An informatics strategy to assure enrollment criteria compliance in studies of the critically ill.

Up to 18% of acutely ill patients randomized into multicenter clinical trials may not satisfy inclusion/exclusion criteria. To improve compliance with such criteria in an ICU-based multicenter international drug trial, we established a novel Internet/telephone-based strategy for providing rapid case approval or disapproval by centralized panels of critical care physicians. We assessed whether these panels could acquire and record accurate patient information, and whether this approach would minimize enrollment of ineligible patients and could be accomplished in a timely fashion.

Tracheobronchial adenoid cystic carcinoma: a clinicopathologic study of 14 cases.

Study Objectives: To investigate the clinicopathologic features of primary tracheobronchial adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC), and to examine kit protein (CD117) expression, and a possible correlation between the histologic grade and Ki-67 positivity.

Design: Retrospective 10-year study (from 1992 to 2001).

Setting: Referral center for interventional pulmonology.