Introduction: Sex and education level has demonstrated effects on health status.Osteoarthritis is a widespread disease that causes reduced health-related quality of life and isthe most common reason for total hip replacement. Osteoarthritis was ranked as the 11thhighest contributor to global disability as reported in the Global Burden of Disease 2010.Aim: The aim of this study was to explore how sex and education level together affectedhealth-related quality of life after total hip replacement. The aim was also to examine whatdimensions of EQ-5D that changed.Methods: The study is a prospective observational study with a quantitative approach. Dataconsisted of education level, obtained from Statistics Sweden (SCB) and health-relatedquality of life before and one year after total hip replacement from the Swedish HipArthroplasty Register (SHAR). Health-related quality of life was measured with astandardised instrument, the EQ-5D, and the study population consisted of 39,141 patients.Results: Womens? EQ-5D-value, before and one year after surgery, were lower in alleducational categories compared with men.

The high incidence of cranial cruciate ligament injury in dogs results in both suffering and significant costs due to treatment and care of affected dogs. Today there are several different technics for surgical treatment in dogs with ruptured cranial cruciate ligament. At University Animal Hospital (UDS), SLU, in Uppsala two fundamentally different methods; TPLO (Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy) and external fixation with suture material are practiced. The aim of this study was to estimate if the different surgery technics result in any difference regarding the function of the dog in a long term perspective. Since motion and function are very affected by arthritis, was the purpose also to determine if there are any differences in developing arthritis between dogs surgical treated with external fixation respectively with TPLO. Development of arthritis is common after surgery or traumatic injuries in a joint, such as cruciate ligament rupture. Unfortunately was the number of dogs in the study to small to achieve two comparable groups.

ABSTRACTIntroduction: An increasing number of patients in Sweden receive epidural anaesthesia (EDA) in connection to surgery. Caring for patients with acute pain is a responsibility that is strongly established within the profession of the nurse anaesthetist. If the care provided by the nurse anaesthetist for patients who receive epidural anaesthesia is to evolve then further insight and knowledge is required regarding the individual´s experience.Aim: To describe patients' experiences in receiving epidural anaesthesia based on an earlier perioperative start-up of the EDA.Method: Based on a qualitative approach, the aim is to conduct semi-structured interviews with patients who receive EDA in connection to abdominal or gynaecological surgery. Research subjects' statements in the context of the interviews will be transcribed and then analysed using qualitative content analysis. In order to evaluate the chosen method regarding data collection and analysis model an exploratory pilot study was conducted.

When a child is hospitalized, it is usually more than one person who needs attention ? i.e. the child as well as its parents. The emergency ward environment and surgery rooms are unfamiliar and the parents feel anxious, insecure and uncertain about how to act. They are expected to participate in the child?s care, cope with their own anxiety and simultaneously convey a sense of security and stability to the child.

The aim of this study was to investigate the intraoperative surgical stress response in dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy and to compare acepromazine and medetomidine as premedications. 15 dogs diagnosed with pyometra were used in this study. Blood pressure and heart rate were used as parameters to measure surgical stress response. The surgery was divided into four phases. Phase 0 was the period 10 minutes before the skin incision, phase 1 was skin incision and opening of abdomen, phase 2 was manipulation of uterine horns, ligation and transection of mesovarium and phase 3 was ligation of cervix, removal of organs and closing the abdomen. The results showed that phase 2 was the most intense phase of surgical stress, regardless of which premedication the dogs received. When acepromazine and medetomidine were compared the results showed that within phase 3, all dogs that were given medetomidine had higher blood pressure compared to dogs that were given acepromazine. The dogs that were given acepromazine had higher heart rate than the dogs that were given medetomidine in phase 0, phase 2 and phase 3. .

Objective: The objective was to examine the incidence of constipation, and the preventive measures taken in relation with postoperative pain treatment with opioids at two orthopaedic surgery wards.Methods: The participants were patients that had undergone surgery in the back, hip or thigh. They were selected through systematic selection and a total of 46 electronic health records were examined. The factors investigated and tested for correlation with constipation were the usage of laxatives, daily fluid-intake and early mobilisation.Results: Totally, 26.1 % of the patients became constipated, and laxatives were prescribed to 65.2 % of the patients. Doctors prescribed 53.3 % of the laxatives, nurses 33.3 % and for the remaining 13.3 % it was uncertain who had written the prescription. Usage of laxatives seemed to cause constipation (p=0,025), whereas there was no correlation between constipation and early mobilization.

In Sweden over 10.000 patients annually, mostly children, undergo tonsillar surgery. The most common surgical method is total removal of the tonsil, tonsillectomy (TE). During the last decade partial tonsil resection, tonsillotomy (TT), has been reintroduced and is associated with lower primary morbidity and less postoperative pain. The aim of the present study was to evaluate if and to what extent 4-5 year old children?s voice function are affected by tonsillar hypertrophy compared to controls and to study the effects of the two surgical techniques on vocal function.

During the years 2005-2007 several cases of abnormal bleeding were seen after surgery in Bengal cats on veterinary clinics and animal hospitals in Sweden. In this study we have examined if the observed bleedings are due to an inherited defect of the coagulation cascade. Ten Bengal cats were tested for activated partial thromboplastin time (P-APT-time) and one-stage protrombin time (P-PK), and nine of these cats were tested for fibrinogen quantity (P-fibrinogen). Four of the tested cats had shown signs of an abnormal bleeding after surgery, and five of the cats were genetically related to these cats. One cat had a small bleeding wound at the internal base of the right auricle.

Background: Postoperative infections are a serious patient safety problem and affects about 3 % of all patients undergoing surgery. The consequences are prolonged hospital stays, high social costs, increased use of antibiotics and impaired quality of life for the patient. It has been shown that postoperative infections may be caused by contamination already in the operating room. Today we know that there is growth of microorganisms on the instrument table´s top, but there is a research gap about the instrument table's edges.Aim: To examine if the sterile drape on the instrument table´s edges are sterile after finished surgery.Method: Contact plates are printed on strategically selected areas on the sterile drapes top and edges. In the pilot study, a total of 51 cultures were taken at the end of three operations which lasted over three hours.Results: Growth on the top surface and the edges of the sterile drape were detected.

Sweden?s health care is continuously subjected to economical cutbacks, which results in enormous workloads. To prevent problems that arise in these situations, it is of great importance to take measures to increase the efficiency of the working process. This goal can be obtained by increasing our knowledge of the body, under both normal and sickly conditions. That is, by sharing knowledge of the various medical service units within Stockholm?s county council and thus elaborates diagnostics.

AbstractThe aim of this study was to describe the anesthesia nurses experiences of pediatric anesthesia in two surgical wards, a general surgery department and a day surgery surgical department at two hospitals in central Sweden. The study had a descriptive design with a qualitative approach, in which ten anesthetic nurses with more or less experience in children's anesthesia participated. Data were collected using semi-structured interview questions and were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The results were reported based on a theme, three sub themes and nine categories. The theme When skills, tactfulness and interpersonal skills come to a head, with three sub themes Being prepared and ready, Interacts and open for participation   and Emotional tension.

Bakgrund: Fetma är ett folkhälsoproblem som har ökat dramatiskt de senaste två decennierna. För att behandla extrem fetma har magsäcksoperationer blivit en allt mer vanlig metod. De hälsoekonomiska aspekterna av operation har ännu inte studerats i Sverige. Syfte: Studiens syfte var att belysa hälsoekonomiska aspekter av magsäcksoperationer som intervention mot fetma. Metod: Metoden var en litteraturstudie.

ABSTRACTBackground: People with colorectal cancer undergoing rectum amputation get a permanent colostomy, which affects the social life. It may be valuable for health care what these people experience living with colostomy in order to provide the greatest possible support. Objective: The aim of this study is to describe how people who received a colostomy experience their daily lives and the support they have received from the health services.Method: Qualitative interview study with six people, with a descriptive phenomenological approach.Results: The analysis of the interviews about how it's like to live with a colostomy resulted in three themes: 1) Living with a colostomy gives an uncertainty that affect the social life, 2) Physical and psychological impact of getting a colostomy and 3) Support for health care and relatives.Conclusion: Subjects had a positive attitude towards life, which contributed to that they could adjust to living with a colostomy and feel a meaningfulness of life. The study shows that all the interviewed people overall were satisfied with the information provided by the healthcare personnel. It was good with both oral and written information and very appreciated with repeated information. One aspect that could be improved was the information given aboute the closure of anus during surgery and the following complications.

ABSTRACTBackground: People with colorectal cancer undergoing rectum amputation get a permanent colostomy, which affects the social life. It may be valuable for health care what these people experience living with colostomy in order to provide the greatest possible support. Objective: The aim of this study is to describe how people who received a colostomy experience their daily lives and the support they have received from the health services.Method: Qualitative interview study with six people, with a descriptive phenomenological approach.Results: The analysis of the interviews about how it's like to live with a colostomy resulted in three themes: 1) Living with a colostomy gives an uncertainty that affect the social life, 2) Physical and psychological impact of getting a colostomy and 3) Support for health care and relatives.Conclusion: Subjects had a positive attitude towards life, which contributed to that they could adjust to living with a colostomy and feel a meaningfulness of life. The study shows that all the interviewed people overall were satisfied with the information provided by the healthcare personnel. It was good with both oral and written information and very appreciated with repeated information. One aspect that could be improved was the information given aboute the closure of anus during surgery and the following complications.

Elective joint surgery increases for every year and the operations are associated with postoperative pain. Postoperative pain is a well known phenomenon and pain physiology and analgesics are well known by caregivers, but the significance of the interaction between patient and caregiver is not illuminated. There are still patients experiencing unnecessary postoperative pain. Among patients in elective surgery, 25% runs a risk for underestimated pain. The aim of the study was to describe patient?s experiences of nursing interaction in the context of postoperative pain during hospitalisation after going through knee- or hiparthropasty.