Helena Varonen

..Guidelines have been proposed as a means to change the professional practices...

..If the criterion for AMS diagnosis were fluid in maxillary sinuses in ultrasound instead of clinical impression, the number of antibiotic prescriptions would be reduced by half in primary care...

..To compare antibiotics and placebo in patients with clinically diagnosed acute maxillary sinusitis (AMS). To study whether sinus ultrasound examination would help to detect those patients who benefit from antibiotic therapy...

..To study the views of patients and physicians on the management of suspected acute maxillary sinusitis and on suggested changes in practice...

..To study the management of acute maxillary sinusitis (AMS) in Finnish primary care and to compare it both to recommendations in national guidelines and to the management of other upper respiratory tract infections (URTI)...

..We also discuss the barriers and facilitators to our process and present ideas for future development...

..Upper extremity disorders (UED) are prevalent in working populations. This study investigates the prevalence, magnitude, and associated factors of on-the-job productivity loss among workers with UED...

..New evidence-based guidelines for AOM, focusing on children under 7 years of age, were introduced in Finland in 1999. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of implementing those guidelines in Finland...

..A national 5-year follow-up study of infection-specific antibiotic use in primary care was conducted to see if prescribing practices change after implementing new treatment guidelines...

..Shoulder pain is prevalent and a common cause of disability at work and daily activities. Some studies suggest an association between risk factors of atherosclerosis and shoulder pain and disorders...

..However, more prospective studies are needed in order to further clarify these associations and the mechanisms of action...

..However, the association between atherosclerosis and sciatica remains unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between carotid intima-media thickness and sciatica...

..Recommendations given are based on the principles of evidence-based medicine, with the level of evidence presented...

..To investigate the role of hand dominance in common upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders (UEMSD) in a population study...

..To identify potential barriers and facilitators to implementing computerized decision support systems (CDSSs) in health care as perceived by clinicians...

..Epicondylitis is relatively common among working-age individuals in the general population. Physical load factors, smoking, and obesity are strong determinants of epicondylitis...

..To describe return-to-work services for employees on sick leave offered by Finnish occupational health services (OHS)...

..Symptoms and health problems caused or aggravated by work are common. In order to study perceived work ability and associated factors, including those related to work, a closer analysis was undertaken in an occupational health setting...

..In addition, the annual rank between high, medium and low prescriber groups remained stable; high group prescribed more antibiotics during the year than medium group, which prescribed more than low prescriber group...

..Especially, the use of antihistamines with or without sympathomimetics, mostly the combination of acrivastine and pseudoephedrine, was common although antihistamines were recommended only for patients with allergy or nasal polyps...

..These data comprised 3059 Finnish primary care acute otitis media patients. We found that 10.4% of the patients were prescribed or recommended analgesics, which is in contrast to treatment recommendations...

..Diagnostic tests were underused in respiratory tract infections compared to evidence-based recommendations...

..Our system for guiding these complex judgments balances the need for simplicity with the need for full and transparent consideration of all important issues...

..We undertook a meta-analysis of randomised trials based on individual patients' data to assess whether common signs and symptoms can be used to identify a subgroup of patients who benefit from antibiotics...