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P Kokkonen

Publications and source records attributed to P Kokkonen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Psychometric properties of the Finnish 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale.

The aim of this study was to examine the factor structure and the validity of the Finnish version of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). As part of the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort Project, the TAS-20 was presented to a sample of 5034 31-year old persons. A confirmatory factor analysis showed that the three-factor model, earlier established with the original TAS-20, was in agreement with the Finnish version of the scale. Three criteria of goodness-of-fit met the standards for adequacy of fit. For the total scale, internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha) was 0.83 and for the three subscales (factors 1, 2, and 3) it was 0.81, 0.77, and 0.66, respectively. Two- and one-factor models for TAS-20 were also examined, but the other models did not perform as well as the three-factor model. The factor model also worked well with a sample of 516 students with a mean age of 24.8 years. In conclusion, the TAS-20 scale is useful in the Finnish version, too.

Adult↗

[Transplantation. Laws and regulations].

The harvesting of organs from the living or deceased for transplantation purposes is regulated by law in the Scandinavian countries. The cardinal principle is that the individual has the right to decide what surgical procedures are performed on his body both during life and after death. However, surgery may not be performed in cases scheduled for post-mortem if organ harvesting would complicate determination of the cause of death. All organ harvesting is to be done at a hospital. If the deceased has not previously in his will or verbally to relatives declared his attitude to organ donation, then the consent of the family must be sought.

Humans↗

Informed consent--a Nordic perspective.

The basic principle in all the Nordic countries is that a competent adult has the right to refuse any medical act. The author was astonished, when going through recent Nordic legislation and literature, how often during the past few years the supervising bodies have emphasized the importance of respect for the patient's right to self-determination. Having been involved in these discussions in different fora for almost 20 years the author already presumed that informed consent was no longer a big issue in these countries. However, the fact that informed consent has been strongly emphasized during the past few years by all the Nordic national boards of health or equal bodies is a clear sign that the situation in the field is not as good as those who work on the 'ideological side' often wishfully think.

Humans↗

Coercion and legal protection in psychiatric care in Finland.

In this article an overview is given on the complexity of coercion and legal protection in psychiatric care. The Finnish criteria for coercive treatment and some types of coercion are presented. The defining and classifying of mental illnesses are stated to be culturally bound, developing processes. How the incidence of involuntary care correlates with the number of hospital beds is discussed. Some suggestions to improve the legal protection of psychiatric patients in Finland are presented.

Behavior Control↗

Erythromycin and 2'-acetyl erythromycin concentrations in plasma and pelvic tissues after repeated doses of erythromycin acistrate.

The concentrations of erythromycin (E) and 2'-acetyl erythromycin (2'-AE) in female pelvic organs, i.e. endometrium, myometrium, ovary and Fallopian tube, as well as in plasma, were determined after oral dosing of erythromycin acistrate (EA, CAS 96128-89-1), a erythromycin prodrug. Ten patients undergoing selective gynecological operation were given three doses of EA (400 mg) at 8-h intervals immediately before the operation. Tissue samples were taken 75-205 min after the intake of the last dose. Blood samples were collected immediately prior to and up to 8 h after the intake of the last dose. High total antibiotic (erythromycin + 2'-acetyl erythromycin) concentration in plasma were measured throughout the dose interval after the last dose. The concentrations of E in plasma were over the MICs for most of the erythromycin-sensitive bacteria (0.5 micrograms/ml) in 7 out of 10 patients (mean 0.66 micrograms/ml) at the end of the third dose interval. The drug concentrations in tissues were lower than in plasma (due to short treatment time of totally 24 h). The mean percentage of penetration (tissue/plasma ratios) for erythromycin ranged from 63 to 95% in various pelvic tissues. However, rather extensive interindividual variation was observed. The degree of hydrolysis of 2'-acetyl erythromycin to erythromycin was 29-39% in plasma and 42-73% in tissue samples. There were negligible amounts of inactive anhydro forms in plasma after EA and their concentrations in tissue samples were low, as well.

Biotransformation↗

Penetration of erythromycin into periapical lesions after repeated doses of erythromycin acistrate and erythromycin stearate: a pilot study.

In 26 patients who had undergone apicectomy and extirpation of granulomas (n = 9) or radicular cysts (n = 17), concentrations of erythromycin, 2'-acetyl erythromycin, and their anhydro forms were determined with a novel chemical method in plasma and periapical lesions after at least 2 days of treatment with erythromycin acistrate (EA) (400 mg three times daily, n = 11) or erythromycin stearate (ES) (500 mg three times daily, n = 15). Oral surgery was performed 2 1/2 to 3 hours after the last dose. Blood samples were collected at the time of operation, and immediately before antibiotic treatment, and 1, 2, and 6 hours after treatment. At all time points EA produced at least twice the total antibiotic (2'-acetyl erythromycin plus erythromycin) concentrations in plasma as ES. Erythromycin levels in plasma were at least as high after EA treatment as after ES. In periapical lesions erythromycin concentration after EA was three times higher (1.34 +/- 0.28 micrograms/gm) than after ES treatment (0.40 +/- 0.17 micrograms/gm). Although the total drug concentration in periapical lesions was about the same after EA (2.64 micrograms/ml) and ES (3.41 micrograms/ml), most of the drug recovered after ES was antimicrobially inactive anhydroerythromycin (3.01 micrograms/gm). The concentration of anhydroerythromycin in plasma was approximately the same as that of erythromycin after ES throughout the dose interval. After EA treatment both plasma and the periapical lesion samples contained hardly detectable amounts of anhydroerythromycin. Hence EA has a good bioavailability essential for treatment and prophylaxis of bacterial infections in dentistry.

Adult↗

Applicability of continuous-flow fast atom bombardment liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry in bioanalysis. Dextromethorphan in plasma.

Continuous-flow fast atom bombardment (CF-FAB) is an interface for combined liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry using FAB as the ionization method. The applicability of CF-FAB for quantitative bioanalysis was studied for a model compound, dextromethorphan, in plasma samples using conventional high-performance liquid chromatography. The flow-rate reduction was achieved either by splitting or by the phase-system switching approach. The features of both systems are discussed.

Chromatography, Liquid↗

High concentrations of chromium in lung tissue from lung cancer patients.

The pulmonary chromium content was determined by plasma atomic emission spectrometer (DCP-AES) from 53 lung cancer and 43 control patients, and compared with smoking habits, severity of emphysema and occupational history. The chromium content from the lung cancer patients was higher than that from the smoking (P less than 0.025) or nonsmoking control patients (6.4 +/- 4.3, 4.0 +/- 4.0, and 2.2 +/- 0.6 microgram/g dry weight, respectively). A positive correlation between the pulmonary chromium and smoking time (P less than 0.025) and the severity of emphysema (P less than 0.001) was found in the control but not in the cancer patients. The difference in the pulmonary chromium content was greatest between those lung cancer and control patients who were light smokers or had mild emphysema. This group of lung cancer patients included subjects with occupational exposure to chromium. The possibility of occupational cancer should be considered especially with light smokers. The grade of emphysema and metals such as chromium accumulating from tobacco could serve as objective indicators of smoking.

Aged↗

Cadmium and chromium as markers of smoking in human lung tissue.

The pulmonary cadmium (Cd) and chromium (Cr) contents from 45 decreased persons from Northern Finland were determined by plasma emission spectrometry (DCP-AES). These subjects did not have any malignant diseases or known occupational exposure to heavy metals. The pulmonary metal concentrations were compared with smoking history, pulmonary emphysema, age, and occupation. The mean Cd concentrations for the nonsmokers, smokers, and exsmokers were 0.4 (SD +/- 0.4), 3.0 (SD +/- 2.2), and 1.1 (SD +/- 1.0) micrograms/dry wt, and the corresponding values for Cr were 1.3 (SD +/- 0.9), 4.3 (SD +/- 3.3), and 4.8 (SD +/- 4.0) micrograms/g dry wt, respectively. The pulmonary Cr content increased with age and smoking time, but showed no connection with occupation. The Cd content was dependent only on smoking-related variables, increasing with the amount of tobacco smoked. The pulmonary Cd was seen to return to the level of nonsmokers in 21-22 years after cessation of smoking, whereas Cr showed no decreasing tendency with the time since smoking stopped.

Aged↗

Determination of 2'-acetyl erythromycin and erythromycin in human tonsil tissue by HPLC with coulometric detection.

A simple and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for the determination of 2'-acetyl erythromycin and erythromycin in human tonsil tissue. Methyl tert-butyl ether was used as the extraction solvent after alkalization of tissue homogenates. Separation was achieved on a reverse phase C-18 column. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile-methanol-tetrahydrofuran-sodium acetate buffer, pH 4.5. Eluted compounds were monitored by a coulometric detector in the oxidative screen mode. The quantitation limits of 2'-acetyl erythromycin and erythromycin were 0.20 and 0.30 mg/kg of tissue, respectively. The method was linear over the concentration range of 0.60-10.0 mg/kg of tissue for 2'-acetyl erythromycin and erythromycin.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗

Concentrations of erythromycin, 2'-acetyl erythromycin, and their anhydro forms in plasma and tonsillar tissue after repeated dosage of erythromycin stearate and erythromycin acistrate.

The concentrations of erythromycin, 2'-acetylerythromycin (2'-AE) and their anhydro forms in plasma and tonsillar tissue were analyzed after a 3-day repeated-dosage regimen of erythromycin stearate (ES; 500 mg twice a day [b.i.d]) and erythromycin acistrate (EA), a new erythromycin prodrug, at two doses (400 and 500 mg b.i.d.). The tonsils of 40 patients were removed at 112 to 329 min after intake of the last dose. Blood samples were collected at the time of tonsillectomy and at 0, 2, and 6 h after the last dose. At all time points, EA produced severalfold more total antibiotic (erythromycin + 2'-AE) concentrations in plasma compared with ES. There were two nonabsorbers in the ES group, but none in the two EA groups. The mean total antibiotic levels in tonsillar tissue after EA treatment exceeded the levels after treatment with ES by a factor of 3 (for EA at 400 mg b.i.d.) and 4.5 (for EA at 500 mg b.i.d.). The ratios of erythromycin concentration in tonsil to that in plasma at the time of tissue removal were quite similar for all groups (means, 0.51 to 0.54). In the EA groups, 2 of 26 (8%) patients had no measurable erythromycin in the tonsillar tissue samples, whereas in the ES group, 3 of 14 (21%) patients had no measurable erythromycin in the same tissue. The degree of hydrolysis of 2'-AE to erythromycin was about 25% in plasma at the time of tonsillectomy for both EA groups and about 40% in tonsillar tissue. There were negligible amounts of anhydro forms in plasma after EA administration, whereas in the ES group, anhydroerythromycin levels were, from time to time, even higher than erythromycin levels. Very high levels of anhydro forms were detected in tonsillar tissue after ES treatment, whereas only low levels were found after EA administration.

Child↗

Pharmacokinetic comparison of a slow-release theophylline-hydroxyzine combination and a plain slow-release theophylline preparation.

We have compared the pharmacokinetic properties of a slow-release theophylline-hydroxyzine combination and a slow-release theophylline preparation both after a single dose administration and at steady state after the dosage of twice/day for four days in ten healthy volunteers. After a single dose, theophylline was absorbed slightly faster from the combination preparation (Retafyllin comp.) than from a plain theophylline preparation (Theo-Dur). However, in a steady state phase the pharmacokinetic profiles were quite similar. Hydroxyzine showed a slight delay in absorption from the combination preparation, but in a steady state the overall pharmacokinetic profile of hydroxyzine was similar to that of theophylline. Cumulation of either hydroxyzine or theophylline was not evident. On the basis of the present study, the slow-release combination preparation of theophylline and hydroxyzine seems suitable for twice/day dosage.

Adult↗