Clinical trials

This study examines how hand grip strength changes over the course of a competitive ice hockey season in elite male and female players. Hand grip strength is a simple and widely used measure of upper-body strength and functional capacity. It is often used in sports science and clinical settings, but it is unclear whether grip strength remains stable throughout a season or changes depending on training load, match exposure, and fatigue. In this study, elite ice hockey players from Swedish teams will have their grip strength measured at four timepoints during one season: pre-season, early season, mid-season, and late season. Both dominant and non-dominant hand strength will be assessed using a standardized dynamometer and protocol. The main purpose is to determine how much grip strength varies within individual players over time and whether a single measurement can be considered representative of a player's true strength level across a season. The study will also evaluate the reliability of grip strength measurements and whether observed changes are large enough to be meaningful in a clinical or performance context. No intervention is performed, and all measurements are non-invasive and conducted as part of routine testing environments within participating teams.

This is a cross-sectional survey study investigating how medical team staff in elite Swedish ice hockey perceive hand and wrist injuries in male and female players. Hand and wrist injuries are common in ice hockey and can affect both performance and participation. While injury registries describe how often these injuries occur, less is known about how they are managed and prioritised in daily clinical practice, or whether there are differences in perception between medical teams working in male and female elite leagues. In this study, physiotherapists and team physicians working in Swedish elite ice hockey (including SHL, HockeyAllsvenskan, and SDHL) will complete a structured questionnaire. The survey examines perceptions of injury frequency, underreporting, functional impact, clinical management strategies, and return-to-play decision-making related to hand and wrist injuries. The aim is to better understand how medical teams experience and manage these injuries in real-world elite sport settings, and to identify potential gaps between epidemiological data and clinical practice. The study may help inform future injury prevention strategies, improve clinical decision-making, and support the development of more standardized management approaches in elite ice hockey. No interventions or treatments are performed in this study.

Ice hockey places high physical demands on the hands and wrists due to frequent shooting, passing, and physical contact. This study aims to understand how common hand and wrist pain or symptoms are among ice hockey players in Sweden, and how these symptoms affect training, participation, and performance. Players from different competitive levels (elite, junior, and amateur) and both sexes will complete a structured questionnaire based on the validated Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre (OSTRC) tool, along with questions about pain intensity, symptom characteristics, and functional impact. The goal is to describe the prevalence and severity of hand and wrist symptoms across different groups of players and to identify potential differences between sex, playing level, and position. No treatment or intervention is involved.

This study measures hand grip strength in male and female ice hockey players across different Swedish leagues to create reference (normative) values for adult players. Hand grip strength is a simple test of how strongly a person can squeeze with their hand. Although it seems basic, it reflects overall upper-body strength and is widely used in both sports science and healthcare. In this project, players from different levels of ice hockey (including professional men's and women's leagues, junior players, and recreational players if available) will have their grip strength measured using a standardized hand dynamometer. Measurements will be taken in a consistent way across all participating clubs. The main goal is to build a reference database showing what "normal" grip strength looks like in ice hockey players depending on sex, league level, and playing position. This can help coaches, medical staff, and researchers better understand strength profiles in hockey athletes, support training and rehabilitation decisions, and provide benchmarks for future studies. No treatment or intervention is given as part of the study.

Participant information sheet Mastectomy is a surgical method used to treat breast cancer. A mastectomy involves the removal of the entire breast. A common postoperative complication after a mastectomy is seroma, i.e. an abnormal accumulation of serous fluid in the wound cavity. At present, at Falu Lasarett, we use conventional dressings on the wound after the operation as well as an active drainage that is left in place for a couple of days. There is research that suggests that negative pressure dressings can promote wound healing and reduce the formation of seroma. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether negative pressure dressings reduce the risk of postoperative seroma compared to regular dressings. We will also look at whether it reduces the risk of other postoperative complications such as infection, bleeding and wound healing problems. We are asking all patients who will undergo a mastectomy in 2025 if they want to participate in our study. The Director of Research, Education and Innovation is the authorized representative of the research principal (which is the legal entity Region Dalarna). Research principal means the organization responsible for the project. The research is approved by the Ethics Review Authority, the registry number for the trial at the Ethics Review Authority is 2025-00006-01. How does the project work? Participating in our study means that on the day of surgery you will be randomized between two groups. One group will receive conventional wound dressings, and the other group will receive PICO negative pressure dressings. The negative pressure dressing is connected to a small canister that is worn for 7 days. Just like today, there will be a return visit to the nurse in the surgery ward after a day to check and possibly remove the active drain. There will also be a return visit to the doctor after 2-3 weeks for results of the tissue analysis and information about further treatment. The additional visit if you participate in our study is a return visit to the nurse after 7 days to remove the PICO negative pressure dressing (if you belong to that group). A return visit to the nurse is also planned after 6 months as a follow-up. If you have any questions or problems, you can contact your contact nurse. Possible consequences and risks of participating in the project The PICO negative pressure dressing is connected to a cord with a small canister that must be carried with you. The canister fits in a pocket. The canister is on 24 hours a day and emits a light vibration sound. What happens to your data? The project will collect and register information about you. Information about your medical history, measurements, medications, type of surgical procedure, number of return visits after surgery and postoperative complications will be collected from your medical record to analyze our results. The data will be pseudonymized and entered into a password-protected Excel document for analysis. The code key is stored in a lock-protected Excel file. The code key is processed so that unauthorized persons cannot access it. Your answers and your results will be processed so that unauthorized persons cannot access them. The code key and research data are stored for 10 years in accordance with research ethics because it should be possible to go back to the research data and re-analyze if question marks arise about our analysis methods. The data protection officer of Region Dalarna is responsible for your personal data. According to the EU Data Protection Regulation, you have the right to access the data about you that is handled in the project free of charge, and to have any errors corrected if necessary. You can also request that data about you be deleted and that the processing of your personal data be restricted. However, the right to deletion and restriction of processing of personal data does not apply when the data is necessary for the current research. If you would like to access the data, please contact the principal investigator (Rebecca Paul, [email protected], 023 490760). The data protection officer can be reached at [email protected], Tel: 023-490000. If you are dissatisfied with how your personal data is processed, you have the right to file a complaint with the Swedish Data Protection Authority, which is the supervisory authority. How do you get information about the results of the project? You can access your individual data in your medical record. The results of the entire study will be reported internally at Kirurgkliniken Falu Lasarett and are intended to be published in a scientific journal. Unforeseen findings will be handled through follow-up and, if necessary, treatment. Insurance and compensation Patient insurance valid through the research principal. You will not receive compensation as the study is part of a planned procedure. Participation is voluntary.

Acute or chronic cardiac dysfunction could be a contributing factor to swimming-induced pulmonary edema (SIPE). Knowledge on cardiac function in SIPE is limited and recommendations for cardiac evaluation of patients with SIPE are lacking. The present study was designed to assess cardiac function in patients with SIPE and in asymptomatic swimmers.

In swimming induced pulmonary edema (SIPE), there is a lack of knowledge regarding optimal treatment. The present study was designed to assess the benefit of treatment with positive expiratory pressure device (PEP-device) compared to spontaneous recovery in patients with SIPE without hypoxia in the out-of-hospital environment.

In swimming induced pulmonary edema (SIPE), there is a lack of knowledge regarding optimal treatment. The present study was designed to assess the benefit of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) compared to oxygen as a first line treatment of SIPE in the out-of-hospital environment.

Acute facial nerve palsy occur in 10-20/100 000 children/year in Sweden. About 20 % of these children will have persistent symptoms with excessive tear secretion, drooling and social problems due to asymmetry in the face. Studies on cortisone treatment to adult patients with acute facial nerve palsy have shown beneficial effects, but no studies with strong quality have been performed in children. Investigators will perform a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled multicenter trial on children with acute facial nerve palsy. Participants will be recruited consecutively at 9-12 study centers in Sweden during 2019-2020. Oral cortisone (prednisolone) 1 mg/kg x 1 in 10 days (or placebo) will be started on admission. Clinical data, including recovery will be followed-up until 12 months. The primary outcome is defined as total recovery of the facial nerve palsy, measured with the House-Brackmann scale (grade 1) at 12-months follow-up. The overall purpose is to assess the utility of cortisone treatment given to children with acute facial nerve palsy in this study. If the total recovery rate is significantly improved in the prednisolone group as compared to the placebo group, prednisolone treatment will be introduced in clinical practice for children with acute facial nerve palsy in order to reduce the risk of persistent symptoms.

Cancer is a complex disease; its different causes and types have a strong impact on patient treatment and prognosis. To improve understanding of the disease, its causes and progression, the investigators will develop a simple, cost-effective system for continuous control of mucosal lesions with non-invasive brush biopsy that can be managed in primary dental care, as an alternative to tissue biopsy in order to reduce the number of oral cavity cancers.