A systematic review of comparative studies of CO and erbium:YAG lasers in resurfacing facial rhytides (wrinkles).

Background: Laser resurfacing is used to minimize wrinkles, solar scars and sequelae of acne.

Objective: Purpose of the systematic review was to compare resurfacing outcomes of CO laser and erbium: yttrium aluminium garnet (erb:YAG) laser therapies.

Materials And Methods: Medline, Cochrane Library, EMBASE and Google Scholar databases were searched until 9 April 2015 using the following terms: laser, carbon dioxide/CO, facial wrinkles, rhytides and erbium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet/erbium:YAG/Er:YAG.

Effectiveness of paediatric asthma clinical pathways: a narrative systematic review.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of clinical pathways (CPs) for paediatric asthma on length of hospital stay, additional visits due to asthma exacerbations, hospital cost, manpower and workload required for implementing CPs.

Methods: Studies were eligible if they met the following criteria: children (≦18 years) with asthma, hospital or emergency department based, and study designs were (1) randomised controlled trial, (2) controlled clinical trial or (3) controlled before and after study. Two reviewers independently screened references, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias.

Telemedicine utilization to support the management of the burns treatment involving patient pathways in both developed and developing countries: a case study.

This case study reports on the utilization of telemedicine to support the management of the burns treatment in the islands of Sao Tome and Principe by Taipei Medical University-affiliated hospital in Taiwan. The authors share experiences about usage of telemedicine to support treatment of the burn victims in a low-income country that receive reconstructive surgery in a developed country. Throughout the entire care process, telemedicine has been used not only to provide an expert advice from distance but also to help establish and maintain the doctor-patient relationship, to keep patients in contact with their families, and to help educate and consult the medical personal physically present in Sao Tome and Principe.

Developing guideline-based decision support systems using protégé and jess.

The Institute of Medicine has identified both computerized physician order entry and electronic prescription as keys to reducing medication errors and improving safety. Many computerized clinical decision support systems can enhance practitioner performance. However, the development of such systems involves a long cycle time that makes it difficult to apply them on a wider scale.