Underutilization of Anticoagulant for Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis in Three Hospitals in Jakarta

Aim: to assess the current use of anticoagulants and implementation of International Guidelines in venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis in hospitalized patients with acute medical illnesses in Jakarta, Indonesia. Methods: a multicenter, prospective, disease registry, recruiting patients diagnosed as acutely ill medical diseases and other medical conditions at risk of VTE, with in-hospital immobilization for at least 3 days. Results: of 401 patients, 46.9% received anticoagulants which included unfractionated heparin (64.4%), fondaparinux (11.7%), enoxaparin (9.6%), warfarin (3.7%), and combination of anticoagulants (10.6%). VTE prophylaxis using physical and mechanical method was used in 81.3% of patients, either as a single modality or in combination with anticoagulants. During hospitalization, VTE were found in 3.2% patients; 10 patients (2.5%) had lower limb events and 3 patients (0.75%) had a suspected pulmonary embolism. The main reference international guidelines used were AHA/ASA 2007 (47.4%), followed by ACCP 2008 (21.7%). Conclusion: the study showed underutilization of prophylaxis anticoagulants in which mechanical thromboprophylaxis either alone or combination with anticoagulants was the most commonly used. Unfractionated heparin was the preferable choice. The most commonly used guideline was AHA/ASA 2007. VTE thromboprophylaxis in medically ill patients needs to be encouraged. Key words: venous thromboembolism (VTE), prophylaxis, registry, non-surgery hospitalization

Understanding psychiatric institutionalization: a conceptual review

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Event-based record linkage in health and aged care services data: a methodological innovation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The interface between acute hospital care and residential aged care has long been recognised as an important issue in aged care services research in Australia. However, existing national data provide very poor information on the movements of clients between the two sectors. Nevertheless, there are national data sets which separately contain data on individuals' hospital episodes and stays in residential aged care, so that linking the two data sets–if feasible–would provide a valuable resource for examining relationships between the two sectors. As neither name nor common person identifiers are available on the data sets, other information needs to be used to link events relating to inter-sector movement.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Event-based matching using limited demographic data in conjunction with event dates to match events in two data sets provides a possible method for linking related events. The authors develop a statistical model for examining the likely prevalence of false matches, and consequently the number of true matches, among achieved matches when using anonymous event-based record linkage to identify transition events.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Theoretical analysis shows that for event-based matching the prevalence of false matches among achieved matches (a) declines as the events of interest become rarer, (b) declines as the number of matches increases, and (c) increases with the size of the population within which matching is taking place. The method also facilitates the examination of the trade-off between false matches and missed matches when relaxing or tightening linkage criteria.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Event-based record linkage is a method for linking related transition events using event dates and basic demographic variables (other than name or person identifier). The likely extent of false links among achieved links depends on the two event rates, the match rate and population size. Knowing these, it is possible to gauge whether, for a particular study, event-based linkage could provide a useful tool for examining movements. Analysis shows that there is a range of circumstances in which event-based record linkage could be applied to two event-level databases to generate a linked database useful for transition analysis.</p

Issues facing the future health care workforce: the importance of demand modelling

This article examines issues facing the future health care workforce in Australia in light of factors such as population ageing. It has been argued that population ageing in Australia is affecting the supply of health care professionals as the health workforce ages and at the same time increasing the demand for health care services and the health care workforce

Meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies for postpartum depression

Objective: Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common subtype of major depressive disorder (MDD) that is more heritable, yet is understudied in psychiatric genetics. The authors conducted meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies (GWASs) to investigate the genetic architecture of PPD. Method: Meta-analyses were conducted on 18 cohorts of European ancestry (17,339 PPD cases and 53,426 controls), one cohort of East Asian ancestry (975 cases and 3,780 controls), and one cohort of African ancestry (456 cases and 1,255 controls), totaling 18,770 PPD cases and 58,461 controls. Post-GWAS analyses included 1) single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)–based heritability (), 2) genetic correlations between PPD and other phenotypes, and 3) enrichment of the PPD GWAS findings in 27 human tissues and 265 cell types from the mouse central and peripheral nervous system. Results: No SNP achieved genome-wide significance in the European or the trans-ancestry meta-analyses. The of PPD was 0.14 (SE=0.02). Significant genetic correlations were estimated for PPD with MDD, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, insomnia, age at menarche, and polycystic ovary syndrome. Cell-type enrichment analyses implicate inhibitory neurons in the thalamus and cholinergic neurons within septal nuclei of the hypothalamus, a pattern that differs from MDD. Conclusions: While more samples are needed to reach genome-wide levels of significance, the results presented confirm PPD as a polygenic and heritable phenotype. There is also evidence that despite a high correlation with MDD, PPD may have unique genetic components. Cell enrichment results suggest GABAergic neurons, which converge on a common mechanism with the only medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for PPD (brexanolone)

Surely there are too many graduates now?

This article updates earlier work which asked the question whether Australia was producing too many graduates, noting that the increase in the proportion of the workforce with degrees had been quite dramatic. That work dated from the mid 1990s, and the quick answer was that the lack of change in relative earnings implied very extensive changes in the structure of labour demand. However, the expansion of the proportion of the workforce with qualifications has continued at a remarkable rate and therefore it is timely to ask the question again. By examining the relationship between changes in the proportions of the workforce with different levels of education and changes in relative wages, the article estimates shifts in the demand for labour across the various levels of education