Regional differences in diagnosing asthma and other allergic diseases in Estonian schoolchildren.

UNLABELLED: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of asthma and other allergic diseases among Estonian schoolchildren of the cities lacking special (pediatric allergological) health care. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study, carried out through 1 March to 8 May, 2003, enrolled 5th- to 12th-grade schoolchildren of 4 schools in different regions of Estonia. A three-step protocol was followed: screening questionnaire, examination by a pulmonary resident, and consultation by a pediatric allergologist. RESULTS: Of the 3132 questionnaires distributed, 1561 (49%) were returned. A total of 828 schoolchildren answered positively to any of the questions about possible allergic disease. After examination by the pulmonary resident, 255 schoolchildren (15.7%) were referred to an allergologist for final diagnosis. Asthma was diagnosed in 4.8%, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis in 4.9%, and atopic eczema in 8.3% of schoolchildren. Asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, and urticaria occurred more frequently in Narva as compared with Võru. CONCLUSION: The 12-month prevalence of asthma among Estonian schoolchildren was 4.8%, and the prevalence of allergic diseases varied from region to region. Less than half (40%) of all asthma cases identified during the study were newly diagnosed, and this clearly indicates that there is a considerable underdiagnosis of the disease among schoolchildren living outside of the centers in Estonia.

Achieving lipid goals with rosuvastatin compared with simvastatin in high risk patients in real clinical practice: a randomized, open-label, parallel-group, multi-center study: the DISCOVERY-Beta study.

The aim of this multi-center, open-label, randomized, parallel-group trial was to compare the efficacy of rosuvastatin with that of simvastatin in achieving the 1998 European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS) lipid treatment goals. 504 patients (> or =18 years) with primary hypercholesterolemia and a 10-year cardiovascular (CV) risk >20% or history of coronary heart disease (CHD) or other established atherosclerotic disease were randomized in a 2:1 ratio to receive rosuvastatin 10 mg or simvastatin 20 mg once daily for 12 weeks. A significantly higher proportion of patients achieved 1998 EAS low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) goal after 12 weeks of treatment with rosuvastatin 10 mg compared to simvastatin 20 mg (64 vs 51.5%, p < 0.01). Similarly, significantly more patients achieved the 1998 EAS total cholesterol (TC) goal and the 2003 EAS LDL-C and TC goals (p < 0.001) with rosuvastatin 10 mg compared with simvastatin 20 mg. The incidence of adverse events and the proportion of patients who discontinued study treatment were similar between treatment groups. In conclusion, in the DISCOVERY-Beta Study in patients with primary hypercholesterolemia greater proportion of patients in the rosuvastatin 10 mg group achieved the EAS LDL-C treatment goal compared with the simvastatin 20 mg group. Drug tolerability was similar across both treatment groups.

Prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility of Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae in Estonian intensive care units in comparison with European data.

This prospective cohort study was performed from April to December 2003 for the purpose of collecting a maximum of 50 non-duplicate isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumoniae from each of 4 ICUs to determine minimum inhibitory concentrations. The most prevalent species were Enterobacteriaceae (13%), K. pneumoniae and A. baumannii (both 12%). 60% of A. baumannii strains were susceptible to ampicillin/sulbactam and cefepime, 95% to meropenem and imipenem, and 75% to amikacin. 79% of P. aeruginosa strains were piperacillin/tazobactam, 58% ceftazidime, 81% meropenem, 72% imipenem, 69% ciprofloxacin and 97% amikacin susceptible. The susceptibility of K. pneumoniae to meropenem and imipenem was 99%, to ciprofloxacin was 91% and to amikacin was 98%. Gram-negative bacteria (especially K. pneumoniae and A. baumannii) were prevalent in our ICUs compared to other European studies. Carbapenem susceptibility of Estonian strains was higher, but P. aeruginosa sensitivity to ceftazidime was lower, compared to other EU countries.

The comparison of susceptibility patterns of Gram-negative invasive and non-invasive pathogens in Estonian hospitals.

A total of 560 invasive and 1062 non-invasive isolates were collected. The antimicrobial susceptibility of invasive versus non-invasive Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates were evaluated using the E-tests. The equal domination of Gram-negative among both invasive and non-invasive pathogens was estimated in our study if contaminants were excluded. The emergence trend of Gram-positive microbes especially of coagulase negative staphylococci may be proved only after application of exclusive algorithms. Due to similar susceptibility, the data of non-invasive Gram-negative pathogens can be useful to predict resistance of invasive ones. Also, the surveillance of invasive pathogens provides useful information about the general susceptibility of pathogens.