Int J Technol Assess Health Care
July 2012
Objectives: Obsolescence is a natural phase of the lifecycle of health technologies. Given increasing cost of health expenditures worldwide, health organizations have little choice but to engage in health technology reassessment (HTR); a structured, evidence-based assessment of the medical, social, ethical, and economic effects of a technology, currently used within the healthcare system, to inform optimal use of that technology in comparison to its alternatives. This research was completed to identify and summarize international HTR initiatives for non-drug technologies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCochrane Database Syst Rev
June 2010
Background: The results from controlled clinical trials investigating the efficacy of azathioprine and 6-mercaptopurine for the treatment of active Crohn's disease were conflicting and controversial. A meta-analysis was performed to assess the effectiveness of these drugs for the induction of remission in active Crohn's disease.
Objectives: To determine the effectiveness of azathioprine and 6-mercaptopurine in inducing remission of active Crohn's disease.
Cochrane Database Syst Rev
October 2009
Background: The results from controlled clinical trials investigating the efficacy of azathioprine and 6-mercaptopurine for the treatment of active Crohn's disease were conflicting and controversial. A meta-analysis was performed to assess the effectiveness of these drugs for the induction of remission in active Crohn's disease.
Objectives: To determine the effectiveness of azathioprine and 6-mercaptopurine in inducing remission of active Crohn's disease.
Cochrane Database Syst Rev
January 2009
Background: The therapeutic role of 6-mercaptopurine and azathioprine remains controversial due to their perceived relatively slow-acting effect and adverse effects. A meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the efficacy of these agents for the maintenance of remission of quiescent Crohn's disease.
Objectives: To assess the efficacy of azathioprine and 6-mercaptopurine for maintenance of remission in quiescent Crohn's disease.
Background: Surveillance colonoscopy is commonly recommended following potentially curative surgery for colorectal cancer. We determined factors associated with patients undergoing a least one colonoscopy within five years of surgery.
Methods: In this historical cohort study, data on 3918 patients age 30 years or older residing in Alberta, Canada, who had undergone a potentially curative surgical resection for local or regional stage colorectal cancer between 1983 and 1995 were obtained from the provincial cancer registry, ministry of health and cancer clinic charts.
Background: Little is known about the status of patient knowledge in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and potential benefit of educational programs. The authors conducted this study to assess 1) the knowledge of IBD of participants attending educational workshops offered to the public and 2) the effect of the workshop on participants' knowledge level.
Methods: Workshops on IBD were offered to the public at nine communities in the United States.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders. There continues to be a need for community-based research into this condition. Unfortunately, response rates in community-based IBS surveys have typically been very low.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA population-based active-surveillance study of the Calgary Health Region (population, 929,656) was conducted from May 1999 to April 2000, to define the epidemiology of invasive Staphylococcus aureus (ISA) infections. The annual incidence was 28.4 cases/100,000 population; 46% were classified as nosocomial.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Little is known about the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of nonclinical samples of people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in Canada. In a pilot survey, the impact of IBS on HRQOL using a population-based, urban sample was examined.
Methods: A random sample of Calgary residents (18 years of age or older), selected by random digit dialing (n=1521), completed a structured questionnaire including ROME II Criteria and Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 12-Item Health Survey, version 2 (SF-12v2).
Background: The evaluation of abstracts for scientific meetings has been shown to suffer from poor inter observer reliability. A measure was developed to assess the formal quality of abstract submissions in a standardized way.
Methods: Item selection was based on scoring systems for full reports, taking into account published guidelines for structured abstracts.
Curr Gastroenterol Rep
December 2002
A crucial step in the development of clinical trials to determine the efficacy of various therapies for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been the creation of activity indices. This article reviews the major components and operating characteristics of clinical activity indices commonly used in randomized, controlled trials of IBD therapy. In addition, the paper provides a brief overview of the developmental requirements for any new index.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The aim of this study was to examine the determinants of publication and whether publication bias occurred in gastroenterological research.
Methods: A random sample of abstracts submitted to DDW, the major GI meeting (1992-1995) was evaluated. The publication status was determined by database searches, complemented by a mailed survey to abstract authors.
Asymptomatic damage to the upper gastrointestinal tract is a common problem that may present with life-threatening sequelae such as bleeding. This scenario is especially prevalent in the population that ingest nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDs). Currently, there exists no means to screen these patients for the presence or absence of gastroduodenal damage prior to clinical presentation.
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