune markers in elderly inpatients referred to electroconvulsive therapy due to an episode of treatment resistant unipolar MDD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Collagenase (CCH) and percutaneous needle fasciotomy (PNF) are 2 treatment options for Dupuytren disease. The purpose of this study was to compare these 2 methods in terms of clinical and patient-reported outcomes.
Methods: Eighty patients (median age, 72 years; 83% male) with a single-digit primary metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint contracture of ≥30° were randomized to either CCH or PNF and followed for 5 years.
Introduction: The treatment efficacy of extended-release naltrexone (XR-NTX) for opioid use disorder (OUD) has been demonstrated in several studies, but not in naturalistic settings where opioid agonist treatment (OAT) is freely accessible. This study aimed to examine the different treatment outcomes of XR-NTX in a setting where the participants freely chose XR-NTX as a treatment option instead of OAT.
Methods: This was a 24-week open-label clinical prospective cohort study conducted in an outpatient setting at five hospitals in Norway.
Purpose: Information about outcomes of particular relevance to older prostate cancer survivors is limited. This study aimed to compare health, activities of daily living (ADL), and use of health care services between survivors and matched controls.
Methods: A single-centre study on men treated for prostate cancer with curative intent at the age ≥ 70 years 2 to 7 years earlier.
Background: Radiotherapy reduces local recurrence in locally advanced rectal cancer, but may cause harm in patients who do not experience recurrence. The aim was to investigate the impact of radiotherapy on long-term quality of life after curative treatment for rectal cancer, i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The Clock Drawing Test (CDT) is used to screen for Alzheimer's disease and other dementia disorders. Normative scores on the version from the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) do not exist in the Nordic countries.
Objective: To examine the normative scores of the CDT among adults aged 70 years and older.
While the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, another outbreak of contagious disease remains the most likely future risk to public safety. Now is therefore the time to equip health authorities with effective tools to ensure they are operationally prepared for future events. We propose a direct approach to obtain reliable nearly instantaneous time-varying reproduction numbers for contagious diseases, using only the number of infected individuals as input and utilising the dynamics of the susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Geriatric assessment and management (GAM) improve outcomes in older patients with cancer treated with surgery or chemotherapy. It is unclear whether GAM may provide better function and quality of life (QoL), or be cost-effective, in a radiotherapy (RT) setting.
Methods: In this Norwegian cluster-randomised controlled pilot study, we assessed the impact of a GAM intervention involving specialist and primary health services.
Introduction: Second-degree perineal tears following vaginal birth are common and presumed to be of little clinical importance. However, the extent of damage to the perineal body varies widely, and there is reason to believe that larger second-degree tears may be associated with more pelvic floor symptoms, compared to lesser form. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess differences in pelvic floor symptoms according to the severity of second-degree perineal tears up to 12 months post-partum, stratified by parity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArthrosc Sports Med Rehabil
April 2024
Purpose: To compare the functional and patient-reported outcome measures after autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) and arthroscopic debridement (AD) in symptomatic, isolated cartilage injuries larger than 2 cm in patients aged 18 to 50 years.
Methods: Twenty-eight patients were included and randomized to ACI (n = 15) or AD (n = 13) and followed for 2 years. The primary outcome was the change in the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) Quality of Life (QoL) subscale.
BMJ Open
February 2024
Objectives: Disease and medication use in older age is a consequence of age-related declining health. Multimorbidity followed by polypharmacy is common. Central nervous system depressing (CNSD) drugs such as opioids, benzodiazepines and z-hypnotics are not recommended for long-term use in older adults but are in use by many.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: We aimed to investigate the associations between age at radical prostate cancer treatment and long-term global quality of life (QoL), physical function (PF), and treatment-related side effects.
Material And Methods: This single-center, cross-sectional study included men treated for localized prostate cancer with robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) or external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) in 2014-2018. Global QoL and PF were assessed by the European Organisation of Research and Treatment in Cancer Quality of life Questionnaire-C30 (QLQ-C30), side effects by the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC-26).
Background: Z-hypnotics or z-drugs are commonly prescribed for insomnia and sleep difficulties in older adults. These drugs are associated with adverse events and dependence and are not recommended for long-term use. Despite evidence of older adults being more sensitive to a wide array of adverse events and clinical guidelines advocating limiting use, inappropriate use in this population is still prevalent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProg Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry
March 2024
Objectives: Visual analogue scale (VAS) and numeric rating scale (NRS) are two commonly used instruments for measuring pain intensity. Both instruments are validated for use in both clinical and research settings, and share a range of similar aspects. Some studies have shown that the two instruments may be used interchangeably, but the results are conflicting.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAmyotroph Lateral Scler Frontotemporal Degener
May 2024
Objective: To assess the temporal relationship between premorbid lipid levels and long-term amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) risk.
Methods: From Norwegian cardiovascular health surveys (1974-2003), we collected information on total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), glucose, and other cardiovascular risk factors. ALS incidence and mortality were identified through validated Norwegian health registries.
Aim: Stage III colon cancer is routinely treated with adjuvant chemotherapy, which causes significant short-term morbidity. Its effect on long-term quality of life (QoL) is poorly investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate long-term QoL after curative treatment for colon cancer and explore the impact of chemotherapy on general and disease-specific QoL.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Prognosis after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is presumed poorer in patients with non-shockable than shockable rhythms, frequently leading to treatment withdrawal. Multimodal outcome prediction is recommended 72 h post-arrest in still comatose patients, not considering initial rhythms. We investigated accuracy of outcome predictors in all comatose OHCA survivors, with a particular focus on shockable vs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objective: First study to assess any compensatory increase in use of non-opioid illicit substances and alcohol in opioid dependent patients randomized to treatment with extended-release naltrexone (XR-NTX) or buprenorphine-naloxone (BP-NLX) and in longer term treatment with extended-release naltrexone.
Method: A multicenter, outpatient, open-label randomized clinical trial where patients received intramuscular extended-release naltrexone hydrochloride, 380 mg/month, or daily sublingual buprenorphine-naloxone 8-24/2-6 mg for 12 weeks, and an option to continue with extended-release naltrexone for an additional 36 week follow-up. The study was conducted at five urban addiction clinics and detoxification units in Norway between November 2012, and July 2016.
Background: Early prediction of outcomes in comatose patients after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is challenging. Prognostication tools include clinical examination, biomarkers, and neuroradiological and neurophysiological tests. We studied the association between transcranial Doppler (TCD) and the outcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Shared decision making is a process where patients and clinicians collaborate to make treatment choices based on the patients' preferences and best available evidence. The implementation of shared decision making remains limited for patients with psychotic disorders despite being recommended at policy level, being advocated as ethical right and wanted by the patient's. A barrier to implementation that is often mentioned is reduced decision-making capacity among patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Pain in nursing home (NH) residents with dementia is commonly reported and may affect Quality of Life (QoL) negatively. Few longitudinal studies have explored how pain and QoL develop in NH residents with dementia starting from their admission to the NH.
Aim: The aim was to explore pain, QoL, and the association between pain and QoL over time in persons with dementia admitted to a NH.
Objective: Assess outcomes of patients with right-sided colon cancer with metastases in the D3 volume after personalized surgery.
Background: Patients with central lymph node metastasis (D3-PNG) are considered to have a systemic disease with a poor prognosis. A 3-dimensional definition of the dissection volume allows the removal of all central nodes.