Surgical safety checklist audits may be misleading! Improving the implementation and adherence of the surgical safety checklist: a quality improvement project.

Despite good quality evidence for benefits with its use, challenges have been encountered in the correct and consistent implementation of the surgical safety checklist (SSC). Previous studies of the SSC have reported a discrepancy between what is documented and what is observed in real time. A baseline observational audit at our institution demonstrated compliance of only 3.

The Challenges of Outcomes-Based Contract Implementation for Medicines in Europe.

Objectives: The aim was to outline the challenges of implementing outcomes-based contracts (OBCs) in Europe.

Methods: A scoping review was conducted, building on the searches of a previous systematic review and updating them for December 2017 until May 2021. The combined results were screened, based on inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Economic value of insertable cardiac monitors in unexplained syncope in the United States.

Introduction: Early use of insertable cardiac monitor (ICM) is recommended for patients with unexplained syncope following initial clinical workup, due to its superior ability to establish symptom-rhythm correlation compared with conventional testing (CONV). However, ICMs incur higher upfront costs, and the impact of additional diagnoses and resulting treatment on downstream costs and outcomes is unclear. We aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of ICM compared with CONV for the diagnosis of arrhythmia in patients with unexplained syncope, from a US payer perspective.

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Alternative Antiviral Strategies for the Treatment of HBeAg-Positive and HBeAg-Negative Chronic Hepatitis B in the United Kingdom.

Background: Seven drugs are licensed for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in the United Kingdom. Which initial treatment, secondary therapy, and whether antivirals should be given alone or in combination are questions of considerable uncertainty.

Objective: The aim of this model was to undertake a comprehensive economic evaluation of all antiviral treatments for CHB to recommend the most cost-effective therapeutic sequence.

Care in the Home for the Management of Chronic Heart Failure: Systematic Review and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

Background: The objective of this study was to determine the effect of care in the home (CHM) compared with usual care (UC) in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) on clinical outcomes and healthcare use including a cost-effectiveness analysis.

Methods: A systematic literature search on MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, the Cochrane Library, as well as Centre for Reviews and Dissemination was conducted to identify randomized controlled trials comparing CHM with UC in CHF. The randomized controlled trials meeting inclusion criteria were meta-analyzed by outcome, and the quality of evidence for each outcome was evaluated using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system.

The appropriate use of neuroimaging in the diagnostic work-up of dementia: an economic literature review and cost-effectiveness analysis.

Background: Structural brain imaging is often performed to establish the underlying causes of dementia. However, recommendations differ as to who should receive neuroimaging and whether computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) should be used.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the cost-effectiveness in Ontario of offering structural imaging to all patients with mild to moderate dementia compared with offering it selectively according to guidelines from the Canadian Consensus Conference on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Dementia (CCC).

The cost-effectiveness of supervised exercise for the treatment of intermittent claudication.

Background: Supervised exercise (SE) is thought to result in improvements in walking distance and quality of life compared with unsupervised exercise (USE) in people with intermittent claudication. However, the cost-effectiveness of SE is unclear. As a result, many patients are currently unable to access supervised programmes.

Intermittent self catheterisation with hydrophilic, gel reservoir, and non-coated catheters: a systematic review and cost effectiveness analysis.

Objective: To determine the most effective and cost effective type of catheter for patients performing intermittent self catheterisation in the community.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Results were incorporated into a probabilistic Markov model to compare lifetime costs and quality adjusted life years (QALYs).

Systematic review of the impact of urinary tract infections on health-related quality of life.

What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? Values for equivalent health states can vary substantially depending on the measure used and method of valuation; this has a direct impact on the results of economic analyses. To date, the majority of existing economic evaluations that include UTI as a health state refer to an analysis in which the Index of Well Being was used to estimate the quality of life experienced by young women with UTIs. Currently, there are no validated methods or filters for systematically searching for the type of generic quality of life data required for decision analytic models.

The nerve of osteoarthritis pain.

Objective: Cumulative data suggest that central sensitization may contribute to pain in osteoarthritis (OA) and present with symptoms typically associated with neuropathic pain (NP). We evaluated the responses from focus group participants on the knee OA pain experience for pain descriptions that suggest NP.

Methods: Focus group transcripts were analyzed by 2 independent assessors for unprompted use of pain descriptors that suggested NP.

The cost of somatisation among the working-age population in England for the year 2008-2009.

Medically unexplained symptoms are one of the most commonly encountered symptoms across all healthcare settings. They are also responsible for a large proportion of disability in the workforce and decreased quality of life. These patients represent an important clinical phenomenon with considerable direct and indirect economic consequences.

Simultaneous determination of anthracyclines and taxanes in human serum using online sample extraction coupled to high performance liquid chromatography with UV detection.

An online SPE-LC method that can determine both anthracyclines and taxanes simultaneously in human serum samples is reported. The entire method of extraction, separation and UV detection was achieved online by column switching between an SPE column (Biotrap 500 (20 x 4 mm)) and an analytical column (Zorbax XDB C18, 150 x 4.6 mm, 5 microm) with a 23 min total cycle time.

Use of a Monoclonal Antibody-Based Immunoassay for the Detection and Quantification of Heliscus lugdunensis Colonizing Alder Leaves and Roots.

A genus-specific monoclonal antibody, NG-CF10, raised in a previous study to the fungal pathogen Nectria galligena, was found to recognize the aquatic hyphomycete Heliscus lugdunensis (anamorph) and its teleomorph Nectria lugdunensis. Using this MAb in a plate trapped antigen- ELISA we could detect and determine the biomass of Heliscus lugdunensis in mixed assemblages in both naturally occurring and artificially inoculated leaves and roots of Alnus glutinosa trees. Initial studies indicate that the biomass associated with naturally occurring leaf material is significantly lower than that recorded with laboratory inoculated leaves, suggesting that biomass production is limited in the natural environment.

Infection control and HIV-related discrimination and anxiety. Glove use during venipuncture.

Objective: Reports into HIV-related discrimination reveal continuing concerns about the behaviour of health care workers, particularly with reference to practices such as excessive or selective infection control. This study examines whether the selective adoption of an infection control procedure (using gloves during venipuncture) is related to discriminatory attitudes, anxiety about HIV/AIDS and the degree of contact with HIV-infected patients.

Method: In 1993 and 1994, 451 general practitioners (GPs) were surveyed in six of the 12 New South Wales Health Areas and Regions.

HIV-related discrimination: a survey of New South Wales general practitioners.

This study aimed to investigate the correlates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related discrimination among general practitioners. The survey, conducted in 1993-1994, covered a random sample of 878 general practitioners from six of the 12 New South Wales health areas, augmented by 44-general practitioners from the same areas who were antiretroviral drug prescribers. The response rate was 51 per cent, and the final usable sample was 451.

Monoclonal antibodies as tools to quantify mycelium of aquatic hyphomycetes.

Quantitative ELISAs have been developed to determine the biomass of two aquatic hyphomycetes in natural mixed assemblages. These assays employ a species specific rat monoclonal antibody (MAb) raised to Alatospora acuminata and a genus-specific murine MAb raised to Tetracladium marchalianum. The respective antigens are produced constitutively and their production is not affected by a range- of culture conditions.

Development of a monoclonal antibody-based immunoassay for the detection and quantification of Anguillospora longissima colonizing leaf material.

Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to the aquatic hyphomycete Anguillospora longissima were raised in mice by using a coimmunization program. A cell line was raised that produced a MAb of the immunoglobulin M class that was specific for A. longissima both in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and by immunofluorescence but that did not recognize other members of the aquatic hyphomycetes.

Exposure of council and forestry workers to 2,4,5-T.

The exposure of council and forestry workers to 2,4,5-T, a plant poison, has been monitored for a period of two years. It was found that the excessive urine levels of 2,4,5-T fell dramatically once the exposure was minimized. Therefore, the use of protective clothing and adoption of measures to prevent inhalation exposure are essential.

Poisoning by carbamate pesticides.

In recent years the number of carbamate pesticides registered for use in New South Wales has increased. Some of the newer carbamates are very toxic and have cholinergic properties similar to those of the organic phosphates, though the effect is of much shorter duration. Because of this, separate tests for plasma and red blood cell levels of cholinesterase should be conducted as soon as possible after exposure in order to obtain meaningful results.