Läkartidningen
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This report summarizes some of the most important changes and new recommendations from the ESC ST-elevation myocardial infarction and double antiplatelet therapy guidelines for 2017, which are of interest for physicians managing patients with coronary artery disease.
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Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a serious complication to left heart disease (LHD), affecting a majority of the patients during the course of the disease. Initially, PH-LHD is caused by passive congestion of the pulmonary vessels due to increased left atrial pressures, a condition that is currently denoted as isolated post-capillary PH (Icp-PH). In the majority of patients the increased atrial pressure is a result of elevated left ventricular filling pressures. ⋯ Despite PH-LHD being common and serious, specific therapies are lacking for the pulmonary component. Instead, treatments focus on optimizing the underlying cause of PH-LHD and involve medical as well as surgical therapies. In the present review we presents, based on the new guidelines, current knowledge on pathophysiological and pathobiological mechanisms, epidemiology, investigation and treatment of PH-LHD.
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An eye for an eye? Lack of consensus in off-label use of medications leads to major regional differences in medical costs for the treatment of wet AMD in Sweden. The three ocular VEGF inhibitors available in Sweden have similar efficacy and safety. Only two are however registered for wet AMD. ⋯ In the three largest cities, it is not used at all. As a consequence, the yearly drug cost for a patient with wet AMD differs from 2 000 to 44 000 SEK. As this difference is not compatible with the Swedish law of "care on equal terms", increased efforts should be made to obtain a national consensus.
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Polio close to eradication The WHO Global Polio Eradication Initiative has been highly successful. With a dramatic decrease in polio since it started in 1988, the number of globally reported cases reached a record low of 37 in 2016. This article describes the WHO Endgame Strategic Plan including milestones that have been reached and challenges that have to be overcome in order to reach the goal of polio eradication by 2020. ⋯ In 2016 the WHO took the first step to withdraw the oral polio vaccine (OPV) by globally shifting from trivalent to bivalent OPV. The role of the inactivated vaccine (IPV) in the final phase of eradication and in the post-eradication situation is also considered. Certification of eradication and containment of all polio virus by the end of 2020 is a key objective. Legacy planning includes mainstreaming polio functions into ongoing public health programmes.
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Assessment of neurologic prognosis after cardiac arrest. Updated recommendations from the Swedish CPR Council Expert Group European Resuscitation Council (ERC) issued updated guidelines for postresuscitation care in 2015. This paper provides updated Swedish recommendations for neurological prognostication of patients remaining unconscious after cardiac arrest (CA). ⋯ It should not be performed earlier than three days after CA and any influence from sedatives must be negligible. Bilateral absence of both corneal and pupillary reflexes and bilaterally absent Somatosensory Evoked N20 Potentials (SSEP) at 72 hours are reliable predictors of poor outcome but the ocular reflexes have limited sensitivity and SSEP has limited availability. Hence, further delay of at least 24 hours and combinations of findings from multiple methods are often needed for reliable prognostication. If firm evidence of a poor prognosis is lacking four days after CA, further expectation with repeated examinations is recommended.