| 1. |
- Adolfsson, Jan, et al.
(författare)
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Clinical characteristics and primary treatment of prostate cancer in Sweden between 1996 and 2005 : Data from the national prostate cancer register in Sweden
- 2007
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Urology and Nephrology. - Stockholm : Taylor & Francis. - 0036-5599 .- 1651-2065. ; 41:6, s. 456-477
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective. The incidence of prostate cancer is rising rapidly in Sweden and there is a need to better understand the pattern of diagnosis, tumor characteristics and treatment. Material and methods. Between 1996 and 2005, all new cases of adenocarcinoma of the prostate gland were intended to be registered in the National Prostate Cancer Register (NPCR). This register contains information on diagnosing unit, date of diagnosis, cause of diagnosis, tumor grade, tumor stage according to the TNM classification in force, serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels at diagnosis and primary treatment given within the first 6 months after diagnosis. Results. In total, 72 028 patients were registered, comprising >97% of all pertinent incident cases of prostate cancer in the Swedish Cancer Register (SCR). During the study period there was a considerable decrease in median age at the time of diagnosis, a stage migration towards smaller tumors, a decrease in median serum PSA values at diagnosis, a decrease in the age-standardized incidence rate of men diagnosed with distant metastases or with a PSA level of >100 ng/ml at diagnosis and an increase in the proportion of tumors with Gleason score ≤6. Relatively large geographical differences in the median age at diagnosis and the age-standardized incidence of cases with category T1c tumors were observed. Treatment with curative intent increased dramatically and treatment patterns varied according to geographical region. In men with localized tumors and a PSA level of <20 ng/ml at diagnosis, expectant treatment was more commonly used in those aged ≥75 years than in those aged <75 years. Also, the pattern of endocrine treatment varied in different parts of Sweden. Conclusions. All changes in the register seen over time are consistent with increased diagnostic activity, especially PSA testing, resulting in an increased number of cases with early disease, predominantly tumors in category T1c. The patterns of diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer vary considerably in different parts of Sweden. The NPCR continues to be an important source for research, epidemiological surveillance of the incidence, diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer
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| 2. |
- Adolfsson, Jan, et al.
(författare)
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Clinical characteristics and primary treatment of prostate cancer in Sweden between 1996 and 2005
- 2007
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Urology and Nephrology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0036-5599 .- 1651-2065. ; 41:6, s. 456-477
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: The incidence of prostate cancer is rising rapidly in Sweden and there is a need to better understand the pattern of diagnosis, tumor characteristics and treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Between 1996 and 2005, all new cases of adenocarcinoma of the prostate gland were intended to be registered in the National Prostate Cancer Register (NPCR). This register contains information on diagnosing unit, date of diagnosis, cause of diagnosis, tumor grade, tumor stage according to the TNM classification in force, serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels at diagnosis and primary treatment given within the first 6 months after diagnosis. RESULTS: In total, 72,028 patients were registered, comprising >97% of all pertinent incident cases of prostate cancer in the Swedish Cancer Register (SCR). During the study period there was a considerable decrease in median age at the time of diagnosis, a stage migration towards smaller tumors, a decrease in median serum PSA values at diagnosis, a decrease in the age-standardized incidence rate of men diagnosed with distant metastases or with a PSA level of > 100 ng/ml at diagnosis and an increase in the proportion of tumors with Gleason score <6. Relatively large geographical differences in the median age at diagnosis and the age-standardized incidence of cases with category T1c tumors were observed. Treatment with curative intent increased dramatically and treatment patterns varied according to geographical region. In men with localized tumors and a PSA level of <20 ng/ml at diagnosis, expectant treatment was more commonly used in those aged > or =75 years than in those aged <75 years. Also, the pattern of endocrine treatment varied in different parts of Sweden. CONCLUSIONS: All changes in the register seen over time are consistent with increased diagnostic activity, especially PSA testing, resulting in an increased number of cases with early disease, predominantly tumors in category T1c. The patterns of diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer vary considerably in different parts of Sweden. The NPCR continues to be an important source for research, epidemiological surveillance of the incidence, diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer.
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| 3. |
- Berggren, Erik, 1964-
(författare)
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Catholicity Challenging Ethnicity : An Ecclesiological Study of Congregations and Churches in Post-apartheid South Africa
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis deals with the relationship between the catholicity of the Church and ethnicity. South African congregations and churches have been studied two decades after the advent of democracy to discern their ecclesiological practices. The Roman Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Lutheran, and Apostolic Faith Mission churches, which are among the five large historical mainline churches in South Africa by membership, were selected.The first part of this thesis presents an analytical tool that has been derived from key documents of the Faith & Order movement and the World Council of Churches concerning the catholicity of the Church. An operative ecclesiology, originally proposed by Yves Congar and later developed by other theologians, has been used in order to reveal implicit and explicit ecclesiologies.The second part of the thesis tests the catholicity of the Church as described in the analytical tool against an operative ecclesiology in South African congregations and churches twenty years after the dismantling of apartheid. Interviews with church leaders and case studies among sixcongregations located in the three largest municipalities have been carried out. An established body of source material has been analysed through the analytical tool about catholicity.The most important conclusion generated by this thesis is that socio-economic conditions are significant ecclesiological structuring factors. Unequal power relationships, together with peoples’ geographic residential location, determined whether greater inter-ethnic interactions were possible. In general, reconciliation between people of diverse ethnicities was not sought or effected; but the churches’ organisations played a significant role in realising the catholicity of the Church.
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| 4. |
- Carlsson, Sigrid, et al.
(författare)
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Nationwide population-based study on 30-day mortality after radical prostatectomy in Sweden
- 2009
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Urology and Nephrology. - London : Taylor & Francis. - 0036-5599 .- 1651-2065. ; 43:5, s. 350-356
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: The incidence of prostate cancer in Sweden is increasing rapidly, as is treatment with curative intent. Radical prostatectomy (RP) is currently commonly performed, either within or outside large high-volume centres. The aim of this study was to assess the 30-day mortality rate after RP in Sweden. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this nationwide population-based study, all men diagnosed with localized prostate cancer (< or =70 years, clinical stadium T1-2, prostate-specific antigen < 20 ng/ml) who underwent RP in Sweden between 1997 and 2002 were identified through the National Prostate Cancer Register (NPCR). Mortality within 30 days of RP was analysed through linkage between the follow-up study of the NPCR and the Regional Population Registers. The cause of death in the death certificates were compared with data from the hospitals concerned. To validate the results, a record linkage between the Inpatient Register and the National Population Register was also performed. RESULTS: The number of RPs performed increased over time. Among 3700 RPs performed, four deaths occurred during the first 30 days, yielding a 0.11% 30-day mortality rate. These deaths occurred at three different types of hospital and were all probably related to the RP. CONCLUSION: This study provides further evidence that RP is a procedure with very low perioperative mortality even when performed outside high-volume centres.
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| 5. |
- Ahlstrand, Erik, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
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Alteration of the colonization pattern of coagulase-negative staphylococci in patients undergoing treatment for hematological malignancy
- 2012
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Ingår i: European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. - New York, USA : Springer. - 0934-9723 .- 1435-4373. ; 31:7, s. 1679-1687
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim was to prospectively describe the colonization pattern of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) and the relationship between colonizing and invasive CoNS isolates among patients undergoing treatment for hematological malignancy. Fourteen newly diagnosed patients were included with either multiple myeloma or acute leukemia. Patients were repeatedly sampled from nares, throat, axillae, and perineum, and the CoNS isolates obtained were phenotypically characterized together with blood isolates of CoNS using the PhenePlate system (PhP). During the treatment a gradual reduction in the heterogeneity of colonizing CoNS was observed as well as an inter-patient accumulation of phenotypically related and multi-drug-resistant CoNS. These clusters of CoNS persisted for 2–3 months after the end of therapy. Ten positive blood cultures of CoNS were obtained and in the majority of these cases CoNS of the same PhP type were found in superficial cultures collected prior to the blood culture sampling. In conclusion, the study shows that therapy for hematological malignancy is associated with a homogenization of colonizing CoNS isolates and that this acquired flora of CoNS is persistent several months after the end of therapy. Furthermore, the results suggest that the source of bloodstream infections of CoNS in hematological patients is colonizing CoNS of the skin and mucosa.
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| 6. |
- Ahlstrand, Erik, 1974-
(författare)
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Coagulase-negative staphylococci in hematological malignancy
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Bacterial infections are common in hematological malignancy. Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) are among the most prevalent causes of bacteremia in patients with hematological malignancies.In this thesis, different aspects of CoNS in hematological malignancy have been studied in four papers:In paper 1, CoNS blood culture isolates from patients with hematological malignancies treated at the University Hospital of Örebro from 1980 to 2009 were revaluated for the presence of reduced sensitivity to glycopeptides. A high incidence of heterogeneous-intermediate glycopeptide resistance was observed and there was a trend towards increasing incidence of this phenotype over time.In paper 2, the colonization pattern of CoNS among patients undergoing intensive chemotherapy for hematological malignancy was investigated. A successive homogenization and an accumulation of CoNS phenotypes mutually present in a majority of included patients were demonstrated.In paper 3, a PCR method to determine the clinical significance of positive blood cultures of the CoNS species Staphylococcus epidermidis was evaluated. The test failed to discriminate bloodstream infection from blood culture contamination.Finally, in paper 4, the long-term molecular epidemiology of S. epidermidis blood culture isolates from patients with hematological malignancies was studied with multilocus sequence typing. A predominance of sequence type 2 was demonstrated during the entire 30 year study period.In conclusion, the results are consistent with that CoNS have established as important pathogens by its capacity to colonize the human skin, its ability to reside and spread in the hospital environment and its rapid adaptation to stressors such as antimicrobials.
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| 7. |
- Ahlstrand, Erik, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
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Evaluation of a PCR method to determine the clinical significance of blood cultures with Staphylococcus epidermidis in patients with hematological malignancies
- 2014
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Ingår i: Acta Pathologica, Microbiologica et Immunologica Scandinavica (APMIS). - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0903-4641 .- 1600-0463. ; 122:6, s. 539-544
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim was to investigate whether the detection and quantification of Staphylococcus epidermidis DNA in blood could distinguish S. epidermidis blood stream infections (BSIs) from blood culture contaminations in patients with hematological malignancies. The hld gene was chosen to identify S. epidermidis DNA and DNA in blood samples was detected by real-time PCR. Blood samples were obtained simultaneously with blood cultures positive for S. epidermidis (n = 30), during blood culture-negative episodes (n = 10) and episodes of bacteremia with other bacteria than S. epidermidis (n = 4) and from healthy blood donors (n = 10). In addition, DNA from S. epidermidis and a selection of other bacterial species were analyzed. Three different sets of criteria were used to classify episodes with positive blood cultures with S. epidermidis as BSIs or contaminations. All DNA preparations from S. epidermidis (n = 48) were hld-positive, but other bacterial species (n = 13) were negative. Sixteen (53%) of 30 blood samples from patients with blood cultures positive for S. epidermidis were hld-positive, but none of the controls. There was no clear association between a positive hld PCR and episodes interpreted as BSIs. In conclusion, hld PCR failed to distinguish S. epidermidis BSIs from blood culture contaminations in patients with hematological malignancies.
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| 8. |
- Ahlstrand, Erik, et al.
(författare)
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Glycopeptide resistance in coagulase-negative staphylococci isolated in blood cultures from patients with hematological malignancies during three decades
- 2011
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Ingår i: European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0934-9723 .- 1435-4373. ; 30:11, s. 1349-1354
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study was to determine if there was a long-term increase in glycopeptide minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values, MIC creep, among bloodstream isolates of Staphylococcus epidermidis and S. haemolyticus isolated from patients with hematological malignancies. We conducted a retrospective single-center study where all positive blood cultures of S. epidermidis (n = 387) and S. haemolyticus (n = 19) isolated from patients with hematological malignancies during three decades, 1980 to 2009, were re-evaluated for the presence of reduced susceptibility to vancomycin and teicoplanin. Three different methods for the detection of reduced susceptibility to glycopeptides were used; standard Etest, macromethod Etest, and glycopeptide resistance detection (GRD) Etest. The median MIC value for vancomycin was 2 mg/L. MIC values for vancomycin and teicoplanin did not show any statistically significant increase during the study period. The presence of heterogeneously glycopeptide-intermediate staphylococci (hGIS) was analyzed among 405 coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) isolates. hGIS were found in 31-45% of the CoNS isolates by the macromethod Etest and in 53-67% by the GRD Etest during the three decades. In conclusion, we did not observe any long-term glycopeptide MIC creep determined by the standard Etest, although a high and increasing proportion of heterogeneous vancomycin resistance was observed.
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| 9. |
- Ahlstrand, Erik, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
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Highly Reduced Survival in Essential Thrombocythemia and Polycythemia Vera Patients with Vascular Complications during Follow-up
- 2020
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Ingår i: European Journal of Haematology. - : Munksgaard Forlag. - 0902-4441 .- 1600-0609. ; 104:3, s. 271-278
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To explore the relative importance of risk factors, treatments and blood counts for the occurrence of vascular complications and their impact on life expectancy in Essential Thrombocythemia (ET) and Polycythemia Vera (PV).METHODS: Nested case-control study within the Swedish MPN registry. From a cohort of 922 ET patients and 763 PV patients, 71 ET and 81 PV cases with vascular complications were compared to matched controls.RESULTS: Incidence of vascular complications were 2.0 and 3.4 events per 100 patient-years in ET and PV, respectively. At diagnosis, no significant risk factor differences were observed between cases and controls in neither of the diseases. At the time of vascular event, ET complication cases did not differ significantly from controls but in PV, cases had significantly higher WBCs and were to a lesser extent treated with antithrombotic and cytoreductive therapy. Life expectancy was significantly decreased in both ET and PV cases compared to controls.CONCLUSIONS: The risk of vascular complications is high in both ET and PV and these complications have a considerable impact on life expectancy. The protective effect of antithrombotic and cytoreductive therapy for vascular complications in PV underscores the importance of avoiding undertreatment.
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| 10. |
- Ahlstrand, Erik, et al.
(författare)
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Long-term molecular epidemiology of Staphylococcus epidermidis blood culture isolates from patients with haematological malignancies
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Staphylococcus epidermidis is an important cause of bloodstream infections in patients with haematological malignancies. Knowledge of the long-term epidemiology of these infections is limited. We surveyed all S. epidermidis blood culture isolates from patients treated for haematological malignancies at the University Hospital of Örebro, Sweden from 1980 to 2009. A total of 373 S. epidermidis isolates were identified and multilocus sequence typing and standard antibiotic susceptibility testing were employed to characterize these isolates. The majority of the isolates 361/373 (97%) belonged to clonal complex 2, and the 373 isolates were divided into 45 sequence types (STs); Simpson’s Diversity Index was 0.56. The most prevalent STs were ST2 (243/373, 65%) and ST215 (28/373, 8%). These two STs were isolated during the entire study period, and together caused temporal peaks in the incidence of positive blood cultures of S. epidermidis. Methicillin resistance was detected in 213/273 (78%) of all isolates. In the two predominating STs, ST2 and ST215, the proportion of methicillin resistance was 257/271 (95%); 234/271 (86%) displayed a multidrug-resistant phenotype. In conclusion, in this long-term study of patients with haematological malignancies, we demonstrate a predominance of methicillin-resistant ST2 among S. epidermidis blood culture isolates.
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