[Dizziness in the emergency department - do we lack clinical judgment?].

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the extent and quality of work-up of dizzy patients at the Landspitali Emergency department.

Patients And Methods: All cases presenting to the emergency department with the main complaint of dizziness over a period of four months were analyzed retrospectively. Demographics, duration of symptoms, diagnosis and results from investigations and consultations were recorded from medical records.

Airflow obstruction, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular risk factors in the AGES Reykjavik study.

Background And Aims: Airflow limitation, i.e. reduced forced expiratory volume in 1-s (FEV1), is associated with increased prevalence of atherosclerosis, however, causal mechanisms remain elusive.

Hypertension, systemic inflammation and body weight in relation to lung function impairment-an epidemiological study.

Recent reports on the simultaneous occurrence of systemic inflammation and airflow obstruction are usually based on a highly selective patient population, but their importance warrants further evaluation in the general population. The objectives were to study the interrelationship between airflow obstruction, smoking, hypertension, obesity and CRP as a marker of systemic inflammation in a randomly selected sample of the general Icelandic population (n = 939). This study comprised 758 randomly selected men and women 40 years and older living in Reykjavik, Iceland, and who were participating in the Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study (81% response rate).

Chronic airflow obstruction and markers of systemic inflammation: results from the BOLD study in Iceland.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by an irreversible chronic airflow obstruction and by an accelerated decline in lung function. Elevated circulating levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), both markers of systemic inflammation, have been found in COPD. Their possible associations with chronic airflow obstruction have mostly been evaluated in highly selected patient samples.