110 research outputs found
Methods for assessing guideline adherence for invasive procedures in the care of chronic coronary artery disease: a scoping review
Objectives In the care of coronary artery disease (CAD), evidence questions the adequate application of guidelines for cardiovascular procedures, particularly coronary angiographies (CA) and myocardial revascularisation. This review aims to examine how care providersâ guideline adherence for CA and myocardial revascularisation in the care of chronic CAD was assessed in the literature.Design Scoping review.Data sources PubMed and EMBASE were searched through in June 2021 (rerun in September 2022).Eligibility criteria We included studies assessing care providersâ adherence to evidence-based guidelines for CA or myocardial revascularisation in the care of chronic CAD. Studies had to list the evaluation of guideline adherence as study objective, describe the evaluation methods used and report the underlying guidelines and recommendations.Data extraction and synthesis Two independent reviewers used standardised forms to extract study characteristics, methodological aspects such as data sources and variables, definitions of guideline adherence and quantification methods and the extent of guideline adherence. To elucidate the measurement of guideline adherence, the main steps were described.Results Twelve studies (311â869 participants) were included, which evaluated guideline adherence by (1) defining guideline adherence, (2) specifying the study population, (3) assigning (classes of) recommendations and (4) quantifying adherence. Thereby, primarily secondary data were used. Studies differed in their definitions of guideline adherence, where six studies each considered only recommendation class I/grade A/strong recommendations as adherent or additionally recommendation classes IIa/IIb. Furthermore, some of the studies reported a priori definitions and allocation rules for the assignment of recommendation classes. Guideline adherence results ranged from 10% for percutaneous coronary intervention with prior heart team discussion to 98% for coronary artery bypass grafting.Conclusion Due to remarkable inconsistencies in the assessment, a cautious interpretation of the guideline adherence results is required. Future efforts should endeavour to establish a consistent understanding of the concept of guideline adherence
High efficacy and low toxicity of weekly docetaxel given as first-line treatment for metastatic breast cancer
Background: Docetaxel is one of the most effective antitumor agents currently available for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer (MBC). This phase II multicenter study prospectively analyzed the efficacy and toxicity of docetaxel given on a weekly schedule as first-line treatment of metastatic breast cancer. Patients and Methods: All patients received docetaxel, 35 mg/m(2) weekly for 6 weeks, followed by 2 weeks of rest. Subsequent cycles ( 3 weeks of treatment, 2 weeks of rest) were given until a maximum of 5 cycles or disease progression. Premedication consisted of 8 mg dexamethasone intravenously 30 min prior to the infusion of docetaxel. Results: Fifty-four patients at a median age of 58 years with previously untreated MBC were included in the study. A median of 10 doses ( median cumulative dose 339 mg/m(2)) was administered ( range: 2 - 18). The overall response rate was 48.1% ( 95% CI: 34 - 61%, intent-to-treat). Median survival was 15.8 months and median time to progression was 5.9 months ( intent-to-treat). Hematological toxicity was mild with absence of neutropenia-related complications. Grade 3 neutropenia was observed in 3.7% of patients and grade 3 and 4 anemia was observed in 5.6 and 1.9% of patients, respectively. Conclusion: The weekly administration of docetaxel is highly efficient and safe as first-line treatment for MBC and may serve as an important treatment option specifically in elderly patients and patients with a reduced performance status. Copyright (C) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel
correlation with ”CT and biomechanical testing
Hintergrund: Es ist davon auszugehen, dass die Quantifizierung der
trabekulÀren Knochenstruktur die Evaluierung der biomechanischen Festigkeit
und damit die Diagnostik der Osteoporose ĂŒber den derzeitigen
leitliniengebundenen Standard der Messung der Knochenmineraldichte (BMD)
verbessern kann. Die in vivo Bildgebung dieser Knochenmikroarchitektur stellt
hierbei die gröĂte Herausforderung. Ziel der vorliegenden experimentellen
Studie war es, anhand von in situ Bildgebungen an intakten humanen
GanzkörperprÀparaten die Genauigkeit der Knochenstrukturanalyse mittels MDCT
neuester Generation zur Diagnostik der KnochenqualitÀt zu evaluieren.
Methodik: Struktur- und Texturparameter (BV/TV: total bone volume; Tb.N:
trabecular number, Tb.Th: trabecular thickness; Tb.Sp: trabecular spacing),
sowie die BMD, wurden anhand von hochauflösenden Computertomographien (64
-Schicht-MDCT, Schichtdicke: 500 ”m) an 45 Wirbelkörpern (Auflösung: 268 x 268
”m2) und 30 Calcanei (Auflösung: 208 x 208 ”m2) ermittelt. Die
Strukturparameter wurden daraufhin zum Referenzstandard, der Mikro -
Computertomographie (”CT; VoxelgröĂe: 16 x 16 x 16 ”m3), korreliert. In einem
weiteren Schritt wurden genannte CT-Messparameter zur biomechanischen
Festigkeit der Knochenproben (app. EM: apparent elastic modulus) aus
uniaxialen Kompressionstests und Mikro Finite Elemente Methode (”FEM)
korreliert. Ergebnisse: Bei Wirbelkörpern und Calcanei konnten
Strukturparameter und BMD der MDCT-Bildgebung signifikant mit dem
Referenzstandard ”CT korreliert werden (app. BV/TV: R2 = 0,64 und 0,65; app.
Tb.Th: R2 = 0,36 und 0,51; vBMD: R2 = 0,86 und 0,71; p < 0,0001 â 0,01). Die
Erfassbarkeit der Knochenstruktur mittels MDCT konnte somit in einem
simuliertem in vivo Versuchsaufbau bestÀtigt werden. Gleiche Parameter bieten
auch die höchsten singulÀren Korrelationen zur biomechanischen Festigkeit
(app. BV/TV: R2 = 0,58 und 0,56; app. Tb.Th: R2 = 0,46 und 0,38; vBMD: R2 =
0,58 und 0,53; p < 0,001). Durch eine multivariate Kombination von
Knochenstruktur- mit Knochentexturparametern konnten die Korrelationen zur
biomechanischen Festigkeit weiterhin verbessert werden. Zusammenfassung: Es
geht hervor, dass in einem Versuchsaufbau, welcher die klinische
Voraussetzungen simuliert, die Knochentrabekelstruktur mittels MDCT mit guter
Korrelation zum Referenzstandard ”CT und zur biomechanischen Festigkeit
messbar ist. Multivariate Modelle durch Kombinationen von Knochendichte bzw.
Strukturparametern mit Parametern der Textur können die Vorhersage der
Knochenfestigkeit signifikant verbessern.Purpose: Assessment of trabecular bone structure may enhance estimation of
biomechanical strength and therefore improve diagnostic standards for
osteoporosis. Still visualization of the trabecular microstructure in vivo is
challenging. We tested the feasibility of assessing trabecular bone structure
for evaluation of bone quality on intact human cadavers using multidetector CT
(MDCT) in an experimental in situ and therefore simulated in vivo setup.
Methods: Bone structure (BV/TV: total bone volume; Tb.N: trabecular number;
Tb.Th: trabecular thickness; Tb.Sp: trabecular spacing), bone texture and bone
mineral density (BMD) were evaluated using high resolution computed tomography
(64 slice MDCT, slice thickness: 500 ”m) on 45 lumbar vertebral bodies (pixel
size: : 268 x 268 ”m2) and 30 calcanei (pixel size: 208 x 208 ”m2). Micro CT
with an isotropic spatial resolution of 16 ”m served as a standard of
reference. Measures were then correlated to the biomechanical strength of bone
specimens (app. EM: apparent elastic modulus) derived from uniaxial
compression tests and ”FEM (micro finite element method). Results: MDCT
derived parameters for structure and BMD showed significant correlations to
those obtained by the gold standard micro CT for both, spine and calcanei
(app. BV/TV: R2 = 0,64 and 0,65; app. Tb.Th: R2 = 0,36 and 0,51; vBMD: R2 =
0,86 and 0,71; p < 0,0001 â 0,01). Same parameters showed the strongest
correlations to app. EM (app. BV/TV: R2 = 0,58 and 0,56; app. Tb.Th: R2 = 0,46
and 0,38; vBMD: R2 = 0,58 and 0,53; p < 0,001). Furthermore prediction of
mechanical bone strength was significantly improved combining density and
structure measures with one additional texture parameter. Conclusion: In
conclusion this study showed the feasibility of trabecular microarchitecture
assessment using MDCT in an experimental setup simulating the clinical
situation with good correlations to ”CT and biomechanical strength.
Multivariate models of BMD or structural parameters combined with texture
indices improved prediction of bone strength significantly
Trier, seine Geschichte und KunstschĂ€tze : kurzer illustrierter FĂŒhrer
von Stadtbibliothekar Prof. Dr. Kentenic
Nurse-to-patient ratio as risk factor for nosocomial infections - prospective cohort study in the endemic situation and review
Titelblatt und Inhaltsverzeichnis
Einleitung und Aufgabenstellung
Material und Methoden
Ergebnisse
Diskussion
Zusammenfassung
LiteraturIn dieser Studie konnte anhand der Beobachtungen, die innerhalb eines
Krankenhauses gemacht wurden, nachgewiesen werden, dass die Stationsbesetzung
einen Einfluss auf die endemische Rate primÀrer Sepsis besitzt. Die Ergebnisse
der vorliegenden Studie untermauern, wie wichtig die ausreichende Besetzung
mit Pflegepersonal fĂŒr die Infektionshygiene in KrankenhĂ€usern ist. Das
Pflege-Patienten-VerhÀltnis auf den von uns untersuchten Intensivstationen
war, verglichen mit denen anderer Intensivstationen in Deutschland, noch gut.
Die gefundenen Risiken werden also auf anderen, schlechter besetzten
Stationen, mutmaĂlich in noch stĂ€rkerem AusmaĂe zu finden sein. Es ist
allgemein erforderlich, dass in Zukunft die Besetzungsrate der Stationen mit
Pflegepersonal nicht von krankenhauspolitischen Entscheidungen abhÀngig
gemacht wird, sondern dass sich an solchen empirischen Untersuchungen
orientiert wird, die zeigen, welches VerhÀltnis von Stationsbesetzung zu
Patientendichte notwendig ist, um die optimale Betreuung der Patienten zu
gewÀhrleisten.In the present prospective cohort study the effect of nurse-to-patient-ratio
in the adult intensive care unit on nosocomial bloodstream infections could be
demonstrated. In a systemic review the results were evaluated and discussed
with a total of 30 studies regarding patient outcomes in relation to the
nurse-to-patient-ratio. The observations support the concept of the importance
of adequate staffing levels on hospital hygiene and patient outcome. In times
of cuts on nursing staff levels, due to cost concerns, hospital administrators
should be aware that these savings are likely to pale in comparison to the
costs related to worsened patient outcomes
Moselfahrer : Berichte aus siebzehn Jahrhunderten
Gottfried Kentenic
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