Publications by authors named "Lott Bergstrand"

Background:  Identifying a useful marker for thoracic aortic dilatation (TAD) could help improve informed clinical decisions, enhance diagnosis, and develop TAD screening programs. Inguinal hernia could be such a marker. This study tested the hypothesis that the thoracic aorta is larger and more often dilated in men with previous inguinal hernia repair versus nonhernia controls.

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Background: Outsourcing radiological examinations from public university hospitals affects the patient, who has to attend a different clinic or hospital for the radiological examination. We currently have a limited understanding of how patients view outsourcing and their care related to MR examinations.

Aim: To examine the experiences of patients who are sent to private radiology units when their referrals for MR examinations are outsourced from a university hospital, as well as to explore factors which influence patient satisfaction regarding the quality of care related to the MR examination.

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Background: Sometimes the measures taken to make a radiology department more effective, such as prioritizing the workload and keeping equipment running for as many hours as staffing permits, are not enough. In such cases, outsourcing radiological examinations is a potential solution for reducing waiting times.

Purpose: To investigate differences in waiting time, quality and costs between magnetic resonance (MR) examinations performed in a university hospital and examinations outsourced to private service.

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Background: There is a paucity of studies using quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) to determine progression of coronary artery disease (CAD) after an acute coronary event. Furthermore, despite a great interest in effects of inflammation and 'early' lipid lowering therapy, no data have been published on the role of plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) and lipoprotein levels in CAD progression after myocardial infarction.

Methods: Seventy-two patients with myocardial infarction treated with thrombolysis, but not with statins, were investigated with QCA during admission and after 6 months.

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Background: Evolution of the ST segment during ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) has been shown to yield more information on prognosis than widely used invasive measurements. With continuous ST monitoring, even very occasional dynamic changes can be analyzed. We have recently suggested that ST variability during the reperfusion-phase is of prognostic importance.

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Objective: Overexpression of elastolytic cysteine and aspartic proteases, known as cathepsins, is implicated in atherogenesis. The potential significance of imbalance in expression between cathepsins and their inhibitor cystatin C in cardiovascular disease has been highlighted by the demonstration of cystatin C deficiency in human atherosclerosis and abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Methods And Results: We identified and characterized physiologically relevant polymorphisms in the promoter region of the cystatin C gene that influence cystatin C production and used these polymorphisms as a tool to examine the significance of cystatin C in coronary atherosclerosis in vivo in humans.

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Background: Current thrombolytic-antithrombotic regimens in acute myocardialinfarction (AMI) are limited by incomplete early coronary reperfusion and by reocclusion and reinfarction. We compared the effects of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) versus unfractionated heparin (UFH) as an adjunct to recombinant tissue-plasminogen activator (alteplase) on coronary artery patency and clinical outcomes in AMI.

Methods: Patients with AMI treated with alteplase (n=439) were randomised to either subcutaneous dalteparin (120 IU/kg every 12h) for 4-7 days or intravenous infusion of UFH for 48 h.

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