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Biomedical subjects

C Hendriksen

Publications and source records attributed to C Hendriksen.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Effects of subcutaneous versus intravenous administration of cyclosporin A on rat thymic histology and pharmacokinetics.

Cyclosporin A (CsA) was administered to rats by repeated subcutaneous (s.c.) or intravenous (i.v.) injections for 14 days. Changes in thymic histology were independent of the route of administration. Blood concentration--time profiles of CsA were similar at dose levels of i.v. 7.5 and s.c. 15 mg/kg/day, respectively. So, provided that the dose is reduced, i.v. injection can serve as an adequate alternative to s.c. injection, thereby preventing unwanted painful side-effects associated with the latter route of administration.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Safety and effectiveness of low-dose clozapine in psychogeriatric patients: a preliminary study.

The short- and long-term treatment tolerance of low-dose clozapine was retrospectively investigated in 18 psychogeriatric patients. Discontinued use of the drug because of side effects or inefficiency was required for only four patients. In the long-term treatment group leukopenia was not observed, and disturbances of liver function appeared to be very infrequent. A second group of seven severely demented psychogeriatric inpatients who were currently being treated with low-dose clozapine underwent a withdrawal study in order to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of the drug, measured by the NOSIE and the SCAG scales. The results indicate that for patients such as these, with paranoid or socially disturbing behavior who also tend to develop severe neurological side effects with classical neuroleptics, a low-dose administration of clozapine is an acceptable alternative treatment.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Preventive home visits among elderly people.

Recurrent preventive home visits are an important part of the efforts for elderly people in about 15% of the communities in Denmark. Based on these experiences, this paper describes how to conduct the preventive visits. The content consists of structured conversations, attention to possible risk situations, action proposals and followup on previous discussions and planned changes. The empathy of the visitor is an important factor. A hypothesis is proposed about the cause of the positive effect of the preventive visits on institutionalisation and mortality.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Global assessment of patients--a bedside study. II. Inter-observer variation and frequency of clinical findings.

Three physicians independently assessed 201 hospital in-patients for the presence of 10 basic physical characteristics, and made an overall assessment of whether or not the patients appeared ill. There were significant differences between the physicians in the average number of observations recorded for each patient (P less than 0.001). There was a significant difference (P less than 0.05) between the physicians regarding the number of positive diagnoses of anaemia, abnormal nutritional state, breathing difficulties and the overall assessment. Inter-observer variation was estimated by a pairwise comparison of the three physicians. Overall agreement rates ranged from 0.65 for abnormal nutritional state to 0.99 for presence of pain. After adjusting for random agreement, kappa values between 0.09 (elevated body temperature) and 0.88 (consciousness impaired) were found. No tendency towards a higher level of agreement in the overall assessment than in the basic findings was observed.

Diagnosis↗
PubMed1990

[Current cooperation concerning admission to and discharge from geriatric hospitals].

A method of building bridges--in terms of therapy and care--between the life of the elderly before, during, and after a stay in hospital is described in this randomized, controlled study from a Copenhagen suburb. A project nurse employed by the City called at the Hospital each day and followed the members of this group concerning the need to gather information from primary care, discuss discharge with the patient and the nursing staff, co-ordinate possible supportive measures in the home, and immediately after the discharge to make a home visit to ensure continuity of care and treatment.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

[Cooperation concerning admission to and discharge of elderly people from the hospital. 3. Functional capacity, self-assessed health and quality of life].

As part of a total project concerning description and effects of the coordinating efforts of home nurses in connection with admission to and discharge from hospital of persons over the age of 65 years, the functional capacity and the subjective parameters: quality of life, self-assessed health and loneliness were registered on discharge and two months later. In order to assess the effect of intervention, the intervention group was compared with a control group. No differences in the functional capacity could be demonstrated on discharge or after two months. No differences could be demonstrated in the subjective parameters either. The effect of the home nurses' efforts in the total project could be measured as a reduction in the number of institution-days in the intervention group. These results suggest that, in further attempts to reduce the risk of complications in recently discharged elderly patients, further assistance of the functional capacity should be added to the forms of intervention described.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1989

[Cooperation concerning admission to and discharge of elderly people from the hospital. 1. The coordinated contributions of home care personnel].

In cooperation between the home care system in the Municipality of Rødovre and four hospital departments in the County of Copenhagen, a controlled and randomized investigation was undertaken among the hospitalized patients of 65 years and over from the Municipality of Rødovre. A nurse employed by the Municipality particularly for this project visited the hospital daily and followed the 135 participants in the intervention group with the objects of obtaining information from the primary sector if necessary, discussing discharge with the patient and the hospital staff, coordinating possible supportive measures in the patient's home and visiting the patient in his home immediately after discharge from hospital in order to ensure continuity in care and treatment. The 138 participants in the control group underwent the usual procedures in connection with admission to hospital. In this article, the consequences of the contributions by the health visitor in the hospital are described in relation to the course of hospitalization. The intervention group had an average stay in hospital of 11.0 days as compared with 14.3 days in the control group (p greater than 0.05), and the total number of bed-days were 1,490 and 1,970, respectively. In addition, the two groups were compared as regards the number of diagnostic procedures during hospitalization, the number of deaths, the diagnoses on discharge and the functional capacity. No differences were observed in these respects between the two groups. Three patients from the control group were discharged to residential institutions as compared with none in the intervention group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aftercare↗
PubMed1989

[Cooperation concerning admission to and discharge of elderly people from the hospital. 2. The course 1 year after discharge].

In connection with the health visitor's work in a hospital, a controlled and randomized investigation was undertaken among hospitalized patients of 65 years and over from the municipality of Rødovre. The efforts made in hospital were described in a previous article. Out of the intervention group of 135 patients, 125 were discharged alive. Of these, 114 were visited on one or more occasions immediately after discharge with the object of discussing the process of admission and review of the health and social circumstances to ensure adequate and relevant supportive measures. A total of 125 persons from a comparable control group were discharged alive after having received the usual offers of assistance during and after hospitalization. The two groups were followed for one year after discharge as regards the number of deaths and the utilization of hospital, waiting departments and the municipal residential institutions and home-help and home nursing services. No differences were found between the groups as regards the number of deaths, number of re-admissions and the duration of hospitalization. A total of three persons from the intervention group and 14 from the control group utilized wasting departments, nursing homes or residential places in day and night homes. Altogether these persons utilized 774 and 2,136 days, respectively, in institutions during the year after discharge. The intervention group employed more home-help hours and visits from home visitors. This attempt at co-ordination thus appears to the capable of reducing the needs for municipal residential places in patients with considerable loss of function.

Aftercare↗
PubMed1989

Global assessment of patients--a bedside study. I: The influence of physical findings on the global assessment.

Three physicians selected ten basic physical findings for a study of diagnostic decision making in the global assessment of patients. The physicians independently examined 201 hospital in-patients for the presence of each of the findings and concluded their assessment with a global evaluation of whether the patient appeared ill. Each of the ten findings were used by at least one of the physicians in his overall assessment of the patient. All the observers considered 'looking older than age', 'trouble with breathing', 'cyanosis', and 'anaemia' important, but disagreed in their use of the remaining findings (P less than 0.01). Agreement in the global clinical assessment is an essential prerequisite to uniformity in the approach to the patient.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Hospitalization of elderly people. A 3-year controlled trial.

In a controlled epidemiologic intervention study, preventive home visits to elderly people aged 75 or older were made very third month over 3 years. Two hundred eighty-five (62% women) elderly participated in the intervention group and 287 (62% women) in the control group. Information about the number of admissions to hospitals, the number of bed days, the main reason for hospitalization, the diagnoses on discharge, and the residence after discharge was collected. Two hundred nineteen admissions (4,884 bed days) were registered for the intervention group compared with 271 (6,442 bed days) for the control group. During the second half of the study, a significant reduction in the number of admissions--especially readmissions--to hospitals was seen in the intervention group. The mean risk per person of being hospitalized was 24%, 20%, and 20% in years 1, 2, and 3, respectively, for the intervention group, and 22%, 25%, and 28% for the controls. The mean number of bed days per admission did not differ between the two groups. Using the results to make a general epidemiologic and longitudinal assessment of the admissions of elderly aged 75 or older, the following can be concluded: 4% of the participants used 42% of the bed days, and most of these people awaited alternative residential accommodation; 62% stayed less than 2 weeks in the hospital. The main reason for hospitalization was fall episodes among women (20%) and dyspnea among men (18%). Approximately three-fourths were discharged to their own homes or to the family, while 18% died. Preventive home visits seem to be one of the tools to improve the future lives of the elderly in their own homes.

Accidental Falls↗
PubMed1987

Is growing old a disease? A study of the attitudes of elderly people to physical symptoms.

In a survey of people living at home, aged 77 years and over, a total of 126 women and 77 men were interviewed concerning their attitudes to their physical symptoms. For each organ system the subjects indicated whether their symptoms were considered to be a normal condition for elderly people or a manifestation of a disease. To a large extent symptoms were accepted as a normal condition, however, a highly significant difference in their attitudes to symptoms stemming from different systems was found (p less than 0.001). Generally, compared with severe symptoms, mild symptoms were accepted more readily as a normal condition in old age. Although most of the elderly people had seen a doctor because of their symptoms, a highly significant difference was found in consultation rates among elderly persons with symptoms from different organ systems (p less than 0.001). The attitudes to symptoms influenced the tendency of the subjects to consult a doctor (p less than 0.05). The need for education of elderly people and health professionals is discussed.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Use of social and health services by elderly people during the terminal 18 months of life.

In a randomised and controlled intervention study elderly people aged 75 or more were visited regularly in their own homes over a period of three years. An age and sex matched control group was not contacted until the conclusion of the study period. In the present study, the use of social and health services during the terminal 18 months of life was computed for each individual member of the study group. The categories of services included the bed usage in hospitals, the stays in nursing homes, the provisions of home help and home nursing care as well as contacts with general practitioners. No differences in the use of social and health services were found between the visited elderly (n = 25) and the control group (n = 46). About 50% of the elderly had a considerable use of public services during the months prior to death, and only 14% received no public support, disregarding the terminal phase. Among those elderly people belonging to the study group, and who died within the study period, an increased use of the above mentioned services was seen during all 18 months. However, an increased use of hospital beds was only computed during the terminal 6 months of life. 58% of the bed days were used for patients who died during the next few months.

Aged↗