(Press-News.org) Subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) is one of the most dangerous cerebrovascular disorders, with as many as 40% of patients dying within one month of the event.
A study recently published in the esteemed Neurology journal investigated whether there are differences in the prognosis of SAH patients between the university hospital districts in Finland. The research dataset was composed of nearly 10,000 SAH cases from 1998 to 2017, including information on patients who died before receiving neurosurgical care.
Prognoses improved the most in Helsinki and Tampere
In Finland, the treatment of SAH patients has been centralised in five university hospitals (Helsinki University Hospital HUS, Tampere University Hospital, Turku University Hospital, Oulu University Hospital and Kuopio University Hospital). According to the study, Finland’s lowest SAH mortality figures were found in patients treated in Helsinki and Oulu, while the highest mortality rate was observed at Turku University Hospital. During the study-period, prognoses improved the most in Helsinki and Tampere.
The difference between the highest and lowest mortality rates in the university hospital districts was 52%. Variation was similar for women and men in all age groups.
“The regional differences came as a surprise, as Finland has a relatively homogenous population with equal access to public hospital care. Because of these regional differences, region-specific mortality rates should not generalized as nationwide figures of Finland in international comparisons, as has usually occurred,” says Aleksanteri Asikainen, the lead author of the study from the University of Helsinki.
In an international comparison, the hospital mortality rate of all SAH patients in Finland was 20%, while the corresponding figure for the Helsinki University Hospital region was under 17% at the end of the study-period. In Norway, the United Kingdom and Australia, these figures have been roughly 25% in nationwide studies.
“Our findings indicate the unit in the former Töölö Hospital headed by neurosurgeons and neuroanaesthesiologists ultimately achieved the lowest SAH mortality rate in Finland, and one of the lowest globally. Now that the treatment of SAH patients has been transferred to the new Meilahti Bridge Hospital, we must carefully monitor mortality figures,” says Miikka Korja, a neurosurgeon specialised in the treatment of SAH patients at Helsinki University Hospital HUS.
Further research needed to determine causes underlying variance in mortality
According to the researchers, their data cannot be used to explain differences in mortality between hospitals. Consequently, the research findings should not be used as indicators of the quality of care at the university hospitals.
“The mortality figures understandably appear to be the lowest in hospitals that provide care to the highest number of patients as well as to patients with the lowest average age. To determine more specific reasons, we need research that encompasses more extensive information on individual risk factors as well as differences between hospitals in the diagnostics and treatment of SAH patients,” says Ilari Rautalin, the principal author from Auckland University of Technology.
END
Differences in mortality rates for fatal cerebral haemorrhage between Finnish university hospitals
The prognosis for subarachnoid haemorrhage varies greatly between Finnish university hospitals. Patients treated at Helsinki University Hospital and Oulu University Hospital had the lowest mortality rates in Finland, as indicated by a research dataset spa
2023-10-02
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Smooth avatar-user synchronization for the metaverse
2023-10-02
Mobile phones, smartwatches and earbuds are some gadgets that we carry around physically without much thought. The increasingly digitalised world sees a shrinking gap between human and technology, and many researchers and companies are interested in how technology can be further integrated into our lives.
What if, instead of incorporating technology into our physical world, we assimilate ourselves into a virtual environment? This is what Assistant Professor Xiong Zehui from the Singapore University of Technology ...
Defense against the enemy within
2023-10-02
The research teams of Professor René Ketting at the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) in Mainz, Germany, and Dr. Sebastian Falk at the Max Perutz Labs in Vienna, Austria, have identified a new enzyme called PUCH, which plays a key role in preventing the spread of parasitic DNA in our genomes. These findings may reveal new insights into how our bodies detect and fight bacteria and viruses to prevent infections.
Our cells are under constant attack from millions of foreign intruders, such as viruses and bacteria. To keep us from getting sick, ...
New tool reveals how drugs affect men, women differently -- and will make for safer medications
2023-10-02
UVA Health researchers have developed a powerful new tool to understand how medications affect men and women differently, and that will help lead to safer, more effective drugs in the future.
Women are known to suffer a disproportionate number of liver problems from medications. At the same time, they are typically underrepresented in drug testing. To address this, the UVA scientists have developed sophisticated computer simulations of male and female livers and used them to reveal sex-specific differences in how the tissues are affected by drugs.
The new model has already provided ...
Researchers develop mixture of compounds to help preserve organs before transplantation
2023-10-02
Using zebrafish as a model, investigators have determined a suitable combination of chemical compounds in which to store hearts, and potentially other organs, when frozen for extended periods of time before transplantation.
The work, which is published in The FASEB Journal, involved a variety of methods, including assays at multiple developmental stages, techniques for loading and unloading agents, and the use of viability scores to quantify organ function.
These methods allowed scientists to perform the largest and most comprehensive screen of cryoprotectant agents to determine their toxicity and efficiency at preserving ...
A surprising way to disrupt sleep
2023-10-02
Osaka, Japan - Circadian rhythms, the internal biological clocks that regulate our daily activities, are essential for maintaining health and well-being. While the role of transcription in these rhythms is well-established, a new study sheds light on the critical importance of post-transcriptional processes. The research, titled “Circadian ribosome profiling reveals a role for the Period2 upstream open reading frame in sleep,” to be published in PNAS, redefines our understanding of how translation and post-transcriptional processes influence the body’s internal clock and its impact on sleep patterns.
Timing Is Everything: ...
To Eat or Not to Eat: Targeting autophagy to enhance memory immune responses
2023-10-02
Osaka, Japan – Memory B cells depend on autophagy for their survival, but the protein Rubicon is thought to hinder this process. Researchers from Osaka University have discovered a shorter isoform of Rubicon called RUBCN100, which enhances autophagy in B cells. Mice that lacked the longer isoform, RUBCN130, produced more memory B cells in a way that relied on autophagy. These findings provide further insight into the role of Rubicon in autophagy.
Autophagy is a mechanism that degrades and ...
Researchers find a cause of Parkinson’s disease
2023-10-02
Until recently, our understanding of Parkinson's disease has been quite limited, which has been apparent in the limited treatment options and management of this debilitating condition.
Our recent understanding has primarily revolved around the genetic factors responsible for familial cases, while the causative factors in the vast majority of patients remained unknown.
However, in a new study, researchers from the University of Copenhagen have unveiled new insights into the workings of the brain in Parkinson's patients. Leading the groundbreaking discovery is Professor Shohreh Issazadeh-Navikas.
“For the first time, we can show that mitochondria, ...
Pheromones influence death feigning behavior in beetles
2023-10-02
Predation is a driving force in the evolution of anti-predator strategies, and death feigning, characterized by immobility in response to threats, is a common defensive mechanism across various animal species. While this behavior can enhance an individual's survival prospects by reducing a predator's interest, it also carries costs, such as limited opportunities for feeding and reproduction. Recently, researchers from Okayama University, Japan, investigated how pheromones, important chemical signals that affect foraging and reproduction, might influence death-feigning behavior in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum.
“Male beetles release an aggregation pheromone called ...
Genetics of attraction: mate choice in fruit flies
2023-10-02
Genetic quality or genetic compatibility? What do female fruit flies prioritize when mating? Researchers at the University of Zurich show that both factors are important at different stages of the reproductive process and that females use targeted strategies to optimize the fitness of their offspring.
Breeding female fruit flies face a difficult decision: do they mate with the male that has the best genes, or with the one whose genes best match their own? Evolutionary biologists from the University of Zurich and Concordia University have now investigated ...
FAU Engineering study employs deep learning to explain extreme events
2023-10-02
Identifying the underlying cause of extreme events such as floods, heavy downpours or tornados is immensely difficult and can take a concerted effort by scientists over several decades to arrive at feasible physical explanations.
Extreme events cause significant deviation from expected behavior and can dictate the overall outcome for a number of scientific problems and practical situations. For example, practical scenarios where a fundamental understanding of extreme events can be of vital importance include rogue waves in the ocean that could endanger ships and offshore structures or increasingly ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Rugged Falklands landscape was once a lush rainforest
Dizziness in older adults is linked to higher risk of future falls
Triptans more effective than newer, more expensive migraine drugs
Iron given through the vein corrects iron deficiency anaemia in pregnant women faster and better than iron taken by mouth
The Lancet Neurology: Air pollution, high temperatures, and metabolic risk factors driving global increases in stroke, with latest figures estimating 12 million cases and over 7 million deaths from st
Incidence of neuroleptic malignant syndrome during antipsychotic treatment in children and youth
Levels of protection from different cycle helmets revealed by new ratings
Pupils with SEND continue to fall behind their peers
Half of heavier drinkers say calorie labels on alcohol would lead to a change in their drinking habits
Study first to link operating room design to shorter surgery
New study uncovers therapeutic inertia in the treatment of women with multiple sclerosis
Cancer Cooperative Group leaders propose a re-engineering of the nation’s correlative science program for cancer
Nawaz named ASME Fellow
U2opia signs license to commercialize anomaly-detection technology for cybersecurity
Explaining dramatic planetwide changes after world’s last ‘Snowball Earth’ event
Cleveland Clinic study is first to show success in treating rare blood disorder
Bone marrow cancer drug shows success in treatment of rare blood disorder
Clinical trial successfully repurposes cancer drug for hereditary bleeding disorder
UVA Engineering professor awarded $1.6M EPA grant to reduce PFAS accumulation in crops
UVA professor receives OpenAI grant to inform next-generation AI systems
New website helps researchers overcome peer reviewers’ preference for animal experiments
Can the MIND diet lower the risk of memory problems later in life?
Some diabetes drugs tied to lower risk of dementia, Parkinson’s disease
Propagated corals reveal increased resistance to bleaching across the Caribbean during the fatal heatwave of 2023
South African rock art possibly inspired by long-extinct species
Even marine animals in untouched habitats are at risk from human impacts
Hexagonal electrohydraulic modules shape-shift into versatile robots
Flexible circuits made with silk and graphene on the horizon
Scott Emr and Wesley Sundquist awarded 2024 Horwitz Prize for discovering the ESCRT pathway
Versatile knee exo for safer lifting
[Press-News.org] Differences in mortality rates for fatal cerebral haemorrhage between Finnish university hospitalsThe prognosis for subarachnoid haemorrhage varies greatly between Finnish university hospitals. Patients treated at Helsinki University Hospital and Oulu University Hospital had the lowest mortality rates in Finland, as indicated by a research dataset spa