News archive

A lorry explodes on the E4 motorway, there is a fire at the Hovet arena, someone takes hostages at Tom Titts, there's an explosion at Arlanda - it all happens at the same time and the medical services in Region Stockholm have to deal with a large number of injured patients at once. Fortunately, it was all just an exercise. The exercise, which is part of the TKS course, now aims to be developed into a national course concept.

On Thursday, 28 March, the Sune Bergström auditorium at Karolinska University Hospital was filled with Ukrainian paramedics, when the hospital, together with the Centre for Health Crises at Karolinska Institutet, arranged a visit dedicated to the exchange of experiences, discussions, and guided tours.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have evaluated the possibility of alerting drones equipped with automated external defibrillators (AED) to patients with suspected cardiac arrest. In more than half of the cases, the drones were ahead of the ambulance by an average of three minutes. In cases where the patient was in cardiac arrest, the drone-delivered defibrillator was used in a majority of cases. The results have been published in the journal The Lancet Digital Health.

Monitoring brain injury biomarkers and glucose variation in patients who have suffered an acute cranial injury during the entire first week of hospitalisation can provide a more accurate picture of the pathological process. This is according to a paper by researchers at Karolinska Institutet published in The Lancet Neurology. It is hoped that their findings can eventually lead to more personalised treatment.

Volunteer so-called SMS lifesavers in Sweden, who are alerted to cardiac arrests nearby using a mobile app, perform a large part of life-saving efforts before the ambulance, police or emergency services arrive, regardless if they are instructed to collect the nearest defibrillator or not. This is according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in JAMA Cardiology.

When others run away from bad things, Johan von Schreeb can be found dashing towards them. He has a wealth of experience in bringing order to chaotic situations – but as an administrator, he’s a complete disaster. Meet the professor who wants to control the health crises of the future.

A study in rural Malawi underscores the need for better clinical management of severely ill children with very low blood sugar or blood oxygen levels. The study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the Parent and Child Health Initiative in Malawi, among others, found high mortality rates for children with either of these symptoms even when they were admitted to a hospital. The findings are published in the journal Bulletin of the World Health Organisation.

Critical illness and intensive care can affect patients and their families long after discharge from hospital. In her doctoral thesis at Karolinska Institutet, intensive care nurse Gisela Vogel has studied different strategies used to manage critical illness and care in an intensive care unit, from when the patient becomes critically ill until the return to everyday life.

Socioeconomic factors affect the risk of cardiovascular disease and the chances of recovery. New research from Karolinska Institutet interrogates the significance of socioeconomic factors for sudden out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The study, which is published in Circulation, shows that education and income impact survival rates in both men and women.

Critical illness results in millions of deaths globally every year, many of which could be avoided with basic, life-saving care. Now, a new study led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet outlines a baseline bundle of care interventions that global experts agree should be available for all critically ill patients. The study, published in the journal BMJ Global Health, provides a blueprint for hospitals on how to reduce preventable deaths, including from COVID-19.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden can now report the results of a unique pilot project where drones were used to deliver defibrillators to real-life alerts of suspected cardiac arrest. The drones were dispatched in more than a fifth of the emergencies and arrived on target and ahead of the ambulance in most cases. The results are published in the European Heart Journal and presented today at the European Society of Cardiology congress.

Hi Rita Fernholm, PhD-student at the Division of Family Medicine and Primary care. On March 9 you will defend your thesis ”Patient safety in primary and emergency care”, what's the main focus of the thesis?

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have carried out the first randomised trial of civilians with acute conflict-related wounds at two hospitals in areas affected by armed conflict. The study, which is published in The Lancet Global Health, shows that a new, more costly method of wound treatment is not more effective than standard treatment. The researchers hope to inspire new research projects in conflict zones that could improve the care for these vulnerable patients.

Patients with a near relative that has experienced a myocardial infarction, has an over 60 % increased risk of also being afflicted when attending the emergency with chest pain. Researchers from Karolinska Institutet have observed this association by combining data in a completely new way. The results are published in European Heart Journal: Acute Cardiovascular Care.