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Biomedical subjects

Per Vesterhus

Publications and source records attributed to Per Vesterhus.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

[Cholera and quarantine in Kristiansand].

UNLABELLED: BACKGROUND AND MATERIAL: Cholera was the horror disease in Norwegian cities in the 18th century. The City of Kristiansand had a quarantine station and hospital at Odderøy island from 1804. We have studied the quarantine organisation and compared the number of cholera deaths in different cities along the coast. RESULTS: Drammen is comparable to Kristiansand and had many visiting trading ships. During 1832-33, 1833 and 1857 the Drammen community had registered 544 cholera patients; 336 died. Kristiansand had a total of only 15 deaths (1833, 1853 and 1866), the quarantine hospital included. Also compared to other cities, Kristiansand had few deaths. INTERPRETATION: The reason for the better cholera statistics in Kristiansand is probably the quarantine station and hospital at Odderøy island (1804). The city's health authorities had efficient routines and knowledge, probably adopted from the quarantine station and the hospital.

Cholera↗

[A three-year-old boy with hypoglycaemia].

Inhaled corticosteroids are a well established and effective treatment for asthma in children. However, some children develop systemic side effects including adrenal suppression when using moderate to high doses. Over the last few years, several severe acute adrenal crises with hypoglycaemia in patients using inhaled corticosteroids have been reported. Normally these patients do not develop a Cushingoid appearance and their height is not necessarily affected. We present a three-years-old boy that was unconscious at admittance. From the age of 6 months he had had asthma, treated with fluticasone propionate. The last year his asthma had been difficult to control, and he was given 750-1000 g/day in combination with salmeterol and a leucotriene antagonist. The day before admittance he had been ill with fever, had poor intake of food, and no intake of his regular medication. He was found unconscious in the morning. At admittance the blood glucose was 1.8. His cortisol axis was partially suppressed, probably as a result of the high doses of fluticasone propionate that had been administered. When treating asthmatic children it is important to use the lowest possible dose of inhaled corticosteroids. Those in need of higher doses should be carefully followed up with respect to systemic side effects. In emergency situations, systemic steroids should be used liberally in these children.

Administration, Inhalation↗

Stimulant medication in 47,XYY syndrome: a report of two cases.

In two males, 11 and 12 years of age, referred for attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), 47,XYY syndrome was diagnosed. A team that included a neuropsychologist, a physiotherapist, and a physician examined them. Stature (patients were above 97.5% height for age), muscle consistency, and tremor indicated chromosome analysis. Psychological tests results did not fully fit the ADHD diagnosis. On the basis of our clinical observation we felt that stimulant medication was indicated. Administration of methylphenidate led to improved motor and cognitive functions as well as social adaptation in both patients. We suggest that this treatment might well be considered in clinically similar patients with XYY sex chromosomes; we further suggest that learning problems in such individuals may be related to ADHD.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗