Search

Bakgrunn: Hensikten med denne studien var å kartlegge grunnlaget for innleggelser ved en stor medisinsk avdeling i Norge. Vi har vurdert mulige alternativer til innleggelse og hvorvidt triagering kan bidra til å identifisere aktuelle pasienter., Materiale Og Metode: Alle innleggelser ved Medisinsk avdeling ved Drammen sykehus i en full uke høsten 2014 ble registrert med pasientens alder, kjønn, liggetid, innleggende lege/instans, hvor vedkommende ble innlagt fra og diagnose ved innleggelse og utskrivning. Alternativer til innleggelse vurdert ut fra tilstanden ved avreise fra primærhelsetjenesten ble systematisk evaluert av to fastleger og en erfaren lege ved medisinsk avdeling ved gjennomgang av innleggelsesskrivene. Pasientene ble triagert i akuttmottaket umiddelbart etter ankomst, og tilstandens alvorlighetsgrad ble sammenholdt med mulige alternativer til innleggelse., Resultater: Studien omfattet 255 innleggelser (52 % kvinner, gjennomsnittsalder 62 år). Innleggende lege var i 57 % av tilfellene fra primærhelsetjenesten (fastlege 26 %, legevakt 31 %) og i 24 %fra spesialisthelsetjenesten. Innleggelsen var uten direkte legehenvisning i 18 % av tilfellene. De hyppigste innleggelsesdiagnosene var hjertesykdommer (38 %), lungesykdommer (11 %) og infeksjoner (9 %). Hos 7 % av de pasientene som var innlagt av primærlege (fastlege/legevaktlege), fant vi mulige alternativer til innleggelse, oftest innleggelse i kommunal akutt døgnplass (KAD). Det var ingen sammenheng mellom triagering og alternativ til innleggelse., Fortolkning: Andelen innleggelser fra fastlege var høyere enn i tilsvarende studier. Én av 15 innleggelser (7 %) ble vurdert som aktuell for alternativ. Triagering skiller ikke ut pasientforløp som er egnet for alternativ til innleggelse.

Background: An eating disorder is a complex disease in which the patient subjects his or her body to the various eating disorder symptoms in the absence of other ways of dealing with everyday life. There are seven symptoms of an eating disorder that generally appear in different combinations from one period to another in one and the same patient. Feelings of shame may cause information on symptoms to be withheld., Material and Method: Patients aged 18 and above with serious eating disorders responded anonymously to a questionnaire before entering treatment in two specialist departments. The main focus was on whether the patient had talked with a general practitioner (GP) about relevant eating disorder symptoms and ailments that could be related to the eating disorder., Results: Altogether 114 patients participated (of which three were men). A total of 91 (80%) had discussed the eating disorder with their GP during the past year. Of these, 67% of those who had reduced their food intake over the past year had discussed this with their GP. Altogether 68% of those who had vomited and 33% of those who had over-exercised had communicated this. None of the respondents had revealed their use of diuretic or weight-loss drugs to their GP. 85% of respondents stated that the GP must ask specifically about each symptom of an eating disorder in order to reveal these. At least half had discussed the association between current ailments and the eating disorder. A total of 49% had been weighed., Interpretation: In order to be able to establish the best possible basis for a medical assessment, the GP should ask specifically about each symptom of an eating disorder.

Background: An eating disorder is an illness that may take a life-threatening course. The health authorities recommend that general practitioners (GPs) should be included in the treatment apparatus. The patients' feelings of shame, denial of the illness and ambivalence with regard to treatment are disease-specific characteristics that need to be considered., Material and Method: At two specialised units for eating disorders, patients aged over 18 were handed a questionnaire at the start of their treatment. The questionnaire dealt with GP consultations in which the eating disorder had been discussed. An active GP-patient relationship was defined based on whether the patient had seen the GP at least three times, whether the GP's office was in proximity to the patient's place of residence and whether the eating disorder had been discussed during the past year., Results: Altogether 114 patients (90%) took part in the study. 66% had an active GP-patient relationship, and 65% of these had discussed with their GP the impact of the disease on their daily lives. Altogether 75% were satisfied with the GP's manner, 47% found the GP to be an important supporter of their treatment and 44% visited their GP if their condition worsened. Those patients who were severely underweight and patients with GPs who demonstrated commitment scored highest on satisfaction and support. A total of 39% of those who had experience of treatment in which their current GP could have been involved in collaboration with the second-line service had found such involvement to be the case., Interpretation: The patients had varying experience of follow-up provided by their GPs. Commitment on the part of the GP appears to result in closer follow-up and greater patient satisfaction.

Background: OTC analgesics were released for sale outside pharmacies in Norway in 2003. This study assesses indications and frequency of use of these drugs among 15-16 year-old teenagers in Norway after 2003., Material and Method: We developed a questionnaire, which contained 65 questions with one or more response options. This was given to all pupils in the final grade at six junior high schools in a town with 60,000 inhabitants (Drammen)., Results: 367 of 626 (58.6 %) pupils participated. 50 % of the boys and 71 % of the girls had used OTC analgesics during the last four weeks; 26 % of them on a daily or weekly basis. Girls experienced episodes of pain more frequently than boys, but the proportion of episodes treated with analgesics did not differ between the sexes. Headache and muscle pain were common. Half of those with severe headache/migraine used OTC analgesics on a daily or weekly basis. The teenagers reported several reasons for experiencing pain and discomfort, such as long time spent in front of various screens, tight time schedules with physical exercise and friends, drinking too little and much noise in the classroom., Interpretation: Use of OTC analgesics has increased considerably among Norwegian teenagers. Drug-induced headache may occur as an adverse event. If more effort is made to improve life situations that adolescents perceive as painful and a cause of discomfort, the need for OTC analgesics may be reduced.

Background: More information is needed on teenagers' attitudes to self-medication with OTC-analgesics, and their access to medicine and information., Material and Method: An anonymous questionnaire study was performed among all tenth grade students in Drammen, a middle sized city in Norway, in spring 2007., Results: 367 students participated in the study, 55 of them had a non-western background. 24 % of boys and 41 % of girls stated that analgesics could be used whenever they experienced pain. Among these, 91 % had taken analgesics during the previous four weeks, among those who thought that analgesics should not be used 50 % had taken it. The girls reported episodes of pain more often than the boys, but analgesics were used to treat pain to the same extent by all students, irrelevant of sex and cultural background. 77 % of students with a western origin and 62 % of those from non-western countries felt free to use OTC-analgesics at home without asking for permission. 31 % of western girls got analgesics from their friends. 8.5 % bought medicines at the pharmacy and 7.1 % bought them in grocery shops. Information on how to alleviate pain with medicine was usually given by the parents., Interpretation: Teenagers in secondary school have different opinions on self-medication with OTC-analgesics. The parents assist their children in how to manage pain. 15 - 16 year-olds experience much pain, and mainly have free access to analgesics at home.

Background: Little information is available about Norwegian adolescents' use of medical drugs., Material and Methods: Self-reported drug use was recorded by means of a self-administered questionnaire handed out in classrooms to all 10th grade students in four counties. In all, 5846 boys and 5862 girls participated during the years 2000-2002., Results: Forty-one percent of boys and 64% of girls had used drugs during the last four weeks. Non-prescription analgesics had been used by 25% of the boys and by more than half of the girls. Daily use of prescription analgesics was reported by approximately 1% in both sexes, while more girls than boys had used these drugs during the last four weeks. In all, 15% of the boys and 16% of the girls reported use of allergy medicines during the last four weeks and 6% of the boys and 7% of the girls had used asthma medicines. During the same period, 1.4% of the boys and 1.8% of the girls had used hypnotics. Anxiolytics had been used by 1.9%, while 0.8% reported use of antidepressants., Interpretation: Drug use is common among adolescents in Norway. Except for analgesics, there were only minor sex differences in drug use. The proportion of drug users did not vary significantly between counties.