Validation of the Norwegian survival prediction model in trauma (NORMIT) in Swedish trauma populations.

BACKGROUND: Trauma survival prediction models can be used for quality assessment in trauma populations. The Norwegian survival prediction model in trauma (NORMIT) has been updated recently and validated internally (NORMIT 2). The aim of this observational study was to compare the accuracy of NORMIT 1 and 2 in two Swedish trauma populations. METHODS: Adult patients registered in the national trauma registry during 2014-2016 were eligible for inclusion. The study populations comprised the total national trauma (NT) population, and a subpopulation of patients admitted to a single level I trauma centre (TC). The primary outcome was 30-day mortality. Model validation included receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and GiViTI calibration belts. The calibration was also assessed in subgroups of severely injured patients (New Injury Severity Score (NISS) over 15). RESULTS: A total of 26 504 patients were included. Some 18·7 per cent of patients in the NT population and 2·6 per cent in the TC subpopulation were excluded owing to missing data, leaving 21 554 and 3972 respectively for analysis. NORMIT 1 and 2 showed excellent ability to distinguish between survivors and non-survivors in both populations, but poor agreement between predicted and observed outcome in the NT population with overestimation of survival, including in the subgroup with NISS over 15. In the TC subpopulation, NORMIT 1 underestimated survival irrespective of injury severity, but NORMIT 2 showed good calibration both in the total subpopulation and the subgroup with NISS over 15. CONCLUSION: NORMIT 2 is well suited to predict survival in a Swedish trauma centre population, irrespective of injury severity. Both NORMIT 1 and 2 performed poorly in a more heterogeneous national population of injured patients.

ANTECEDENTES: Los modelos de predicción de supervivencia en los traumatismos pueden ser utilizados para la evaluación de la calidad en las poblaciones con traumatismos. Recientemente, el modelo noruego de predicción de supervivencia en traumatismos (NORMIT) se ha actualizado y validado internamente (NORMIT 2). El objetivo de este estudio observacional fue comparar la precisión de los modelos NORMIT 1 y 2 en dos poblaciones suecas con traumatismos. MÉTODOS: Pacientes adultos registrados en el registro nacional de traumatismos durante 2014-2016 fueron elegibles para el estudio. Las poblaciones de estudio eran: (1) la población total nacional de traumatismos (national trauma, NT) y (2) una subpoblación de pacientes ingresados en un único centro de trauma de nivel I (trauma centre, TC). El resultado primario fue la mortalidad a los 30 días. La validación del modelo incluyó curvas de características operativas del receptor y cinturones GiViTI de calibración. La calibración también se evaluó en subgrupos de pacientes con lesiones graves (New Injury Severity Score, NISS >15). RESULTADOS: Se incluyeron un total de 26.504 pacientes. La exclusión por falta de datos fue del 18,7% en la población NT (n = 21.554) y del 2,6% en la población TC (n = 3.972). Los modelos NORMIT 1 y 2 mostraron una habilidad excelente para distinguir entre supervivientes y no supervivientes en ambas poblaciones, pero con un grado de acuerdo pobre entre el resultado predicho y el observado en la población NT, con sobreestimación de la supervivencia incluido el subgrupo de NISS >15. En la subpoblación TC, NORMIT 1 subestimó la supervivencia independientemente de la gravedad de la lesión, pero NORMIT 2 mostró una buena calibración tanto en la subpoblación total, como en el subgrupo NISS >15. CONCLUSIÓN: El modelo NORMIT 2 es muy apropiado para predecir la supervivencia en la población de un centro de traumatismos sueco independientemente de la gravedad de la lesión. Los modelos tanto NORMIT 1 como NORMIT 2 funcionan mal en una población de traumatismos nacional más heterogenea.

Decrease in primary but not in secondary abdominal surgery for Crohn's disease: nationwide cohort study, 1990-2014.

BACKGROUND: Treatment of patients with Crohn's disease has evolved in recent decades, with increasing use of immunomodulatory medication since 1990 and biologicals since 1998. In parallel, there has been increased use of active disease monitoring. To what extent these changes have influenced the incidence of primary and repeat surgical resection remains debated. METHODS: In this nationwide cohort study, incident patients of all ages with Crohn's disease, identified in Swedish National Patient Registry between 1990 and 2014, were divided into five calendar periods of diagnosis: 1990-1995 and 1996-2000 with use of inpatient registries, 2001, and 2002-2008 and 2009-2014 with use of inpatient and outpatient registries. The cumulative incidence of first and repeat abdominal surgery (except closure of stomas), by category of surgical procedure, was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: Among 21 273 patients with Crohn's disease, the cumulative incidence of first abdominal surgery within 5 years of Crohn's disease diagnosis decreased continuously from 54·8 per cent in 1990-1995 to 40·4 per cent in 1996-2000 (P < 0·001), and again from 19·8 per cent in 2002-2008 to 17·3 per cent in 2009-2014 (P < 0·001). Repeat 5-year surgery rates decreased from 18·9 per cent in 1990-1995 to 16·0 per cent in 1996-2000 (P = 0·009). After 2000, no further significant decreases were observed. CONCLUSION: The 5-year rate of surgical intervention for Crohn's disease has decreased significantly, but the rate of repeat surgery has remained stable despite the introduction of biological therapy.

ANTECEDENTES: El tratamie nto de pacientes con enfermedad de Crohn ha evolucionado en las últimas décadas con un uso cada vez mayor de medicamentos inmunomoduladores desde 1990 y tratamientos biológicos desde 1998. Al mismo tiempo, ha aumentado la utilidad de la vigilancia activa de la enfermedad. Hasta qué punto estos cambios han influido en la incidencia de la resección quirúrgica primaria y repetida sigue siendo objeto de debate. MÉTODOS: Estudio de cohortes a nivel nacional de pacientes incidentes con enfermedad de Crohn de todas las edades identificados en el registro sueco nacional de pacientes entre 1990-2014, que se dividió en cinco períodos de diagnóstico: 1990-1995 y 1996-2000 con el uso de registros de pacientes hospitalizados, 2001, y 2002-2008 y 2009-2014 con uso de registros de pacientes ambulatorios y hospitalizados. Se estimó la incidencia acumulada de la primera cirugía abdominal y de las cirugías abdominales subsiguientes (excepto el cierre de estomas), por categoría de procedimiento quirúrgico, mediante el método de Kaplan-Meier. RESULTADOS: Entre 21.273 pacientes con enfermedad de Crohn, la incidencia acumulada de la primera cirugía abdominal durante los 5 años posteriores al diagnóstico de la enfermedad disminuyó continuamente del 54,8% en la cohorte 1990-1995 al 40,4% en la cohorte 1996-2000 (P < 0,001) y nuevamente del 19,8% en cohorte 2002-2008 al 17,3% en la cohorte 2009-2014 (P < 0,001). Las tasas cirugías iterativas a los 5 años disminuyeron de 18,9% en la cohorte 1990-1995 a 16,0% en la cohorte 1996-2000 (P = 0,017). Después del 2000, no se observaron más disminuciones significativas. CONCLUSIÓN: La tasa de intervención quirúrgica a los 5 años para la enfermedad de Crohn ha disminuido significativamente, pero la cirugía iterativa se ha mantenido estable a pesar de la introducción de la terapia biológica.

Increased risk for tooth extraction in primary hyperparathyroidism and hypercalcemia: a population study.

The aim of this study was to analyze dental comorbidities in untreated primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT). Patients with pHPT subjected to parathyroidectomy (PTX) at Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, during 2011-2016 (n = 982) were selected from the Scandinavian Quality Register of Thyroid, Parathyroid and Adrenal surgery and compared to a general population cohort (n = 2944), matched for age and gender. Dental data was obtained from the Swedish Dental Health Registry for the 3 years prior to PTX. The incidence rate ratios (IRRs) of tooth loss by extraction, periodontal interventions, and dental visit rate were analyzed by Poisson regression models. In order to analyze the impact of disease severity, the PHPT cohort was sub-grouped based on preoperative serum levels of ionized calcium (S-Ca2+). The total number of tooth extractions, periodontal interventions, and number of visits were similar in the cohorts. PHPT patients belonging to the quartile with the highest S-Ca2+ (≥ 1.51 mmol/L) had increased risk for tooth extraction (IRR 1.85; 95% CI 1.39-2.46). Female gender independently amplified the risk (IRR 1.341, P < 0.027). This study indicates an association between pHPT and oral disorders reflected by increased tooth loss by extraction related to high S-Ca2. Increased awareness of dental comorbidity in primary hyperparathyroidism may benefit a large group of patients with a common disease through earlier detection and prevention.

Restorative surgery after colectomy for ulcerative colitis in England and Sweden: observations from a comparison of nationwide cohorts.

AIM: A longstanding disparity exists between the approaches to restorative surgery after colectomy for patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) in England and Sweden. This study aims to compare rates of colectomy and restorative surgery in comparable national cohorts. METHOD: The English Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) and Swedish National Patient Register (NPR) were interrogated between 2002 and April 2012. Patients with two diagnostic episodes for UC (age ≥ 15 years) were included. Patients were excluded if they had an episode of inflammatory bowel disease or colectomy before 2002. The cumulative incidences of colectomy and restorative surgery were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: A total of 98 691 patients were included in the study, 76 129 in England and 22 562 in Sweden. The 5-year cumulative incidence of all restorative surgery after colectomy in England was 33% vs 46% in Sweden (P-value < 0.001). Of the patients undergoing restorative surgery, 92.3% of English patients had a pouch vs 38.8% in Sweden and 7.7% vs 59.1% respectively had an ileorectal anastomosis (IRA). The 5-year cumulative incidence of colectomy in this study cohort was 13% in England and 6% in Sweden (P-value < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Following colectomy for UC only one-third of English patients and half of Swedish patients underwent restorative surgery. In England nearly all these patients underwent pouches, in Sweden a less significant majority underwent IRAs. It is surprising to demonstrate this discrepancy in a comparable cohort of patients from similar healthcare systems. The causes and consequences of this international variation in management are not fully understood and require further investigation.

Risk of second primary cancer in patients treated with radiotherapy for rectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Many patients with rectal cancer receive radiotherapy (RT) to reduce the risk of local recurrence. Radiation may give rise to adverse effects, including second primary cancers. In view of the divergent results of previous studies, the present study evaluated the risk of second primary cancer following RT in all randomized RT rectal cancer trials conducted in Sweden and in the Swedish ColoRectal Cancer Registry (SCRCR). METHODS: Patients included in five randomized trials and the SCRCR were linked to the Swedish Cancer Registry. Cox regression models estimated the hazard ratio (HR) of second primary cancer among patients who received RT compared with those who did not. RESULTS: A total of 13 457 patients were included in this study; 7024 (52·2 per cent) received RT and 6433 (47·8 per cent) had surgery alone. Overall, no increased risk of second primary cancer was observed with RT (HR 1·03; 95 per cent c.i. 0·92 to 1·15), independently of follow-up time and location within or outside of the irradiated volume. In the randomized trials, with longer follow-up (maximum 31 years), a slight increase was observed outside of (HR 1·33, 1·01 to 1·74) but not within (HR 1·11, 0·73 to 1·67) the irradiated volume. Irradiated men had a lower risk of prostate cancer than those treated with surgery alone (HR 0·68, 0·51 to 0·91). CONCLUSION: Overall, there was no increased risk of second primary cancer following RT for rectal cancer within or outside of the irradiated volume up to 20 years of follow-up. Men with rectal cancer who received RT had a reduced risk of prostate cancer.

Anorexia nervosa in males: excess mortality and psychiatric co-morbidity in 609 Swedish in-patients.

BACKGROUND: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a psychiatric disorder with high mortality. METHOD: A retrospective register study of 609 males who received hospitalized care for AN in Sweden between 1973 and 2010 was performed. The standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and Cox regression-derived hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated as measures of mortality. The incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were calculated to compare the mortality rates in patients with AN and controls both with and without psychiatric diagnoses. RESULTS: The SMR for all causes of death was 4.1 [95% confidence interval (CI) 3.1-5.3]. For those patients with psychiatric co-morbidities, the SMR for all causes of death was 9.1 (95% CI 6.6-12.2), and for those without psychiatric co-morbidity, the SMR was 1.6 (95% CI 0.9-2.7). For the group of patients with alcohol use disorder, the SMR for natural causes of death was 11.5 (95% CI 5.0-22.7), and that for unnatural causes was 35.5 (95% CI 17.7-63.5). The HRs confirmed the increased mortality for AN patients with psychiatric co-morbidities, even after adjusting for confounders. The IRRs revealed no significant difference in mortality patterns between the AN patients with psychiatric co-morbidity and the controls with psychiatric diagnoses, with the exceptions of alcohol use disorder and neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders, which seemed to confer a negative synergistic effect on mortality. CONCLUSION: Mortality in male AN patients was significantly elevated compared with the general population among only the patients with psychiatric co-morbidities. Specifically, the presence of alcohol and other substance use disorders was associated with more profound excess mortality.

Prevalence of paediatric inflammatory bowel disease in Sweden: a nationwide population-based register study.

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the impact of different case definition algorithms on the prevalence of paediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) and to compare the occurrence of certain diseases compared to matched controls. METHODS: Paediatric patients (<18 years) were identified via ICD codes for UC and CD in Swedish registers between 1993 and 2010 (n = 1432). Prevalence was defined as ≥2 IBD-related visits. Prevalence of treated children in 2010 was defined as ≥2 IBD-related visits with one visit and ≥1 dispensed IBD-related drug prescription in 2010. To test the robustness of the estimates, prevalence was also calculated according to alternative case definitions. The presence of rheumatic, hepatobiliary, pancreatic, and dermatologic diseases were compared with age-/sex-/county-of-residence-matched general population controls. RESULTS: The IBD prevalence was 75/100,000 (CD: 29/100,000; UC: 30/100,000; patients with IBD-U: 16/100,000). Prevalence of treated disease in 2010 was 62/100,000 (CD: 23/100,000; UC: 25/100,000; patients with IBD-U: 13/100,000). When age restrictions were employed, the prevalence estimate decreased (<17y: 61/100,000, <16y: 49/100,000 and <15y: 38/100,000). Compared to general population controls (n = 8583), children with IBD had a higher prevalence of dermatologic (4.7% vs. 0.6%), hepatobiliary (including primary sclerosing cholangitis) (5.5% vs. 0.1%), pancreatic (1.7% vs. 0%) and rheumatic diseases (7.2% vs. 1.2%; all P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The overall prevalence of paediatric IBD in Sweden was similar to that in earlier regional cohorts. IBD patients had a higher prevalence of comorbid conditions than matched general population controls.

Probability, rate and timing of reconstructive surgery following colectomy for inflammatory bowel disease in Sweden: a population-based cohort study.

AIM: Many patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) need colectomy, but the rate of reconstructive surgery with restoration of intestinal continuity is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the probability, rate and timing of reconstructive surgery after colectomy in patients with IBD in a population-based setting. METHOD: The study cohort included all patients with IBD in Sweden who underwent colectomy from 2000 to 2009. Each patient was followed from admission for colectomy to admission for reconstructive surgery, date of death, migration or 31 December 2010. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and multivariable Poisson regression models were used to describe the probability, rate and timing of reconstructive surgery. RESULTS: Out of 2818 IBD patients treated with colectomy, 61.0% were male and 78.9% had ulcerative colitis. No reconstructive surgery had been performed in 1595 (56.6%) patients by the end of follow-up. Of the remaining 1223 patients, 526 underwent primary reconstructive surgery and 697 had a secondary reconstruction following a median interval of 357 days from primary surgery in the form of colectomy. The probability of reconstructive surgery was dependent on age (55.6% and 18.1% at ages 15-29 and ≥ 59 years, respectively), and the chance of reconstructive surgery was higher in hospitals that performed more than 13 colectomies for IBD per year [incidence rate ratio and 95% confidence interval 1.27 (1.09-1.49)]. CONCLUSION: Fewer than half of the patients having a colectomy for IBD underwent subsequent reconstructive surgery. Older age and low hospital volume were risk factors for no reconstructive surgery.

Impaired fasting glucose prevalence in two nationwide cohorts of obese children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: Impaired fasting glucose (IFG), a pre-stage to type 2 diabetes in adults, is also present in obese children. A large variation of the occurrence has been recorded, but the true prevalence is unknown due to lack of larger representative cohort studies. This study was implemented to investigate the prevalence of IFG in two nationwide cohorts of obese children and to find factors that affect the risk of IFG. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study based on data collected from two nationwide registers of obese children in Germany and Sweden, respectively. SUBJECTS: Subjects included were 2-18 years old. 32,907 subjects with fasting glucose were eligible in Germany and 2726 in Sweden. Two cutoff limits for IFG were used: 5.6-6.9 mmol l(-1) according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and 6.1-6.9 mmol l(-1)according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Variables collected were gender, age and degree of obesity. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios. RESULTS: The total prevalence of IFG among obese children in the German cohort according to the ADA was 5.7% and according to the WHO it was 1.1%. In Sweden, the corresponding prevalence was 17.1% and 3.9%, respectively. IFG risk was correlated with increasing age, male sex and degree of obesity. CONCLUSIONS: IFG is highly prevalent among obese children. Age and degree of obesity are positively correlated with the risk of having IFG. There are large regional differences. After adjustments, obese children in Sweden, due to unknown reasons, have a 3.4- to 3.7-fold higher risk of having IFG than obese children in Germany.

Use of serotonin reuptake inhibitors in patients with psoriasis is associated with a decreased need for systemic psoriasis treatment: a population-based cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether psoriasis is affected by the use of serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). DESIGN: A population-based cohort study. SETTING: The general adult population with plaque psoriasis in Sweden between 1997 and 2006. SUBJECTS: A total of 69 830 patients with plaque psoriasis were identified in the National Patient Register. Whether study subjects were exposed to SSRIs was identified through the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register. The SSRI-exposed subjects (n = 1282) had a prescription for SSRIs dispensed twice during 6 months at a Swedish pharmacy between 1 July 2006 and 1 April 2008, with a wash-out period of 1 year or longer. The reference subjects (n = 1282), who were not exposed to SSRIs, were matched for age, county of residence, sex, psoriasis severity and seasonal variation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Change in psoriasis severity defined by switching between nonsystemic and systemic psoriasis treatments 6 months after exposure to SSRIs. RESULTS: The risk of switching from nonsystemic to systemic psoriasis treatments was significantly decreased in the SSRI-exposed group (odds ratio 0.44, 95% confidence interval 0.28-0.68). CONCLUSION: SSRI use in patients with psoriasis is associated with a decreased need for systemic psoriasis treatment.

Suicide seasonality and antidepressants: a register-based study in Sweden.

OBJECTIVE: Seasonality of completed suicides with a peak in spring and early summer is a well-documented finding. The circannual serotonergic functioning is hypothesized to be central in this phenomenon. Antidepressant medications exert their pharmacological action mainly by regulating serotonin. Our aim is to study the amplitude of the seasonal effect among suicide victims positive for different classes of antidepressants or without any antidepressants at the time of death. METHOD: By using Swedish Registers, 12 448 suicides with forensic data for antidepressive medication and information on in-patient-treated mental disorder were identified during 1992-2003. Seasonality was estimated with a Poisson regression variant of the circular normal distribution of completed suicides. RESULTS: Higher suicide seasonality was found for individuals treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRIs) compared to those with other antidepressant treatment or without any antidepressant treatment. The finding is more evident for men and violent suicide methods and those without history of in-patient treatment. CONCLUSION: Our results provide preliminary support for the serotonergic hypothesis of suicide seasonality and raise the question of a possible accentuation of the natural suicide seasonality in patients treated with SSRIs, a hypothesis that warrants further investigation.

Limitations of medical treatment among patients attended by the rapid response team.

BACKGROUND: Rapid response teams (RRTs) are called to deteriorating ward patients in order to improve their outcome. The involvement of the team also in end-of-life care issues needs to be addressed. Our objective was to evaluate the RRT with focus on limitations of medical treatment (LOMT). METHODS: Observational cohort study of RRT calls from 2005 to 2010 at a university hospital. RESULTS: There were 2189 calls in 1818 admissions. Six hundred forty-two patients (35.3%) were assigned LOMT, and in 296 cases (46.1%) it was documented on the same day as the first RRT call. In total, 152 calls were for patients where a decision was already in place. Among patients with multiple calls, 44.6% received limitations. Hospital mortality was 25.6% in total, 60.6% for patients with limitations and 6.6% for patients without. Mortality at 180 days was 43.2% for the whole cohort, and 83.6% and 21.2% with and without limitations, respectively. Cardiac arrest rate has remained at the level of 0.82/1000 admissions since the introduction of the RRT. CONCLUSION: Patients attended by the RRT have high short- and long-term mortality. Distinction of when deteriorations may be amenable to treatment or when focus should be laid on palliative care is not always made in the wards. Many decisions of limitations are taken in close conjunction to the call, although limitations do not preclude repeated visits from the team, indicating a need to support wards that care for patients at end of life.

Novel measurements of mammary stem cells in human umbilical cord blood as prospective predictors of breast cancer susceptibility in later life.

BACKGROUND: The size of the breast stem-cell pool could underlie the intrauterine roots of breast cancer. We studied whether breast stem cells exist in umbilical cord blood and if they correlate with hematopoietic stem-cell measurements that have been positively associated with perinatal risk factors for breast cancer. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We isolated mononuclear cells from umbilical cord blood of 170 singleton full-term pregnancies and determined, by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, the presence of genes of putative breast epithelial stem-cell/progenitor markers [including epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), CD49f (α6-integrin), CD117 (c-kit receptor), CD24, and CD29 (ß1-integrin)]. By immunocytochemistry, we colocalized protein expressions of EpCAM+CD49f+, CD49f+CD24+, and CD24+CD29+. We correlated concentrations of putative breast stem-cell/progenitor subpopulations, quantified by flow cytometry, with concentrations of hematopoietic stem cells. RESULTS: Mammary stem-cell phenotypes were identified in umbilical cord blood. The measured EpCAM+ subpopulation was positively correlated with concentrations of CD34+ and CD34+CD38- hematopoietic stem cells (both P=0.006). Additionally, EpCAM+CD49f+ and CD49f+CD24+ subpopulations were positively correlated to the CD34+ cells (P=0.03 and 0.008, respectively). CONCLUSION: The positive association between measurable breast and hematopoietic stem cells in human umbilical cord blood suggests plausible mechanisms for a prenatal influence on breast cancer risk.

Increased lymph node harvest in patients operated on for right-sided colon cancer: a population-based study.

AIM: In recent decades, the focus has been on the treatment of rectal cancer with improved surgical techniques. This has resulted in improved results for patients with rectal cancer. Recently, the focus has shifted to colon cancer surgery with the introduction of preoperative staging, new surgical techniques, quality control and enhanced recovery programmes. The change in operative techniques has been most pronounced for patients with tumours on the right side of the colon, with more extensive resections and proximal ligations of the vessels. The aim of this study was to assess the number of analysed lymph nodes and the metastatic index (MI) in patients operated on for right-sided colon cancer in the Stockholm area between 1996 and 2009. METHOD: All patients operated on for cancer of the right colon between January 1996 and December 2009 were divided into three groups based on the year in which they were operated (period 1, 1996-1999; period 2, 2000-2004; and period 3, 2005-2009). The number of lymph nodes and lymph node status were analysed. RESULTS: In total, 3536 patients were operated on for right-sided colon cancer during the study period. There was a significantly lower proportion of emergency operations in the third time period. The mean number of lymph nodes examined increased significantly during the overall study period (seven in period 1, 11 in period 2 and 18 in period 3; P < 0.001). A significant drop in MI was seen during the third time period (0.25, compared with 0.40 in period 1 and 0.40 in period 2; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: During the study period there was an increase in the number of analysed lymph nodes and a decrease in MI after right-sided hemicolectomies. Further investigations are needed to evaluate the potential impact on short-term and long-term outcome.

Pediatric organ transplantation and risk of premalignant and malignant tumors in Sweden.

Increased cancer risks are well documented in adult organ transplant recipients. However, the spectrum of malignancies and risk in the pediatric organ transplant population are less well described. We identified all solid organ transplanted patients aged <18 in Sweden between 1970-2007 (n = 536) in the National Patient Register and linked to the Cancer Register. Nationwide rates were used to calculate standardized incidence rate ratios and 95% CI estimating the association between transplant and cancer during maximum 36 years of follow-up. Nearly 7% of pediatric solid organ transplant recipients developed a premalignant or malignant tumor during follow-up. Transplantation was associated with an increased risk of any cancer (n = 24, SIR = 12.5, 95% CI: 8.0-18.6): non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) (n = 13, SIR = 127, 95% CI: 68-217), renal cell (n = 3, SIR = 105, 95% CI: 22-307), vulva/vagina (n = 3, SIR = 665, 95% CI: 137-1934) and nonmelanoma skin cancers (n = 2, SIR = 64.7, 95% CI: 7.8-233.8). NHL typically appeared during childhood, while other tumors were diagnosed during adulthood. Apart from short-term attention toward the potential occurrence of NHL, our results suggest cancer surveillance into adulthood with special attention to skin, kidneys and the female genitalia.

A population-based investigation of the autoantibody profile in mothers of children with atrioventricular block.

The objective of the study was to investigate the antigen specificity and occurrence of individual autoantibodies in mothers of children diagnosed with atrioventricular (AV) block in a nation-wide setting. Patients with AV block detected before 15 years of age were identified using national quality registries as well as a network of pediatric and adult cardiologists and rheumatologists at the six university hospitals in Sweden. Patients with gross heart malformations, surgically or infectiously induced blocks were excluded. Blood samples were obtained from the mothers and maternal autoantibody profile, including the occurrence of antibodies against Ro52, Ro60, La, SmB, SmD, RNP-70k, RNP-A, RNP-C, CENP-C, Scl-70, Jo-1, ribosomal RNP and histones was investigated in 193 mothers of children with AV block by immunoblotting and ELISA. Autoantibody reactivity was detected in 48% (93/193) of the mothers of children with AV block. In autoantibody-positive mothers, the vast majority, 95% (88/93), had antibodies against Ro52, while 63% (59/93) had autoantibodies to Ro60 and 58% (54/93) had autoantibodies to La. In addition, 13% (12/93) of the autoantibody-positive mothers had antibodies to other investigated antigens besides Ro52, Ro60 and La, and of these anti-histone antibodies were most commonly represented, detected in 8% (7/93) of the mothers. In conclusion, this Swedish population-based study confirms that maternal autoantibodies may associate with heart block in the child. Further, our data demonstrate a dominant role of Ro52 antibodies in association with AV block.

Rheumatoid arthritis and birth outcomes: a Danish and Swedish nationwide prevalence study.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the prevalence of preterm birth, infants with low Apgar score, small for gestational age (SGA) birth, stillbirth and congenital abnormalities in women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared with women without RA. DESIGN: Prevalence study. SETTING: Combined Sweden and Denmark nationwide from 1994 to 2006. SUBJECTS: We included 871,579 women with a first-time singleton birth identified through population-based healthcare databases. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We compared the prevalence of preterm birth, low Apgar score (<7 at 5 min), SGA birth, stillbirth and congenital abnormalities amongst women with RA compared with women without RA using prevalence odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI), whilst controlling for maternal age, smoking, parental cohabitation and year. We stratified analyses by period of birth (1994-1997, 1998-2001 and 2002-2006). RESULTS: Amongst 1199 women with RA, 7.8% gave birth between 32 and 36 gestational weeks (adjusted OR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.14-1.82), 1.4% gave birth before gestational week 32 (adjusted OR, 1.55; 95% CI, 0.97-2.47), 1.6% had an infant with a low Apgar score (OR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.95-1.65), 5.9% had an SGA birth (adjusted OR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.2-2.01), 0.9% experienced stillbirth (adjusted OR, 2.07; 95% CI, 0.98-4.35) and 4.3% gave birth to an infant with congenital abnormalities (adjusted OR,1.32; 95% CI, 0.98-1.79). The OR for congenital abnormalities decreased from 2.57 (95% CI, 1.59-4.16) in 1994-1997 to 1.00 (95% CI, 0.64-1.56) in 2002-2006. CONCLUSIONS: Women with RA had a high prevalence of most adverse birth outcomes. This could be due to inflammatory activity, medical treatment or other factors not controlled for.

Insulin-like growth factor levels in cord blood, birth weight and breast cancer risk.

Breast cancer incidence and birth weight are higher among Caucasian than Asian women, and birth size has been positively associated with breast cancer risk. Pregnancy hormone levels, however, have been generally lower in Caucasian than Asian women. We studied components of the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system in cord blood from 92 singleton babies born in Boston, USA, and 110 born in Shanghai, China, in 1994-1995. Cord blood IGF-1 was significantly higher among Caucasian compared with Chinese babies (P<10(-6)). The opposite was noted for IGF-2 (P approximately 10(-4)). IGF-1 was significantly positively associated with birth weight and birth length in Boston, but not Shanghai. In contrast, stronger positive, though statistically non-significant, associations of IGF-2 with birth size were only evident in Shanghai. The associations of birth weight and birth length were positive and significant in taller women (for IGF-1 in Boston P approximately 0.003 and 0.03, respectively; for IGF-2 in Shanghai P approximately 0.05 and approximately 0.04, respectively), among whom maternal anthropometry does not exercise strong constraints in foetal growth. The documentation of higher cord blood levels of IGF-1, a principal growth hormone that does not cross the placenta, among Caucasian than in Asian newborns is concordant with breast cancer incidence in these populations.

Allergy and autoimmune disease: a registry-based study.

BACKGROUND: Allergy and autoimmunity are two potential outcomes of a dysregulated immune system, but the relationship between them is unclear. It has been hypothesized that they could be inversely associated because of different T helper cell reactivity patterns. However, both positive and negative associations have been reported. Therefore, our aim was to perform a large epidemiological study with a defined allergic disease cohort. METHODS: During the years 1990-2002, 68 770 subjects were tested for total serum IgE (Total-IgE) and 72 228 were tested with Phadiatop for diagnosing allergic disease at Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. This cohort was then linked with the Swedish Inpatient Registry 1968-2004 for a follow-up with regard to recorded discharges for 28 autoimmune diseases. We then used Cox regression and logistic regression to estimate the risk of autoimmune diseases in general in the allergy-tested subjects. RESULTS: Subjects with positive Phadiatop test were at a statistically decreased risk of subsequent autoimmune disease in comparison with subjects with negative test; hazard ratio (HR): 0.80 [95% (Confidence interval) CI: 0.68-0.94). Prior autoimmune disease was associated with a decreased risk of positive Phadiatop test [odds ratio: 0.83 (95% CI: 0.72-0.96)] in comparison with negative test. Subjects with highly elevated Total-IgE were at a statistically increased risk of a subsequent autoimmune disease in comparison with subjects with normal levels [HR: 1.36 (95% CI: 1.09-1.70)], but no association was found between prior autoimmune disease and different Total-IgE levels. CONCLUSION: The study supports the hypothesis that allergy, defined as positive Phadiatop test, could be inversely related to autoimmune disease but this association is weak.