Cost-effectiveness and quality of life in surgeon versus general practitioner-organised colon cancer surveillance: a randomised controlled trial.

Objective: To assess whether colon cancer follow-up can be organised by general practitioners (GPs) without a decline in the patient's quality of life (QoL) and increase in cost or time to cancer diagnoses, compared to hospital follow-up.

Design: Randomised controlled trial.

Setting: Northern Norway Health Authority Trust, 4 trusts, 11 hospitals and 88 local communities.

Should the surgeon or the general practitioner (GP) follow up patients after surgery for colon cancer? A randomized controlled trial protocol focusing on quality of life, cost-effectiveness and serious clinical events.

Background: All patients who undergo surgery for colon cancer are followed up according to the guidelines of the Norwegian Gastrointestinal Cancer Group (NGICG). These guidelines state that the aims of follow-up after surgery are to perform quality assessment, provide support and improve survival. In Norway, most of these patients are followed up in a hospital setting.

[Complaints before and after cholecystectomy].

Background: It may be difficult to decide whether a patient's discomfort is related to known gallbladder stones.

Material And Methods: A questionnaire regarding pre- and postoperative complaints and satisfaction with treatment was sent to 211 patients a median 51 months after they had undergone cholecystectomy at Rana district hospital during the May 1993 to March 2001 period.

Results: 97% of the patients returned our questionnaire.

[Gallbladder surgery in a district hospital--a prospective registration].

Background: Health authorities and patients are expected to be more active in inquiring about the outcome of surgery for each specific hospital. Prospective registration performed in a district hospital has to go on for years until the results can be evaluated. Specific data for gallbladder surgery performed in Norwegian district hospitals have not been reported before.

[Agenesis of the gallbladder].

Background: Agenesis of the gallbladder, first described in 1701, is a rare, congenital malformation with an incidence of 0.01% to 0.04%.