The distribution of cardiac diagnostic testing for acute coronary syndrome in the Brazilian healthcare system: A national geospatial evaluation of health access.

Background: Little is known about the utilization of cardiac diagnostic testing in Brazil and how such testing is related with local rates of acute coronary syndrome (ACS)-related mortality.

Methods And Results: Using data from DATASUS, the public national healthcare database, absolute counts of diagnostic tests performed were calculated for each of the 5570 municipalities and mapped. Spatial error regression and geographic weighted regression models were used to describe the geographic variation in the association between ACS mortality, income, and access to diagnostic testing.

Potential Cost-effectiveness of Early Identification of Hospital-acquired Infection in Critically Ill Patients.

Rationale: Limitations in methods for the rapid diagnosis of hospital-acquired infections often delay initiation of effective antimicrobial therapy. New diagnostic approaches offer potential clinical and cost-related improvements in the management of these infections.

Objectives: We developed a decision modeling framework to assess the potential cost-effectiveness of a rapid biomarker assay to identify hospital-acquired infection in high-risk patients earlier than standard diagnostic testing.

Dental visits to a North Carolina emergency department: a painful problem.

Background: Emergency departments (EDs) act as the safety net and alternative care site for patients without insurance who have dental pain.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of visits to an urban teaching hospital ED over a 12-month period, looking at patients who presented with a chief complaint or ICD code indicating dental pain, toothache, or dental abscess.

Results: The number of visits to this ED by patients with a dental complaint was 1,013, representing approximately 1.