Publications by authors named "S Vilkman"

Object: In this paper, the authors investigate the effects of anterior cervical decompression (ACD) on swallowing and vocal function.

Methods: The study comprised 114 patients who underwent ACD. The early group (50 patients) was examined immediately pre- and postoperatively, and the late group (64 patients) was examined at only 3 to 9 months postoperatively.

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The Finnish National Prevention and Treatment Programme for Chronic Bronchitis and COPD, launched in 1998, has, to date, been running for 6 years (2003). The goals of this action programme were to reduce the incidence of COPD and the number of moderate and severe cases of the disease, and to reduce both the number of days of hospitalisation and treatment costs. A prevalent implementation of over 250 information and training events started.

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Those patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who require hospital treatment are severely ill. We have studied the survival and cause of death among COPD patients in Finland after their first admission to hospital due to COPD. COPD-related treatment periods in all hospitals during 1972-1992 were collected from the national discharge register, and a subgroup was defined consisting of 2,237 patients aged 65-69 years who had their first admission during 1986-1990.

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Background: Hospital admissions in general are characterised by a marked seasonal variation. We studied the periodicity in hospital treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Finland where the unfavourable climate with great climatic differences between summer and winter may play an important role in causing the seasonality in COPD hospitalisation.

Methods: Data by month were obtained for the years 1972-92 from the National Discharge Register, which contains information on patients treated in all hospitals in Finland.

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