Baseline characteristics of patients enrolled in the EMPACT-MI trial.

Aims: Empagliflozin has been shown to reduce the risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes and in those with heart failure. The impact of empagliflozin in post-acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients is unknown.

Methods And Results: The Study to Test the Effect of Empagliflozin on Hospitalization for Heart Failure and Mortality in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction (EMPACT-MI) trial screened 6610 participants with AMI and randomized 6522 to empagliflozin or placebo in addition to standard of care.

Long-term follow-up after surgery for atrial fibrillation with concomitant open heart surgery.

Background: Patients with atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter scheduled to undergo open heart surgery can receive ablation treatment of arrhythmogenic foci during the same intervention. Sinus rhythm is restored in the majority in the short term, but the long-term results are more uncertain. This study, which is part of the international CURE-AF trial, evaluates results after Cox-Maze IV surgery for atrial fibrillation in Norway at six-year follow-up.

Cardiovascular outcomes and safety with linagliptin, a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor, compared with the sulphonylurea glimepiride in older people with type 2 diabetes: A subgroup analysis of the randomized CAROLINA trial.

Aim: To compare the cardiovascular (CV) safety of linagliptin with glimepiride in older and younger participants in the CAROLINA trial in both prespecified and post hoc analyses.

Materials And Methods: People aged 40 to 85 years with relatively early type 2 diabetes, inadequate glycaemic control and elevated CV risk were randomly assigned to linagliptin 5 mg or glimepiride 1 to 4 mg. The primary endpoint was time to first occurrence of three-point major adverse CV events (MACE: CV death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, or non-fatal stroke).

Subjective recovery from pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain the first 6 weeks after delivery: a prospective longitudinal cohort study.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the subjective recovery from pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain (PGP) during the first 6 weeks after delivery and to detect possible risk factors for a poor recovery.

Methods: The participants were included in this study at the routine ultrasound examination at 18 weeks of pregnancy. The women received a weekly SMS with the question "How many days during the last week has your PGP been bothersome?" The SMS-track from the final 10 weeks of pregnancy and first 6 weeks after delivery were assessed and sorted, based on individual graphs.

Adding Chiropractic Treatment to Individual Rehabilitation for Persistent Pelvic Girdle Pain 3 to 6 Months After Delivery: A Pilot Randomized Trial.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of conducting a study examining the influence of individualized rehabilitation and chiropractic treatment, compared with individualized rehabilitation alone, in women with persistent dominating 1-sided pelvic girdle pain (PGP) 3 to 6 months after delivery.

Methods: Women were recruited from an outpatient clinic at Stavanger University Hospital, Norway and in a private chiropractic clinic in Stavanger. Those with persistent, dominating 1-sided PGP were included in this pilot study.

Can a bothersome course of pelvic pain from mid-pregnancy to birth be predicted? A Norwegian prospective longitudinal SMS-Track study.

Objective: To explore if pregnant women with pelvic girdle pain (PGP), subgrouped following the results from two clinical tests with high validity and reliability, differ in demographic characteristics and weekly amount of days with bothersome symptoms through the second half of pregnancy.

Design: A prospective longitudinal cohort study.

Participants: Pregnant women with pelvic and lumbopelvic pain due for their second-trimester routine ultrasound examination.

Empagliflozin compared with glimepiride in metformin-treated patients with type 2 diabetes: 208-week data from a masked randomized controlled trial.

Aim: To report results at week 208, including a 104-week masked extension, of the EMPA-REG H2H-SU trial in patients with type 2 diabetes with inadequate glycaemic control on metformin, in which empagliflozin 25 mg given for 104 weeks provided a sustained reduction in glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) with a small but statistically significant benefit vs glimepiride, sustained reductions in weight and blood pressure, and low risk of hypoglycaemia.

Research Design And Methods: Patients with type 2 diabetes and HbA1c 53-86 mmol/mol (7% to 10%) were randomized to empagliflozin 25 mg or glimepiride 1 to 4 mg for 104 weeks as add-on to metformin. Patients who completed the randomized treatment period could participate in a 104-week extension in which they continued the double-blind treatment allocated at randomization.

Long-term effects of exercise programs among helicopter pilots with flying related LBP.

Background: Flying related transient Low Back Pain (LBP) among helicopter pilots is considered an occupational distress.

Objective: To examine if exercise programs can alleviate transient LBP.

Methods: Sixty-five helicopter pilots (92% males), all reporting flying related LBP, responded to an epidemiological survey and a long-term follow-up, 44.

Chiropractic management of dominating one-sided pelvic girdle pain in pregnant women; a randomized controlled trial.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the outcome of chiropractic management for a subgroup of pregnant women with dominating one-sided pelvic girdle pain (PGP).

Methods: The study population was recruited from a prospective longitudinal cohort study of pregnant women. Women reporting pelvic pain (PP), and who were diagnosed with dominating one-sided PGP after a clinical examination, were invited to participate in the intervention study.

Impact of exercise programs among helicopter pilots with transient LBP.

Background: Flight related low back pain (LBP) among helicopter pilots is frequent and may influence flight performance. Prolonged confined sitting during flights seems to weaken lumbar trunk (LT) muscles with associated secondary transient pain. Aim of the study was to investigate if structured training could improve muscular function and thus improve LBP related to flying.

Outcome After Rewarming From Accidental Hypothermia by Use of Extracorporeal Circulation.

Background: Accidental hypothermia with arrested circulation remains a condition associated with high mortality. In our institution, extracorporeal circulation (ECC) rewarming has been the cornerstone in treating such patients since 1987. We here explore characteristics and outcomes of this treatment, to identify significant merits and challenges from 3 decades of experience in ECC rewarming.

Recurrent and Transient Spinal Pain Among Commercial Helicopter Pilots.

Objective: The aim of this study was to provide information on the occurrence of spinal pain, i.e., low back and neck pain, among commercial helicopter pilots, along with possible associations between pain and anthropometric and demographic factors and flying exposure.

The association between pelvic girdle pain and sick leave during pregnancy; a retrospective study of a Norwegian population.

Background: The incidence of pelvic girdle pain (PGP) in pregnancy is wide ranged depending on definition, the utilised diagnostic means, and the design of the studies. PGP during pregnancy has negative effects on activities of daily living and causes long sick leave, which makes it a major public health issue. Our objectives were to explore the frequency of sick leave in pregnancy due to PGP, assess the relationship between different types of pain-related activities of daily living, examine physical workload, type of work in relation to sick leave, and to explore factors that make women less likely to take sick leave for PGP.

Intraaortic counterpulsation during cardiopulmonary bypass impairs distal organ perfusion.

Background: Recent studies have focused on the use of fixed-rate intraaortic balloon pumping (IABP) during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) to achieve pulsatile flow. Because application of an IABP catheter may represent a functional obstruction within the descending aorta, we explored the effect of IABP-pulsed CPB-perfusion with special attention to perfusion above and below the IABP balloon.

Methods: Sixteen animals received an IABP catheter that remained turned off position (NP group, n = 8) or was switched to an automatic mode of 80 beats/min during CPB (PP group, n = 8).

Comparison of empagliflozin and glimepiride as add-on to metformin in patients with type 2 diabetes: a 104-week randomised, active-controlled, double-blind, phase 3 trial.

Background: Metformin is the recommended first-line pharmacotherapy for patients with type 2 diabetes. There is no consensus on the optimum second-line pharmacotherapy. We compared the efficacy and safety of the sodium glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor empagliflozin and the sulfonylurea glimepiride as add-on to metformin in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Acute obstruction by Pannus in patients with aortic medtronic-hall valves: 30 years of experience.

Background: Acute dysfunction of mechanical aortic valve prostheses is a life-threatening adverse event. Pannus overgrowth, which is fibroelastic hyperplasia originating from the periannular area, is one cause of dysfunction. The aim of this study was to determine the annual incidence of readmittance resulting from acute obstruction caused by pannus during 30 years of observation in patients with Medtronic-Hall aortic valve prostheses and to analyze the risk factors associated with pannus development.

Microvascular fluid exchange during pulsatile cardiopulmonary bypass perfusion with the combined use of a nonpulsatile pump and intra-aortic balloon pump.

Objective: To evaluate how pulsed versus nonpulsed cardiopulmonary bypass influences microvascular fluid exchange in an experimental setup combining a nonpulsatile perfusion pump and an intra-aortic balloon pump.

Methods: A total of 16 pigs were randomized to pulsatile cardiopulmonary bypass perfusion with an intra-aortic balloon pump switched to an automatic 80 beats/min mode after the start of cardiopulmonary bypass (pulsatile perfusion [PP] group, n = 8) or to nonpulsatile cardiopulmonary bypass with the pump switched to the off position (nonpulsatile [NP] group, n = 8). Normothermic cardiopulmonary bypass was initiated after 60 minutes of stabilization and continued for 3 hours.

Prevalence of low back and pelvic pain during pregnancy in a Norwegian population.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the cumulative prevalence of low back pain (LBP), pelvic pain (PP), and lumbopelvic pain during pregnancy, including features possibly associated with development of pregnancy-related PP, in an unselected population of women.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in which all women giving birth at Stavanger University hospital in a 4-month period were asked to participate and to fill in a questionnaire on demographic features, pain, disability, and Oswestry Disability Index. Inclusion criteria were singleton pregnancy of at least 36 weeks and competence in the Norwegian language.

Long-term prognostic value of cardiac troponin I and T versus creatine kinase-MB mass after cardiac surgery in low-risk patients with stable symptoms.

The long-term prognostic value of elevated cardiac biomarkers after elective cardiac surgery is not clear. The recent guidelines for diagnosing perioperative infarcts have advocated the use of similar thresholds for creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) mass and the cardiac troponins. However, few previous data are available comparing these biomarkers after cardiac surgery, and it is not clear whether postoperative elevations of the troponins can be treated the same as elevations of CK-MB.

Incidental detection of internal jugular vein thrombosis secondary to undiagnosed benign substernal goiter.

Internal jugular vein thrombosis is a serious event with potentially fatal outcome, where the clinical symptoms may be vague or absent. This paper refers to a rare case where routine carotid Doppler ultrasound prior to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and aortic valve replacement (AVR) in a 76-year-old man, incidentally revealed thrombosis of the right internal jugular vein. Thoracic CT demonstrated an underlying, large, benign substernal multinodular goiter, mainly involving the right lobe, causing compression and displacement of the great vessels.

Long-term prognostic value of creatine kinase-myocardial band mass after cardiac surgery in low-risk patients with stable angina.

Objectives: The long-term prognostic value (>5 years) of elevated cardiac biomarkers after elective cardiac surgery is not clear. Most previous studies have included high-risk, unstable patients. The aim of this study was to determine the prognostic value of creatine kinase-myocardial band (CK-MB) mass after elective cardiac surgery in low-risk patients with stable angina.

Temporal pattern of cardiac troponin I after thoracotomy and lung surgery.

Background: Several studies have shown that patients with perioperative myocardial infarction (MI) are at higher risk for subsequent cardiac events and the identification of these patients is important. However, the diagnosis of perioperative MI can be difficult in many cases. The cardiac troponins are biomarkers with high cardiospecificity, and the aim of this study was to assess cTnI and cTnT among other cardiac biomarkers after thoracotomy and lung surgery.

Comparison of the centrifugal and roller pump in elective coronary artery bypass surgery--a prospective, randomized study with special emphasis upon platelet activation.

Objective--Evaluation of the centrifugal pump vs roller pump concerning effects upon platelet function, hemolysis and clinical outcome in elective coronary artery bypass surgery. Design--Thirty-four patients were randomized to centrifugal or roller pump. Platelet activation was studied by flow cytometry before, during and up to 3 days after bypass.