Unjustified antibiotic prescribing for acute upper respiratory infections (URTIs) is probably more common in poor-resource settings where physicians are scarce. Introducing C-reactive protein (CRP) point-of-care testing in such settings could reduce the misuse of antibiotics, which could avert antibiotic resistance. However, information useful for the applicability of CRP test in resource-limited ...

Background - Most patients presenting with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) in primary care are prescribed antibiotics, but these may not be beneficial, and they can cause side effects and increase the risk of subsequent resistant infections. Point-of-care tests (POCTs) could safely reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing and antimicrobial resistance.<p> ...

Background - Antibiotics are prescribed to >70% of patients presenting in primary care with an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). The PACE randomised controlled trial found that a C-reactive protein point-of-care test (CRP-POCT) management strategy for AECOPD in primary care resulted in a 20% reduction in patient-reported antibiotic consumption over 4 weeks.<p> <p>Aim ...

<p><i>Background and objectives</i> The Pan-European research network CAMbrella was established under the 7th Framework Programme in 2010. One of the main aims is to review the legal and regulatory status for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, and indicate how legal and regulatory differences can be taken into account both in research initiatives and efforts to secure equal access to health ...

<p><i>Introduction</i>: Maternal age is an established risk factor for cesarean section; epidural analgesia and oxytocin augmentation may modify this association. We investigated the effects and interactions of oxytocin augmentation, epidural analgesia and maternal age on the risk of cesarean section.</p> <p><i>Material and methods</i>: In all, 416 386 nulliparous women with spontaneous onset of ...

Background: In medical education, teaching methods offering intensive practice without high utilization of faculty resources are needed. We investigated whether simulated patients’ (SPs’) satisfaction with a consultation could predict professional observers’ assessment of young doctors’ communication skills. <p>Methods: This was a comparative cross-sectional study of 62 videotaped consultations ...

Firefighters are exposed to both known and suspected carcinogens. This study aims to systematically review the literature on the association of firefighting occupation and cancer incidence and mortality, overall and for specific cancer sites. A systematic review using PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science was performed up to January 1, 2018. We extracted risk estimates of cancers and calculated summary ...

Little is known about how people living in the aftermath of cancer treatment experience and manage worries about possible signs of cancer relapse, not as an individual enterprise but as socially embedded management. One-year ethnographic fieldwork was conducted in a coastal village of under 3000 inhabitants in northern Norway. Ten villagers who had undergone cancer treatment from six months to five ...

Background: Immediate start of basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and early defibrillation have been highlighted as crucial for survival from cardiac arrest, but despite new knowledge, new technology and massive personnel training the survival rates from in-hospital cardiac arrest are still low. National guidelines recommend regular intervals of CPR training to make all hospital personnel ...