Use of spirometry and recording of smoking habits of COPD patients increased in primary health care during national COPD programme.

Background: In Finland, a national programme for COPD prevention and treatment was developed in 1998. The main goals of the programme were to diagnose COPD as early as possible and to encourage people to quit smoking. The role of primary health care was emphasized in the programme.

MDR-TB in Finland--still rare despite the situation in our neighbouring countries.

Introduction: The multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) epidemic in Eastern Europe bordering Finland has raised worries concerning the risk of disease in near-frontier contacts.

Objectives: Our aim was to find out the amount of multidrug resistance, characterise the resistance profiles and evaluate the outcome of treatment. In addition, we analysed the isolates by molecular genotyping methods in order to evaluate the origins of the resistant isolates.

[Hemoptysis].

Most cases of hemoptysis are due to lung infections, bronchiectasis, lung cancer and pulmonary vascular disorders. Apart from the respiratory passages, the blood coming up with a cough may also originate from elsewhere, and its amount may vary from minor streaks of blood to a massive pulmonary hemorrhage. The extent of hemorrhage is decisive for the choice of investigational and therapeutic measures.

Diagnosis and initiation of nasal continuous positive airway pressure therapy for OSAS without a preceding sleep study?

Purpose: The capacity for performing sleep study is limited. We made a simulation to study whether a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) and prescription of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy would be possible and cost-effective without performing a sleep study.

Methods And Objectives: One hundred ninety-seven consecutive patients referred to a pulmonary clinic due to suspected OSAS were included.

Treatment outcome of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis in Finland: a cohort study.

Background: We investigated the treatments given, the outcome and the patient- and treatment-system dependent factors affecting treatment outcome in a national two-year cohort of culture-verified extra-pulmonary tuberculosis cases in Finland.

Methods: Medical records of all cases in 1995 - 1996 were abstracted to assess treatment and outcome, using the European recommendations for outcome monitoring. For risk factor analysis, outcome was divided into three groups: favourable, death and other unfavourable.

[Tuberculosis].

Although the tuberculosis situation in Finland is good, the disease is common in many other regions of the world. Drug resistance is becoming more common and HIV promotes the activity of tuberculosis. Rapid recognition of risk groups will become increasingly important.

Concurrent decline of several antioxidants and markers of oxidative stress during combination chemotherapy for small cell lung cancer.

Objectives: To investigate the oxidant effects of adriamycin-containing chemotherapy (CT), we evaluated various antioxidants, total antioxidant capacity (TRAP) and different parameters of oxidative and nitrosative stress during combination CT.

Design And Methods: Blood samples were obtained from 16 small cell lung cancer patients at baseline and several times during the first, second and sixth CT cycles.

Results: There were significant decreases in serum urate and serum proteins during all cycles, serum TRAP during the first two cycles, plasma ascorbic acid and serum TBARS during the first cycle, and serum conjugated dienes and plasma alphatocopherol during the last cycle.

Risk factors for poor tuberculosis treatment outcome in Finland: a cohort study.

Background: We investigated the patient- and treatment-system dependent factors affecting treatment outcome in a two-year cohort of all treated culture-verified pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) cases to establish a basis for improving outcomes.

Methods: Medical records of all cases in 1995 - 1996 were abstracted to assess outcome of treatment. Outcome was divided into three groups: favourable, death and other unfavourable.

Delays in the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer.

Study Objectives: This study was undertaken to measure delays of diagnosis and to assess the causes for those delays in patients with lung cancer. In addition, the relation of delay times and survival was analyzed.

Design: A retrospective study based on patient records.

Overt and cryptic miliary tuberculosis misdiagnosed until autopsy.

Autopsy confirmed deaths due to miliary tuberculosis in Finland were analysed in order to improve the diagnosis of the disease. Tuberculosis deaths from mortality statistics were examined in order to identify miliary tuberculosis deaths, and the medical records of the autopsied cases were studied. The deceased were divided into 2 groups, 'overt' disease and 'cryptic' disease, on the basis of chest X-ray findings.

Gastroesophageal reflux and bronchial responsiveness: correlation and the effect of fundoplication.

Background: A causal relationship between gastroesophageal reflux (GER) and asthma has been suggested. Should this be the case, one could expect treatment of GER to diminish bronchial sensitivity. There has been a lack of trials evaluating the efficacy of antireflux surgery on airway reactivity.

Chlamydia pneumoniae and severity of asthma.

A substantial increase in the prevalence of asthma in the Western world during the last few decades has led to a continuous search for novel factors that might be involved in the development of the disease. We carried out a study to clarify whether there is a relationship between severity of asthma and Chlamydia pneumoniae-specific titres at the group level and whether antibodies to the 60 kDa chlamydial heat shock protein (chsp60) are associated with asthma. A total of 116 (31 men, 85 women) consecutive asthma patients from a chest clinic were recruited and divided into 3 groups according to the severity of the disease: there were 13 asthmatics with severe, 54 with moderate and 49 with mild asthma.