Search results for "Follow-Up studies"

Treatment of tumors of the pancreatic head with suspected but unproved malignancy: is a nihilistic approach justified?

1999

The aim of the present prospective observational study was to evaluate the accuracy of preoperative imaging studies and the outcome of patients after pancreaticoduodenectomy for suspected but unproved malignancy. Pancreaticoduodenectomy was performed in 186 patients with a suspected but histologically unproved malignancy of the pancreatic head: 86 with a ductal pancreatic carcinoma, 56 with a periampullary tumor, 18 with a cystadenocarcinoma, 13 with a rare malignant tumor or a metastasis, and 13 with a benign tumor. An accurate differentiation between a ductal pancreatic carcinoma and a nonductal tumor or a benign tumor was neither possible with tumor marker CA 19-9 nor with diagnostic ima…

Prospective multicenter trial of capsule endoscopy in patients with chronic abdominal pain, diarrhea and other signs and symptoms (CEDAP-Plus Study)

2007

Background On the basis of the published data, capsule endoscopy cannot be recommended in patients whose only symptom is chronic abdominal pain. The present study therefore focused on the diagnostic yield of capsule endoscopy in patients with chronic abdominal pain who were also suffering from additional symptoms. Patients and methods A total of 50 patients with chronic abdominal pain, plus other symptoms singly or in combination were enrolled in this prospective multicenter trial. The "plus" symptoms or signs consisted of weight loss (> 10 % of body weight), inflammation shown by laboratory tests, chronic anemia, or suspected mid-gastrointestinal bleeding. Chronic diarrhea was recorded if …

Cetuximab plus cisplatin–5-fluorouracil versus cisplatin–5-fluorouracil alone in first-line metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus: a ra…

2009

Abstract Background This study assessed the activity of the mAb cetuximab in combination with cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Patients and methods For a maximum of six 29-day cycles, patients received cisplatin 100 mg/m2, day 1, plus 5-FU 1000 mg/m2, days 1–5 (CF), either alone or in combination with cetuximab (CET–CF; 400 mg/m2 initial dose followed by 250 mg/m2 weekly thereafter). The primary end point was tumor response. Tumor material was obtained for analysis of KRAS mutation status. Results Sixty-two eligible patients were included, 32 receiving CET–CF and 30 CF. Cetuximab did not exacerbate grade 3/4 toxicity, except for rash (6% ve…

Bowel Dilation Diagnosed Prenatally.

2017

Cognitive and non-cognitive factors in educational and occupational outcomes-Specific to reading disability?

2020

Low education and unemployment are common adult-age outcomes associated with childhood RD (c-RD). However, adult-age cognitive and non-cognitive factors associated with different outcomes remain unknown. We studied whether these outcomes are equally common among individuals with c-RD and controls and whether these outcomes are related to adult-age literacy skills or cognitive and non-cognitive factors or their interaction with c-RD. We examined adult participants with c-RD (n = 48) and their matched controls (n = 37). Low education was more common among c-RD than the controls, whereas long-term unemployment was equally common in both groups. Moreover, adult-age literacy skills, cognitive sk…

Time pressure, working time control and long-term sickness absence

2015

Objectives Perceived time pressure at work has increased in most European countries during recent decades. Time pressure may be harmful for employees’ health and well-being. The aim of this register-based follow-up study is to investigate whether the effects of time pressure on long sickness absence vary by the level of working time control. Methods The data are taken from the Finnish Quality of Work Life Survey 2003 (n=3400), a representative sample of Finnish employees, combined with a register-based follow-up from Statistics Finland covering the years 2002–2006. In the 2003 survey, employees were asked about their perceived time pressure and to what extent they had control over working t…

Factors explaining the physical activity of young adults: the importance of early socialization.

2007

As a part of the large project Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns, the purpose of the present study was to examine how adult physical activity is influenced by early physical activity and current social and health-related factors. A total of 2411 children and adolescents aged 9, 12, 15 and 18 years were randomly selected from five university towns and their rural surroundings in 1980. They were followed up for 12 years by means of questionnaires. In 1992 they were 21, 24, 27 and 30 years old. The results showed that early physical activity and current social and health-related behaviours were significantly related to the level of adult physical activity. Multivariable analyses indicated tha…

Efficacy of Focused Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy in Chronic Low Back Pain: A Prospective Randomized 3-Month Follow-Up Study.

2022

BACKGROUND Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is a modern physiotherapeutic method that is useful for treating musculoskeletal conditions. There are still limited data from well-designed studies evaluating the clinical efficiency of ESWT in low back pain (LBP). Therefore, this study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the focused ESWT (fESWT) in reducing pain and improving the functional status of patients with chronic LBP. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study involved 40 patients with L5-S1 discopathy with chronic LBP pain who were randomized into 2 groups: group A (n=20, mean age of 42.3±13.1 years) and group B (n=20, mean age of 45.4±14 years). Group A was an experimental group treated …

Preliminary experience with the application of Gadolinium-DTPA before MR imaging-guided laser-induced interstitial thermotherapy of brain tumors

1997

The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential value of i.v. gadolinium-diethylenetriamine penta-acetic acid (Gd-DTPA) applied before MRI-guided laser-induced interstitial thermotherapy (LITT) of brain tumors without original enhancement, especially in defining total lesion size during therapy. MRI-guided LITT was performed on two patients with astrocytoma WHO II. For both patients, Gd-DTPA was administered intravenously after a first irradiation period and LITT was continued after pulling back the light guide to coagulate the upper parts of the tumor. In both patients, the whole irreversible damaged zone of the second irradiation period after Gd-DTPA showed an intense increase …

Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension: Pre- and Postoperative Assessment with Breath-hold MR Imaging Techniques

2004

To evaluate the potential of breath-hold magnetic resonance (MR) imaging techniques in morphologic and functional assessment of patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) before and after surgery.Thirty-four patients with CTEPH were examined before and after pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE). For morphologic assessment, contrast material-enhanced MR angiography was used; for assessment of hemodynamics, velocity-encoded gradient-echo sequences and cine gradient-echo sequences along the short axis of the heart were performed. Contrast-enhanced MR angiography was compared with selective digital subtraction angiography (DSA) for depiction of central thromboembolic m…