[Update on Current Care Guideline. Diabetes].

About 500,000 people suffer from diabetes in Finland, a number which is predicted to increase within the next decades. At the moment, diabetes can neither be prevented nor cured. Diabetes is associated with microvascular (kidney, eye and peripheral nerves) and macrovascular complications (coronary heart disease, stroke).

Finnish guidelines for the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia and pertussis in children.

Unlabelled: Evidence-based guidelines are needed to harmonise and improve the diagnostics and treatment of children's lower respiratory tract infections. Following a professional literature search, an interdisciplinary working group evaluated and graded the available evidence and constructed guidelines for the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia and pertussis.

Conclusion: The clinical guidelines state that chest radiography is not needed if the child is diagnosed with pneumonia and treated at home.

Finnish guidelines for the treatment of laryngitis, wheezing bronchitis and bronchiolitis in children.

Unlabelled: Evidence-based guidelines are needed to harmonise and improve the diagnostics and treatment of children's lower respiratory tract infections. Following a professional literature search, an interdisciplinary working group evaluated and graded the available evidence and constructed guidelines for treating laryngitis, bronchitis, wheezing bronchitis and bronchiolitis.

Conclusion: Currently available drugs were not effective in relieving cough symptoms.

[Practices for hospital discharge of patients with pulmonary embolism in university and central hospital emergency call services].

Introduction: The recommendation to discharge low-risk pulmonary embolism patients from or after a brief monitoring in the emergency department has not been widely adopted in Finland.

Methods: We explored the practices for examination and treatment of patients with pulmonary embolism in a university hospital and a central hospital. An assessment was made on how these practices followed the risk classifications.

[Update on current care guidelines. Current care guideline: Acute lower respiratory tract infection in adults].

Pneumonia is recognised in patients suffering from acute cough or deteriorated general condition. Patients with acute cough without pneumonia-related symptoms or clinical findings do not benefit from antimicrobial treatment. Those with suspected or confirmed pneumonia are treated with antibiotics, amoxicillin being the first choice.

[Update on Current Care Guidelines. Current Care Guideline: Stable Coronary Artery Disease].

This guideline covers coronary heart disease symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. Stable coronary heart disease refers to a disease in, which patients have stable symptoms and evidence of ischemia or significant stenosis of coronary artery. Diagnosis is based on medical history and exercise test, which is the primary diagnostic test.

Diagnosis and pharmacotherapy of stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: the finnish guidelines.

The Finnish Medical Society Duodecim initiated and managed the update of the Finnish national guideline for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The Finnish COPD guideline was revised to acknowledge the progress in diagnosis and management of COPD. This Finnish COPD guideline in English language is a part of the original guideline and focuses on the diagnosis, assessment and pharmacotherapy of stable COPD.

[Update on current care guideline: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)].

Clinical serverity of COPD is based not only on the grade of obstruction in spirometry, but also on symptoms and risk of exacerbations. Symptoms can be defined by questionnaires, such as CAT-test (COPD assessment -test) or mMRC (modified Medical Research Council -test). Smoking cessation and physical activity are important treatment options.