Liraglutide and cardiovascular outcomes in adults with overweight or obesity: A post hoc analysis from SCALE randomized controlled trials.

The cardiovascular safety of liraglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist approved for weight management at a dose of 3.0 mg, was evaluated post hoc using data from 5908 participants in 5 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials. Participants were randomized to liraglutide or a comparator group (placebo or orlistat). The objective was to evaluate whether cardiovascular risk was increased with liraglutide treatment. The primary composite outcome of this time-to-event analysis was the first occurrence of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction or nonfatal stroke. These cardiovascular events were adjudicated prospectively for three of the trials and retrospectively for two trials by an event adjudication committee. The primary outcome was analyzed using a Cox proportional hazards model, stratified by trial. With liraglutide 3.0 mg, 8 participants had positively adjudicated cardiovascular events (1.54 events/1000 person-years) compared to 10 participants in the comparators group (3.65 events/1000 person-years). The hazard ratio for liraglutide 3.0 mg compared to comparators was 0.42 (95% confidence interval, 0.17-1.08). In this analysis, liraglutide 3.0 mg treatment was not associated with excess cardiovascular risk. However, the wide confidence intervals and retrospective adjudication of events in two of the trials are limitations of the analysis.

Efficacy and safety of switching from sitagliptin to liraglutide in subjects with type 2 diabetes (LIRA-SWITCH): a randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, active-controlled 26-week trial.

AIMS: To confirm superiority on glycaemic control by switching from sitagliptin to liraglutide 1.8 mg/d versus continued sitagliptin. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A randomized, multicentre, double-blind, double-dummy, active-controlled trial across 86 office- or hospital-based sites in North America, Europe and Asia. Subjects with type 2 diabetes who had inadequate glycaemic control (glycated haemoglobin [HbA1c] 7.5-9.5% on sitagliptin (100 mg/d) and metformin (≥1500 mg daily) for ≥90 days were randomized to either switch to liraglutide (n = 203) or continue sitagliptin (n = 204), both with metformin. The primary endpoint was change in HbA1c from baseline to week 26. Change in body weight was a confirmatory secondary endpoint. RESULTS: Greater reduction in mean HbA1c was achieved with liraglutide than with continued sitagliptin [-1.14% vs. -0.54%; estimated mean treatment difference (ETD): -0.61% (95% CI -0.82 to -0.40; p < 0.0001)], confirming superiority of switching to liraglutide. Body weight was reduced more with liraglutide [-3.31 kg vs. -1.64 kg; ETD: -1.67 kg (95% CI -2.34 to -0.99; p < 0.0001)]. Nausea was more common with liraglutide [44 subjects (21.8%)] than with continued sitagliptin [16 (7.8%)]. Three subjects (1.5%) taking sitagliptin reported a confirmed hypoglycaemic episode. CONCLUSIONS: Subjects insufficiently controlled with sitagliptin who switch to liraglutide can obtain clinically relevant reductions in glycaemia and body weight, without compromising safety. A switch from sitagliptin to liraglutide provides an option for improved management of type 2 diabetes while still allowing patients to remain on dual therapy.

Long-term efficacy and safety comparison of liraglutide, glimepiride and placebo, all in combination with metformin in type 2 diabetes: 2-year results from the LEAD-2 study.

AIMS: To investigate efficacy and safety of dual therapy with liraglutide and metformin in comparison to glimepiride and metformin, and metformin monotherapy over 2 years in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: In the 26-week the Liraglutide Effect and Action in Diabetes (LEAD)-2 core trial, patients (n = 1091) were randomized (2 : 2 : 2 : 1: 2) to liraglutide (0.6, 1.2 or 1.8 mg once-daily), placebo or glimepiride; all with metformin. Patients were enrolled if they were 18-80 years old with HbA1c 7.0-11.0% (previous monotherapy ≥3 months), or 7.0-10.0% (previous combination therapy ≥3 months), and body mass index ≤40 kg/m(2) . Patients completing the 26-week double-blinded phase could enter an 18-month open-label extension. RESULTS: HbA1c decreased significantly with liraglutide (0.4% with 0.6 mg, 0.6% with 1.2 and 1.8 mg) versus 0.3% increase with metformin monotherapy (p < 0.0001). HbA1c decrease with liraglutide was non-inferior versus 0.5% decrease with glimepiride. Liraglutide groups experienced significant weight loss (2.1, 3.0 and 2.9 kg with 0.6, 1.2 and 1.8 mg, respectively) compared to weight gain (0.7 kg) with glimepiride (p < 0.0001). Weight loss with liraglutide 1.2 and 1.8 mg was significantly greater than with metformin monotherapy (1.8 kg; p = 0.0185 and p = 0.0378 for 1.2 and 1.8 mg, respectively). The occurrence of minor hypoglycaemia was <5.0% in all liraglutide groups, significantly less than with glimepiride (24.0%; p < 0.0001). Liraglutide was well tolerated overall: gastrointestinal events were more common than with glimepiride or metformin monotherapy, but occurrence decreased with time. CONCLUSIONS: Liraglutide provided sustained glycaemic control over 2 years comparable to that provided by glimepiride. Liraglutide was well tolerated, and was associated with weight loss and a low rate of hypoglycaemia.

Liraglutide improves treatment satisfaction in people with Type 2 diabetes compared with sitagliptin, each as an add on to metformin.

AIMS: Patient-reported outcomes from clinical trials offer insight into the impact of disease on health-related quality of life, including treatment satisfaction. This patient-reported outcomes evaluation was a substudy of a 26-week randomized, open-label trial comparing the once-daily injectable human GLP-1 analogue liraglutide with once-daily oral sitagliptin, both added to metformin. The patient reported outcomes substudy aimed to evaluate treatment satisfaction using the Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (DTSQ) at baseline and 26 weeks. METHODS: In the main 26-week randomized, open-label study (n =658), liraglutide, 1.2 or 1.8 mg, injected with a pen, led to greater HbA1c reduction than oral sitagliptin, 100 mg once daily, both added to metformin = 1500 mg daily: mean HbA1c reduction was 1.5, 1.2 and 0.9% (7, 10 and 14 mmol/mol) for liraglutide 1.8 mg, 1.2 mg and sitagliptin, respectively (P < 0.0001 for both liraglutide doses vs. sitagliptin) and liraglutide patients lost more weight (3 vs.1 kg; P < 0.0001). In this patient-reported outcomes substudy (liraglutide 1.8 mg, n = 171; 1.2 mg, n = 164; sitagliptin, n = 170) DTSQ scores were analyzed by ANCOVA with treatment and country as fixed effects and baseline value as covariate. RESULTS: Overall treatment satisfaction, calculated by adding satisfaction scores for `current treatment', `convenience', `flexibility', `understanding', `recommend', and `continue', improved in all groups at 26 weeks; greater improvement with liraglutide (4.35 and 3.51 vs. 2.96; P = 0.03 for liraglutide 1.8 mg vs. sitagliptin) may reflect greater HbA1c reduction and weight loss. Patients perceived themselves to be hyperglycaemic significantly less frequently with liraglutide 1.8 mg (difference = -0.88; P < 0.0001) and 1.2 mg ( -0.49; P = 0.01). Perceived frequency of hypoglycaemia was similar across all groups. CONCLUSIONS: Injectable liraglutide may lead to greater treatment satisfaction than oral sitagliptin, potentially by facilitating greater improvement in glycaemic control, weight loss and/ or perception of greater treatment efficacy.

One year of liraglutide treatment offers sustained and more effective glycaemic control and weight reduction compared with sitagliptin, both in combination with metformin, in patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomised, parallel-group, open-label trial.

AIM: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of once-daily human glucagon-like peptide-1 analogue liraglutide with dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor sitagliptin, each added to metformin, over 52 weeks in individuals with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: In an open-label, parallel-group trial, metformin-treated participants were randomised to liraglutide 1.2 mg/day (n=225), liraglutide 1.8 mg/day (n=221) or sitagliptin 100 mg/day (n=219) for 26 weeks (main phase). Participants continued the same treatment in a 26-week extension. RESULTS: Liraglutide (1.2 or 1.8 mg) was superior to sitagliptin for reducing HbA(1c) from baseline (8.4-8.5%) to 52 weeks: -1.29% and -1.51% vs. -0.88% respectively. Estimated mean treatment differences between liraglutide and sitagliptin were as follows: -0.40% (95% confidence interval -0.59 to -0.22) for 1.2 mg and -0.63% (-0.81 to -0.44) for 1.8 mg (both p<0.0001). Weight loss was greater with liraglutide 1.2 mg (-2.78 kg) and 1.8 mg (-3.68 kg) than sitagliptin (-1.16 kg) (both p<0.0001). Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire scores increased significantly more with liraglutide 1.8 mg than with sitagliptin (p=0.03). Proportions of participants reporting adverse events were generally comparable; minor hypoglycaemia was 8.1%, 8.3% and 6.4% for liraglutide 1.2 mg, 1.8 mg and sitagliptin respectively. Gastrointestinal side effects, mainly nausea, initially occurred more frequently with liraglutide, but declined after several weeks. CONCLUSION: Liraglutide provides greater sustained glycaemic control and body weight reduction over 52 weeks. Treatment satisfaction was significantly greater with 1.8 mg liraglutide, similar to 26-week results. The safety profiles of liraglutide and sitagliptin are consistent with previous reports.

Triage and mortality in 2875 consecutive trauma patients.

BACKGROUND: Most studies on trauma and trauma systems have been conducted in the United States. We aimed to describe the factors predicting mortality in European trauma patients, with focus on triage. METHODS: We prospectively registered all trauma patients in Eastern Denmark over 12 consecutive months. We analysed the flow of trauma patients through the system, the time spent at different locations, and we assessed the risk factors of mortality. RESULTS: We included 2875 trauma patients, of whom 158 (5.5%) died before arrival at the hospital. Most patients (75.3%) were brought to local hospitals and patients primarily (n=82) or secondarily triaged (n=203) to the level I trauma centre were the most severely injured. Secondarily transferred patients spent a median of 150 min in the local hospital before transfer to the level I trauma centre and 48 min on transportation. Severe injury with an injury severity score >15 was seen in 345 patients, of whom 118 stayed at the local hospital. They had a significantly higher mortality than 116 of those secondarily transferred [45/118, 38.1% vs. 11/116, 9.7% (P<0.0001)]. Mortality within 30 days was 4.3% in admitted patients, and significant risk factors of death were violence [odds ratio (OR)=5.72], unconsciousness (OR=4.87), hypotension (OR=4.96), injury severity score >15 (OR=27.42), and age. CONCLUSIONS: Around 50% of all trauma deaths occurred at the scene. Increased survival of severely injured patients may be achieved by early transfer to highly specialised care.

Neuropsychological performance in cancer patients: the role of oral opioids, pain and performance status.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the possible influence of oral opioids, pain and performance status on some aspects of psychomotor function and cognition in cancer patients. One hundred and thirty cancer patients between 40 and 76 years of age were consecutively included in the study. In order to separate the impact of performance status, pain and oral opioids on neuropsychological functioning the patients were allocated in a cross-sectional design to five different groups. Group 1 (N=40), which was considered the control group, was characterized by being in Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) A ('Able to carry on normal activity and work. No special care is needed'), had no pain and received no oral opioid medication. Group 2 (N=19) was characterized by being in KPS B ('Unable to work. Able to live at home and care for most personal needs. A varying degree of assistance is needed'), had no pain and received no oral opioid medication. Group 3 (N=19) was characterized by being in KPS B, had pain, but received no oral opioid medication. Group 4a (N=31) was characterized by being in KPS B, had pain and received stable doses of oral opioids. Group 4b (N=21) was characterized by being in KPS B, had no pain and received stable doses of opioids. Assessments comprised pain intensity, sedation, opioid doses, time from ingestion of last opioid dose to testing and opioid side effects. The neuropsychological tests used were continuous reaction time (CRT), finger tapping test (FTT) and paced auditory serial addition task (PASAT). Regarding the neuropsychological tests group 1 was compared with each of the other groups and respecting the hierarchy of increasing numbers of stigmatizing factors group 1 was compared with group 2, group 2 with group 3 and so forth. Concerning CRT, group 1 performed statistically significantly faster than groups 2, 4a and 4b. Concerning FTT, group 1 performed statistically significantly faster than groups 3 and 4a. Concerning PASAT, groups 1 and 4b performed statistically significantly better than group 4a. Furthermore, the pain-relieved groups 2 and 4b performed statistically significantly better in PASAT than the pain-suffering groups 3 and 4a. We conclude that in cancer patients the impact of stigmatizing factors (oral opioids, pain and reduced performance status) seems to impair some important aspects of neuropsychological performance, but more specifically our results indicate that (1) the use of long-term oral opioid treatment in cancer patients per se did not affect any of the neuropsychological tests used in the present study, (2) cancer patients being in KPS B had statistically significantly slower CRT than patients being in KPS A and (3) pain itself may deteriorate the performance of PASAT more than oral opioid treatment.

Impaired neuropsychological performance in chronic nonmalignant pain patients receiving long-term oral opioid therapy.

The study investigated neuropsychological performance in chronic nonmalignant pain patients receiving long-term oral opioid therapy. Forty patients treated solely with regular and stable doses of an oral opioid were compared with 40 healthy volunteers. The patients received daily opioid doses of 15-300 mg of oral morphine (median: 60 mg) or equianalgesic doses of other opioids. The neuropsychological tests consisted of continuous reaction time (CRT), which measured vigilance/attention; finger tapping test (FTT), which measured psychomotor speed; and paced auditory serial addition task (PASAT), which measured working memory. Three months after the study had been carried out, 14 of the controls were retested in order to determine the reliability of the three tests. The patients performed statistically significantly poorer than the controls in all the tests. Significantly positive correlations were found between the PASAT and pain visual analogue scales (VAS). In the retesting of 14 controls, it was found that the tests showed high reliability. Vigilance/attention, psychomotor speed, and working memory were significantly impaired in chronic nonmalignant pain patients. The present study cannot determine which factors influenced the test results, but pain itself seemed to have an arousal effect on working memory.

Economic evaluation of multidisciplinary pain management in chronic pain patients: a qualitative systematic review.

In this qualitative systematic review, we have evaluated studies of the economic effectiveness of multidisciplinary pain treatment in chronic non-malignant pain patients. Published reports were identified from a systematic search of bibliographic databases (MEDLINE and EMBASE) and reference lists of retrieved reports. Fourteen reports of nine studies of patients suffering from back pain, fibromyalgia, and mixed chronic pain conditions were considered to be appropriate as economic analyses. In the selected studies, we found serious methodological problems in study designs and application of outcome measures. The quality of the cost measurements was characterized by an apparent lack of tradition using economic methodology. This review does not give an answer to whether multidisciplinary pain management in chronic pain patients is cost-effective or not. Application of standard methods of costing and outcome measurement are essential before studies of cost-effectiveness in multidisciplinary pain treatment can be used in decision-making and planning.

Effect of free plant sterols in low-fat milk on serum lipid profile in hypercholesterolemic subjects.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of nonesterified, nonhydrogenated plant sterols solubilized in a partly vegetable oil-filled low-fat milk on serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) in mildly hypercholesterolemic patients. DESIGN: Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled three-arm crossover study. SETTING: Outpatient clinical trial. SUBJECTS: A total of 138 patients were screened, providing 81 patients for randomization; 71 patients completed the study. INTERVENTIONS: The study product was a 500 ml milk blend with or without nonesterified, nonhydrogenated sterols. The daily consumption of sterols in the three groups was 0 g/day, control group (C); 1.2 g/day, (Lo); or 1.6 g/day, (Hi), respectively. The patients were randomly assigned to one of three different treatment sequences. Each intervention period was 4 weeks. The total study duration was 12 weeks. RESULTS: The milk product was well tolerated. The placebo-adjusted mean reduction in LDL was 7.13+/-12.31 and 9.59+/-12.44% (mean+/-s.d.) for Lo and Hi groups, respectively (P<0.0001); there was no statistically significant difference in LDL lowering for the Lo and Hi groups. There were no significant changes in serum vitamin E or carotenoid concentrations after standardization with LDL cholesterol during the study period. CONCLUSION: The present study shows for the first time a substantial reduction in LDL cholesterol with a new, partly vegetable oil-filled 1.2% low-fat milk product, containing nonesterified plant sterols from soybean oil, in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. This result encourages further development of novel low-fat dairy products containing free plant sterols for future use in cholesterol-lowering initiatives.

Chronic pain in torture survivors.

According to Amnesty International government-sanctioned torture is verified in one third of the countries in the world. The physical and psychological sequelae are numerous. This study focuses on pain diagnosis, characterising pain types as nociceptive, visceral or neuropathic. Torture victims from the Middle East, treated at the Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims (RCT) in Copenhagen, participated in the study. The patients were referred to a pain specialist for evaluation of unsolved pain problems. Eighteen male torture victims were examined. Twelve patients experienced pain at more than three locations. Nociceptive and neuropathic pain were demonstrated in all patients. Specific neuropathic pain conditions were related to the following four types of physical torture: Palestinian hanging, falanga, beating and kicking of the head, and positional torture. When treating torture victims, it is important to know about torture methods, to think differently than normal on etiological and pathogenetic factors and always consider the presence of neuropathic pain.

The influence of different soil constituents on the reaction kinetics of wet oxidation of the creosote compound quinoline.

Creosote contaminated sites have become a widespread problem in industrialized countries. Recently, wet oxidation using high temperature, pressure, water and oxygen followed by activated sludge treatment proved to be an efficient method for removing a wide selection of creosote compounds in contaminated soils. Wet oxidation of the creosote compound quinoline was carried out in the presence of montmorillionite, quartz and humic acid. The products derived from wet oxidation were identified and treated biologically by activated sludge testing their biodegradability. The influence on the oxidation kinetics of quinoline during wet oxidation was pH dependent. Humic acid supported the oxidation of quinoline, whereas the addition of montmorillionite and quartz had either an inhibiting effect or led only to a slight increase in oxidation. In mixtures of soil constituents, especially at low contents of humic acid, the adsorption of quinoline on montmorillionite prevented oxidation at neutral pH. Thus, alkaline extraction of both quinoline and humic acid was needed for an efficient oxidation. A proposed reaction mechanism suggests that quinoline was oxidized by hydroxyl radicals formed during the oxidation of the humic acid. A wide selection of reaction products (mainly carboxylic acids, benzene and pyridine derivatives) derived from the wet oxidation of humic acid and quinoline. The reaction products from humic acid degradation had a rate limiting effect on the wet oxidation of quinoline leaving small residues of quinoline after the treatment. On the contrary, these reaction products also improved the biodegradation of products from the quinoline oxidation due to co-digestion of carboxylic acids. Therefore, the presence of soil components (mainly humic acid) improved the combined wet oxidation and biological activated sludge treatment of quinoline.

Wet oxidation treatment of organic household waste enriched with wheat straw for simultaneous saccharification and fermentation into ethanol.

Organic municipal solid waste enriched with wheat straw was subjected to wet-oxidation as a pre-treatment for subsequent enzymatic conversion and fermentation into bio-ethanol. The effect of temperature (185-195 degrees C), oxygen pressure (3-12 bar) and sodium carbonate (0-2 g l(-1) ) addition on enzymatic cellulose and hemicellulose convertibility was studied at a constant wet oxidation retention time of 10 minutes. An enzyme convertibility assay at high enzyme loading (25 filter paper unit (FPU) g(-1) dry solids (DS) added) showed that up to 78% of the cellulose and up to 68% of the hemicellulose in the treated waste could be converted into respectively hexose and pentose sugars compared to 46% for cellulose and 36% for hemicellulose in the raw waste. For all wet oxidation conditions tested, total carbohydrate recoveries were high (> 89%) and 44-66% of the original lignin could be converted into non-toxic carboxylic acids mainly (2.2-4.5 % on DS basis). Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of the treated waste at 10% DS by Saccharomyces cerevisae yielded average ethanol concentrations of 16.5 to 22 g 1(-1) for enzyme loadings of 5 and 25 FPU g(-1) DS, respectively. The cellulose to ethanol conversion efficiency during SSF was 50, 62, 65 and 70% for a total enzyme loading of 5, 10, 15 and 25 FPU g(-1) DS, respectively. Hence, this study shows that wet oxidation is a suitable pre-treatment for the conversion of organic waste carbohydrates into ethanol and that compatible conversion yields (60-65%) can be achieved at moderate enzyme loadings.

[Occupational accidents among slaughterhouse workers. A review from a casualty department]. / Arbejdsulykker blandt slagteriarbejdere. En skadestueopgørelse.

A total of 110 accidents in slaughterhouse workers treated in the casualty department of Sønderborg Hospital during a period of one year was analysed as regards the nature of the injury, the mechanism of injury, employment of prophylactic measures, employment and the loss of income in connection with the sick leave involved. Cuts and stab lesions caused by ordinary knives constituted 72.7% and 93.7% of these were situated on the hands and forearms. Employment of prophylactic measures was not identical in the various working processes. Thus, all of the persons employed with filleting employed prophylactic equipment. In this group, the majority of injuries were on knife-hand but there were also many injuries to the protected hand. In the remainder of the production, employment of prophylactic measures was much less and the injuries here were localized electively to the hand not holding the knife. It is concluded that employment of safety knives in filleting is capable of reducing the number of injuries to the knife-hand while increased employment of five-fingered metal-net gloves and arm protectors is recommended in the remainder of the production.

[Cutaneous symptoms after continuous subcutaneous injection of morphine]. / Hudsymptomer efter kontinuerlig subkutan morfinindgift.

We present two cases of patients who developed local swelling and induration after continuous subcutaneous infusion of morphine. Cutaneous complications of repeated subcutaneous injections of pentazocine, meperidine, ketobemidone and methadone are well described. There are few reports of similar reactions after subcutaneous administration of morphine. Both patients were later treated with sufentanil using the subcutaneous route without any reaction. Sufentanil might be an alternative to patients who cannot tolerate morphine.

[Neurogenic pain following Palestinian hanging]. / Neurogene smerter efter palaestinensisk haengning.

The number of refugees around the world who have fled political or ethnic persecution has increased. An increasing proportion of these refugees are survivors of torture. Many of these suffer physical as well as psychological sequelae to torture. In trying to evaluate the torture claims of the refugees, it is important for the physician to learn about types of torture and to look for symptoms. After positional torture, in which the victims are suspended by their wrists which are tied behind their back (Palestinian hanging), severe lasting nerve, ligament, or tendon damage is seen. In this paper we present two cases of brachial plexus injury. Only sensory nerves were affected causing a neurogenic pain condition including dysaesthesia and neuralgia.

[Cerebral dysfunction after prolonged use of opioids]. / Cerebral dysfunktion ved langtidsbrug af opioider.

Cerebral dysfunction due to long-term treatment with opioids is a problem of increasing relevance because of the rapidly growing use of opioids. A review of psychomotor and cognitive test methods is given, including their application in patients on long-term opioid treatment. The findings of the most valid studies on cancer patients in long-term treatment with opioids are an increase in continuous reaction time and subjective sedation score regardless of the routes of administration. Studies of drug addicts in long-term treatment with opioids seem to reflect a lowering of the general level of activity. According to recent studies, patients with chronic non-malignant pain conditions are responsible for the major part of the total opioid consumption. So far, no studies of cerebral dysfunction have been performed on this group of patients. Further research should concentrate on the use of few valid psychomotor and cognitive tests and should include patients with chronic non-malignant pain conditions.

[Buprenorphine for postoperative analgesia after total hip alloplasty]. / Buprenorfin til postoperativ smertebehandling efter total hoftealloplastik.

Three different post-operative pain relief schedules were investigated in a double blind study after total hip replacement. Group BS received a priming dose of buprenorphine i.m. at the time of wound closure and continued with sublingual buprenorphine every eight hours. Supplementary doses of buprenorphine i.m. could be demanded. Group B and M received a priming dose of buprenorphine and morphine respectively, and continued with sublingual placebo eight hourly. Supplementary doses of buprenorphine could be demanded by patients in Group B and supplementary doses of morphine by patients in Group M. On one occasion VAS scorings of groups BS and B were statistically significantly lower than group M, and on another occasion VAS scorings of group BS were statistically significantly lower than the other two groups. Furthermore, the number of on demand supplementary doses was statistically significantly higher in group M. It is concluded that buprenorphine administered at regular intervals as well as on demand provided better postoperative analgesia than morphine at present dose levels. In this context, only moderate advantages were obtained by administering buprenorphine at regular intervals.

[Spontaneous esophageal rupture during the 3rd trimester]. / Spontan esophagusruptur i tredje trimester.

A 30-year-old woman, 35 weeks pregnant, developed spontaneous rupture of the oesophagus following severe vomiting, probably caused by treatment with Ritodrin (Utopar). The symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of spontaneous oesophageal rupture are discussed.

[Pain epidemiology and health-related quality of life in patients with chronic non-malignant pain]. / Smerteepidemiologi og helbredsrelateret livskvalitet hos patienter med kroniske ikkemaligne smerter.

This paper presents the results of a detailed study of the pain epidemiology and health related quality of life (HRQL) in 150 chronic non-malignant pain patients referred to a Danish multidisciplinary pain centre. Mean pain intensity was 71.6 (SD 18.5) on the VAS scale. HRQL was evaluated using the questionnaires: SF-36, HAD and PGWB. Compared with the normal population (NP) both physical, psychological and social well-being was severely reduced, and 58% were found to have a depressive or anxiety disorder. Sixty-three percent of the patients had neurogenic pain conditions. Of these, only 25% were treated with antidepressants or anticonvulsants. At referral 73% were treated with opioids. Mean opioid consumption was 64 mg of morphine per day. Patients had used the health care system five times more often than the NP (p < 0.001). The study showed that HRQL of chronic non-malignant pain patients is among the lowest observed for any medical condition.