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Biomedical subjects

M Carlsson

Publications and source records attributed to M Carlsson.

188 records · Page 11Linked to original sources

Randomized comparison of aztreonam and cefuroxime in gram-negative upper urinary tract infections.

In order to evaluate the efficacy and safety of aztreonam in hospitalized patients with upper urinary tract infections (UTI), a comparative clinical study with cefuroxime was performed. 62/60% (aztreonam/cefuroxime) of the patients had a complicating factor, mostly obstructive uropathy. I.v. bolus injections were used at a dose of 1 g aztreonam or 1.5 g cefuroxime t.i.d., for a mean of 8.2 days (range: five to 14 days) except in patients with bacteraemia, who received a mean of 10.3 days (range: seven to 13 days) of therapy. 89% of the patients treated with aztreonam and 87% of those who received cefuroxime showed clinical cure and the bacteriological cure rate at one week post-therapy was 70% and 73% in the respective groups. The relapse/reinfection rate was high with both drugs; bacteriological cure at one month post-therapy was only 43% after aztreonam and 40% after cefuroxime. This suggests that these infections may need longer treatment times. Superinfections, mostly asymptomatic urinary colonization, occurred in 7% and 3%, respectively, and adverse reactions in 23% and 12%, respectively, of the patients treated with aztreonam or cefuroxime, the majority being mild and reversible and only 3% and 3%, respectively, requiring discontinuation of the therapy. The t 1/2 for aztreonam following a 1 g i.v. bolus was 2.0 h in six patients with creatinine clearance above 80 ml/min and 3.0 h in seven patients with creatinine clearance between 35-75 ml/min.

Adolescent↗

Modelling and reclassification of surgical procedures--experiences from the use of GALEN methods in the domain of thoracic surgery.

This paper reports on experiences from the evaluation of GALEN methods for mapping of follow-up categories in the domain of thoracic surgery to an existing classification of surgical procedures. The mapping of the aggregated levels or groups of thoracic procedures presents a genuine problem in relation to strict hierarchical classifications, since the follow-up categories do not necessarily fit in the pre-set structure of the classification. Experiences from modelling of the traditional classification and of the follow-up categories are reported, and an analysis of the results is presented along with a discussion of opportunities and potential problems and pitfalls when applying GALEN models and tools.

Cardiac Surgical Procedures↗

Expression of mRNA for phospholipase A2, cyclooxygenases, and lipoxygenases in cultured human umbilical vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells and in biopsies from umbilical arteries and veins.

Arachidonic acid (AA) is released by phospholipase A2 (PLA2) and then converted into vasoactive and inflammatory eicosanoids by cyclooxygenases (COX) and lipoxygenases (LOX). These eicosanoids are important paracrine regulators of vascular permeability, blood flow, local pro- and anticoagulant activity and they play a major role in the local inflammatory response. We have investigated the presence of mRNAs for PLA2 and for isoforms of COX and LOX in both human endothelial cells (EC) and in human smooth muscle cells (SMC) in culture and in vascular biopsies of human umbilical veins (HUVB) and arteries (HUAB) by using the reversed transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique. Results show detectable levels of PLA2 type IV (cPLA2) in cultured EC and SMC and in vascular wall biopsies from HUAB and HUVB. The cultured EC and SMC demonstrate higher levels of both COX-1 and COX-2 with PCR analyses than do vascular wall biopsies from HUAB and HUVB. This indicates a difference in the native expression of COX-1 and COX-2 in cultures of EC and SMC compared to that in biopsies from intact vessel walls. The EC and SMC in culture do not express mRNA for 5-LOX, that was, however, expressed in the vascular wall biopsies. This speaks in favour of a constitutive, i.e. in vivo expression of 5-LOX in SMC in the vascular wall of both umbilical vein and arteries. Thus results from in vitro studies of constitutive COX and LOX expression in EC and vascular SMC in culture cannot simply be extrapolated to represent in vivo conditions.

Biopsy↗

Peripheral facial palsy caused by the Borrelia spirochete.

Forty-three consecutive patients with peripheral facial palsy were examined to evaluate the incidence of facial palsy caused by the tick-borne Borrelia spirochete in a non-coastal area in the south of Sweden. Six (14%) of the patients were found to have a Borrelia infection. The incidence of Borrelia-induced facial palsy was 0.39/10,000 inhabitants, which is less than in neighbouring coastal areas but still high enough to cause serious concern when dealing with facial palsies. In contrast to Bell's palsy, a Borrelia infection can cause serious generalized illness if not properly treated. Negative Borrelia serology of the serum and the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and a normal CSF analysis did not exclude the Borrelia etiology. Tick bites, signs of polyneuropathy, meningeal symptoms and Borrelia-associated erythema proved to be important signs for the diagnosis.

Adolescent↗

Terminology support for development of sharable knowledge modules.

Lack of an agreed infrastructure for terminology is identified as one of the major barriers to interchange of knowledge modules and integration of knowledge bases with other clinical information systems. The goal of the GALEN project is to bridge this gap between different terminology systems through the construction of a terminology server, which is based on a rich conceptual model with mapping facilities to natural language expressions and coding schemas. The long term goal is to support communication between medical information systems. Arden Syntax is a standard format for the creation of knowledge modules, with sharability as one of the main objectives. Since Arden Syntax is based on a data-driven approach, the data items used need to be adapted to locally available terminology. The GALEN approach appears to be complementary to Arden Syntax and to the development of sharable knowledge modules. The major theme of this paper is utilization of the GALEN terminology server for knowledge module authoring. Two systems are presented, a knowledge base manager and a client to the terminology server, allowing the user to navigate in the semantic network and to import concept definitions and terms into the knowledge modules. The benefit of the terminology server, allowing the user to navigate in the semantic network and to import concept definitions and terms into the knowledge modules. The benefit of the terminology services is discussed.

Artificial Intelligence↗

Treatment modality affects long-term quality of life in gynaecological cancer.

UNLABELLED: In order to survey the side effects after cancer treatment, quality of life data were collected from females in clinical remission. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was cross-sectional; every patient that visited the outpatient clinic during a period of three months was asked to anonymously complete the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire and five additional specific questions related to gynaecological cancer. RESULTS: In total, 235 patients (90%) returned the questionnaire. In general, both the levels of functioning and symptomatology were time-dependent. Patients with short treatment-free intervals reported more problems than the others. When using treatment modality as an independent variable in the statistical calculations, a treatment-related effect on functioning and symptomatology was demonstrated (p < 0.05 to p < 0.001). Patients previously treated with chemotherapy had poorer role- and cognitive functioning and more problems with fatigue, nausea, vomiting, dyspnoea, constipation and financial problems, compared with those not treated with chemotherapy (p < 0.05 to p < 0.01). Those patients who had been treated with external radiotherapy and/or brachytherapy had significantly more problems with flatulence and diarrhoea (p < 0.05 to p < 0.001). In conclusion, patients who underwent treatment for gynaecological cancer reported long-term side effects also many years after finishing treatment. The problems where related to treatment modality which should be considered, especially when planning adjuvant treatment.

Adult↗

Pseudomonas-induced lung damage in cystic fibrosis correlates to bactericidal-permeability increasing protein (BPI)-autoantibodies.

OBJECTIVE: Lung damage is the most common cause of death in cystic fibrosis (CF). It is induced by bacterial colonization and inflammatory activity perpetuates its course. Autoantibodies directed against BPI (bactericidal permeability increasing protein), called BPI-ANCA, have recently been associated with cystic fibrosis. Here we confirm this association and evaluate the relation between ANCA and total IgG level as they relate to bacterial colonization, pulmonary function, and musculoskeletal symptoms. METHODS: BPI-ANCA, MPO-ANCA, and PR3-ANCA were measured with ELISA in 46 adult patients with CF. Total IgG was determined by immunoturbidimetry. Results were correlated to bacterial colonization, lung function and musculoskeletal symptoms. RESULTS: BPI-ANCA was found in 33 patients. In the whole group, both BPI-ANCA and total IgG were inversely correlated to lung function, but in patients chronically colonized with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), BPI-ANCA alone was correlated to lung damage (p = 0.01). Median lung function, measured as forced expiratory volume in 1 second, in P. aeruginosa colonized patients with high levels of BPI-ANCA was 43% of the predicted value. In BPI-ANCA negative, the corresponding figure was 83%. In patients not colonized with P. aeruginosa, this relation was less evident. No correlation between ANCA and musculoskeletal symptoms was seen. CONCLUSION: P. aeruginosa induced lung damage in CF patients is associated with the presence of BPI-ANCA. P. aeruginosa colonized patients without BPI-ANCA have almost normal lung function. We suggest that BPI-ANCA discriminate P. aeruginosa colonized CF patients with severe lung damage from those whose disease is less destructive. Vasculitis like symptoms in CF are not ANCA associated.

Adult↗