| 1. |
- Friberg, Örjan, et al.
(author)
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Incidence, microbiological findings, and clinical presentation of sternal wound infections after cardiac surgery with and without local gentamicin prophylaxis
- 2007
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In: European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. - Berlin : Springer. - 0934-9723 .- 1435-4373. ; 26:2, s. 91-97
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Sternal wound infection (SWI) is a serious complication after cardiac surgery. In a previous randomized controlled trial, the addition of local collagen-gentamicin in the sternal wound before wound closure was found to significantly reduce the incidence of postoperative wound infections compared with the routine intravenous prophylaxis of isoxazolyl-penicillin only. The aims of the present study were to analyse the microbiological findings of the SWIs from the previous trial as well as to correlate these findings with the clinical presentation of SWI. Differences in clinical presentation of SWIs, depending on the causative agent, could be identified. Most infections had a late, insidious onset, and the majority of these were caused by staphylococci, predominantly coagulase-negative staphylococci. The clinically most fulminant infections were caused by gram-negative bacteria and presented early after surgery. Local administration of gentamicin reduced the incidence of SWIs caused by all major, clinically important bacterial species. Propionibacterium acnes was identified as a possible cause of SWI and may be linked to instability in the sternal fixation. There was no indication of an increase in the occurrence of gentamicin-resistant bacterial isolates in the treatment group. Furthermore, the addition of local collagen-gentamicin reduced the incidence of SWIs caused by methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci. This technique warrants further evaluation as an alternative to prophylactic vancomycin in settings with a high prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
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| 2. |
- Elfström, Peter, 1974-, et al.
(author)
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Cardiomyopathy, pericarditis and myocarditis in a population-based cohort of inpatients with coeliac disease
- 2007
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In: Journal of Internal Medicine. - Oxford : Blackwell Publishing. - 0954-6820 .- 1365-2796. ; 262:5, s. 545-554
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives: We investigated the risk of myocarditis, cardiomyopathy, and pericarditis in patients with celiac disease (CD) from a general population cohort.Subjects and methods: Through the Swedish national registers we identified 9363 children and 4969 adults with a diagnosis of CD (1964–2003). These individuals were matched with upto five reference individuals for age, sex, calendar year and county (n = 69 851). Cox regression estimated hazard ratios (HRs) for later heart disease. Main outcome measures: Myocarditis, cardiomyopathy (any or dilated), and pericarditis defined according torelevant international classification of disease codes in the Swedish national inpatient register.Results: Celiac disease diagnosed in childhood was not associated with later myocarditis (HR = 0.2; 95% CI = 0.0–1.5), cardiomyopathy of any type (HR = 0.8; 95% CI = 0.2–3.7), or pericarditis (HR = 0.4; 95% CI = 0.1–1.9). Restricting our analyses to adulthood CD and heart disease diagnosed from 1987 and onwards in departments of cardiology ⁄ internal medicine, we found no association between CD and later myocarditis (HR = 2.1; 95% CI = 0.4–11.7), dilated cardiomyopathy (HR = 1.7; 95% CI = 0.4– 6.5) or pericarditis (HR = 1.5; 95% CI = 0.5–4.0).Conclusion: This study found no association between CD, later myocarditis, cardiomyopathy or pericarditis
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| 3. |
- Lindahl, Bernt, et al.
(author)
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A randomized lifestyle intervention with 5-year follow-up in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance : pronounced short-term impact but long-term adherence problems
- 2009
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : SAGE Publications. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 37:4, s. 434-442
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- AIMS: To compare data on cardiovascular risk factor changes in lipids, insulin, proinsulin, fibrinolysis, leptin and C-reactive protein, and on diabetes incidence, in relation to changes in lifestyle. METHODS: The study was a randomized lifestyle intervention trial conducted in northern Sweden between 1995 and 2000, in 168 individuals with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and body mass index above 27 at start. The intensive intervention group (n = 83) was subjected to a 1-month residential lifestyle programme. The usual care group (n = 85) participated in a health examination ending with a single counselling session. Follow-up was conducted at 1, 3 and 5 years. RESULTS: At 1-year follow-up, an extensive cardio-metabolic risk factor reduction was demonstrated in the intensive intervention group, along with a 70% decrease of progress to type 2 diabetes. At 5-year follow-up, most of these beneficial effects had disappeared. Reported physical activity and fibre intake as well as high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were still increased, and fasting insulin and proinsulin were lower. CONCLUSIONS: The intervention affected several important cardio-metabolic risk variables beneficially, and reduced the risk for type 2 diabetes, but the effects persisted only as long as the new lifestyle was maintained. Increased physical activity seemed to be the behaviour that was most easy to preserve.
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| 4. |
- Ruiz, Jonatan R., et al.
(author)
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High cardiovascular fitness is associated with low metabolic risk score in children : the European Youth Heart Study
- 2007
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In: Pediatric Research. - Baltimore, Md : Williams and Wilkins Co. - 0031-3998 .- 1530-0447. ; 61:3, s. 350-355
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of the present study was to examine the associations of cardiovascular fitness (CVF) with a clustering of metabolic risk factors in children, and to examine whether there is a CVF level associated with a low metabolic risk. CVF was estimated by a maximal ergometer bike test on 873 randomly selected children from Sweden and Estonia. Additional measured outcomes included fasting insulin, glucose, triglycerides, HDLC, blood pressure, and the sum of five skinfolds. A metabolic risk score was computed as the mean of the standardized outcomes scores. A risk score <75th percentile was considered to indicate a low metabolic risk. CVF was negatively associated with clustering of metabolic risk factors in children. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed a significant discriminatory accuracy of CVF in identifying the low/high metabolic risk in girls and boys (p < 0.001). The CVF level for a low metabolic risk was 37.0 and 42.1 mL/kg/min in girls and boys, respectively. These levels are similar to the health-related threshold values of CVF suggested by worldwide recognized organizations. In conclusion, the results suggest a hypothetical CVF level for having a low metabolic risk, which should be further tested in longitudinal and/or intervention studies. Abbreviations: AUC, area under the curve CVF, cardiovascular fitness ROC, receiver operating characteristic
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| 5. |
- Osika, Walter, et al.
(author)
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Sex differences in peripheral artery intima, media and intima media thickness in children and adolescents
- 2009
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In: Atherosclerosis. - Amsterdam : Elsevier. - 0021-9150 .- 1879-1484. ; 203:1, s. 172-177
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective Males have higher coronary heart disease (CHD) lifetime risk and increased magnitude of atherosclerosis, compared with women. Using very high-resolution ultrasound, we have shown that the intima thickness (IT) of radial and dorsal pedal arteries, measured separately from the media thickness (MT), increases with age. We wanted to test whether there is already a difference between the sexes in childhood for IT, MT and intima media thickness (IMT) in the radial and dorsal pedal arteries. Methods and results A total of 252 children (age 14.5 years S.D. ± 1.0 girls/boys 139/113) from two schools in Gothenburg, Sweden, participated in the study. The high-resolution (55 MHz) ultrasound measurements showed that boys had larger values than girls for the radial IT (0.057 ± 0.010 mm vs. 0.054 ± 0.008 mm, P = 0.007), MT (0.176 ± 0.033 vs. 0.153 ± 0.025, P = 0.031), IMT (0.232 ± 0.035 vs. 0.207 ± 0.026, P = 0.000), and for dorsal pedal artery MT (0.160 ± 0.039 vs. 0.149 ± 0.034, P = 0.022) and IMT (0.222 ± 0.041 vs. 0.209 ± 0.037, P = 0.016). Conclusion With this new very high-resolution ultrasound technique, we demonstrated in a large study population of children, that both intimal and medial arterial wall layers were thicker in boys than in girls. These findings may constitute an “early background” explaining why CHD starts sooner in men compared with women.
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| 6. |
- Wall, Kent, et al.
(author)
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Thirty-year electrocardiographic follow-up after repair of tetralogy of Fallot or atrial septal defect
- 2007
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In: Journal of Electrocardiology. - South Burlington, Vt. : Research in Electrocardiology, Inc.. - 0022-0736 .- 1532-8430. ; 40:2, s. 214-217
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Knowledge about long-term electrocardiographic changes after surgery for congenital heart disease is limited. METHODS: Eleven patients with corrected tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) and 14 with corrected atrial septal defect (ASD) were followed up at 20 and 30 years after surgery. RESULTS: Approximately 50% of the ASD group developed prolonged QRS duration. In the ToF group, 7 increased QRS duration by more than 20 milliseconds. Nearly all had right bundle-branch block, and 30% of them also had bifascicular block. Two in the ASD group developed first grade atrioventricular block. Five ASD and 6 ToF had prolonged corrected QT duration in the late postoperative phase. CONCLUSIONS: Even after primarily good results of surgery in congenital heart disease, unknown late effects may occur not only in complex lesions such as ToF but also after ASD correction. Regular medical checkups are important after surgical correction in congenital heart disease.
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| 7. |
- Lind, Marcus, et al.
(author)
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Thrombomodulin as a marker for bleeding complications during warfarin treatment
- 2009
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In: Archives of Internal Medicine. - : American Medical Association (AMA). - 0003-9926 .- 1538-3679. ; 169:13, s. 1210-1215
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The major adverse effect of warfarin treatment is hemorrhage. Several risk factors for bleeding complications are also risk factors for thromboembolic events, making the clinical decision to initiate or withhold anticoagulant treatment difficult. Specific markers that solely identify patients at high risk of bleeding would have great clinical impact. This study aimed to test if thrombomodulin (TM) concentrations were associated with bleeding complications, cardiovascular events, or mortality in long-term anticoagulant-treated patients. METHODS: In a longitudinal cohort study we followed up 719 patients receiving warfarin treatment for a mean duration of 4.2 years. All bleeding complications causing hospitalization were registered and classified. Soluble TM antigen (sTM) concentration in plasma was measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. RESULTS: During the follow-up time, 113 clinically relevant bleeding events and 73 major bleeding events occurred. Increased concentration of sTM was associated with both clinically relevant bleeding and major bleeding events after adjustment for age. In the multivariable models, hazard ratios for the highest tertiles compared with the lowest were 2.29 (95% confidence interval, 1.35-3.89) and 2.33 (95% confidence interval, 1.21-4.48), respectively. No association between sTM concentration and nonfatal ischemic cardiovascular events or all-cause mortality was found. CONCLUSIONS: Increased levels of sTM are associated with bleeding complications during warfarin treatment but not with cardiovascular events or all-cause mortality. Soluble TM antigen concentration has potential as a new specific marker to identify patients at high risk of bleeding during warfarin treatment.
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| 8. |
- Strömland, Kerstin, 1934, et al.
(author)
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Oculo-auriculo-vertebral spectrum: associated anomalies, functional deficits and possible developmental risk factors.
- 2007
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In: American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part A. - : Wiley. - 1552-4825 .- 1552-4833. ; 143A:12, s. 1317-1325
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Swedish patients with the oculo-auriculo-vertebral (OAV) spectrum participated in a prospective multidisciplinary investigation. The aims of the study were to describe their systemic and functional defects, especially autism spectrum disorders, and to search for possible etiologic risk factors. Available medical records were studied and the mothers answered a questionnaire on history of prenatal events. A clinical examination evaluating systemic findings, vision, hearing, speech, oral and swallowing function, and neuropsychiatric function, especially autism, was made. Eighteen patients, (11 males, 7 females) aged 8 months to 17 years with OAV were studied. Most frequent systemic malformations included, ear abnormalities (100%), ocular malformations (72%), vertebral deformities (67%), cerebral anomalies (50%), and congenital heart defects (33%). Functional defects consisted of hearing impairment (83%), visual impairment (28%), both visual and hearing impairment (28%), difficulties in feeding/eating (50%), speech (53%), mental retardation (39%), and severe autistic symptoms (11%). Three children were born following assisted fertilization (two intracytoplasmatic sperm injection, one in vitro fertilization), two mothers reported early bleedings, and six (33%) mothers had smoked during pregnancy.
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| 9. |
- Olofsson, P. S., et al.
(author)
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Genetic variants of TNFSF4 and risk for carotid artery disease and stroke
- 2009
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In: Journal of Molecular Medicine. - New York : Springer. - 0946-2716 .- 1432-1440. ; 87:4, s. 337-346
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In two independent human cohorts, the minor allele of SNP rs3850641 in TNFSF4 was significantly more frequent in individuals with myocardial infarction than in controls. In mice, Tnfsf4 expression is associated with increased atherosclerosis. The expression of TNFSF4 in human atherosclerosis and the association between genotype and cerebrovascular disease have not yet been investigated. TNFSF4 messenger RNA (mRNA) levels were significantly higher in human atherosclerotic lesions compared with controls (730∈±∈30 vs 330∈±∈65 arbitrary units, p∈<∈0.01). TNFSF4 was mainly expressed by macrophages in atherosclerotic lesions. In cell culture, endothelial cells upregulated TNFSF4 in response to tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α; 460∈±∈110 vs 133∈±∈8 arbitrary units, p∈<∈0.001 after 6 h of stimulation). We analyzed the TNFSF4 gene in 239 patients who had undergone carotid endarterectomy and 138 matching controls from The Biobank of Karolinska Carotid Endarterectomies and Stockholm Heart Epidemiology Program cohorts and 929 patients and 1,382 matching controls from the Sahlgrenska Academy Study on Ischemic Stroke and Case Control Study of Stroke cohorts, limiting inclusion to patients with ischemic stroke. Participants were genotyped for the rs3850641 SNP in TNFSF4. Genotype associations were neither found with TNFSF4 mRNA levels nor with atherosclerosis associated systemic factors or risk for stroke. This study shows that TNFSF4 is expressed on antigen-presenting cells in human carotid atherosclerotic lesions but provides no evidence for an association of TNFSF4 gene variation with the risk for ischemic stroke.
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| 10. |
- Jons, Christian, et al.
(author)
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The Medical Antiarrhythmic Treatment or Radiofrequency Ablation in Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation (MANTRA-PAF) trial : clinical rationale, study design, and implementation
- 2009
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In: Europace. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1099-5129 .- 1532-2092. ; 11:7, s. 917-923
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- AIMS: No large randomized multicentre trial has evaluated the efficacy of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) vs. anti-arrhythmic drug (AAD) therapy as a first-line treatment of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF). METHODS AND RESULTS: The Medical ANtiarrhythmic Treatment or Radiofrequency Ablation (MANTRA-PAF) trial is a randomized, controlled, parallel group, multicentre study designed to test whether catheter-based RFA is superior to optimized AAD therapy in suppressing relapse within 24 months of symptomatic and/or asymptomatic AF in patients with paroxysmal AF without prior AAD therapy. The primary endpoint is cumulative AF burden on repeated 7 days Holter monitoring. Secondary endpoints are: thromboembolic events, hospitalization due to arrhythmia, pro-arrhythmic events, procedure/treatment-related side effects, health economics, quality of life, and change in left ventricular function. Ten centres in Scandinavia and Germany are participating in the study. Enrolment was started in 2005 and as of November 2008, 260 patients have been enrolled into the study. It is expected that enrolment will end by March 2009, when 300 patients have been included. CONCLUSION: The MANTRA-PAF trial will determine whether catheter-based RFA is superior to optimized AAD therapy as a first-line treatment in suppressing long-term relapse of symptomatic and/or asymptomatic AF.
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