Läkartidningen
-
Both joint injury and joint stress contribute to the development of arthrosis. The article consists in a review of literature in this field which sheds light on the risk of developing hip or knee arthrosis as a result of sports participation. Soccer is a sport associated with manifest joint overload and risk of injury to the knee. ⋯ Moreover, elite level soccer is associated with an increased risk of knee arthrosis, even if cases of trauma-induced arthrosis are excluded. There is also a markedly increased risk of hip arthrosis among former elite soccer players. Below the elite level, however, soccer is not associated with an increased risk of knee or hip arthrosis; nor is long-distance running associated with an increased risk of arthrosis, though extremely long-distance running may cause arthrosis, primarily in the hip, but possibly also in the knee.
-
Doppler ultrasound is a well established technique for evaluating impedance to blood flow. A review of current literature in the field yields convincing support for the use of obstetric Doppler ultrasonography in the management of high-risk pregnancies. ⋯ However, every technique has its limitations, and it should be borne in mind that even if fetal hypoxia is often revealed by an abnormal Doppler ultrasound result before the cardiotocography pattern becomes abnormal, it is nonetheless a late sign. It is concluded in the article that Doppler ultrasonography needs to be combined with other methods, such as the measurement of biochemical markers, to ensure satisfactory fetal monitoring.
-
The need both of critical assessment of community intervention programmes and of alternatives to randomised controlled studies is discussed in the article. Examples are drawn from a review recently completed for the Swedish Council on Technology Assessment in Health Care [Statens Beredning för Utvärdering av medicinsk metodik (SBU)], and from the evaluation of a cardiovascular disease prevention programme currently in progress in northern Sweden.
-
Pain is a major public health problem. The management of orofacial pain may be a difficult challenge to the medical and dental professions. Ideally, severe cases of this type of pain should be treated by a team drawn from several disciplines such as neurology, otolaryngology, dentistry and psychiatry. ⋯ When pus is present, drainage affords excellent pain relief. Acute pericoronitis involving mandibular third molars responds to irrigation, removal of maxillary third molar trauma, and--in cases of serious infection--antimicrobial therapy. Early recognition of a case of chronic pain improves the chances of successful management, and avoids frustration and disillusion both to patient and doctor.