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Abstracts fra Bibliotek for Læger 1/2013

14. sep. 2018
4 min.

Originalartikel: Kampen om metadon i 1970’ernes Danmark

Medikalisering af behandling for stofmisbrug
Esben Houborg

 

The controversy about methadone in Denmark in the 1970ies

The medicalisation of the treatment of opioid addiction

Bibl Læger 2013;205:4-36

 

In this article I analyse the controversy of methadone treatment for opioid addiction in Denmark in the 1970ies. The analysis was based on official documents, newspaper articles and correspondence between different actors and institutions. Two key concepts guided the analysis: “political pharmacology” and “medicalization”, and facilitated to highlight how social and political issues on one hand and technical and treatment issues on the other entangled during the methadone controversy. There were two main camps in the methadone controversy during the 1970s. On one hand persons within the official politico-administrative apparatus and treatment system that rejected methadone treatment on the ground that it would undermine efforts to remove the more fundamental causes of drug abuse. On the other hand persons outside the official system that wanted to introduce long term detoxification and methadone maintenance treatment. A very restrictive methadone policy was established in 1973, but partly as a result of the persistence of the proponents of methadone treatment a new slightly more accommodating policy was established in 1979. Today methadone is considered an uncontroversial aspect of treatment for opioid addiction.

 

 
Originalartikel: Bhutans medicinske historie
Bjørn Melgaard, Keld Nielsen & Tandi Dorji

 

Bhutan’s medical history

Bibl Læger 2013;37-59.

 

In this paper we present an overview of the history of traditional and western medicine in Bhutan. Traditional medicine has developed over centuries into a distinct system with its own teaching institution, herbal medicine production and treatment facilities. Western medicine was introduced relatively recently, but is widely adopted and has had considerable success, for example in the eradication of leprosy and iodine-deficiency. The kings and the governments have prioritised health, and health services are free and widely available. Today, Bhutan has a comprehensive primary health care approach and good access to a wide network of health facilities. The two medical systems coexist with inbuilt tensions between deep-rooted cultural-medical tradition and modern bio-medical rationality.

 

 
Et billede fra min hverdag
Niels Saxtrup

 
Originalartikel: Kulilteforgiftning gennem tiderne
Jens Steensberg

 

Carbon monoxide poisoning through the ages

Bibl Læger 2013;205:62-87.

 

This paper describes carbon monoxide poisoning from antiquity to recent days. The lethal capacity of smoke was well known in ancient Rome, but the underlying mechanism was not unravelled then nor through the Middle Ages. During 1500-1700 scientists made experiments on animals and human beings, but it was not until the 19th century that the pathophysiological factors were elucidated, especially it was established that carbon monoxide was the causal poisoning agent in smoke. Particularly heating appliances and (during the last part of the century) gas illumination caused illness and death. During the 20th century research did not lead to important additional pathophysiological knowledge, but the treatment of victims improved. Utility gas was used as a means of suicide, and particularly gas water heaters led to accidental poisonings. Towards the end of the century exhaust gas from automobiles was increasingly used to suicide attempts. Through the ages carbon monoxide has led to more deaths than all other gases. However, carbon monoxide is inextricably linked to human life. As medical doctors it is our task to prevent unintentional exposure and to reduce the availability of this all too effective suicidal method.

 
Kvartalets genstand
Morten A. Skydsgaard

 

 
Originalartikel: Fra kurbad til hospitalsafdeling

Afdeling for Rygmarvsskader i Hornbæk igennem 60 år – 1952-2012
Fin Biering-Sørensen & Hanne Gregersen

 

From spa to hospital department

Clinic for Spinal Cord Injuries in Hornbæk through 60 years – 1952-2012

Bibl Læger 2013;205:90-103.

 

The hospital in Hornbæk was established in November 1952 in a former fashionable seaside hotel. The hospital’s main objective was treating children paralysed from poliomyelitis. When the polio-epidemic of the 1950’ies came to an end other patient categories with severe physical disabilities were admitted. The hospital was repeatedly threatened with closure. A modernisation of the building was completed in 1988. Today the hospital treats patients with spinal cord lesions only. Initially the hospital was operated by “Samfundet og Hjemmet for Vanføre” (The Society and Home for Disabled), but in 1980 it was taken over by the Danish State and established as a department of Rigshospitalet. This facilitated an extensive cooperation, including research, with the other departments at Rigshospitalet working with the many challenged individuals with spinal cord lesions face. From 1995 to 2007 the department was a part of the Capital Hospital Cooperation (H:S) and later of the Capital Region. This article describes the 60 years of transformation of the hospital in Hornbæk from a seaside spa to a modern hospital department, a history of turbulent administrative changes and considerable clinical progress.