[Multimodal treatment of pain and nausea in breast cancer surgery].

Introduction: Every year 4000 women in Denmark undergo surgery for breast cancer. According to published literature approximately 50% suffer from post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV) and moderate pain. No national guidelines are available regarding the treatment or prevention of pain and PONV associated with surgery for these patients.

[How is out-of-hospital cardiac arrest dispatched?].

Introduction: In Denmark any person needing urgent medical help can dial 112 and get in contact with an alarm centre where a non-health educated operator assesses what kind of help is needed. A specific dispatch report (DR) is used if an ambulance is dispatched. We assessed which DRs were used for the Copenhagen Mobile Emergency Care Unit (MECU) in the case of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

[Documentation of in-hospital cardiac arrest].

Introduction: Documentation of and staff compliance with guidelines during in-hospital cardiac arrest are very important. The purpose of the study is to clarify to what extent treatment of cardiac arrest was documented and whether the staff followed the hospital's protocol for cardiac arrest treatment in 2005.

Materials And Method: Medical records for 50 consecutive in-hospital cardiac arrests in 2005 were analysed and compared to 50 consecutive cardiac arrests in 2001.

[Fatigue in hematological patients treated with allogeneic stem cell transplantation].

Introduction: Fatigue and poor physical function are well-known symptoms in cancer patients. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation is an established treatment for certain cancer diagnoses, especially leukaemia. The aim of this study was to investigate physical function and fatigue in relation to allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

[Glasgow Coma Scale < 9 as a criterion for tracheal intubation of patients with traumatic brain injuries?].

Guidelines use GCS < 9 as a criterion for tracheal intubation of patients with traumatic brain injuries. Our hypothesis was that there was actually no evidence for using this criterion. We searched relevant databases and found no association between a particular GCS and impaired pharyngeal control, but we did find an association between a low GCS and respiratory insufficiency.

[Patients' satisfaction with the Mobile Emergency Care Unit in Copenhagen].

Introduction: Patients' satisfaction with physician-staffed ambulances in Copenhagen had not previously been investigated. We therefore conducted a survey of patients' satisfaction with the Mobile Emergency Care Unit (MECU) in Copenhagen.

Materials And Methods: The period of investigation was from 1 September 2003 to 31 December 2003.

[Intraosseous access in adults--an alternative if conventional vascular access is difficult?].

Intraosseous infusion is widely used in children, but its use in adults is much less common. This is probably because another vascular access can usually be achieved, and also because of lack of knowledge of the technique. Placement in adults is a quick procedure with a high rate of success.

[Health economic analysis of smoking cessation prior to surgery--based on a randomised trial].

Smoking is a risk factor for postoperative complications such as pneumonia, infections and impaired wound healing. These can be reduced by preoperative stop-smoking intervention six to eight weeks before surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the costs and benefits of a stop-smoking intervention program by means of cost consequence analysis (CCA).

[Does evidence lead to a change in clinical practice? Danish anaesthetists' and nurse anesthetists' clinical practice and knowledge of postoperative residual curarization].

Background: Recent studies have shown a high incidence of postoperative residual curarization (PORC). The reason for this is unclear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the methods used by Danish anaesthetists to exclude PORC are evidence-based and, if they are not, to determine the reasons why.

[Should health care information be provided in more than words? Experiences of plastic surgery in patients at looking at clinical photos].

Introduction: This article deals with an empirical study on the use of clinical photos as part of the information/communication between health professionals and patients. Normally the verbal method is used to provide information to patients. The hypothesis is that figurative and illustrative material can be a useful supplement to the spoken word.

Strategy for decentralised prevention of angle closure glaucoma in Greenland.

In 1962 a blindness survey showed glaucomas to be responsible for 64% of all blindness in Greenland. In 1968 primary angle closure glaucoma was found to be the major glaucoma problem. Population studies using gonioscopy, optical anterior chamber depth, corneal thickness, diameter- and curvature measurements as well as ultrasound biometry were gradually performed.

[An extensive case of maxillary pneumosinus dilatans].

We present a 40-year-old male with an aggressive case of maxillary pneumosinus dilatans. Our examination including rhinoscopy showed that the nasal wall including the middle turbinate was displaced towards the nasal septum obliterating the middle meatus. A reopening of the affected maxillary sinus was performed endoscopically with success.

[Remifentanil and eye surgery. A randomized, clinical comparison of propofol/remifentanil anesthesia and propofol/fentanyl/alfentanil anesthesia].

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate how many patients, after anesthesia with either propofol/remifentanil or propofol/fentanyl/alfentanil, within 20 minutes from the end of surgery could be transferred directly to the general ward. The number of undesired preoperative incidents, the anesthetists', the surgeons', and the patients' evaluations of the anesthesia were registered. An evaluation of the economic consequences of the two methods was also intended.

Appropriateness of leaving emergency medical service treated hypoglycemic patients at home: a retrospective study.

Background: Hypoglycemic patients treated by the emergency medical service (EMS) system are commonly left home. The criteria for leaving hypoglycemic patients at home and the appropriateness of the procedure remains, however, unvalidated. The present retrospective article addresses these questions.

[Rupture of the right atrium after blunt trauma].

Cardiac rupture following blunt trauma is usually fatal. Patients arriving alive at the hospital may be saved with prompt diagnosis and treatment. We report a case where a haemopericardium was diagnosed by ultrasonography in a 28-year-old man involved in a motor vehicle accident.

[Admission, initial examination and care of severely injured in Denmark].

Introduction: The aim of this study was to describe the initial care and management of trauma patients in Denmark.

Material And Methods: A questionnaire was sent to all 64 hospitals in Denmark in July 1999. All responded.

[Endoscopic closure of cranionasal cerebrospinal fluid fistulas with the use of neuronavigation--"Computer Aided Surgery"].

Introduction: Conventionally, cranionasal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) fistulas have been closed by repair of the dural defect via an open craniotomy. These techniques may be cumbersome, not without complications, and far from successful. In recent years, endoscopic techniques have been developed in the field of nasal surgery and neurosurgery.