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Biomedical subjects

Karin Stjernqvist

Publications and source records attributed to Karin Stjernqvist.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Vagus nerve stimulation in 15 children with therapy resistant epilepsy; its impact on cognition, quality of life, behaviour and mood.

PURPOSE: Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a neurophysiologic treatment for patients with refractory epilepsy. There is growing evidence of additional quality of life (QOL) benefits of VNS. We report the effects of VNS on seizure frequency and severity and how these changes are related to cognitive abilities, QOL, behaviour and mood in 15 children with medically refractory and for surgery not eligible epilepsy. METHODS: Initially, and after 3 and 9 months of VNS-treatment, 15 children were investigated with Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID), Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI-R), Wechlser Intelligence Scales for Children (WISC-III) depending on the child's level of functioning, a Visual Analogue Scale for validating QOL, Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) for quantifying behaviour problems, Dodrill Mood Analogue Scale and Birleson Depression Self-Rating Scale, and the National Hospital Seizure Severity Scale (NHS3). A diary of seizure frequency was collected. RESULTS: Six of 15 children showed a 50% or more reduction in seizure frequency; one of these became seizure-free. Two children had a 25-50% seizure reduction. Two children showed increased seizure frequency. In 13 of 15 children there was an improvement in NHS3. The parents reported shorter duration of seizure and recovery phase. There were no changes in cognitive functioning. Twelve children showed an improvement in QOL. Eleven of these also improved in seizure severity and mood and five also in depressive parameters. CONCLUSION: This study has shown a good anti-seizure effect of VNS, an improvement in seizure severity and in QOL and a tendency to improvement over time regarding behaviour, mood and depressive parameters. The improvement in seizure severity, QOL, behaviour, mood and depressive parameters was not related to the anti-seizure effect.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Indications of improved cognitive development at one year of age among infants born very prematurely who received care based on the Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP).

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Care based on the Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP) has been reported to exert a positive impact on the development of prematurely born infants. The aim of the present investigation was to determine the effect of such care on the 1-year development of infants born with a gestational age of less than 32 weeks. METHODS: All surviving infants (11 in the NIDCAP group and 9 in the control group) were assessed employing the Bayley Scales of Infant Development at 1 year of corrected age. RESULTS: The Mental Developmental Index (MDI) of children who had received care according to NIDCAP was higher [88 (72-114)] [median (range)] than the corresponding value for the control children [78 (50-82)] (p=0.01). The odds ratio for being alive with an MDI>80 was 14 (95% CI; 1.4-141.5) in favour of the intervention group. However, the Psychomotor Developmental Indices (PDI) were not significantly different [85 (61-108) and 69 (50-114), respectively] (p=0.23). CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that care based on the NIDCAP might have a positive impact on the cognitive development of infants born very prematurely.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed2002

Neonatal individualized care in practice: a Swedish experience.

A family-centred, developmentally supportive approach to newborn intensive care referred to as NIDCAP (Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Programme) has caught considerable interest during recent years. In this paper we review the scientific context behind its conceptual framework and summarize our experience from 10 years of training, implementation and research. We present the short- and long-term medical and developmental outcome of our Swedish NIDCAP studies as well as attitudes of nursing staff and neonatologists. Furthermore, ethical issues and scientific obstacles concerning this concept of care are discussed.

Child Development↗
PubMed2002

Temperament and acceptance of dental treatment under sedation in preschool children.

The major aim of the study was to investigate whether differences concerning acceptance of dental treatment and amnesia after rectal sedation with midazolam can be explained by temperament traits in the child. Fifty children (1.5 4.0 years), consecutively referred for dental extractions because of dental trauma or caries, were sedated with midazolam 0.3 mg kg(-1) rectally. Level of sedation (state of mind) was assessed according to Wilton before and 10 min after administration of the sedative. The children's acceptance of procedures during the oral examination, the administration of the sedative, and the dental treatment were assessed according to Holst. Acceptance of an injection of local anesthesia and tooth extraction was dichotomized as satisfactory (n = 26) or unsatisfactory (n = 24). The parent assessed temperament using the Emotionality Activity Sociability (EAS) Scale of Child Temperament. Amnesia was evaluated by the parent on the following day. The relation between temperament and outcome variables was analyzed using a multiple logistic regression analysis. Children regarded as shy by the parent were at significantly greater risk of unsatisfactory acceptance of the dental treatment (P< 0.05). High scores of negative emotionality were significantly related to less amnesia (P < 0.05). We conclude that parental ratings of their child's temperament are valuable in predicting a child's acceptance of dental treatment under sedation.

Administration, Rectal↗