225 research outputs found

    A Maturity Model for Quality Improvement in Knowledge Management

    Get PDF
    Due to the growing importance of knowledge management (KM) for business success, it is increasingly employed to enable organisations to achieve sustainable competitive advantages. However, no approach has been developed yet which allows organisations to determine their current state of KM on a process level and to derive the necessary steps for further development. To fill this gap, a new model called Knowledge Process Quality Model (KPQM) is proposed. This model is based on the ideas of quality management and process engineering. It helps organisations to assess and improve their KM structures to control knowledge processes. Thereby it also supports systematic knowledge management learning

    Pharmacokinetic considerations in the treatment of hypertension in risperidone-medicated patients – thinking of clinically relevant CYP2D6 interactions

    Get PDF
    Background: Treatment of arterial hypertension in patients with severe mental illnesses often results in polypharmacy, potentially leading to drug-drug interactions. The objective of the study was to analyse the in vivo inhibitory potential of two antihypertensive drugs, amlodipine and metoprolol on CYP2D6 catalysed 9-hydroxylation of risperidone (RIS). Methods: A therapeutic drug monitoring database with plasma concentrations of RIS and 9-hydroxyrisperidone (9-OH-RIS) of 1584 patients was analysed. Three groups were considered; a group of patients receiving RIS without a potentially cytochrome influencing co-medication (control group, R-0, n=852), a group co-medicated with amlodipine (R-A, n=27) and a group, co-medicated with metoprolol (R-M, n=41). Plasma concentrations, concentration-to-dose ratios (C/Ds) of RIS, 9-OH-RIS and the active moiety (AM), as well as the metabolic ratios were computed and compared using the Kruskal-Wallis test, the Mann-Whitney U test and the Jonckheere-Terpstra test to determine the means and different patterns of distribution of plasma concentrations as well as the concentration-to-dose ratios. Results: The median daily dosage of RIS did not differ between the groups (p=0.708). No differences were found in median plasma concentrations of RIS, 9-OH-RIS and AM. However, concentration-to-dose ratios for RIS, 9-OH-RIS and AM were significantly higher in the amlodipine group (p=0.025, p=0.048 and p=0.005). In the metoprolol group, the concentration-to-dose ratio for RIS was significantly higher than in the control group (p=0.017), while the C/D for 9-OH-RIS and AM was not. Conclusions and limitations: Our data show a potential pharmacokinetic interaction, most likely via CYP3A4 between amlodipine and RIS, reflected in significantly different C/Ds for RIS, 9-OH-RIS and AM. Although the interaction did not result in significantly higher plasma levels, changes in C/Ds and their distribution with regard to the median concentrations were observed

    Lower sertraline plasma concentration in patients co‐medicated with clozapine—Implications for pharmacological augmentation strategies in schizophrenia

    Get PDF
    Augmentation of antipsychotic treatment with antidepressants represents a common and beneficial treatment strategy in patients suffering from schizophrenia. Combining clozapine and the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) sertraline represents a clinically important strategy in patients with therapy‐resistant schizophrenia, but there is limited knowledge about mutual pharmacokinetic interactions. In the present study, we assessed the impact of clozapine on sertraline plasma concentrations. Based on a therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) database, sertraline plasma concentrations were compared between two groups: patients receiving a combined treatment with sertraline and clozapine (N = 15) and a matched control group receiving sertraline but no clozapine (N = 17). Group differences with respect to raw and dose‐adjusted concentrations were assessed using nonparametric tests. Comedication with clozapine was associated with 67% lower median sertraline plasma concentrations (16 vs. 48 ng/mL; p = .022) and 28% lower median dose‐adjusted plasma concentrations (C/D; 0.21 vs. 0.29 (ng/mL)/(mg/day); p = .049) as compared to the control group. Scatter plots revealed a complex relationship between the dosage of clozapine and dose‐adjusted sertraline concentrations composed of an initial decrease at clozapine doses below 300 mg, an increase between 300 and 600 mg and a final decrease at 800 mg which was best modeled by a third order polynomial term. Cotreatment with clozapine may lead to reduced sertraline plasma concentrations which may be explained by clozapine‐induced gastrointestinal hypo‐mobility already present at low doses and cytochrome P450 3A4 inducing properties at high clozapine doses. For this drug combination, clinicians should consider TDM to confirm therapeutically effective plasma concentrations of sertraline

    Разработка алгоритма и реализация библиотеки предобработки и сегментации машиночитаемых бланков

    Get PDF
    Работа посвящена реализации этапа автоматизированной предварительной обработки машиночитаемых (с рукописным заполнением полей) бланков процедур массового тестирования выпускников общеобразовательных организаций и подготовки полей к распознаванию.The work is devoted to the implementation of the automated preprocessing stage of machine-readable (with handwritten filling of fields) forms procedures for mass testing graduates of general education organizations and preparation fields for recognition

    Prospects of increase of efficiency of functioning of insurance companies through the development of information systems

    Get PDF
    Russian companies have already been solved (or solved) issues automated support of business processes of insurance. Another aspect of it application in the insurance, which to date remains one of the most important is to support decision-making in the claim process, as it depends largely on the economic condition of the insurance company. To resolve this problem, the development of information systems, the inclusion in their structure of intellectual component, reducing the probability of errors when making decisions. The work of this component is based on the principles of the decision theory and artificial intelligence, uses the mathematical apparatus of decision-making in conditions of uncertainty and risk and is a tool that interacts with the information system of the company

    Clozapine once- versus multiple-daily dosing: a two-center cross-sectional study, systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Get PDF
    Evidence regarding effectiveness and safety of clozapine once- vs. multiple-daily dosing is limited. We compared demographic and clinical parameters between patients with once- vs. multiple-daily dosing in the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Regensburg, Germany (AGATE dataset), and the Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital, Switzerland, using non-parametric tests. Effectiveness and safety outcomes were available in the AGATE dataset. We performed a systematic review in PubMed/Embase until February 2022, meta-analyzing studies comparing clozapine once- vs. multiple-daily-dosing. We estimated a pooled odds ratio for adverse drug-induced reactions (ADRs) and meta-analyzed differences regarding clinical symptom severity, age, percentage males, smokers, clozapine dose, and co-medications between patients receiving once- vs. multiple-daily dosing. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa-Scale. Of 1494 and 174 patients included in AGATE and Lausanne datasets, clozapine was prescribed multiple-daily in 74.8% and 67.8%, respectively. In the AGATE cohort, no differences were reported for the clinical symptoms severity or ADR rate (p > 0.05). Meta-analyzing eight cohorts with a total of 2810 clozapine-treated individuals, we found more severe clinical symptoms (p = 0.036), increased ADR risk (p = 0.01), higher clozapine doses (p < 0.001), more frequent co-medication with other antipsychotics (p < 0.001), benzodiazepines (p < 0.001), anticholinergics (p = 0.039), and laxatives (p < 0.001) in patients on multiple- vs. once-daily dosing. Of six studies, five were rated as good, and one as poor quality. Patients responding less well to clozapine may be prescribed higher doses multiple-daily, also treated with polypharmacy, potentially underlying worse safety outcomes. Patient preferences and adherence should be considered during regimen selection
    corecore