Improving the organization of consultation departments in university hospitals.

Rationale: Changes in the demography of doctors require changes in care practices.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with doctors' workload in the ophthalmology consultation department of a university hospital, with a view to developing methods to improve the organization of hospital outpatient clinics.

Methods: A 10-day cross-sectional survey was carried out in an ophthalmology outpatient clinic (in- and outpatient consultations, including emergencies) specializing in the uveitis care.

[Developing quality indicators in hospitals: the COMPAQH project].

Background: To select a set of quality indicators (QI) in order to test them in a panel of 36 French hospitals

Methods: The COMPAQH (COordination for Measuring Performance and Assuring Quality in Hospitals) project is coordinated by the French National Institute for Medical Research and supported by the French Ministry of Health and the French National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency. This project has four objectives: (1) to select a set of QI -2003- (2) to implement them in 2004-2005 in a volunteer panel of hospitals (3) to compare the hospitals anonymously (4) to explore quality management implications. QI were selected with a four-step process: (1) Establishment of a list of national priorities for Quality Improvement in relation with the Ministry of Health.

Telephone survey of hospital staff knowledge of medical device surveillance in a Paris hospital.

Reporting of incidents or near incidents because of medical devices in French hospitals relies on procedures following European and national guidelines. The authors intend to evaluate hospital staff knowledge on these surveillance procedures as a marker of appropriate application. A telephone survey is conducted on a sample of Paris University hospital staff (n = 327) using a structured questionnaire.

Contraceptive practices of non-HIV-seropositive injecting drug users.

Aims: To study the sociodemographic characteristics and sexual behaviours in contraception choices of injecting drug users (IDUs) and to compare the contraceptive practices of non-HIV-positive IDUs to those of the general population.

Design: Two surveys were used: a sample of IDUs attending 10 drug abuse treatment centres in the Paris region (IDU) and the Parisian subsample of the National French Survey of Sexual Behaviour (ACSF).

Measurements: Percentages of contraception practices were estimated separately for 81 IDU and 130 ACSF women, and for 175 IDU and 168 ACSF men, aged 25-34, not reporting prostitution or HIV seropositivity.

The costs of septic syndromes in the intensive care unit and influence of hospital-acquired sepsis.

Objective: To document the costs and outcomes of the various forms of the septic syndromes [systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), sepsis, severe sepsis, septic shock), particularly those associated with infection acquired in an intensive care unit (ICU).

Design: Prospective data collection for all septic patients admitted to a medical ICU during a 1-year period. Costs were computed from the viewpoint of the hospital.