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Biomedical subjects

J Persson

Publications and source records attributed to J Persson.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Diffusion of medical devices in primary health care in Sweden.

An inventory of the availability of medical devices and laboratory tests at primary health care centers in Sweden is reported. The availability is shown to depend on a number of medical, economic, societal, and organizational factors describing primary health care. Technical performance of devices, risk management, and training of users need special attention with regard to these applications.

Catchment Area, Health↗

Can villous atrophy be induced by chronic alcohol consumption?

A 43-year-old man presented with loose stools, abdominal pain and a weight loss of 15 kg. Investigations revealed a pancreatic insufficiency and an enteropathy with villous atrophy. Coeliaki was suspected. In spite of treatment with a gluten-free diet in hospital the patient did not improve and the villous atrophy remained unchanged. Other causes than coeliaki to villous atrophy were ruled out. The patient had a heavy consumption of alcohol and after prolonged abstinence the patient gained weight, the pain disappeared and the stools were normalized. The jejunal biopsy was now normal. This case report raises the possibility that enteropathy and villous atrophy may be causally related to alcohol overconsumption.

Adult↗

Sickness absenteeism and mortality in patients with excessive drinking in somatic out-patient care.

In a study of 2114 patients attending somatic outpatient clinics, 208 were classified as excessive drinkers. Sickness benefit days and sickness periods per year, disability pension, and mortality were studied for the years 1981 to 1985. The excessive drinkers as a group had 13 to 27 more sickness days per year than the other patients. They also had more sickness periods and a higher rate of disability pension than patients without alcohol overconsumption. The study thus showed that a group with varying degrees of excessive drinking had an increased need for sickness benefits. The mortality was considerably increased among the excessive drinkers. The patients who had undergone treatment or were registered because of alcohol problems had most sickness benefit days. The excessive drinking patients without advanced alcohol problems did not have more sickness days than the other patients. Most of these patients (75%) were sick-listed without recognition of their excessive drinking by their doctor. This emphasizes the importance, in terms of sickness benefits and mortality, of better identification of patients with excessive drinking.

Absenteeism↗

Teaching medical informatics to biomedical engineering students: experiences over 15 years.

The Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Medical Informatics at Linköping University in Sweden were established in 1972-1973. The main purpose was to develop and offer courses in medicine, biomedical engineering and medical informatics to students in electrical engineering and computer science, for a specialization in biomedical engineering and medical informatics. The courses total about 400 hours of scheduled study in the subjects of basic cell biology, basic medicine (terminology, anatomy, physiology), biomedical engineering and medical informatics. Laboratory applications of medical computing are mainly taught in biomedical engineering courses, whereas clinical information systems, knowledge based decision support and computer science aspects are included within the medical informatics courses.

Biomedical Engineering↗

Comparison between different methods of detecting patients with excessive consumption of alcohol.

A study of excessive alcohol consumption was carried out on 2,114 adult somatic outpatients. All patients were evaluated by the following methods: Blood-chemical tests (serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (S-GT), serum aspartate aminotransferase (S-ASAT) and ethanol), patient's and doctor's questionnaires, and analysis of data from psychiatric records, social welfare registers and alcohol ambulatory services. Records from psychiatric clinics detected 48% of the patients. Forty per cent of the alcohol patients had S-GT levels greater than 0.9 mu kat/l. S-ASAT and blood ethanol levels were of little informative value. The doctors recognized excessive consumption (greater than 280 g of ethanol/week). The combination of S-GT and questionnaires to patients and doctors detected 63% of the alcohol patients. Both in epidemiological studies and in clinical practice it seems appropriate to use combinations of different methods to detect patients with underlying alcohol problems.

Adult↗

Prevalence of excessive or problem drinkers among patients attending somatic outpatient clinics: a study of alcohol related medical care.

The prevalence of alcohol related morbidity was studied among 2038 patients attending somatic outpatient clinics. A further 76 patients had refused the study, giving an overall drop out rate of 3.6%. Several methods were combined so as to detect as many patients with problem drinking as possible. According to the criteria and definitions employed 17% of men (confidence interval 15% to 19%) and 4% of women (confidence interval 3% to 5%) were excessive consumers of alcohol or problem drinkers. The highest proportion of such patients--that is, 17%--was noted in the emergency rooms (27% of men, 8% of women). At other clinics the proportions varied from 11% to 17% of men and from 2% to 4% of women. The strongest relations between overconsumption of alcohol and consultation at the clinic were among patients attending the medical outpatient clinic and the emergency rooms; in 86% (confidence interval 75% to 97%) and 88% (confidence interval 81% to 95%) of problem drinkers attending these clinics, respectively, alcohol was related to the consultation. Consultations were related to alcohol in 82% of women with excessive or problem drinking and 73% of men defined in this way. There was a tendency to a higher proportion of men with excessive or problem drinking in the age group 40-49 years. These findings show that among patients classified as excessive or problem drinkers attending somatic outpatient clinics there was a close relation between alcohol consumption and utilisation of medical resources, especially in women.

Alcoholism↗

Specific and nonspecific regeneration of motor axons after sciatic nerve injury and repair in the rat.

The pattern of motor axon regeneration following unilateral sciatic nerve lesions (freezing or transection) was studied in adult rats. Transected nerves were repaired with epineurial or fascicular sutures. Four months after the lesion, the motor neuron cell body localization in the spinal cord of plantar or common peroneal nerve axons were examined bilaterally with retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase. Motor neuron cell body localization was similar bilaterally after freezing, indicating that regenerating axons had reached their original peripheral innervation territory. However, after nerve transection, irrespective of whether epineurial or fascicular sutures were used, motor neuron cell body distribution on the operated side was abnormal with numerous labeled cell bodies located outside the area of the normal motor neuron pool. This finding indicates that after nerve transection the normal pattern of motor axon innervation is not restored even after fascicular nerve repair.

Animals↗

Assessing technology for rehabilitation. Three cases and three countries.

The rehabilitation field has not always been regarded as the most glamorous or commercially promising section of medical care. But changing attitudes and demographics in many industrial countries have led to increased recognition of opportunity to provide services for individuals with disabilities and those in need of chronic care. As hospitals are under increasing pressure to offer rehabilitation services, this article focuses on three different technologies developed in three different countries, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Communication Devices for People with Disabilities↗

Causes of elevated serum gamma-glutamyl transferase in patients attending outpatient somatic clinics and district health centres.

In this study of 1985 patients in somatic outpatient care (medicine, surgery, orthopedics, emergency and primary health care clinics), 231, or 11.6%, were found to have an elevated serum GT value (above 0.9 mukat/l). Alcohol was the cause of this in approximately one third of the cases, while diseases and drugs were the underlying cause in the other cases. In the population, there were 208 alcohol-overconsuming patients (163 men and 45 women) and 28 patients had a serum GT elevation which led to detection of a previous unknown alcohol problem or excessive consumption. The mean and median value for serum GT for the alcohol patients was markedly higher than in the non-alcohol-overconsuming group. The sensitivity for serum GT (with a value of 0.9) as regards alcohol consumption was 40%. The GT test screened 4.2% of patients with excessive alcohol consumption of which one third were "hidden".

Adolescent↗

Labeling of cutaneous sensory nerve endings with axonally transported horseradish peroxidase and wheat germ agglutinin-horseradish peroxidase conjugate: a methodological study in the rat.

Practical aspects on the use of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and wheat germ agglutinin-horseradish peroxidase conjugate (WGA-HRP) to trace peripheral cutaneous nerve endings have been studied. The parameters studied included application site of the tracer, post-application survival time, tracer concentration and tracer volume. These parameters were examined in the glabrous skin of the rat hindpaw. The best results were obtained with injections of 1 microliter WGA-HRP (20 micrograms/microliter) in dorsal root ganglia innervating the examined cutaneous region and a postinjection survival time of 18-36 h. With this approach extensive and heavy labeling was achieved of epidermal nerve endings, nerve endings in Merkel cell-neurite complexes and Meissner corpuscles. Useful, but less extensive labeling of these types of peripheral nerve endings, was obtained with injections of HRP in the lumbar spinal cord dorsal horn.

Animals↗

Physiological and psychological indices of fatigue during static contractions.

The development of fatigue and the relationship between psychological and physiological indices of fatigue were studied in a group of 18 male subjects during static contractions. Exercise was performed as a static elbow flexion at 25% MVC. Heart rate (HR), intraarterial blood pressure (BP) and surface EMG [mean amplitude (MA) and central frequency (CF)] were studied during contractions sustained until exhaustion. The amount of effort expended (relative to total exhaustion) and the rating of perceived pain were recorded following contractions interrupted after 20, 30 . . . 80, and 100% of endurance time. HR, BP and EMG amplitude responses were similar to those previously recorded. The decline in CF occurred in two phases, possibly related to a change in motor unit recruitment after the initial 70% of endurance time. The subjects overestimated the amount of effort expended and thus underestimated their endurance capacity. The best correlation between perceived effort and physiological responses was obtained using blood pressure data, whereas changes in EMG data did not parallel the psychological responses. It is concluded that the perception of effort during a static contraction is produced through a complex process, in which several influences of peripheral and central origin are integrated.

Adult↗

The influence of day and night work on the circadian variations of cardiovascular performance.

Circadian variations of the pre-ejection period, Q-T interval, heart rate and oral temperature at rest and in day and night shift work were investigated. At rest, pronounced circadian variation was found in heart rate, pre-ejection period and Q-T interval. The ratio between Q-T interval and heart rate also shows a distinct circadian variation. When working, the rest rhythms of the variables were obscured. The physiological implications for shift work are discussed.

Adolescent↗