Objective The objective of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy in detecting valvular heart disease (VHD) by heart auscultation, performed by medical doctors.<p> <p>Design/methods A systematic literature search for diagnostic studies comparing heart auscultation to echocardiography or angiography, to evaluate VHD in adults, was performed in MEDLINE (1947–November 2021) and ...

A drop in atmospheric pressure, as observed at high altitudes, leads to decreased oxygen saturation. The effect of regular changes in barometric pressure at sea level has never been studied in a general population. A cohort of adults aged 40 years were examined with pulse oximetry at two separate visits, and the local barometric pressure was available from the local weather station. The study aimed ...

Background Acute cough and lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) are one of the most important causes of lost working hours. Aim to explore variation and predictors in family practitioners (FPs) advice to patients with LRTIs about taking time off work in different European countries. Methods Prospective observational study in primary care networks in 12 countries, with multilevel ...

<b>Background:</b> We studied the fit of the Global Lung Function Initiative all-age reference values to Norwegians, compared them with currently used references (European Community for Steel and Coal (ECSC) and Zapletal) and estimated the prevalence of obstructive lung disease.<br> <b>Methods:</b> Spirometry data collected in 30,239 subjects (51.7% females) aged 12-90 years in three population-based ...

The world faces the threat of increasing antimicrobial resistance, and there is growing consensus that swift action must be taken to improve the rational use of antibiotics and increase the stewardship of antibiotics to safeguard this key resource in modern healthcare. This paper provides the perspective of an international group of experts on the role of C-reactive protein point-of-care testing ...

Every year, more than 650,000 Europeans die because they smoke. Smoking is considered to be the single most preventable factor influencing health. General practitioners (GP) are encouraged to advise on smoking cessation at all suitable consultations. Unsolicited advice from GPs results in one of 40-60 smokers stopping smoking. Smoking cessation advice has traditionally been given on an individual ...

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). It remains unknown whether individual respiratory symptoms and lowered oxygen saturation (SpO₂), individually and in combination with COPD, affect the risk of VTE.<p> <p> Objectives: To investigate whether measures of respiratory impairments including respiratory symptoms ...

Background The significance of pulmonary crackles, by their timing during inspiration, was described by Nath and Capel in 1974, with early crackles associated with bronchial obstruction and late crackles with restrictive defects. Crackles are also described as ‘fine’ or ‘coarse’. We aimed to evaluate the usefulness of crackle characteristics in the diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ...

Objective: To investigate interrater and intrarater agreement between physicians and medical students on heart sound classification from audio recordings, and factors predicting agreement with a reference classification.<p> <p>Design: Intra- and interrater agreement study. <p>Subjects: Seventeen GPs and eight cardiologists from Norway and the Netherlands, eight medical students from Norway. <p>Main ...