A targeted e-learning program for surgical trainees to enhance patient safety in preventing surgical infection.

INTRODUCTION: Surgical site infection accounts for 20% of all health care-associated infections (HCAIs); however, a program incorporating the education of surgeons has yet to be established across the specialty. METHODS: An audit of surgical practice in infection prevention was carried out in Beaumont Hospital from July to November 2009. An educational Web site was developed targeting deficiencies highlighted in the audit. Interactive clinical cases were constructed using PHP coding, an HTML-embedded language, and then linked to a MySQL relational database. PowerPoint tutorials were produced as online Flash audiovisual movies. An online repository of streaming videos demonstrating best practice was made available, and weekly podcasts were made available on the iTunes© store for free download. Usage of the e-learning program was assessed quantitatively over 6 weeks in May and June 2010 using the commercial company Hitslink. RESULTS: During the 5-month audit, deficiencies in practice were highlighted, including the timing of surgical prophylaxis (33% noncompliance) and intravascular catheter care in surgical patients (38% noncompliance regarding necessity). Over the 6-week assessment of the educational material, the SurgInfection.com Web pages were accessed more than 8000 times; 77.9% of the visitors were from Ireland. The most commonly accessed modality was the repository with interactive clinical cases, accounting for 3463 (43%) of the Web site visits. The average user spent 57 minutes per visit, with 30% of them visiting the Web site multiple times. DISCUSSION: Interactive virtual cases mirroring real-life clinical scenarios are likely to be successful as an e-learning modality. User-friendly interfaces and 24-hour accessibility will increases uptake by surgical trainees

Preventing infection in general surgery: improvements through education of surgeons by surgeons.

Surgical patients are at particular risk of healthcare-associated infection (HCAI) due to the presence of a surgical site leading to surgical site infection (SSI), and because of the need for intravascular access resulting in catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI). A two-year initiative commenced with an initial audit of surgical practice; this was used to inform the development of a targeted educational initiative by surgeons specifically for surgical trainees. Parameters assessed during the initial audit and a further audit after the educational initiative were related to intra- and postoperative aspects of the prevention of SSIs, as well as care of peripheral venous catheters (PVCs) in surgical patients. The proportion of prophylactic antibiotics administered prior to incision across 360 operations increased from 30.0% to 59.1% (P72h (10.6% vs 3.1%,

A national clinical decision support infrastructure to enable the widespread and consistent practice of genomic and personalized medicine

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In recent years, the completion of the Human Genome Project and other rapid advances in genomics have led to increasing anticipation of an era of genomic and personalized medicine, in which an individual's health is optimized through the use of all available patient data, including data on the individual's genome and its downstream products. Genomic and personalized medicine could transform healthcare systems and catalyze significant reductions in morbidity, mortality, and overall healthcare costs.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Critical to the achievement of more efficient and effective healthcare enabled by genomics is the establishment of a robust, nationwide clinical decision support infrastructure that assists clinicians in their use of genomic assays to guide disease prevention, diagnosis, and therapy. Requisite components of this infrastructure include the standardized representation of genomic and non-genomic patient data across health information systems; centrally managed repositories of computer-processable medical knowledge; and standardized approaches for applying these knowledge resources against patient data to generate and deliver patient-specific care recommendations. Here, we provide recommendations for establishing a national decision support infrastructure for genomic and personalized medicine that fulfills these needs, leverages existing resources, and is aligned with the <it>Roadmap for National Action on Clinical Decision Support </it>commissioned by the U.S. Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. Critical to the establishment of this infrastructure will be strong leadership and substantial funding from the federal government.</p> <p>Summary</p> <p>A national clinical decision support infrastructure will be required for reaping the full benefits of genomic and personalized medicine. Essential components of this infrastructure include standards for data representation; centrally managed knowledge repositories; and standardized approaches for leveraging these knowledge repositories to generate patient-specific care recommendations at the point of care.</p

The snow must go on: Ground ice encasement, snow compaction and absence of snow differently cause soil hypoxia, CO2 accumulation and tree seedling damage in boreal forest

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Synaptic Reorganization in the Adult Rat's Ventral Cochlear Nucleus following Its Total Sensory Deafferentation

Ablation of a cochlea causes total sensory deafferentation of the cochlear nucleus in the brainstem, providing a model to investigate nervous degeneration and formation of new synaptic contacts in the adult brain. In a quantitative electron microscopical study on the plasticity of the central auditory system of the Wistar rat, we first determined what fraction of the total number of synaptic contact zones (SCZs) in the anteroventral cochlear nucleus (AVCN) is attributable to primary sensory innervation and how many synapses remain after total unilateral cochlear ablation. Second, we attempted to identify the potential for a deafferentation-dependent synaptogenesis. SCZs were ultrastructurally identified before and after deafferentation in tissue treated for ethanolic phosphotungstic acid (EPTA) staining. This was combined with pre-embedding immunocytochemistry for gephyrin identifying inhibitory SCZs, the growth-associated protein GAP-43, glutamate, and choline acetyltransferase. A stereological analysis of EPTA stained sections revealed 1.11±0.09 (S.E.M.)×109 SCZs per mm3 of AVCN tissue. Within 7 days of deafferentation, this number was down by 46%. Excitatory and inhibitory synapses were differentially affected on the side of deafferentation. Excitatory synapses were quickly reduced and then began to increase in number again, necessarily being complemented from sources other than cochlear neurons, while inhibitory synapses were reduced more slowly and continuously. The result was a transient rise of the relative fraction of inhibitory synapses with a decline below original levels thereafter. Synaptogenesis was inferred by the emergence of morphologically immature SCZs that were consistently associated with GAP-43 immunoreactivity. SCZs of this type were estimated to make up a fraction of close to 30% of the total synaptic population present by ten weeks after sensory deafferentation. In conclusion, there appears to be a substantial potential for network reorganization and synaptogenesis in the auditory brainstem after loss of hearing, even in the adult brain

Using visual methods to understand physical activity maintenance following cardiac rehabilitation

© 2015 Hardcastle et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Few studies have explored the factors associated with long-term maintenance of exercise following cardiac rehabilitation. The present study used auto-photography and interviews to explore the factors that influence motivation and continued participation in physical activity among post cardiac rehabilitation patients. Twenty-three semi-structured interviews were conducted alongside participant-selected photographs or drawings with participants that had continued participation in physical activity for at least two years following the cardiac rehabilitation programme. Participants were recruited from circuit training classes in East Sussex in the UK. Thematic content analysis revealed seven main themes: fear of death and ill health avoidance, critical incidents, overcoming aging, social influences, being able to enjoy life, provision of routine and structure, enjoyment and psychological well-being. Fear of death, illness avoidance, overcoming aging, and being able to enjoy life were powerful motives for continued participation in exercise. The social nature of the exercise class was also identified as a key facilitator of continued participation. Group-based exercise suited those that continued exercise participation post cardiac rehabilitation and fostered adherence

First-Line Matched Related Donor Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Compared to Immunosuppressive Therapy in Acquired Severe Aplastic Anemia

INTRODUCTION: Acquired severe aplastic anemia (SAA) is a rare and progressive disease characterized by an immune-mediated functional impairment of hematopoietic stem cells. Transplantation of these cells is a first-line treatment option if HLA-matched related donors are available. First-line immunosuppressive therapy may be offered as alternative. The aim was to compare the outcome of these patients in controlled trials. METHODS: A systematic search was performed in the bibliographic databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, and The Cochrane Library. To show an overview of various outcomes by treatment group we conducted a meta-analysis on overall survival. We evaluated whether studies reported statistically significant factors for improved survival. RESULTS: 26 non-randomized controlled trials (7,955 patients enrolled from 1970 to 2001) were identified. We did not identify any RCTs. Risk of bias was high except in 4 studies. Young age and recent year of treatment were identified as factors for improved survival in the HSCT group. Advanced age, SAA without very severe aplastic anemia, and combination of anti-lymphocyte globulin with cyclosporine A were factors for improved survival in the IST group. In 19 studies (4,855 patients), summary statistics were sufficient to be included in meta-analysis. Considerable heterogeneity did not justify a pooled estimate. Adverse events were inconsistently reported and varied significantly across studies. CONCLUSIONS: Young age and recent year of treatment were identified as factors for improved survival in the transplant group. Advanced age, SAA without very severe aplastic anemia, and combination of anti-lymphocyte globulin with cyclosporine A were factors for improved survival in the immunosuppressive group. Considerable heterogeneity of non-randomized controlled studies did not justify a pooled estimate. Adverse events were inconsistently reported and varied significantly across studies

The Impact of eHealth on the Quality and Safety of Health Care: A Systematic Overview

Aziz Sheikh and colleagues report the findings of their systematic overview that assessed the impact of eHealth solutions on the quality and safety of health care