We present a case of a previously asymptomatic 63-year-old woman who presented with worsening dyspnoea for 3 weeks. Initial transthoracic and later transoesophageal echocardiography confirmed biventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy and a large secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) measuring 1.4 cm. Additionally, there was a haemodynamically significant left to right shunt causing acute decompensated systolic heart failure. She eventually underwent closure of the septal defect using a AMPLATZER Septal Occluder device. Decision to close the defect was made as the left to right shunt was causing severe pulmonary hypertension and acute heart failure. Since most heart failure treatments involve lowering of the LV afterload there was consideration that this could cause right to left shunting and could cause an Eisenmenger physiology. Hence the AMPLATZER Septal Occluder device was placed to eliminate the shunt through the ASD. The ASD combined with the non-compaction posed significant treatment challenge in this case.

The efficacy and safety of oral nadolol in supraventricular tachycardia were evaluated prospectively in 27 children (median age 5.5 years). Fifteen patients had an unsuccessful trial of digoxin therapy. Intravenous nadolol was given to seven patients during electrophysiologic study; five of these had an excellent response and two had a partial response (25% decrease in tachycardia rate). Six of these patients had a similar response to oral nadolol. Twelve patients received both propranolol and nadolol. Among six patients, intravenous propranolol was successful in four and unsuccessful in two; all six had a similar response to oral nadolol. With oral propranolol, tachycardia was well controlled in four patients and persistent in two; five of five patients had a similar response to oral nadolol. Twenty-six patients were treated with oral nadolol; the arrhythmia was well controlled in 23, 2 had recurrent tachycardia and 1 patient had tachycardia at a 25% slower rate. The effective dose of nadolol ranged between 0.5 and 2.5 mg/kg body weight once daily (median dose 1 mg/kg per day). During follow-up (3 to 36 months), compliance and tolerance were excellent; excluding 2 patients with reactive airway disease who developed wheezing, only 3 (12%) of 24 had side effects necessitating a change in drug therapy. Once a day nadolol is a safe and effective agent in the management of supraventricular tachycardia in children. Its long-term efficacy can be predicted by the short-term response to intravenous nadolol or propranolol during programmed electrophysiologic study.

Approximately one in five adults in the United States experiences chronic pain. Over the last 50 years, spinal cord stimulation has become increasingly recognized as a minimally invasive, efficacious treatment modality for the management of chronic pain. The authors report a case study of a 46-year-old female in the first documented spinal cord stimulation simultaneously targeting intractable neuropathic and visceral pain caused by post-laminectomy syndrome and chronic pancreatitis, respectively. This case study demonstrates near-total relief of the patient's neuropathic low back/leg pain and visceral epigastric pain, showing evidence of potential clinical usefulness for spinal cord stimulation as a treatment option in patients who present with a combination of visceral and somatic pain symptoms.

We reviewed 13 cases of ultrasound-guided thrombin injection of femoral pseudoaneurysms. All cases occurred within a 17-month period from January 1998 through May 1999 and were complications of femoral artery puncture. Immediate total thrombosis occurred in nine of 13 patients. Twenty-four-hour follow-up ultrasound in seven patients revealed no recurrence of pseudoaneurysm. Two of 13 patients required operative repair. One pseudoaneurysm thrombosed with 15 minutes of compression after injection and one case required a second injection. No cases of arterial thrombosis were noted. Ultrasound-guided thrombin injection for femoral artery pseudoaneurysm represents a safe and effective alternative to operative repair.

No description available.

Fixed retainer after orthodontic treatment is an increasing retention appliance. For the mandibular incisors there are two different fixed retainers that are commonly used, either a canine-to-canine retainer bonded only to the canines or a twistflex retainer bonded to each of the mandibular incisors and canines. Increased mandibular incisor irregularity seems to be a continuous process throughout life even in untreated patients. The natural physiological changes during aging causes changes like those that occur after orthodontic treatment and the removal of retainers. There are few long-term studies that have compared patients who have had a mandibular fixed retainer with patients without retention appliance after treatment, and then compared the treated patients with untreated subjects.The overall aim of this thesis was to compare and evaluate two different mandibular fixed retainers and also to compare orthodontically treated cases with untreated long-term. This thesis is based on two studies and a PAR Index evaluation was presented in the frame story:Paper I is a retrospective longitudinal study done on dental casts and lateral head radiographs from patients who had received either a canine-to-canine retainer or a twistflex retainer after treatment. Different variables were measured, were Little’s Irregularity Index was the main outcome measure. The measurements were done at four different occasions, were the last registration was 12 years after treatment, i.e. 9 years after removal of retainer. Paper II is also a retrospective longitudinal study with three different groups, one group received a fixed mandibular retainer, one group did not receive any retention appliance after treatment and the third group was untreated subjects. Measurements were done on dental casts and lateral head radiographs at four different occasions to analyze dental and skeletal changes 12 years after treatment. Also here Little’s Irregularity Index was the main outcome measure. PAR Index evaluation is done to evaluate the stability of orthodontic treatment outcome after treatment and long-term for two different retainer groups and one non-retention group. The following conclusions were drawn: Paper I•Both the canine-to-canine retainer and the twistflex retainer can be recommended since both are equally effective during retention period.•None of the retention types prevent long-term changes of mandibular incisor irregularity or available space for the mandibular incisors after removal of the retainers.•No differences in bonding failures between the two retainers were found. Paper II•There were no differences found 12 years after treatment in Little’s Irregularity Index for the mandibular incisors between the group that had a retainer and the group that had no retainer after treatment•In the untreated group, Little’s Irregularity Index was increased over time but not to the same extent as in the treated groups. •The crowding before treatment did not explain the crowding at the last registration.•The use of mandibular retainers for two to three years does not appear to prevent long-term relapse. •If the patient wants to constrain the changes that come with natural development, then lifelong retention is needed.•The overjet and overbite were stable long-term.PAR Index evaluation•Twelve years after treatment the mean reduction in PAR score was over 70 per cent only for the groups who had a mandibular retainer after treatment. However, the non-retention group had a PAR score of 66 per cent.•There were more cases in the retention groups that were ”greatly improved and/or improved” 12 years after treatment compared to the non-retention group. After treatment between 16 and 23.3 per cent of all the cases were ”worse or not improved”. Twelve years after treatment between 36 and 43.6 per cent of the total cases were ”worse or not improved”.

Tidigare forskning visar att det finns ett samband mellan depressionssymtom och svårigheter i partnerrelationer. Forskning visar att deltagare efter parterapi har en ökad grad av relationsnöjdhet och en lägre grad av depressionssymtom. Uppsatsen genomfördes inom DANA-projektet (IKBT vid antenatal depression) och syftet var att analysera hur relationsnöjdhet hänger ihop med behandlingsutfall, följsamhet i behandling samt vilja att arbeta med relationer i behandling. Syftet var även att analysera vilka sociodemografiska och kliniska faktorer hos gravida med depression som har ett samband med relationsnöjdhet. I resultatet framkom inget signifikant samband mellan relationsnöjdhet och behandlingsutfall, följsamhet eller val att arbeta med relationer i behandlingen. I resultatet framkom ett signifikant samband mellan högre relationsnöjdhet och högre ekonomi, högre relationsnöjdhet och högre graviditetsönskan, samt högre relationsnöjdhet och lägre grad av depressionssymtom. För att kunna dra säkrare slutsatser över hur relationsnöjdhet och större fokus på relationer påverkar behandlingsutfall vid depressionsbehandling, behövs fortsatt forskning. Fortsatt forskning behövs även för att undersöka bakomliggande faktorer och hur dessa påverkar paret och deras mående. / Previous research shows a connection between symptoms of depression and difficulties in partner-relations. It also shows that the participants relationship satisfaction increased after couples-therapy and that their symptoms of depression decreased. This thesis was conducted in the DANA-project (ICBT during antenatal depression) and the intention was to examine the effect of relationship satisfaction on treatment outcome, adherence, and motivation to work with relationships in treatment. The intention was also to analyze the connection between relationship satisfaction and sociodemographic and clinical factors during pregnancy. The result presented no significant connection between relationship satisfaction and treatment outcome, adherence, or motivation to work with relationships in treatment. Furthermore, the result presented a significant connection between higher relationship satisfaction and higher economic status, higher relationship satisfaction and higher pregnancy desire and higher relationship satisfaction and lower symptoms of depression. Further research is needed to examine how more focus on relations in treatment and relationship satisfaction effects treatment outcome. Further research is also needed to examine underlying factors and how these effect the couple and their well-being.

No description available.

No / The purpose of this article is to investigate characteristics of cine phase contrast-calculated cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow and velocity measures in patients with relapsing-remitting (RR) multiple sclerosis (MS) receiving standard medical treatment who had been diagnosed with chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) and underwent percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA). This case-controlled, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging-blinded study included 15 patients with RR MS who presented with significant stenoses (>/=50% lumen reduction on catheter venography) in the azygous or internal jugular veins. Eight patients underwent PTA in addition to medical therapy immediately following baseline assessments (case group) and seven had delayed PTA after 6 months of medical therapy alone (control group). CSF flow and velocity measures were quantified over 32 phases of the cardiac cycle by a semiautomated method. Outcomes were compared between groups at baseline and at 6 and 12 months of the study by mixed-effect model analysis. At baseline, no significant differences in CSF flow or velocity measures were detected between groups. At month 6, significant improvement in flow (P<.001) and velocity (P = .013) outcomes were detected in the immediate versus the delayed group, and persisted to month 12 (P = .001 and P = .021, respectively). Within-group flow comparisons from baseline to follow-up showed a significant increase in the immediate group (P = .033) but a decrease in the delayed group (P = .024). Altered CSF flow and velocity measures were associated with worsening of clinical and MR outcomes in the delayed group. PTA in patients with MS with CCSVI increased CSF flow and decreased CSF velocity, which are indicative of improved venous parenchyma drainage.

There are few data on the associations between anaemia, allogeneic blood transfusion (ABT), patient blood management, and outcome after arthroplasty in the UK. National agencies nevertheless instruct NHS Trusts to implement blood conservation measures including preoperative anaemia management. Internationally, blood management programmes show encouraging results. METHODS: We retrospectively audited 717 primary hip or knee arthroplasties in a UK general hospital and conducted regression analyses to identify outcome predictors. We used these data to modify previously published algorithms for UK practice and audited its introduction prospectively. The retrospective audit group served as a control. RESULTS: Preoperative haemoglobin (Hb) concentration predicted ABT (odds ratio 0.25 per 1 g dl(-1), P<0.001). It also predicted the length of stay (LOS, effect size -0.7 days per 1 g dl(-1), P=0.004) independently of ABT, including in non-anaemic patients. Patient blood management implementation was associated with lower ABT rates for hip (23-7%, P<0.001) and knee (7-0%, P=0.001) arthroplasty. LOS for total hip replacement and total knee replacement decreased from 6 (5-8) days to 5 (3-7) and 4 (3-6) days, respectively, after algorithm implementation (P<0.001). The all-cause re-admission rate within 90 days decreased from 13.5% (97/717) before to 8.2% (23/281) after algorithm implementation (P=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that preoperative Hb predicts markers of arthroplasty outcome in UK practice. A systematic approach to optimize Hb mass before arthroplasty and limit Hb loss perioperatively was associated with improved outcome up to 90 days after discharge.