Waldenström macroglobulinemia.

In the past 36 months, new developments have occurred both in the understanding of the biology of Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) and in therapeutic options for WM. Here, we review the classification, clinical features, and diagnostic criteria of the disease. WM is a B-cell neoplasm characterized by lymphoplasmacytic infiltration of the bone marrow and a monoclonal immunoglobulin M (IgM) protein.

Comparison of risk management in Taiwan and the USA.

Aim: The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast the systems of risk management between a hospital in the USA and a hospital in Taiwan.

Background: By comparing both systems, nurses and managers will have a better understanding of risk management improvements and be in a better position to protect their patients and themselves.

Evaluation: Two interviews were conducted and literature were collected and reviewed by the author to support the argument.

Analysis of chronic emergency department use.

This retrospective emergency department (ED) chart review study examined the relationship between acuity level and the type of insurance in a patient population who used the ED on a chronic basis (seven or more times in the calendar year 1996). Of 1,185 patients seen in the ED in 1996, 122 had between 7 and 29 visits. In the study population: 62.

Busy physicians and preventive services for adults.

Objective: To study the relationship between overall productivity and the rates at which primary care physicians, in a fee-for-service setting, deliver or prescribe preventive services to adult patients.

Patients And Methods: The charts of 452 adult patients treated by 8 family practitioners and 5 internists in a fee-for-service practice setting were randomly selected and abstracted for provision of 10 preventive services over a 27-month period. The percentage of eligible patients screened for each service was correlated with the production of each physician measured in relative value units (RVUs).

Salvage of the nonfunctioning arteriovenous fistula.

Two factors are necessary for an arteriovenous fistula (AVF) to be usable as dialysis access. It must have adequate blood flow, and it must have a size that will allow for cannulation. An AVF can remain patent in the face of relatively low blood flow.