National lung cancer screening program feasibility study in Estonia.

OBJECTIVES: The main aim of the lung cancer screening (LCS) feasibility study was to investigate the plausibility of and bottlenecks to systematic enrolment in family physician practices by evaluating all their patients. METHODS: In 3 family physician practices, for each individual born in 1947-1966 (target age group 55-74 years), information on ever smoking was gathered by a family physician/nurse. All current and ex-smokers were invited to an 'LCS visit'. In parallel, 2 inclusion criteria were used: (1) current smoker (≥20 pack-years) or ex-smoker (quit <15 years ago and smoking history ≥20 pack-years) and (2) PLCOm2012noRace risk score >1.5. All individuals with elevated lung cancer risk were assigned low-dose computed tomography. RESULTS: Among the total 7035 individuals in the 3 family physician practices, the LCS target age group comprised 1208 individuals, including 649 (46.3-57.1%) males and 559 (42.9-53.7%) females. Of the 1208 applicable age group individuals, 395 (all current or ex-smokers) were invited to the 'LCS visit'. According to either 1 or both the LCS inclusion criteria, 206 individuals were referred to low-dose computed tomography, and 201 (97.6% of those referred) ended up taking it. The estimated participation rate in LCS, based on data from our feasibility study, would have been 87.4%. CONCLUSIONS: In LCS, systematic enrolment of individuals by family physicians results in high uptake, and thus, effectiveness of the LCS in the setting of a well-functioning family physician system like in Estonia. Also, the feasibility study provided excellent input to the currently ongoing regional LCS pilot study in Estonia.

Comparison of 5 days of extended-release clarithromycin versus 10 days of penicillin V for the treatment of streptococcal pharyngitis/tonsillitis: results of a multicenter, double-blind, randomized study in adolescent and adult patients.

OBJECTIVE: This study compared a short-course of clarithromycin with a standard course of penicillin V in patients with tonsillopharyngitis caused by Streptococcus pyogenes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A total of 539 patients, aged 12-75 years, were randomized to receive either clarithromycin extended-release (ER) 500 mg once daily for 5 days or penicillin V 500 mg three times daily for 10 days in this multicenter, double-blind, parallel-group trial. Eligibility required a positive antigen test for group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus (GABHS) followed by confirmatory culture. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Bacteriological and clinical assessments were conducted at each study visit (visit 1: study day 1; visit 2: study day 3; visit 3: study days 8-12; visit 4: study days 13-20; and visit 5: study days 40-50). RESULTS: At the test-of-cure visit (visit 3 for clarithromycin ER patients and visit 4 for penicillin V patients) in per-protocol patients, 5 days of clarithromycin ER was comparable to 10 days of penicillin V in eradicating S. pyogenes (89% (157/177) vs 90% (139/154) respectively; 95% CI for difference (-8.2, 5.1)). Bacterial eradication was sustained in both treatment groups at the follow-up visit (88% (135/153) vs 91% (112/123) respectively; 95% CI for difference (-10.0, 4.4)). Clinical cure was achieved in > or = 94% of patients in each treatment group. The most commonly reported study drug-related adverse events (< or = 3% in either treatment group) were abdominal pain, diarrhea, dyspepsia and nausea. CONCLUSION: Clarithromycin ER 500 mg once daily for 5 days is equally effective as penicillin V 500 mg three times daily for 10 days in the treatment of adolescent and adult patients with streptococcal tonsillopharyngitis.

Prevalence of cardiovascular disorders among the elderly in primary care in Estonia.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of diagnoses of cardiovascular disorders among the elderly in family practice. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Estonia, population aged 65 years or older (206,915 persons). SUBJECTS: 811 elderly persons selected randomly from the lists of family practitioners. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of hypertension, hypotension, coronary heart disease (CHD), myocardial infarction (MI), heart failure (HF) and cardiac arrhythmias; differences between the genders and age groups. RESULTS: The prevalence of cardiovascular disorders was as follows: hypertension 63.2%, hypotension 11.1%, CHD 56.5%, MI 9.8%, HF 41.4% and arrhythmias 37.5%. Women had a significantly higher prevalence of hypertension and men of MI. The prevalence of CHD and hypotension was significantly higher in the oldest elderly persons. CONCLUSION: Among the older population in Estonia, cardiovascular disorders that have broader diagnostic criteria and need expensive methods for verifying (CHD, HF) have a high prevalence and are most likely over-diagnosed. The need for strict and simple diagnostic methods for these disorders in primary care practice continues to be serious.