Health Related Quality of Life in patients with screening detected Sub-Aneurysmal aorta and Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Objective  Paper I: Most screening and opportunistically detected abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) are small and kept under surveillance for several years before preventive surgery. Living with the diagnosis of an AAA may have an influence on the patient’s life. The aim was to review systematically review the current knowledge of the effect on health related quality of life (HRQoL) and patients’ experiences of living with an AAA while under surveillance. Paper II: To investigate HRQoL and comorbidity in men with screening detected AAA, Sub-Aneurysmal aorta (SAA) and Controls at baseline screening and after long-term follow-up. Methods  Paper I: A systematic literature review of quantitative and qualitative studies, which were quality assessed according to the GRADE system, was carried out. PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and MEDLINE were searched. Narrative synthesis and meta-analysis were performed and reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. Paper II: Between 2006 and 2015, 16 689 sixty-five-year old men participated in the aortic screening program in the county of Uppsala in Sweden. All 539 men diagnosed with an SAA or AAA were invited to participate in the study UpAAA and 324 accepted. Baseline questionnaires was distributed after screening, and at 5-year follow-up. For each year a control group of approx. 50 men, participating in the screening program with normal aorta, were included.  Results Paper I: Synthesis and meta-analyses of studies based on the Short Form-36 demonstrated that patients with an AAA consistently rated their general health lower than controls and conveyed no significant negative impact for patients with an AAA when assessed at follow up and compared with pre-screening. Analysis of HRQoL estimates of mental health, anxiety, and depression demonstrated no significant differences for patients with AAA compared with controls, or within the AAA group. Qualitative studies revealed that patients with an AAA felt safe being under surveillance and receiving a diagnosis of AAA set thoughts and feelings in motion regarding health, ageing, and mortality. Patients’ lack of knowledge about the disease, its progression, and future planning can cause insecurity and worries. Paper II: AAA and SAA group both has impairment in the physical dimensions of HRQOL and a higher prevalence of co-morbidity at baseline, compared to controls. At 5-year follow-up, the similarities between AAA and SAA group remained with no difference in HRQOL but a higher prevalence of CVD, hypertension and diabetes in men with AAA. Compared with controls both AAA and SAA had significantly higher impairment in HRQoL, and prevalence of co-morbidity and the AAA group was most affected

Information till patienter med screeningupptäckt aortaaneurysm

Syftet med denna uppsats var att undersöka om den information patienter med screeningupptäckt abdominellt aorta aneurysm får av sjuksköterska, uppfattas som lagom och lättförståelig och om det blivit någon skillnad av orosnivå efter besöket. Ett frågeformulär skickades ut till 42 män som genom screeningundersökning diagnostiserats med ett ”aneurysm under utveckling” eller abdominellt aorta aneurysm. Resultatet visar att alla patienter upplevde besöket hos kärlsjuksköterskan som bra eller mycket bra. Majoriteten av de tillfrågade hade fått information om de olika områdena och de tyckte att mängden informationen var lagom. Det område där flest uppgav att de inte fått information men hade velat ha var om fysisk aktivitet/motion. De allra flesta tyckte att informationen var lätt att förstå. De områden där informationen uppgavs vara svår att förstå var framförallt informationen om orsak till pulsåderbråck och framtida behandling (operation). Patienterna skattade sin orosgrad som låg både före och efter ultraljudsundersökningen och efter sjuksköterskebesöket. Statistisk signifikant skillnad fanns mellan orosgrad efter undersökningen och oro efter sjuksköterskebesöket (p = 0,005). Att leva med vetskapen att ha en vidgad aorta eller ett AAA orsakar hos de allra flesta patienter ingen eller mycket lite oro. Sjuksköterskebesöket verkar dessutom minska den lilla stegring i orosnivån som påvisats efter diagnos i undersökningen

Health Related Quality of Life in patients with screening detected Sub-Aneurysmal aorta and Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Objective  Paper I: Most screening and opportunistically detected abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) are small and kept under surveillance for several years before preventive surgery. Living with the diagnosis of an AAA may have an influence on the patient’s life. The aim was to review systematically review the current knowledge of the effect on health related quality of life (HRQoL) and patients’ experiences of living with an AAA while under surveillance. Paper II: To investigate HRQoL and comorbidity in men with screening detected AAA, Sub-Aneurysmal aorta (SAA) and Controls at baseline screening and after long-term follow-up. Methods  Paper I: A systematic literature review of quantitative and qualitative studies, which were quality assessed according to the GRADE system, was carried out. PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and MEDLINE were searched. Narrative synthesis and meta-analysis were performed and reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. Paper II: Between 2006 and 2015, 16 689 sixty-five-year old men participated in the aortic screening program in the county of Uppsala in Sweden. All 539 men diagnosed with an SAA or AAA were invited to participate in the study UpAAA and 324 accepted. Baseline questionnaires was distributed after screening, and at 5-year follow-up. For each year a control group of approx. 50 men, participating in the screening program with normal aorta, were included.  Results Paper I: Synthesis and meta-analyses of studies based on the Short Form-36 demonstrated that patients with an AAA consistently rated their general health lower than controls and conveyed no significant negative impact for patients with an AAA when assessed at follow up and compared with pre-screening. Analysis of HRQoL estimates of mental health, anxiety, and depression demonstrated no significant differences for patients with AAA compared with controls, or within the AAA group. Qualitative studies revealed that patients with an AAA felt safe being under surveillance and receiving a diagnosis of AAA set thoughts and feelings in motion regarding health, ageing, and mortality. Patients’ lack of knowledge about the disease, its progression, and future planning can cause insecurity and worries. Paper II: AAA and SAA group both has impairment in the physical dimensions of HRQOL and a higher prevalence of co-morbidity at baseline, compared to controls. At 5-year follow-up, the similarities between AAA and SAA group remained with no difference in HRQOL but a higher prevalence of CVD, hypertension and diabetes in men with AAA. Compared with controls both AAA and SAA had significantly higher impairment in HRQoL, and prevalence of co-morbidity and the AAA group was most affected

The effects of TTS-scopolamine, dimenhydrinate, lidocaine, and tocainide on motion sickness, vertigo, and nystagmus

The effects of TTS-scopolamine, dimenhydrinate, lidocaine, and tocainide on motion sickness and vertigo and on caloric and postrotatory nystagmus were evaluated in healthy volunteers. TTS-scopolamine was administered transdermally (delivering approximately 10 micrograms X h-1 scopolamine base) and 100 mg dimenhydrinate orally. Lidocaine and tocainide were administered intravenously (average plasma concentration of lidocaine 6 mol X L-1 and of tocainide 20 mol X L-1). TTS-scopolamine and dimenhydrinate significantly reduced vertigo induced by calorization of the ears, nausea provoked with Coriolis maneuvre, and nystagmus in caloric and rotatory tests. During treatment with lidocaine and tocainide no alleviation of vertigo and nausea was observed. Caloric nystagmus was reduced but rotation induced nystagmus was virtually unchanged. Presumably the motion sickness drugs act at the brain stem where TTS-scopolamine and dimenhydrinate have their target cells in the vestibular nuclei. Furthermore, the alleviation of motion sickness was linked to a decline of nystagmus. Lidocaine and tocainide, the action of which in vertigo and nausea in patients is proposed to be on the vestibular end organs and the supratentorial brain structures, consistently failed to alleviate motion sickness