Decreased risk for violence in patients admitted to forensic care, measured with the HCR-20.

AIM: The aim of this study was to explore if patients admitted to forensic psychiatric care decreased their assessed risk for violence over time, to identify patients who decreased their assessed risk for violence exceptionally well (30% or more) on the clinical (C) and risk management (R) scales in the (HCR-20), and to compare them in terms of demographic data. METHODS: The HCR-20 risk assessment instrument was used to assess the risk for violence in 267 patients admitted to a Swedish forensic psychiatric clinic between 1997 and 2010. Their assessments at admission were compared with a second, and most recent, risk assessment. RESULTS: The risk for violence decreased over time. Demographic criteria had no impact on differences on decreased risk. Only two factors, namely gender and psychopathy showed a difference. Risk factors associated with stress and lack of personal support were the items that turned out to be the most difficult to reduce. CONCLUSION: The results show that risk prevention in forensic care does work and it is important to continue to work with risk management. The study highlights the importance of a careful analysis of the patient's risk for violence in order to work with the patient's specific risk factors to reduce the risk.

Effectiveness of motivational interviewing and physical activity on prescription on leisure exercise time in subjects suffering from mild to moderate hypertension.

BACKGROUND: Physical inactivity is considered to be the strongest individual risk factor for poor health in Sweden. It has been shown that increased physical activity can reduce hypertension and the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. The objective of the present pilot study was to investigate whether a combination of Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Physical Activity on Prescription (PAP) would increase leisure exercise time and subsequently improve health-related variables. METHODS: This pilot study was of a repeated measures design, with a 15 months intervention in 31 patients with mild to moderate hypertension. Primary outcome parameter was leisure exercise time and secondary outcome parameters were changes in blood pressure, Body Mass Index (BMI), waist circumference, lipid status, glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max). Assessments of the outcome parameters were made at baseline and after 3, 9 and 15 months. RESULTS: Leisure exercise time improved significantly from < 60 min/week at baseline to a mean activity level of 300 (± 165) minutes/week at 15 months follow up. Furthermore, statistically significant improvements (p < 0.05) were observed in systolic (-14,5 ± 8.3 mmHg) and diastolic blood pressure (-5,1 ± 5.8 mmHg), heart rate (-4.9 ± 8.7 beats/min, weight (-1.2 ± 3.4 kg) BMI -0.6 ± 1.2 kg/m2), waist circumference (-3.5 ± 4.1 cm) as well as in VO2 max (2.94 ± 3.8 ml/kg and 0.23, ± 0.34 lit/min) upon intervention as compared to baseline. CONCLUSIONS: A 15 month intervention period with MI, in combination with PAP, significantly increased leisure exercise time and improved health-related variables in hypertensive patients. This outcome warrants further research to investigate the efficacy of MI and PAP in the treatment of mild to moderate hypertension.

Women's postoperative experiences before and after the introduction of spinal opioids in anaesthesia for caesarean section.

AIM: The aim was to evaluate a new anaesthetic routine and to study the effect of spinal opioids for caesarean section on postoperative pain, expectations of pain, satisfaction with pain treatment, breastfeeding, infant care and length of hospital stay. BACKGROUND: Inadequate postoperative pain relief is a problem among hospitalised patients. Women undergoing caesarean section have been shown to experience high levels of pain during the first days after operation. Women are expected to breastfeed and care for their newborn while recovering from major abdominal surgery and sufficient pain relief are of importance. DESIGN: Comparative patient survey. METHODS: Data were collected through a questionnaire distributed to two independent samples of women undergoing elective and emergency caesarean section before and after the introduction of an additive of opioids in obstetric spinal anaesthesia. Chi-square tests were performed, and risk ratios were used for bivariate analysis. Logistic regression modelling was used for multivariate analysis. RESULTS: The group of women undergoing caesarean section with opioids added to the spinal anaesthesia reported significantly lower levels of experienced pain. High pain levels irrespective of mode of caesarean section affected breastfeeding and infant care. Length of hospital stay for caesarean women was shortened and the consumption of analgesics was reduced. CONCLUSIONS: Women receiving an additive of opioids in spinal anaesthesia experienced lower levels of pain. Low pain levels facilitate breastfeeding and infant care and are of relevance for financial considerations. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The results of this study indicate that spinal opioids for women undergoing caesarean section have a positive effect on the postoperative pain experience. Women undergoing caesarean section and have high pain levels are in special need of attention and care because of a higher risk of a decreased ability to breastfeed and to take care of their newborn.

The SKYNET data: demography and injury reporting in Swedish skydiving.

BACKGROUND: The Swedish Parachute Association (SFF) national registry of skydiving injuries is one of the few trauma databases available for research on sport parachuting. The usefulness of this compulsory reporting system may benefit from a description of its base population and an evaluation of its sensitivity and specificity. METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis based on data collected through a web-based questionnaire (SKYNET), from all persons renewing a Swedish skydiving license 2008 (n=1049). Sensitivity was measured as the proportion of injury events fulfilling the reporting criterion (injury event requiring care of a physician) that were actually reported, by comparing the injury events reported to the SFF during the skydiving seasons 2006 and 2007 with the injury events retrospectively reported to the web-based questionnaire for the same time period. Specificity was measured as the proportion of false positives in relation to the defined reporting criterion for the same time period. Self-stated bone fractures, shoulder dislocations and cruciate ligament injuries were labeled as non-minor injuries. Factors affecting the likelihood of reporting were evaluated using logistic regression. RESULTS: The response rate was 100%. The overall sensitivity of the reporting system 2006/2007 was 0.37 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.24-0.51). With self-stated non-minor injuries as the target for reporting, the sensitivity was 0.67 (95% CI 0.43-0.85). No significant effect on reporting was found for gender, age, license level, years in the sport, total number of jumps or club affiliation. The specificity was 0.91 (95% CI 0.83-0.95). Descriptive statistics of the Swedish skydiving population show several gender differences. CONCLUSIONS: The low sensitivity will yield false low incidence calculations, but as there is no evidence for differential underreporting, risk comparisons related to the candidate predictor variables appear reasonably valid. The false positive reporting warrants assortment of incoming data and a clarification of the reporting criteria. Attitudes to reporting may be of value to study, to understand the drivers and constraints for achieving a more complete notification of skydiving injuries.

Auricular acupuncture versus sham acupuncture in the treatment of women who have insomnia.

BACKGROUND: Improvement in sleep parameters in relation to acupuncture treatment is often found and referred to as being a positive side-effect in the treatment of other illnesses. There is a lack of randomized studies, which primarily study the direct effect of acupuncture on sleep. OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether or not auricular acupuncture has an effect on sleep parameters among people with insomnia. DESIGN: A single-blind, randomized pilot study where the treatment group received auricular acupuncture treatment (AAT) on active points and the control group received AAT on sham points during a 6-week treatment period. SETTING: Participants were recruited from the psychiatric outpatient clinics in the geographical area connected to a local hospital in central Sweden. SUBJECTS: In all, 28 women were included in the study, with 14 in each group. Their mean and median age was 53 years. OUTCOME MEASURES: Sleep parameters were obtained by using the Karolinska Sleep Diary. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences were observed between the groups relating to parameters associated with the definition of insomnia. The treatment group experienced that it was easier to wake up in the morning compared with the control group (repeated-measures analysis of variance, p = 0.04). Both groups showed a statistically significant recovery in subjective sleep parameters during the study period (weeks 1-6) compared with baseline values (week 0). CONCLUSIONS: Only modest evidence was found supporting the hypothesis that AAT may have an effect on insomnia. Least improvements were found in total sleep time and number of awakenings, 2 parameters directly associated with the definition of insomnia. AAT may have a role in the treatment of insomnia, especially in combination with other treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy. This study provides an example of how to perform studies using alternative therapies for sleep disorders.

Postoperative pain after cesarean birth affects breastfeeding and infant care.

OBJECTIVE: To study women's experience of postoperative pain and pain relief after cesarean birth and factors associated with pain assessment and the birth experience. DESIGN: Descriptive patient survey. Data were collected through a questionnaire. The outcome variables were assessments of pain using a Visual Analog Scale and women's birth experience measured on a seven-point Likert scale. SETTING: Central Swedish county hospital, maternity unit. PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS: The sample consisted of 60 women undergoing cesarean birth. RESULTS: Women reported high levels of experienced pain during the first 24 hours. Seventy-eight percent of the women scored greater than or equal to 4 on the Visual Analog Scale, which can be seen as inadequately treated pain. There was no difference between elective and emergency cesarean births in the levels of pain. In spite of high levels of pain, women were pleased with the pain relief. The risk of a negative birth experience was 80% higher for women undergoing an emergency cesarean birth compared with elective cesarean birth. Postoperative pain negatively affected breastfeeding and infant care. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for individual and adequate pain treatment for women undergoing cesarean birth, as high levels of pain interfere with early infant care and breastfeeding.

The impact of preoperative information on state anxiety, postoperative pain and satisfaction with pain management.

The primary objective of this study was to test whether specific information given prior to surgery can help patients obtain better pain relief after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Secondary objectives were to study the impact of preoperative information on state and trait anxiety, satisfaction with pain management and satisfaction with nursing care. The study was an intervention study with two groups of equal size (n=30). The intervention group was given specific information while the control group received routine information. Pain assessments were made preoperatively and every 3h for the first three postoperative days, using the visual analogue scale (VAS). The results of this study suggest that information does influence the experience of pain after surgery and related psychological factors. The postoperative pain declined more rapidly for patients in the treatment group, the degree of preoperative state anxiety was lower and they were more satisfied with the postoperative pain management.