Danish medical journal
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Danish medical journal · Jul 2015
Multicenter StudyThe incidence and prognosis of patients with bacteremia.
Bacteremia is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, and ranks among the top seven causes of death in Europe and North America. The occurrence of bacteremia has increased for decades while short-term prognosis has remained unchanged or improved only slightly. Consequently, we are facing an increased number of bacteremia survivors for whom we know little about long-term survival and causes of death. ⋯ However, bacteremia is associated with a very poor short- and long-term prognosis and the risk of death remains increased for years compared with the general population. The most common causes of death after bacteremia are cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Among hospitalized patients, the incidence of bacteremia is highest within days of admission and varies with patient and clinical characteristics.
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Danish medical journal · Mar 2015
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyLegislation hampers medical research in acute situations.
Informed consent in incapacitated adults is permitted in the form of proxy consent by both the patients' closest relative (next of kin, NOK) and general practitioner (GP). In research in acute situations not involving pharmaceuticals, Danish legislation allows for randomisation and subsequent proxy consent, as soon as possible. The aim of this study was to describe the delay associated with obtaining consent and to assess whether consent from NOK or GP/Danish Health and Medicines Authority is obtained with delays beyond the intervention. ⋯ This work was supported by the European Regional Development Fund through the Interreg IV A OKS programme (NYPS ID: 167157) with regards to authors JHT, CH, NN and JK.
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Danish medical journal · Feb 2014
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyIntracoronary and systemic melatonin to patients with acute myocardial infarction: protocol for the IMPACT trial.
Ischaemia-reperfusion injury following acute myocardial infarctions (AMI) is an unavoidable consequence of the primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) procedure. A pivotal mechanism in ischaemia-reperfusion injury is the production of reactive oxygen species following reperfusion. The endogenous hormone, melatonin, works as an antioxidant and could potentially minimise the ischaemia-reperfusion injury. Given intracoronarily, it enables melatonin to work directly at the site of reperfusion. We wish to test if melatonin, as an antioxidant, can minimise the reperfusion injury following pPCI in patients with AMI. ⋯ This study received no financial support from the industry.
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Danish medical journal · Jan 2014
Multicenter StudyCrohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Occurrence, course and prognosis during the first year of disease in a European population-based inception cohort.
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), consisting of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), are chronic immune mediated diseases of unknown aetiology. Traditionally, the highest occurrence of both UC and CD is found in North America and Europe, including Scandinavia and the United Kingdom, while the diseases remain rare in Eastern Europe. Until recently, few population-based cohort data were available on the epidemiology of IBD in Eastern Europe. ⋯ Biological therapy accounted for one fourth costs in Western European CD patients. Long-term follow-up of the EpiCom cohort is needed in order to assess whether the earlier and more frequent treatment with immunomodulators and biologicals observed in this study will change the natural disease course and phenotypes over time or merely postpone outcomes such as surgery. Furthermore, the question of if and how differences in treatment choices between Eastern and Western Europe impact on the disease course requires long-term follow-up.
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Danish medical journal · Jan 2014
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative StudyHydroxyethyl starch in sepsis.
Hydroxyethyl starch (HES) is a colloid that has been widely used for fluid resuscitation for decades. The newest generation of HES, tetrastarch, was believed to provide an efficient volume expansion without causing the side effects observed with former HES solutions. However, this belief was based on physiological models and small studies rather than on firm clinical evidence. Our aim was to assess the safety and efficacy of tetrastarch in a randomised clinical trial and in a systematic review. ⋯ Our randomised clinical trial is one of several high-quality trials in critically ill patients with and without sepsis that now provide evidence that the use of tetrastarch impairs kidney function and haemostasis and may even increase mortality. Whether the results can be extrapolated to other types of patients is unclear, but so far no group of patients with an overall benefit of HES beyond surrogate markers has been identified. In line with this, the European Medicines Agency's Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee now recommends that the marketing authorisations of all HES solutions are suspended in the European Union.