Overt and cryptic miliary tuberculosis misdiagnosed until autopsy.

Autopsy confirmed deaths due to miliary tuberculosis in Finland were analysed in order to improve the diagnosis of the disease. Tuberculosis deaths from mortality statistics were examined in order to identify miliary tuberculosis deaths, and the medical records of the autopsied cases were studied. The deceased were divided into 2 groups, 'overt' disease and 'cryptic' disease, on the basis of chest X-ray findings.

Is the risk of occupational tuberculosis higher for young health care workers?

Setting: Health care workers in Finland.

Objective: Occupational tuberculosis (TB) was studied separately in nurses, assistant nurses, physicians, psychiatric nurses, medical laboratory workers and radiographers during the period 1971-1995.

Design: All 447 notified cases between 20 and 59 years of age were included.

A cost-effectiveness analysis of universal versus selective immunization with Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guérin in Finland.

Setting: Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Gueŕin (BCG) is provided to all infants born in Finland.

Objective: To analyze the cost-effectiveness of universal versus selective BCG immunization.

Design: A Markov model was developed to simulate rates of tuberculosis (TB) and non-tuberculous mycobacterial disease (NTM), and to examine the cost-effectiveness in terms of cost per case averted of three different strategies: universal BCG, selective BCG (10% of infants at higher TB risk than other infants) or no BCG immunization.

Tuberculosis among health care workers during three recent decades.

Some studies have found that health care workers have an increased risk of tuberculosis, whereas other studies have reported the opposite. This study examined data of Finnish health care workers (HCWs) for the incidence of tuberculosis disease. Cases of occupational tuberculosis in Finland were analysed over a period of 30 yrs (1966-1995).

Clodronate is effective in preventing corticosteroid-induced bone loss among asthmatic patients.

Clodronate is a novel drug used for inhibiting osteoclastic activity. The aim of the present double-blind study was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of clodronate (Leiras, Finland) in corticosteroid-induced bone loss among asthmatic patients. Seventy-four adult patients (41 women and 33 men, mean age 57.

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin revaccination questionable with low tuberculosis incidence.

Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) revaccination was discontinued in Finland in 1990. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of BCG revaccination of tuberculin-negative school-children in prevention of tuberculosis. The tuberculosis cases in 1990-1995 were calculated among age cohorts born 1979-1984 and no longer covered by the BCG revaccination program.

Alpha-Tocopherol and beta-carotene supplements and lung cancer incidence in the alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene cancer prevention study: effects of base-line characteristics and study compliance.

Background: Experimental and epidemiologic investigations suggest that alpha-tocopherol (the most prevalent chemical form of vitamin E found in vegetable oils, seeds, grains, nuts, and other foods) and beta-carotene (a plant pigment and major precursor of vitamin A found in many yellow, orange, and dark-green, leafy vegetables and some fruit) might reduce the risk of cancer, particularly lung cancer. The initial findings of the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study (ATBC Study) indicated, however, that lung cancer incidence was increased among participants who received beta-carotene as a supplement. Similar results were recently reported by the Beta-Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial (CARET), which tested a combination of beta-carotene and vitamin A.

Mycobacterial infections in Finland.

In Finland, the situation with regard to tuberculosis has been constantly improving during recent years, and the WHO criteria for a low incidence country (10/100,000) are presently satisfied. In contrast, the number of clinical specimens yielding atypical mycobacteria by isolation has rapidly increased. Organisms belonging in Mycobaterium avium-intracellulare complex dominate among the isolated species.

[Tuberculosis control in Scandinavia].

Compared with the rest of the world, the situation regarding tuberculosis is favourable in the Nordic countries. In 1993, the incidence for persons born in respective country (per 100,000 of the population) was 4.1 in Denmark, 3.

Bone mineral density in asthmatic women on high-dose inhaled beclomethasone dipropionate.

Inhaled corticosteroids are the cornerstone of the modern therapy for asthma. In recent years, inhaled corticosteroids have been used in higher doses than previously. This has caused concern about possible osteoporotic side-effects.

Prevalence of asthma in elderly Finns.

There is uncertainty about the prevalence of asthma even in countries in which extensive epidemiological surveys have been carried out and attention has been drawn to a probable increase in prevalence. A cross-sectional epidemiological survey of asthma in the population aged 64 years or over was carried out in the rural district of Lieto, Finland. All 1196 participants (488 men and 708 women, 93% of those eligible) were examined and individually assessed using a set of criteria for asthma.

Prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in elderly Finns.

The prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the elderly is poorly known. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of COPD and to analyse the factors associated with it in an elderly Finnish population. The population consisted of persons resident in Lieto, Finland, born in or before 1926.

Pros and cons of BCG vaccination in countries with low incidence of tuberculosis.

Preventive bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination, together with case finding and effective chemotherapy, has formed an integral part of the tuberculosis (TB) control program in most countries. In some low-incidence countries the balance of prevention has been more on the side of chemoprophylaxis than of BCG vaccination. The time clearly has come when the strategy of mass BCG vaccination no longer is indicated medically, nor is it cost-effective.

A comparative study of dirithromycin and erythromycin in bacterial pneumonia.

Dirithromycin, a new once-daily macrolide, was studied in a multicentre, randomised, double-blind trial in community-acquired bacterial pneumonia. A total of 591 patients received either a single daily dose of dirithromycin, 500 mg, or erythromycin, 250 mg, four times daily. Clinical response rates were similar in both treatment groups (127 dirithromycin-treated and 118 erythromycin-treated patients): at the time of the final consultation, the clinical and bacteriological response rates for dirithromycin-treated patients were 94.

Focusing tuberculosis contact tracing by smear grading of index cases.

Several studies have confirmed that the contacts of sputum-smear-positive patients are a high risk group. We made a prospective survey to investigate the contacts of infectious cases of pulmonary tuberculosis in order to evaluate whether different grades of sputum-smear positivity have any consequence in the emergence of new cases. The number of contacts reported by 134 index cases was 609.

Periodic breathing imitating hyperventilation syndrome.

We report a male patient who developed an unusual periodic breathing. At presentation, the differential diagnosis at bedside between Cheyne-Stokes and primary hyperventilation syndrome was laborious, and the final verification was based on the result of capnography.

Detection and identification of mycobacteria by amplification of a segment of the gene coding for the 32-kilodalton protein.

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the rapid detection of mycobacterial DNA is described. Oligonucleotide primers, derived from the sequence of a gene coding for the 32-kDa antigen of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, amplified DNA from all 28 species of mycobacteria tested. All nonmycobacterial species tested were negative.

Sensitivity to PPD tuberculin and M. scrofulaceum sensitin in schoolchildren BCG vaccinated at birth.

Objective: To determine the degree of and variation in sensitivity to PPD RT 23 tuberculin and M. scrofulaceum sensitin RS 95 at school age in children BCG vaccinated at birth.

Design: Double-testing by applying standard WHO Mantoux tests and inspecting BCG scars.

Wegener's granulomatosis--treatment under revision?

A 44-year-old man with nasal and respiratory symptoms combined with positive serum antibodies to neutrophil cytoplasmic antigens (ANCA) suggestive of Wegener's granulomatosis was treated with antibacterial agents. Complete clinical response was achieved with co-trimoxazole, and the titer of ANCA declined. After a 12-month treatment period, the patient contracted fever and respiratory symptoms and fatigue again, and he had proteinuria and hematuria.

Later development of asthma in patients with a negative methacholine inhalation challenge examined for suspected asthma.

A negative methacholine inhalation challenge (MIC) in a patient with suspected bronchial asthma is generally considered to make this diagnosis unlikely. Nevertheless, the patient may later develop asthma. To estimate the proportion that eventually becomes asthmatic, a 10 year follow-up study was carried out on 334 consecutive MIC-negative patients aged 14-80 years.