Scandinavian journal of primary health care
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Scand J Prim Health Care · Jan 2008
Multi-dose drug dispensing and inappropriate drug use: A nationwide register-based study of over 700,000 elderly.
To investigate whether the use of multi-dose drug dispensing is associated with potentially inappropriate drug use (IDU). ⋯ Our results indicate that multi-dose users may be more exposed to potential IDU. However, multi-dose users seem to have a lower probability of potentially serious DDIs. Future research on multi-dose drug dispensing is necessary to ensure a high quality of drug therapy within this system.
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Scand J Prim Health Care · Jan 2008
What role may symptoms play in the diagnosis of airflow limitation? A study in an elderly population.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an under-diagnosed condition. General practitioners meet and examine the patients in early stages of the disease, and symptoms represent the starting point of the diagnostic process. ⋯ Respiratory symptoms are valuable predictors of airflow limitation and should be emphasized when selecting patients for spirometry.
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Scand J Prim Health Care · Jan 2008
Comparative StudyHigh prevalence of emphysema and its association with BMI: a study of smokers with normal spirometry.
To evaluate to what extent emphysema was evident, as identified by High Resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT), in smokers with normal lung function and to relate age, gender, smoking history, and body mass index (BMI) to the HRCT results. A secondary aim was to study to what extent emphysema was present in smokers with lower normal values of lung function defined as FEV(1)/FVC ratio percentage of predicted value (89-93% of predicted value for males and 90-93% for females) or FEF(50) < or = 60% of predicted compared with smokers without this definition. ⋯ There was a high occurrence of visual emphysema in middle-aged smokers with normal lung function. The densitometric quantitative analysis method is inadequate for detecting mild emphysema. High prevalence of emphysema was associated with low BMI.
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Scand J Prim Health Care · Jan 2008
Pharmacologically inappropriate prescriptions for elderly patients in general practice: How common? Baseline data from The Prescription Peer Academic Detailing (Rx-PAD) study.
To assess Norwegian general practitioners' (GPs') level of potentially harmful drug prescribing for elderly patients. ⋯ The study reveals areas where GPs' prescribing practice for elderly patients can be improved and which can be targeted in educational interventions.