Engaging stakeholders in review and recommendations for models of outcome monitoring for substance abuse treatment.

We present an example of a collaborative process designed to review models of outcome monitoring for substance abuse services, with a view to assessing the feasibility of different approaches in Ontario, Canada. A conceptual framework that describes the parameters of an outcome monitoring system and four models of outcome monitoring were identified. Consultations were held with stakeholders (managers, directors, researchers, clinicians, and governmental representatives) about the types of information they would like to obtain from an outcome monitoring system.

Prognostic value of left ventricular hypertrophy and geometry in patients with a first, uncomplicated myocardial infarction.

Background: The prognostic impact of left ventricular (LV) geometry on cardiovascular risk for patients with a first, uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and echocardiographic ejection fraction > or =50% has not been well described.

Methods And Results: Accordingly, 111 AMI consecutive patients (mean age 59.3+/-10 years) performed echocardiographic examination at predischarge.

[Multiple rhabdomyomas in a newborn infant. A clinical case report].

Rhabdomyoma is a rare primary benign cardiac tumor usually diagnosed in newborn and infancy. The authors report a case of multiple and completely asymptomatic rhabdomyoma, diagnosed by echocardiography.

Usefulness of the severity and extent of wall motion abnormalities as prognostic markers of an adverse outcome after a first myocardial infarction treated with thrombolytic therapy.

The prognostic value of wall motion score index (WMSI), assessed at predischarge after a first acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the thrombolytic era, is still not well known. One-hundred forty-four consecutive patients with a first AMI treated with thrombolytic therapy underwent exercise testing and echocardiography at rest before discharge and were followed-up for a mean period of 18 months. During follow-up, there were 32 cardiac events (12 patients had cardiac deaths, 8 had unstable angina pectoris, 1 had nonfatal reinfarction, and 11 patients had congestive heart failure).