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In this study, we developed auto-graded quizzes for practice and for summative assessment, covering drugs of relevance in the undergraduate clinical psychiatry and neurology courses in medical school. The underlying intention was to combine repetition of theoretical aspects and promoting progression to the clinical context. The quizzes were implemented in two steps. After the courses in question were completed, before and after the first as well as the second step of quiz implementation, the students' achieved level of knowledge was investigated by a voluntary formative test/questionnaire including 20 patient-based single best answer questions. In the first step, voluntary practice quizzes and a summative assessment test were introduced. In the second step, a clinical context was provided to the quizzes, using the structure of the practical manual to good prescribing issued by the World Health Organization in 1994. Furthermore, the summative test was expanded for improved constructive alignment, exposing the students to the drug-related course content to a greater extent. In all, 274 students out of 404 participated in the study (response rate: 68%; 56% women; 66% ≤24 years). Compared with before the quiz implementation (median number of correct answers: 10 [interquartile range: 9-13]), no difference was seen after the first step (11 [8-13]; P=0.88) but a clear improvement appeared after the second step (14 [12-16]; P<0.0001). After the second step, the students reported having used all (17%), most (22%), some (32%), or no (29%) practice quizzes. The extent of use was positively correlated with the number of correct answers in the formative test (r=0.33; P=0.002). After the second step, the student-reported number of attempts at the assessment quiz was in median 6 times (interquartile range: 3-9). There was a negative correlation between the number of quiz attempts and the extent of use of practice quizzes (r=-0.22; P=0.034) as well as the number of correct answers in the formative test (r=-0.44; P<0.0001). In conclusion, practice and assessment quizzes about drugs, elaborated with clinical context and constructive alignment, may increase pharmacotherapeutic knowledge in medical students.

The term »the diabetic hand« traditionally denotes complications affecting the hand in individuals with diabetes mellitus, such as restricted finger movement, numbness, and pain. Trigger finger, Dupuytren's disease, carpal tunnel syndrome, ulnar nerve entrapment, and osteoarthritis of the first carpometacarpal joint are all conditions that are more prevalent among individuals with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. This overview aims to shed light on a somewhat neglected area in diabetes complications, i.e. the diabetic hand, to increase the knowledge among physicians and surgeons as well as nurses, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists treating patients with diabetes.

The article discusses the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare's recommendations regarding arthroscopic surgery in the knee joint and the updated National Guidelines for Musculoskeletal Diseases from 2021. It emphasizes the ongoing discussion within the orthopedic profession and aims to summarize constructive discussions between the National Board of Health and Welfare, the Swedish Orthopedic Association, and the National program board for Musculoskeletal Diseases. The text notes a significant decrease in knee arthroscopies due to knee osteoarthritis and degenerative meniscus injuries over the past decade although 5,000 and 6,000 arthroscopies were performed in 2022 due to knee osteoarthritis or degenerative meniscus rupture. The reasons for the continued performance of the procedure are discussed, including the lack of a precise definition of »degenerative meniscus rupture« and interpretation differences within the profession. A recent report from the National Board of Health and Welfare indicates that the profession has largely embraced the recommendations from 2012, but there are significant regional differences in the number of performed arthroscopies. The text emphasizes the need for clearer recommendations, refined data collection, and constructive dialogue to improve the implementation of the National Board of Health and Welfare's recommendations and reduce the use of procedures classified as »not recommended.« The authors believe that continuous dialogue and follow-up are necessary to decrease the use of procedures not recommended in the guidelines.

The antibiotic stewardship round (ASR) is a way to use the knowledge of the infectious disease (ID) specialist to audit and assess the treatment with antibiotics and promote rational use. We implemented ASRs twice a week in two geriatric hospitals and weekly in advanced home care facilities during 9 weeks. All patients treated with antibiotics were discussed and advice regarding the antibiotic treatment was given. In 25 percent of the cases the ID specialist found that the ASR made a difference to the treatment plan, and in 10,8 percent of cases the antibiotic treatment could be discontinued. Other common advice was to switch from intravenous to oral administration and shorten the number of treatment days. Thus, ASRs were found to be an intervention associated with lower and more rational antibiotic use and should be considered an important tool for antimicrobial stewardship in geriatric hospitals.

Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) have increased prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) at an earlier age than the general population. Diagnostic tools that can improve diagnosis and treatment of dementia in DS and differentiate between dementia and intellectual disabilities include cognitive batteries, sensitive plasma assays, and PET imaging for amyloid and tau. Adults with DS should be included in memory clinic assessments and offered appropriate medications available to the general population with dementia. The Swedish dementia registry, SveDem, has added the diagnosis AD due to the genetic overload in DS, providing a national diagnostic registry for those with DS.

Pediatric chronic pain is common and frequently results in reduced wellbeing and functioning. Limited knowledge among health care professionals has motivated a national care program for pediatric chronic pain to increase the standard of care for this group. Emphasizing a biopsychosocial approach, treatment should focus on self-management of pain and distress to increase resilience, functioning and wellbeing. Furthermore, close collaborations between relevant stakeholders, such as families, healthcare, and school, is critical for optimal and sustained effects.

As the finances of health care providers are increasingly strained, discussions about the closure of some of the emergency hospitals in Sweden have reemerged. I have reviewed the 39 closures that have occurred over the last half century. The closures have come in two distinct waves. The first wave, peaking in 1970-74, was driven by staffing problems with concerns about the quality of care. The second, more prolonged wave occurred in 1995-2004, caused by healthcare providers' strained economy. In 2024, the first closure of an emergency hospital since 2010 occurred and the future of several emergency hospitals is being investigated. A low population in the hospital catchment area has been a strong predictor of hospital closure, but the closure has seldom been followed by a marked population drop. Major arguments in the current debate on emergency hospital closures are listed. The process from a first external evaluation to final closure has followed a stereotypic, often dramatic pattern.

The Seymour fracture is a pediatric fracture involving the growth plate of the distal phalanx. It is associated with an overlying nail bed injury, and the child often presents with difficulties to extend fully in the distal joint. If not treated properly it can result in infections such as osteomyelitis or lead to deformities and growth disturbances. Since the extent of the damage of the nail bed can range from more obvious crush injuries to small lacerations of the matrix it can easily be missed in the more subtle cases. Early administration of prophylactic antibiotics, reduction of the fracture and repair of the nail bed are necessary for a good prognosis.

The Swedish Intensive Care Registry collects and analyses data regarding intensive care in Sweden. Based on this data an overview can be created regarding available hospital beds and occupancy rates in Swedish intensive care, as well as demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients, and their survival. Through this, identification of patient groups with poorer prognosis is possible, facilitating reflection of the appropriateness of intensive care and invasive procedures that may cause discomfort to the patient.

Priority setting at intensive care units is legally regulated in accordance with the so-called ethical platform, which states that all priorities must be based on three lexically ranked principles: the principle of human dignity (a ban on discrimination, e.g. based on social standing), the principle of needs and solidarity, and the principle of cost-effectiveness. Prioritization for intensive care is particularly difficult as it requires comparisons between widely different patient categories, occurs in acute situations and is fraught with great uncertainty about the prognosis. Sometimes the degree of severity is maximal for several patients: without treatment, they die. Then treatment effect and cost-effectiveness become more decisive for prioritization decisions. Moreover, withholding and withdrawing intensive care are increasingly considered as morally equivalent. Difficult priority decisions risk moral stress among the intensive care staff.