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Biomedical subjects

E Fierens

Publications and source records attributed to E Fierens.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

Relation of upper gastrointestinal bleeding to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and aspirin: a case-control study.

We conducted a case-control study in five general hospitals in the region of Antwerp, studying 161 patients (102 men, 59 women) and hospital control subjects matched for age and sex to explore the relation between drug use and upper gastrointestinal bleeding from 'erosive lesions' (peptic oesophagitis, gastric erosions, gastric ulcer(s), or duodenal ulcer(s]. There was a highly significant difference between cases and control subjects in the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs, excluding aspirin) (odds ratio 7.4, p less than 0.001; 95% confidence interval odds ratio 3.7 to 14.7). There also was a significant difference in the use of aspirin (odds ratio 2.2, p = 0.025; 95% CI odds ratio 1.3 to 4.0) and a highly significant difference regarding the presence of antecedents of peptic ulcer disease (odds ratio 5.5, p less than 0.001; 95% CI odds ratio 3.2 to 9.6). There was no significant difference in the use of other drugs, paracetamol and corticosteroids in particular, nor in the use of alcohol or tobacco. The patient group using NSAIDs was older, had more women, and had a higher mortality than the group not using NSAIDs. Among patients with bleeding gastric or duodenal ulcer(s), NSAID users were not more or less likely to have had symptoms of peptic ulcer disease, and had no higher frequency of multiple gastric or duodenal ulcers. The attributable risk for NSAID use was 0.30 (95% CI 0.23 to 0.37) and for aspirin use 0.14 (95% CI 0.08 to 0.20).

Adolescent↗

[Archeological and artistic sources of coca consumption in pre-hispanic America].

The use of coca in pre-hispanic America is confirmed by archeological and artistic sources, such as sculptures, ceramics, fabrics and pictures. The historical and geographical diffusion of these pieces of evidence seems to point to the fact that coca has been a strong element in the union of the different cultures of this continent. Those pieces of evidence were mostly found in a religious bond and indicate towards the divine character awarded to this plant; this divinity will, later on, be confirmed by the Inca's, who will raise it to a god. Owing to its many properties such as its use in the course of initiation rituals and of important celebrations, and seeing its fundamental importance in economy, coca was allowed a manifold value. The investigation of as well the technical (materials, workmanship,...) as the esthetic factors (form, style,...) of the works of art, combined with the study of the cultural background, shows that the use of coca seems to have been a privilege of the upper social classes. It is just from the Inca period (1450-1530) that the whole people could reach to coca, so that its stimulating properties outweighed the symbolic meaning.

Art↗

[Not Available].

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Belgium↗

Outpatient coronary arteriography.

A total of 12,719 outpatient coronary angiograms have been performed, using the Sones Technique, at Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan, over the past 14 years. A consecutive series of 5,107 of these outpatient angiograms were selected for review here. Sixty-one percent of these patients were diagnosed with coronary artery disease. No deaths occurred in this series. Only 2.22% of patients in this series had complications. Outpatient coronary angiography is a safe, cost-effective, and efficient diagnostic technique.

Ambulatory Care↗

Sport and medicine in ancient Greece.

Sport and medicine in ancient Greece were the result of a widespread tradition of liberty, which was at the heart of one of the most brilliant civilizations in history. Whereas war encouraged the development of surgical knowledge springing out of medical experience on the battlefield, peace promoted the burgeoning of sport as an integral part of Greek upbringing, allowing the channeling of young people's aggressiveness into physical competition. Medicine was magical and mythological, especially in the time of Homer (9th century BC); Aesculapius, the mythical god of healing, was its reference point. With Hippocrates (5th century BC), the body of medical experience was to be codified and built up, and was to undergo a novel evolution based on the theory of the balance of the four humors. The athlete's mentality, faced with trauma in the sports ground, underwent a change; injury was no longer considered a punishment by the gods. At the same time, temple offerings tendered in the hope of victory gave way to the athlete's personal preparation based on a specifically modified lifestyle, diet, and training. The resulting progress in medicine and public health, especially from the 5th century BC onward, was not only to favor athletic performances of high quality but also surgical techniques that were very advanced for their time. Thus it can be seen that the medical knowledge associated with the practice of sport progressed during antiquity because of its obligation to follow the warrior and then the athlete.

Greece, Ancient↗