Prospective issues for error detection

From the literature on error detection, the authors select several concepts relating error detection mechanisms and prospective memory features. They emphasize the central role of intention in the classification of the errors into slips/lapses/mistakes, in the error handling process and in the usual distinction between action-based and outcome-based detection. Intention is again a core concept in their investigation of prospective memory theory, where they point out the contribution of intention retrievals, intention persistence and output monitoring in the individual's possibilities for detecting their errors. The involvement of the frontal lobes in prospective memory and in error detection is also analysed. From the chronology of a prospective memory task, the authors finally suggest a model for error detection also accounting for neural mechanisms highlighted by studies on error-related brain activity.Error detection has not received much attention from the scientists since human error has been shown as the main cause of accident in complex systems. However, reducing the consequences of error depends largely on error detection. The goal of this paper is to synthesize the existing scientific knowledge on error detection, mostly based on studies conducted in laboratory or self reporting and to complete it through the analysis of a corpus of cases collected in a complex system: anaesthesia, in order to better describe how this knowledge can be used to improve our understanding of error detection modes. We used an anaesthesia accident reporting system we developed and organized at two Belgium University Hospitals to collect information about the error detection patterns. Results show that detection of errors principally occurred through standard check. We found significant relationships between the type of error, the type of error detection pattern, and the training level of the anaesthetist who committed the error

Prognostic factors in intramedullary astrocytomas: a literature review

Astrocytomas affect a significant portion of patients with intramedullary tumors. These infiltratively growing tumors are treated by a variety of methods—biopsy and decompressive surgery, maximal safe resection, adjuvant oncological therapy. Also, numerous prognostic factors are reported in the literature. Better understanding of factors that influence prognosis may help in treatment planning with the goal of prolonging survival. We have thus undertaken an extensive literature review in order to define factors affecting prognosis. A total of 38 articles were studied. Only tumor grade was consistently reported as the major factor affecting prognosis. The influence of other clinical factors (age, gender, history length, functional status, tumor location or extent, syrinx or cyst presence) can be speculated upon, but cannot be assessed adequately from the available literature. For both low- and high-grade (HG) astrocytomas, maximal safe tumor resection should be the primary treatment objective but is often not feasible in contrast to other intramedullary and spinal neoplasms. Since the biological nature of spinal cord HG glioma is identical to that of the brain, the same treatment algorithm of maximal safe resection followed by concomitant radio- and chemotherapy would be sensible to implement