Incidence of adult tonsillectomy for hypertrophic indications in Southwest Finland.

Background: Large palatine tonsils cause a variety of symptoms including obstructive sleep apnea and snoring. In adults, the prevalence of tonsillar hypertrophy remains uncertain.

Aims: We estimated the incidence of tonsillectomy for adult palatine tonsillar hypertrophy using population data and retrospective patient charts.

Intraoperative Bleeding Complications Leading to Blood Transfusions (BloTs) in 17,412 Cholecystectomies in Finland: A Study With Special Reference to Elderly Patients.

Background/aim: Cholelithiasis (Chole) is one of the most common diseases needing operative management worldwide. However, there are few studies assessing the intraoperative bleeding (IOB) complications leading to blood transfusions (BloTs) in elderly patients with cholecystectomy (Ccy).

Patients And Methods: Outcome after IOB complications and need for BloTs in a cohort of 17,412 patients with Ccys were assessed with special reference to elderly Ccy patients.

Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) Pain Survey Cysteine Protease Caspase-1 (Casp1) Blood Levels Following Midline Laparotomy: A Prospective Randomized Study of Patients With Benign Disease and Patients With Cancer.

Background/aim: There is lack of studies assessing the correlation between pain scales and acute phase immune response (APR) following surgery. The purpose of this work was to assess the correlation between cysteine protease caspase-1 (Casp1) blood levels and two pain scales in a cohort of 56 midline laparotomy (MLa) patients and to assess their link with other cytokines (CYTs).

Patients And Methods: Blood levels of Casp1 and other CYTs (IL-18, IL-18BP, IL-1ra, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-1β) were measured before operation and following surgery in patients with MLa.

Correlation Between Blood Levels of Cysteine Protease Caspase-1 (Casp1) and Pain Scores (NRS) Post-surgery: A Prospective Randomized Study of Patients With Cholelithiasis.

Background/aim: Cysteine protease caspase-1 (Casp1) plays a crucial role in the conversion of pro-cytokines to active cytokines (CYTs). The purpose of this work was to determine Casp1 blood levels in a cohort of 114 cholecystectomy patients and assess their association with other CYTs and numeric rating scale (NRS) pain scores, postoperatively.

Patients And Methods: Blood levels of Casp1 and seven CYTs (IL-18, IL-18BP, IL-1ra, IL-6, IL-10, IL-1β, and IL-8) were measured at three time points; before operation, immediately after operation, and six hours after operation in 114 patients with cholelithiasis (Chole).

Patient-reported Outcome Measure (PROM) Rand-36-item Health Survey for Gallstone Disease Patients Five Years Following Surgery: A Prospective Randomized Study.

Background/aim: There are no studies assessing the long-term quality of life (QoL) following three-dimensional laparoscopy cholecystectomy (3D-LC) in patients with cholelithiasis (Chole).

Patients And Methods: A cohort of 200 patients with Chole were randomized into 3D-LC or minilaparotomy cholecystectomy (MC) groups. RAND-36 survey was performed before randomization, four weeks and five years postoperatively.

Blood Interleukin-18 (IL-18) and IL-18 Binding Protein (IL-18BP) Levels Following Midline Laparotomy: A Prospective Randomized Study of Patients With Benign Disease and Patients With Cancer.

Background/aim: The acute phase immune response (APR) in midline laparotomy (MLa) patients following surgery has been rarely studied, with no studies assessing the association of blood IL-18 (interleukin-18) and IL-18BP (IL-18 binding protein) values with the numeric rating scale (NRS) pain score following MLa.

Patients And Methods: Blood levels of seven cytokines (CYT) (IL-18, IL-18BP, IL-1ra, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-1β) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were measured at three time points; before operation (PRE), immediately after operation (POP1), and 24 h after operation (POP2) in 56 patients with MLa. The satisfaction of the patients at 24 h following MLa (SFS; 0=fully unsatisfied; 10=fully satisfied) was recorded on a 11-point numeric rating scale.

Accuracy of Prediction Models in Diagnosis of Acute Diverticulitis.

Background/aim: The diagnostic score models (DMs) for patients with acute diverticulitis (AcDi) have been rarely evaluated. Therefore, we tried to develop diagnostic models (DMs) to enhance the diagnostic accuracy (DA) of AcDi.

Patients And Methods: In this AAP (acute abdominal pain) cohort, 30 AcDi patients were compared to 1,303 non-AcDi patients, with regard to their i) clinical symptoms (n=22), ii) signs and tests (n=14) as well as iii) laboratory analyses (n=3).

False-Positive Atypical Endocervical Cells in Conventional Pap Smears: Cyto-Histological Correlation and Analysis.

Introduction: Endocervical glandular atypia is relatively rarely diagnosed by Pap smears. A significant proportion of follow-up histological samples show no premalignant or malignant lesions. The observed cytomorphological findings in premalignant glandular lesions overlap with histologically proven reactive lesions.

A Possible Role of Interleukin-18 Binding Protein in Immune Regulation of Postoperative Pain: A Prospective Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background/aim: A possible role of interleukin-18 binding protein (IL-18BP) in immune regulation of pain and analgesics following surgery is rarely studied. The aim of this study was to investigate serum IL-18BP values in a cohort of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) and minilaparotomy cholecystectomy (MC) patients and to establish their relationship with other cytokines and number of analgesic doses (NAD) of LC and MC patients postoperatively.

Patients And Methods: Blood levels of IL-18BP, six other interleukins (IL-18, IL-1ra, IL-6, IL-10, IL-1β, and IL-8) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein were measured before operation (PRE), immediately after operation (POP1), and six hours after operation (POP2) in 114 patients with cholelithiasis.

Atypical urothelial cells classified according to the Paris System for Reporting Urinary Cytology: A 2-year experience with histological correlation from a Finnish tertiary care center-low rate and high risk of malignancy.

Background: The Paris System for Reporting Urinary Cytology (TPS) was issued to shift the focus of urine cytology to high-grade lesions to increase the diagnostic accuracy of urine cytology. The aim of this study was to evaluate the power of TPS in the atypical urothelial cells (AUC) category with histological correlation and follow-up.

Methods: The data cohort consisted of 3741 voided urine samples collected during a 2-year period between January 2017 and December 2018.

First RAND-36-Item Health Survey in Three-dimensional Laparoscopy Cholecystectomy: A Prospective Randomized Study.

Background/aim: National healthcare organizers require feedback from patients to improve medical treatment methods. Three-dimensional laparoscopy cholecystectomy (3D-LC) is a modern technique in surgery. However, there are no studies with patient feedback from validated questionnaires assessing the postoperative treatment results in 3D-LC.

Patient Falls in Seclusion Rooms in Psychiatric Inpatient Care: A Sociotechnical Probabilistic Risk Modeling Study.

Background: Patient falls are a major adverse event in psychiatric inpatient care.

Purpose: To model the risk for patient falls in seclusion rooms in psychiatric inpatient care.

Methods: Sociotechnical probabilistic risk assessment (ST-PRA) was used to model the risk for falls.

Balloon Dilation of the Eustachian Tube in Chronic Eustachian Tube Dysfunction: A Retrospective Study of 107 Patients.

Background: Eustachian tube dysfunction affects from 1% to 5% of adults. This study evaluates the effectiveness of balloon dilation of eustachian tube for treating nonselected patients with eustachian tube dysfunction in a long term.

Methods: We evaluated all balloon dilation of eustachian tube operations at Turku University Hospital from 2013 to 2016.

Endocervical Cytology: Inter- and Intra-Observer Variability in Conventional Pap Smears.

Introduction: Although the cytological diagnostic criteria for cervical squamous and glandular lesions are established by the Bethesda System for Reporting Cervical Cytology, the reproducibility of the diagnosis of these lesions has been shown to be variable in previous studies. At best, occasional good kappa (κ) values were reached both inter- and intra-observerly. Generally, consensus on high-grade lesions has been better compared to milder changes.

Detection and Outcome of Endocervical Atypia in Cytology in Primary HPV Screening Programme.

Most endocervical adenocarcinomas (EAC) are associated with high-risk HPV (hrHPV) infection, with HPV genotypes 16, 18 and 45 accounting for >90% of the cases. Among endocervical glandular lesions, screening with hrHPV test has previously shown to predict the outcome better than cytology, although around one-fifth of the EAC remain negative both in hrHPV testing and cytology. The study consists of two consecutive HPV-primary screening rounds, conducted in 2012-2015 and 2017-2020.

Efficient water treatment achieved in recirculating aquaculture system using woodchip denitrification and slow sand filtration.

For a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS), a passive water treatment system was designed for efficient discharge nutrient removal and water reuse in RAS production. Denitrification in a woodchip bioreactor filled with birch wood (Betula pendula) followed by sand filtration was introduced into a side-loop of an experimental RAS rearing rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Denitrification efficiency remained high (96%) throughout the experiment and reached a nitrogen removal rate of 15 g NO-N m per day.

Near- and medium-term hourly morphed mean and extreme future temperature datasets for Jyväskylä, Finland, for building thermal energy demand simulations.

Near- and medium-term hourly morphed outdoor temperature files were created for Jyväskylä, Finland, to be used in building energy simulation. These future outdoor temperature files were created according to a statistical down-scaling method, morphing, which utilizes both hourly baseline data, and monthly and daily future climate projections. The used baseline data included hourly test reference year and typical meteorological year data to represent a "typical" climate year, and were appended with weather files created based on the coldest and warmest near Januaries to represent extreme weather files.

Tracheobronchial stents in patients with malignant airway disease: Finnish tertiary care experience.

Objectives: Tracheobronchial stenting has an established role in the palliation of malignant central airway obstruction (CAO). The purpose of this study is to describe the experience with self-expanding metal airway stents in 2 tertiary referral centres, covering a third of the population of Finland.

Methods: Patients referred to and treated with airway stenting for malignant CAO using self-expanding metal-stents were identified from electronic patient records, and data were collected using a structured Endoscopic Lower Airway Management instrument.

The Viability and Growth of HaCaT Cells After Exposure to Bioactive Glass S53P4-Containing Cell Culture Media.

Hypothesis: Bioactive glass (BG) S53P4 reduces the viability of epidermal keratinocyte-derived immortalized cell line, HaCaT in sufficient concentrations in vitro.

Background: Although used in mastoid obliteration surgery, there is no data available on whether BG S53P4 granules have an inhibitory or excitatory effect on keratinocytes, found in normal skin and ear cholesteatoma in vivo.

Methods: HaCaT cell cultures were incubated with a direct BG S53P4 granule contact.

The role of Pap smear in the diagnostics of endocervical adenocarcinoma.

In the high-income countries, the amount of cervical adenocarcinomas is on the rise. The pap smear sampling has a low sensitivity and a low specificity for endocervical malignancies, and there are only a few cytomorphological features, that are specifically associated with glandular atypia. In this study, 298 pap smears of 60 patients with endocervical adenocarcinoma or adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) and 30 patients with high-grade intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) in histology were reviewed.

Solids management in freshwater-recirculating aquaculture systems: Effectivity of inorganic and organic coagulants and the impact of operating parameters.

Coagulants are widely used for solids (uneaten food, faeces, etc.) management in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), but no recent research has been performed on the effectiveness of different coagulants in treatment of aquaculture sludge. This study examined the effectivity of selected inorganic (polyaluminium chloride, PAC) and organic products (polyamine- and starch-based) as coagulant agents for solids management in RAS.

Water quality in recirculating aquaculture system using woodchip denitrification and slow sand filtration.

In recirculating aquaculture system (RAS), ammonium excreted by the fish is typically transformed to less toxic nitrate by microbial activity in bioreactors. However, nitrate-nitrogen load can be harmful for the receiving water body when released from the RAS facility. A new type of water treatment system for a RAS was designed, including a passive woodchip denitrification followed by a sand filtration introduced into a side-loop of an experimental RAS, rearing rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

The Fate of Bacteriophages in Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS)-Towards Developing Phage Therapy for RAS.

Aquaculture production has increased tremendously during the last decades, and new techniques have been developed, e.g., recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS).

Botulinum toxin alleviates dysphagia of patients with inclusion body myositis.

Objectives: Oropharyngeal dysphagia is a disabling and undertreated symptom that often occurs in patients with sporadic inclusion body myositis (s-IBM). In this study, we examined the effect of botulinum neurotoxin A (BoNT-A) injections to the cricopharyngeus muscle (CPM) of patients with s-IBM and dysphagia.

Patients, Materials And Methods: A single-center retrospective study involving 40 biopsy-proven s-IBM-patients treated in the District of Southwest Finland from 2000 to 2013.