| 1. |
- Ahl, Rebecka, 1987-, et al.
(författare)
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A nationwide observational cohort study of the relationship between beta-blockade and survival after hip fracture surgery
- 2022
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Ingår i: European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery. - : Urban und Vogel Medien und Medizin Verlagsgesellsc. - 1863-9933 .- 1863-9941. ; 48:2, s. 743-751
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PURPOSE: Despite advances in the care of hip fractures, this area of surgery is associated with high postoperative mortality. Downregulating circulating catecholamines, released as a response to traumatic injury and surgical trauma, is believed to reduce the risk of death in noncardiac surgical patients. This effect has not been studied in hip fractures. This study aims to assess whether survival benefits are gained by reducing the effects of the hyper-adrenergic state with beta-blocker therapy in patients undergoing emergency hip fracture surgery.METHODS: This is a retrospective nationwide observational cohort study. All adults [Formula: see text] 18 years were identified from the prospectively collected national quality register for hip fractures in Sweden during a 10-year period. Pathological fractures were excluded. The cohort was subdivided into beta-blocker users and non-users. Poisson regression with robust standard errors and adjustments for confounders was used to evaluate 30-day mortality.RESULTS: 134,915 patients were included of whom 38.9% had ongoing beta-blocker therapy at the time of surgery. Beta-blocker users were significantly older and less fit for surgery. Crude 30-day all-cause mortality was significantly increased in non-users (10.0% versus 3.7%, p < 0.001). Beta-blocker therapy resulted in a 72% relative risk reduction in 30-day all-cause mortality (incidence rate ratio 0.28, 95% CI 0.26-0.29, p < 0.001) and was independently associated with a reduction in deaths of cardiovascular, respiratory, and cerebrovascular origin and deaths due to sepsis or multiorgan failure.CONCLUSIONS: Beta-blockers are associated with significant survival benefits when undergoing emergency hip fracture surgery. Outlined results strongly encourage an interventional design to validate the observed relationship.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Ahl, Rebecka, 1987-, et al.
(författare)
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Digital rectal examination for initial assessment of the multi-injured patient : Can we depend on it?
- 2016
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Ingår i: Annals of Medicine and Surgery. - : Elsevier. - 2049-0801. ; 9, s. 77-81
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Digital rectal examination (DRE) is part of the assessment of trauma patients as recommended by ATLS (R). The theory behind is to aid early diagnosis of potential lower intestinal, urethral and spinal cord injuries. Previous studies suggest that test characteristics of DRE are far from reliable. This study examines the correlation between DRE findings and diagnosis and whether DRE findings affect subsequent management.Materials and methods: Patients with ICD-10 codes for spinal cord, urethral and lower intestinal injuries were identified from the trauma registry at an urban university hospital between 2007 and 2011. A retrospective review of electronic medical records was carried out to analyse DRE findings and subsequent management.Results: 253 patients met the inclusion criteria with a mean age of 44 +/- 20 years and mean ISS of 26 +/- 16. 160 patients had detailed DRE documentation with abnormal findings in 48%. Sensitivity rate was 0.47. Correlational analysis between examination findings and diagnosis gave a kappa of 0.12. Subsequent management was not altered in any case due to DRE findings.Conclusion: DRE in trauma settings has low sensitivity and does not change subsequent management. Excluding or postponing this examination should therefore be considered. (C) 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of IJS Publishing Group Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
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| 4. |
- Ahl, Rebecka, 1987-, et al.
(författare)
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Does early beta-blockade in isolated severe traumatic brain injury reduce the risk of post traumatic depression?
- 2017
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Ingår i: Injury. - : Elsevier. - 0020-1383 .- 1879-0267. ; 48:1, s. 101-105
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: Depressive symptoms occur in approximately half of trauma patients, negatively impacting on functional outcome and quality of life following severe head injury. Pontine noradrenaline has been shown to increase upon trauma and associated beta-adrenergic receptor activation appears to consolidate memory formation of traumatic events. Blocking adrenergic activity reduces physiological stress responses during recall of traumatic memories and impairs memory, implying a potential therapeutic role of beta-blockers. This study examines the effect of pre-admission beta-blockade on post-traumatic depression.Methods: All adult trauma patients (>= 18 years) with severe, isolated traumatic brain injury (intracranial Abbreviated Injury Scale score (AIS) >= 3 and extracranial AIS <3) were recruited from the trauma registry of an urban university hospital between 2007 and 2011. Exclusion criteria were in-hospital deaths and prescription of antidepressants up to one year prior to admission. Pre- and post-admission beta-blocker and antidepressant therapy data was requested from the national drugs registry. Post-traumatic depression was defined as the prescription of antidepressants within one year of trauma. Patients with and without pre-admission beta-blockers were matched 1: 1 by age, gender, Glasgow Coma Scale, Injury Severity Score and head AIS. Analysis was carried out using McNemar's and Student's t-test for categorical and continuous data, respectively.Results: A total of 545 patients met the study criteria. Of these, 15% (n = 80) were prescribed beta-blockers. After propensity matching, 80 matched pairs were analyzed. 33% (n = 26) of non beta-blocked patients developed post-traumatic depression, compared to only 18% (n = 14) in the beta-blocked group (p = 0.04). There were no significant differences in ICU (mean days: 5.8 (SD 10.5) vs. 5.6 (SD 7.2), p = 0.85) or hospital length of stay (mean days: 21 (SD 21) vs. 21 (SD 20), p = 0.94) between cohorts.Conclusion: beta-blockade appears to act prophylactically and significantly reduces the risk of posttraumatic depression in patients suffering from isolated severe traumatic brain injuries. Further prospective randomized studies are warranted to validate this finding.
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| 5. |
- Ahl, Rebecka, 1987-, et al.
(författare)
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Does beta-blockade reduce the risk of depression in patients with isolated severe extracranial injuries?
- 2017
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Ingår i: World Journal of Surgery. - New York : Springer. - 0364-2313 .- 1432-2323. ; 41:7, s. 1801-1806
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Approximately half of trauma patients develop post-traumatic depression. It is suggested that beta-blockade impairs trauma memory recollection, reducing depressive symptoms. This study investigates the effect of early beta-blockade on depression following severe traumatic injuries in patients without significant brain injury.METHODS: Patients were identified by retrospectively reviewing the trauma registry at an urban university hospital between 2007 and 2011. Severe extracranial injuries were defined as extracranial injuries with Abbreviated Injury Scale score ≥3, intracranial Abbreviated Injury Scale score <3 and an Injury Severity Score ≥16. In-hospital deaths and patients prescribed antidepressant therapy ≤1 year prior to admission were excluded. Patients were stratified into groups based on pre-admission beta-blocker status. The primary outcome was post-traumatic depression, defined as receiving antidepressants ≤1 year following trauma.RESULTS: Five hundred and ninety-six patients met the inclusion criteria with 11.4% prescribed pre-admission beta-blockade. Patients receiving beta-blockers were significantly older (57 ± 18 vs. 42 ± 17 years, p < 0.001) with lower Glasgow Coma Scale score (12 ± 3 vs. 14 ± 2, p < 0.001). The beta-blocked cohort spent significantly longer in hospital (21 ± 20 vs. 15 ± 17 days, p < 0.01) and intensive care (4 ± 7 vs. 3 ± 5 days, p = 0.01). A forward logistic regression model was applied and predicted lack of beta-blockade to be associated with increased risk of depression (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.1-7.2, p = 0.04). After adjusting for group differences, patients lacking beta-blockers demonstrated an increased risk of depression (AOR 3.3, 95% CI 1.2-8.6, p = 0.02).CONCLUSIONS: Pre-admission beta-blockade is associated with a significantly reduced risk of depression following severe traumatic injury. Further investigation is needed to determine the beneficial effects of beta-blockade in these instances.
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| 6. |
- Ahl, Rebecka, 1987-, et al.
(författare)
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Effect of beta-blocker therapy on early mortality after emergency colonic cancer surgery
- 2019
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Ingår i: British Journal of Surgery. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0007-1323 .- 1365-2168. ; 106:4, s. 477-483
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Emergency colorectal cancer surgery is associated with significant mortality. Induced adrenergic hyperactivity is thought to be an important contributor. Downregulating the effects of circulating catecholamines may reduce the risk of adverse outcomes. This study assessed whether regular preoperative beta-blockade reduced mortality after emergency colonic cancer surgery.METHODS: This cohort study used the prospectively collected Swedish Colorectal Cancer Registry to recruit all adult patients requiring emergency colonic cancer surgery between 2011 and 2016. Patients were subdivided into those receiving regular beta-blocker therapy before surgery and those who were not (control). Demographics and clinical outcomes were compared. Risk factors for 30-day mortality were evaluated using Poisson regression analysis.RESULTS: A total of 3187 patients were included, of whom 685 (21·5 per cent) used regular beta-blocker therapy before surgery. The overall 30-day mortality rate was significantly reduced in the beta-blocker group compared with controls: 3·1 (95 per cent c.i. 1·9 to 4·7) versus 8·6 (7·6 to 9·8) per cent respectively (P < 0·001). Beta-blocker therapy was the only modifiable protective factor identified in multivariable analysis of 30-day all-cause mortality (incidence rate ratio 0·31, 95 per cent c.i. 0·20 to 0·47; P < 0·001) and was associated with a significant reduction in death of cardiovascular, respiratory, sepsis and multiple organ failure origin.CONCLUSION: Preoperative beta-blocker therapy may be associated with a reduction in 30-day mortality following emergency colonic cancer surgery.
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| 7. |
- Ahl, Rebecka, 1987-, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of beta-blocker therapy on mortality after elective colon cancer surgery : a Swedish nationwide cohort study
- 2020
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Ingår i: BMJ Open. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 2044-6055. ; 10:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: Colon cancer surgery remains associated with substantial postoperative morbidity and mortality despite advances in surgical techniques and care. The trauma of surgery triggers adrenergic hyperactivation which drives adverse stress responses. We hypothesised that outcome benefits are gained by reducing the effects of hyperadrenergic activity with beta-blocker therapy in patients undergoing colon cancer surgery. This study aims to test this hypothesis.DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study.SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: This is a nationwide study which includes all adult patients undergoing elective colon cancer surgery in Sweden over 10 years. Patient data were collected from the Swedish Colorectal Cancer Registry. The national drugs registry was used to obtain information about beta-blocker use. Patients were subdivided into exposed and unexposed groups. The association between beta-blockade, short-term and long-term mortality was evaluated using Poisson regression, Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression.PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES: Primary outcome of interest was 1-year all-cause mortality. Secondary outcomes included 90-day all-cause and 5-year cancer-specific mortality.RESULTS: The study included 22 337 patients of whom 36.1% were prescribed preoperative beta-blockers. Survival was higher in patients on beta-blockers up to 1 year after surgery despite this group being significantly older and of higher comorbidity. Regression analysis demonstrated significant reductions in 90-day deaths (IRR 0.29, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.35, p<0.001) and a 43% risk reduction in 1-year all-cause mortality (adjusted HR 0.57, 95% CI 0.52 to 0.63, p<0.001) in beta-blocked patients. In addition, cancer-specific mortality up to 5 years after surgery was reduced in beta-blocked patients (adjusted HR 0.80, 95% CI 0.73 to 0.88, p<0.001).CONCLUSION: Preoperative beta-blockade is associated with significant reductions in postoperative short-term and long-term mortality following elective colon cancer surgery. Its potential prophylactic effect warrants further interventional studies to determine whether beta-blockade can be used as a way of improving outcomes for this patient group.
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| 8. |
- Ahl, Rebecka, 1987-, et al.
(författare)
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Predicting In-Hospital and 1-Year Mortality in Geriatric Trauma Patients Using Geriatric Trauma Outcome Score
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of the American College of Surgeons. - : Elsevier. - 1072-7515 .- 1879-1190. ; 224:3, s. 264-269
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The Geriatric Trauma Outcome Score, GTOS (= [age] + [Injury Severity Score (ISS)x2.5] + 22 [if packed red blood cells (PRBC) transfused ≤24hrs of admission]), was developed and validated as a prognostic indicator for in-hospital mortality in elderly trauma patients. However, GTOS neither provides information regarding post-discharge outcomes, nor discriminates between patients dying with and without care restrictions. Isolating the latter, GTOS prediction performance was examined during admission and 1-year post-discharge in a mature European trauma registry.Study Design: All trauma admissions ≥65years in a university hospital during 2007-2011 were considered. Data regarding age, ISS, PRBC transfusion ≤24hrs, therapy restrictions, discharge disposition and mortality were collected. In-hospital deaths with therapy restrictions and patients discharged to hospice were excluded. GTOS was the sole predictor in a logistic regression model estimating mortality probabilities. Performance of the model was assessed by misclassification rate, Brier score and area under the curve (AUC).Results: The study population was 1080 subjects with a median age of 75 years, mean ISS of 10 and PRBC transfused in 8.2%). In-hospital mortality was 14.9% and 7.7% after exclusions. Misclassification rate fell from 14% to 6.5%, Brier score from 0.09 to 0.05. AUC increased from 0.87 to 0.88. Equivalent values for the original GTOS sample were 9.8%, 0.07, and 0.87. One-year mortality follow-up showed a misclassification rate of 17.6%, and Brier score of 0.13.Conclusion: Excluding patients with care restrictions and discharged to hospice improved GTOS performance for in-hospital mortality prediction. GTOS is not adept at predicting 1-year mortality.
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| 9. |
- Ahl, Rebecka, 1987-, et al.
(författare)
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Risk factors for depression following traumatic injury : An epidemiological study from a scandinavian trauma center
- 2017
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Ingår i: Injury. - : Elsevier. - 0020-1383 .- 1879-0267. ; 48:5, s. 1082-1087
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: A significant proportion of patients suffer depression following traumatic injuries. Once manifested, major depression is challenging to overcome and its presence risks impairing the potential for physical rehabilitation and functional recovery. Risk stratification for early detection and intervention in these instances is important. This study aims to investigate patient and injury characteristics associated with an increased risk for depression.METHODS: All patients with traumatic injuries were recruited from the trauma registry of an urban university hospital between 2007 and 2012. Patient and injury characteristics as well as outcomes were collected for analysis. Patients under the age of eighteen, prescribed antidepressants within one year of admission, in-hospital deaths and deaths within 30days of trauma were excluded. Pre- and post-admission antidepressant data was requested from the national drugs registry. Post-traumatic depression was defined as the prescription of antidepressants within one year of trauma. To isolate independent risk factors for depression a multivariable forward stepwise logistic regression model was deployed.RESULTS: A total of 5981 patients met the inclusion criteria of whom 9.2% (n=551) developed post-traumatic depression. The mean age of the cohort was 42 [standard deviation (SD) 18] years and 27.1% (n=1620) were females. The mean injury severity score was 9 (SD 9) with 18.4% (n=1100) of the patients assigned a score of at least 16. Six variables were identified as independent predictors for post-traumatic depression. Factors relating to the patient were female gender and age. Injury-specific variables were penetrating trauma and GCS score of≤8 on admission. Furthermore, intensive care admission and increasing hospital length of stay were predictors of depression.CONCLUSION: Several risk factors associated with the development of post-traumatic depression were identified. A better targeted in-hospital screening and patient-centered follow up can be offered taking these risk factors into consideration.
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| 10. |
- Ahl, Rebecka, 1987-
(författare)
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The Association Between Beta-Blockade and Clinical Outcomes in the Context of Surgical and Traumatic Stress
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Traumatic injury and major abdominal surgery are areas in general surgery associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. The overall colorectal cancer surgery mortality rate is around 4%, with that for emergency surgery more than twice as high as for planned. Surgical morbidity varies between 25% and 45%. Around half of trauma patients develop low mood. In one quarter of patients this becomes permanent. Depression is known to impede physical rehabilitation and recovery. The onset of physiological stress, driven by adrenergic hyperactivity following traumatic and surgical injury is hypothesized to contribute to these adverse outcomes. Interest has therefore been sparked into blocking adrenergic receptor activation.Papers I and II investigated the role of beta-blocker therapy in preventing post-traumatic depression following severe traumatic brain injury (Paper I) and severe extracranial injury (Paper II). The Karolinska University Hospital Trauma Registry was used to identify patients admitted between 2007 and 2011. In Paper I (n = 545), patients on pre-injury beta-blocker therapy were matched to beta-blocker naïve patients with equivalent injury burden. Results revealed that beta-blocked patients exhibited a 60% reduced risk of needing antidepressant therapy within one year of trauma. In Paper II (n = 596), the lack of beta-blocker use before extracranial trauma was linked to a three-fold increase in the risk of antidepressant initiation.Papers III-V explored the role of pre-operative beta-blocker therapy in patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer between 2007 and 2016, identified using the nationwide Swedish Colorectal Cancer Registry. Paper III (n = 3,187) identified a 69% reduction in the risk of 30-day mortality in beta-blocked patients. Paper IV (n = 22,337) outlined long-term survival benefits for patients on beta-blocker therapy prior to undergoing elective surgery for colon cancer. Beta-blocked patients showed a risk reduction of 42% for 1-year all-cause mortality and 18% for 5-year cancerspecific mortality. Similarly, patients on beta-blocker therapy who underwent surgery for rectal cancer demonstrated improved survival up to one year after surgery with a risk reduction of 57% and a reduction in anastomotic failure and infectious complications in Paper V (n = 11,966).
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