[Five new antiepileptic agents approved during the 1990's--an observation study on the utilization of the new preparations in routine clinical practice]. / Fem nya antiepileptiska läkemedel registrerade under 1990-talet--en observationsstudie av de nya preparatens användning i rutinsjukvården.

Since 1990, five new antiepileptic drugs have been approved in Sweden for add-on therapy of partial epilepsy. The optimal use of these drugs has not yet been established. In a county general hospital, 75 of 382 adult patients with epilepsy were treated with newer antiepileptic drugs. Fifty-two continued treatment with a newer drug for one year or longer mainly because of improved seizure control. The newer drugs represented 18 per cent of total sales of antiepileptic drugs in the area served by the hospital but the corresponding cost was 70 per cent. Despite their higher price, use of the newer drugs seems justifiable when significant improvement of seizure control can be achieved.

Long-term effects of diltiazem and atenolol on blood glucose, serum lipids, and serum urate in hypertensive patients. Swedish-Finnish Study Group.

UNLABELLED: The purpose of this long-term treatment study was to evaluate health-related quality of life by comparing the effects of diltiazem and atenolol on some important metabolic parameters. SUBJECTS, MATERIAL AND METHODS: In a Swedish-Finnish long-term multicenter study 256 patients with mild to moderate hypertension were randomized to treatment with diltiazem retard (D) (n = 127) or atenolol (A) (n = 129). Doses could be increased and additional captopril medication be given to achieve adequate blood pressure (BP) reduction. The treatment in group D lasted for two years while group A was treated for 1 year and then was given D for another 2 years. RESULTS: After 1 year BP was significantly reduced in both groups and to a similar degree. The BP reduction was maintained during the rest of the study. After 1 and 2 years, HDL had increased significantly (p < 0.001) in group D. There was a corresponding significant reduction of the LDL/HDL ratio. In group A there were no changes after 1 year regarding lipoprotein levels. After the switch to D, group A showed similar improvements regarding HDL and the LDL/HDL ratio as the original D group. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that D and A are equally effective in lowering BP. However, long-term treatment with D, but not with A, has a favorable effect on HDL concentrations and the LDL/HDL ratio. According to these findings D affects the risk factor profile in hypertension.

Out-patient treatment of acute deep vein thrombosis.

BACKGROUND: To assess whether uncomplicated deep vein thrombosis could be treated in an out-patient setting without increasing the frequency of complications, and to determine the proportion of patients with deep vein thrombosis, traditionally treated as in-patients at the Departments of Medicine, who are eligible for such treatment. METHODS: In a multicentre study, carried out at six hospitals of varying sizes and serving a population of about 600,000, consecutive patients over 18 years of age, with verified deep vein thrombosis, primarily presented as acute cases at the respective Departments of Medicine, were considered for treatment on an out-patient basis during a 1-year period. INTERVENTIONS: Those eligible for out-patient treatment were put on low molecular weight heparin and oral anticoagulants, and scheduled for daily attendance at the out-patient clinic of the respective Dept. of Medicine. Details of any complication were recorded according to a standard check-list. The patients underwent a full checkup at three-month follow-up. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Any bleeding event or pulmonary embolism. Progress of thrombosis. RESULTS: Of 523 patients considered for out-patient treatment, 126 (24%) were excluded according to the defined exclusion criteria, 197 (38%) were treated entirely on an out-patient basis, and another 43 (8%) were initially treated in hospital (median two days) before being transferred to the out-patient setting. Three patients had to be hospitalized for suspected complications, but none of these turned out to be serious. No serious bleeding event or thromboembolic complication was registered. CONCLUSIONS: Uncomplicated acute deep vein thrombosis could be safely treated on an out-patients basis. At least 50% of the patients with this diagnosis, former treated as in-patients at the Depts. of Medicine, are eligible for such treatment.

[Evaluation of analyses to exclude suspected thrombosis. Don't rely on the D-dimer test!]. / Utvärdering av analyser för att utesluta misstänkt blodpropp. Lita inte pä D-dimertestet!

The reliability of D-dimer (NycoCard D-dimer) and CRP (C-reactive protein) tests to exclude suspected deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) was investigated in 116 patients. Venography, ultrasonography or ventilation-perfusion lung scanning was used as the control method in 95, 5, and 14 patients, respectively, and pulmonary angiography in two patients, one of whom also underwent lung scanning, the other venography. Of the 116 patients, 52 had thromboembolism (46 DVT and 6 PE). The respective sensitivity, specificity, and negative and positive predictive values (NPV, PPV) were 94%, 27%, 85% and 51% for the D-dimer test, and 80%, 53% 76% and 60% for the CRP test. As venous thromboembolism is a life-threatening condition, the NPV of an exclusion test must lie very close to 100 per cent, and thus the study showed neither the D-dimer nor the CRP test to be a satisfactory exclusion test for use in cases of suspected DVT or PE.

[Evaluation of analyses for exclusion of suspected thrombosis. Do not rely on the D-dimer test!]. / Utvärdering av analyser för att utesluta misstänkt blodpropp. Lita inte på D-dimertestet!

The reliability of D-dimer (NycoCard D-dimer) and CRP (C-reactive protein) tests to exclude suspected deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) was investigated in 116 patients. Venography, ultrasonography or ventilation-perfusion lung scanning was used as the control method in 95, 5, and 14 patients, respectively, and pulmonary angiography in two patients, one of whom also underwent lung scanning, the other venography. Of the 116 patients, 52 had thromboembolism (46 DVT and 6 PE). The respective sensitivity, specificity, and negative and positive predictive values (NPV, PPV) were 94%, 27%, 85% and 51% for the D-dimer test, and 80%, 53% 76% and 60% for the CRP test. As venous thromboembolism is a life-threatening condition, the NPV of an exclusion test must lie very close to 100 per cent, and thus the study showed neither the D-dimer nor the CRP test to be a satisfactory exclusion test for use in cases of suspected DVT or PE.

Plasma homocysteine in venous thromboembolism.

Severe hyperhomocysteinemia due to inborn errors of methionine metabolism results in precocious development of arteriosclerosis and predisposition to venous and arterial thromboembolism. Although the findings of several studies have indicated that mild hyperhomocysteinemia is common in occlusive arterial disease, no similar studies have been made on venous thromboembolism. In this study of subjects under 50 years of age, we found no significant differences in the plasma homocysteine concentrations, either in the fasting state or after methionine loading, between 42 patients with venous thromboembolism and 42 healthy controls. Nonetheless, male patients manifested a tendency toward higher homocysteine concentrations than male controls; 6 patients (14%) versus 2 controls (5%) responded abnormally to methionine loading which might indicate heterozygosity for cystathionine synthase deficiency. Thus, further studies on plasma homocysteine in venous thromboembolism are warranted.

99mTc plasmin in 394 consecutive patients with suspected deep venous thrombosis.

Three hundred and ninety four consecutive out-patients with suspected deep venous thrombosis (DVT) were investigated with the 99mTc-plasmin test and physical examination and 307 of them with phlebography. Fresh thrombi were present in 124 patients and the plasmin test was pathological in 118 of these (sensitivity 95%). The thrombi that were missed were all located below the knee and measured less than 10 cm on the phlebographic films. The predictive values of negative and positive tests were 91% and 49%, respectively. The predictive value of a positive test was higher with an increasing number of measuring points with a pathological uptake. To get the final result, a single series of measurements 5 min after injection was sufficient. If clinical signs of inflammation were present. the plasmin test was usually pathological. Median time for the plasmin test to become normal during anticoagulant therapy was 14 days for calf DVT and 6 months for proximal DVT. The plasmin test was found to be useful as a screening test in patients without extensive signs of inflammation in the legs. It has a high sensitivity even in patients with long-standing symptoms.

Need for long-term anticoagulant treatment in symptomatic calf-vein thrombosis.

The need for oral anticoagulation in patients with calf-vein thrombosis was examined in a randomised study of 51 patients, of whom 23 received warfarin for 3 months and 28 did not. Both groups received an initial course of heparin and all wore compression stockings. Progress was monitored by the use of serial isotope tests and physical examination. Phlebography was repeated if recurrence was suspected. During the first 3 months, 8 patients in the non-warfarin group (29%) had recurrences compared with none in the warfarin group (p less than 0.01). 5 patients had recurrence with proximal extension and 1 patient had a pulmonary embolus. After 1 year, 22 out of 23 patients in the warfarin group had not had a recurrence, compared with 19 out of 28 (p less than 0.02). The findings indicate that oral anticoagulants should be given to all patients with thrombi that produce symptoms. Treatment for 3 months seems to be sufficient.

Double blind comparison between iohexol and metrizoate in phlebography of the lower limb.

A new, non-ionic low osmolar contrast medium, iohexol 240 mg I/ml, has been tested in a randomized double blind parallel investigation versus meglumine-Ca metrizoate 200 mg I/ml. The study was performed to evaluate the suitability of the contrast medium in phlebography. No post-phlebographic complications were seen in the 24 patients examined with iohexol 240 mg I/ml or in 8 patients examined with iohexol 300 mg I/ml. In the 19 patients examined with metrizoate 200 mg I/ml, 7 had a post-phlebographic thrombotic complication (37%). The radiographic image quality was not significantly different between the two contrast media, neither were the immediate side effects during contrast injections. It has thus been shown that iohexol is a suitable contrast medium in phlebography of the lower limb and that it is preferable to conventional contrast media.

Thermography in the diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis. A comparison with 99Tcm-plasmin test, clinical diagnosis and phlebography.

Thermography, clinical examination and 99Tcm-plasmin test were performed in 112 patients and compared with phlebography. The study population consists of consecutive outpatients with symptoms compatible with deep venous thrombosis, who presented during regular clinic hours. Scoring systems were constructed for the clinical and thermographic evaluation. Both thermography and clinical diagnosis were insufficiently sensitive and specific for screening purposes. Plasmin test had a high sensitivity, 95%, but a low specificity. It is possible that a combination of thermography and clinical diagnostic criteria can provide an acceptable screening procedure. Combining thermography with a routine examination by the physician on duty yielded less favourable results.