Background STOPP/START ("screening tool of older persons potentially inappropriate prescriptions"/"screening tool to alert doctors to right treatment") criteria were formulated to identify potentially inappropriate prescriptions (PIP) and potential prescription omissions (PPO) in older people. Objective To determine the prevalence of PIP and PPO using STOPP/START criteria and to identify associated ...

The General Medical Council is the regulatory body charged with maintaining standards in the medical profession in the UK. We analysed cases relating to anaesthetists handled in 2009 using fitness-to-practise data, comparing them with the profession as a whole and examining patterns of referral. Complaints were made about 105 doctors ...

Given the relationship between allergic rhinitis (AR) and asthma, it can be hypothesized that reducing inflammation in the upper airway with intranasal corticosteroid (INCS) medications may improve asthma outcomes. The goal of this study was to perform a systematic review with meta-analysis of the efficacy of INCS medications on asthma ...

OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between Beers criteria sedative medications and delirium in a large cohort of hospitalized elderly adults with common medical conditions. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort and nested case-control studies. SETTING: 374 U.S. hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: All individuals aged 65 and older admitted to the hospital between September 2003 and ...

OBJECTIVE:As home medication use increases, medications previously managed by nurses are now managed by patients and their families. Our objective was to describe the types of errors occurring in the home medication management of children with cancer.METHODS:In a prospective observational study at 3 pediatric oncology clinics in the northeastern and ...

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore whether physicians prescribe more brand-name oral hypoglycemic agents (OHA) for diabetic patients with medical training background (MP) than for general patients (GP). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A longitudinal analysis of 1 000 000 National Health Insurance cohorts of 1998-2008 was conducted. Univariate and multivariate models were ...

BACKGROUND: Uganda's Ministry of Health registered a 12% increase in new Tuberculosis (TB) cases between 2001 and 2005. Of these, 20% were from Kampala district and most from Mulago national referral hospital where the largest and the oldest medical school is found. Medical students are likely to have an increased ...

To examine the impact of fee-for-service pharmacist-led medication review on patient outcomes and quantify this according to the type of review undertaken e.g. adherence support and clinical medication review. METHODS: Relevant published studies were identified from Medline, Embase and International Pharmaceutical Abstract databases (from inception to February 2011). Study inclusion ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate agreement between self-reported obstructive airways diseases (OAD) diagnoses of asthma, bronchitis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)/emphysema obtained from the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) monitoring questionnaires with physician diagnoses from FDNY medical records. METHOD: We measured sensitivity, specificity, and agreement between self-report and physician OAD ...

STUDY OBJECTIVE: We estimate the proportion of patients with crotaline snake envenomation who are treated with Crotalidae polyvalent immune Fab (ovine) antivenom and who develop medically significant late bleeding. METHODS: We performed a systematic review of all published cohort studies of North American crotaline snake envenomation patients treated with Fab ...

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to determine the association of coronary computed tomographic angiography (CTA)-identified coronary artery disease (CAD) with post-test aspirin, statin, and antihypertensive medication use and changes in cholesterol and blood pressure (BP). BACKGROUND: The relationship of CTA findings to subsequent changes in preventive cardiovascular medication ...

OBJECTIVE: To compare safety and efficacy among 3 types of intrauterine device (IUD), namely UCu200, TCu380A, and medicated γ-IUD, when inserted after vacuum aspiration. METHODS: In a multicenter randomized comparative study, 1800 parous women requesting an IUD were enrolled in 12 centers across China in 2004-2005. The women received 1 ...

Hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes are among the most prevalent and costly chronic health conditions affecting the U.S. population. Prescription treatments for these conditions are of critical importance to the health of patients, yet suboptimal adherence to prescription treatments for these conditions is not uncommon. While monthly prescription restriction has become ...

The mortality of stroke patients is strongly affected by medical complications. However, there are limited data investigating the effect of in-hospital medical complications on the dependency of stroke patients worldwide. We prospectively and systematically investigated the effect of medical complications on dependency of patients at 3, 6 and 12 months ...

Catastrophic medical malpractice payouts, $1 million or greater, greatly influence physicians' practice, hospital policy, and discussions of healthcare reform. However, little is known about the specific characteristics and overall cost burden of these payouts. We reviewed all paid malpractice claims nationwide using the National Practitioner Data Bank over a 7-year ...

This meta-analysis investigates the efficacy of hypnosis in adults undergoing surgical or medical procedures compared to standard care alone or an attention control. Through a comprehensive literature search N=34 eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included, comprising a total of 2597 patients. Random effects meta-analyses revealed positive treatment effects on ...

The options for secondary prevention of cryptogenic embolism in patients with patent foramen ovale are administration of antithrombotic medications or percutaneous closure of the patent foramen ovale. We investigated whether closure is superior to medical therapy. We performed a multicenter, superiority trial in 29 centers in Europe, Canada, Brazil, and ...

OBJECTIVES: The primary aim of the study was to gain insight into the relative risk of clinically relevant oral candidiasis following inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) initiation over time. A secondary aim was to analyse the influence of patient characteristics and co-medication on the occurrence of this adverse effect. METHODS: Drug prescription ...

Whether closure of a patent foramen ovale is effective in the prevention of recurrent ischemic stroke in patients who have had a cryptogenic stroke is unknown. We conducted a trial to evaluate whether closure is superior to medical therapy alone in preventing recurrent ischemic stroke or early death in patients ...

OBJECTIVE: To examine identification and counseling for obesity at pediatric office visits associated with psychotropic medications. DESIGN AND METHODS: Analysis of ambulatory care visits by children 2-17 years in the National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys and outpatient component of the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys from 2005-08. Physician identification ...

OBJECTIVES: HIV-infected patients are commonly prescribed several medications and are thus at risk for drug interactions that may result in QTc prolongation. We sought (1) to identify the frequency of electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring (2), to determine the prevalence of drug interactions involving QTc-prolonging medications, and (3) to quantify the prevalence ...

Abstract Objectives. The primary objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of two prehospital stroke screens in correctly classifying patients suspected of having a stroke. Secondarily, differences in the sensitivity and specificity of the two screening tools were assessed. Methods. We performed a retrospective assessment of the Cincinnati ...

BACKGROUND:: Preanesthesia medical examination is a common procedure performed before ophthalmic surgery. The frequency and characteristics of new medical issues and unstable medical conditions revealed by ophthalmic preanesthesia medical examination are unknown. We conducted a prospective observational study to estimate the proportion of patients with new medical issues and unstable ...

INTRODUCTION: This study simulated intubation with direct laryngoscopy and with a GlideScope Ranger video laryngoscope using a standard Laerdal airway manikin in a medical helicopter under various conditions. We hypothesized that the intubation times would be greater using direct laryngoscopy compared with the GlideScope under all conditions. METHODS: Twenty crew ...

PURPOSE: The use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) in older people is associated with increased risk of adverse drug events and hospitalization. This study aimed to determine the contribution of primary prescribers to variation in PIM use. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study using 2008 Medicare Part D event ...

STUDY OBJECTIVE: We determine the validity of self-reported prescription filling among emergency department (ED) patients. METHODS: We analyzed a subgroup of 1,026 patients enrolled in a randomized controlled trial who were prescribed at least 1 medication at ED discharge, were covered by Medicaid insurance, and completed a telephone interview 1 ...

The objective of this long-term and hospital-wide study is to examine characteristics of patients who discharge against medical advice (DAMA), their rates of readmission and mortality after self-discharge. Administrative data of admissions to Flinders Medical Centre (FMC) between July 2002 and June 2011 was used to compare readmissions and mortality ...

Purpose: Predefined error opportunity categories were used as a surrogate for medication errors to assess the impact of computerized prescriber order entry (CPOE) on the potential for error in the prescribing and order entry phases of the medication-use process.Methods: This study was performed in a neonatal intensive care unit at ...

Objective:  The aim of the work was to analyse the outpatient medication errors detected on admission in senior patients in a Spanish general internal medicine service. Patients and methods:  We carried out a retrospective cohort study based on a review of the admission reports of consecutive, non-selected, patients aged ≥ 65 years. ...

Lists of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) for the elderly, such as the German PRISCUS list, have been published as expert recommendations with the aim of improving drug safety for this patient group. In this study, we tried to determine how often adverse drug events occur in the emergency department and ...

Statistically significant studies may be cited more than negative studies on the same topic. We aimed to assess here whether such citation bias is present across the medical literature. We conducted a cohort study of the association between statistical significance and citations. We selected all therapeutic intervention studies included in ...

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between disease severity and adherence with glaucoma medications in a county hospital population. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 126 patients diagnosed with glaucoma receiving intraocular pressure (IOP)-lowering medication were recruited from the San Francisco General Hospital Ophthalmology Clinic. METHODS: Subjects completed an oral ...

BACKGROUND: Risk factors for increased anaphylaxis severity are poorly understood. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors have been associated with severe anaphylactic reactions in patients with hymenoptera venom allergy. Studies evaluating the association between beta-blockers and severe anaphylaxis have been conflicting. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between antihypertensive medication use and increased ...

Purpose:  To investigate whether the amount of intraocular pressure (IOP) reduction with topical medications is associated with the progression of normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) and to identify risk factors for NTG progression. Methods:  The medical records of 121 eyes of 121 NTG patients, who were treated with topical medications for more ...

BACKGROUND: There have been no studies describing post-intensive care unit (ICU) alcohol use among medical-surgical ICU survivors. OBJECTIVE: To examine alcohol use and identify potentially modifiable risk factors, such as in-hospital probable acute stress disorder, for increased alcohol use following medical-surgical ICU admission. METHOD: This longitudinal investigation included 150 medical-surgical ...

To determine the epidemiology of the nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus and its susceptibility pattern among preclinical medical students at the HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Medical Center, Srinakharinwirot University. Nasal swabs were taken from 128 preclinical medical students prior to working at the hospital. Susceptibility testing of S. aureus ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Falls are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the elderly. This study examined the frequency of hospital admission for falls or fractures, and the association with a recent change in the use of cardiovascular and psychotropic medications. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective case-cohort study of ...

AIM: To use linked electronic medical and dental records to discover associations between periodontitis and medical conditions independent of a priori hypotheses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This case-control study included 2475 patients who underwent dental treatment at the College of Dental Medicine at Columbia University and medical treatment at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. ...

Purpose: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of viscocanalostomy in the management of medically uncontrollable primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) in a developing country. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective, non-randomized case series of 14 consecutive eyes with medically uncontrollable POAG, all subjected to viscocanalostomy. The main outcome measure was ...

Medical students are future doctors who are trained to treat all kind of diseases including people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) without prejudice. This study was to determine the factors associated with knowledge on HIV/AIDS and stigma towards PLWHA among medical students. This was a cross sectional study with stratified random ...

OBJECTIVES:High body mass index (BMI) is an established risk factor of gastroesophageal reflux symptoms (GERS). The aim of this study was to clarify if weight loss reduces GERS.METHODS:The study was part of the Nord-Trøndelag health study (the HUNT study), a prospective population-based cohort study conducted in Nord-Trøndelag County, Norway. All ...

BACKGROUND: Functional GI syndromes are known to be very prevalent, but this may be linked to unrecognized medications use. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of PPI, antidepressant, and narcotic use in the general population, and to evaluate the association between each medication and functional GI syndromes adjusting for potential ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Comorbidity in patients with diabetes is associated with poorer health and increased cost. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and ingredient cost of comorbidity in patients >=65 years with and without medication treated type 2 diabetes using a national pharmacy claims database. METHODS: The ...

OBJECTIVE: Economic access to costly medications including biologic agents can be challenging. Our objective was to examine whether patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at particular risk for cost-related medication nonadherence (CRN) and spending less on basic needs. METHODS: We identified a nationally representative sample of older adults with RA ...

BACKGROUND: An 8-year era of interrupted indigenous measles transmission in Bulgaria came to an end in April 2009 when a large epidemic occurred that would eventually claim 24 253 cases and 24 deaths; infants, children and young adults of the Roma community were disproportionally affected. Compared with Western Europe, case-fatality ...

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to characterize patterns of preventive medication use in persons with episodic migraine (EM) and chronic migraine (CM). BACKGROUND: Several classes of medications are used both on- and off-label for the prevention of migraine, including β-blockers (eg, propranolol, timolol), tricyclic antidepressants (eg, amitriptyline), anti-epileptic drugs (eg, topiramate, ...

Poor adherence to tuberculosis (TB) treatment hinders the individual's recovery and threatens public health. Currently, directly observed therapy (DOT) is the standard of care; however, high sustaining costs limit its availability, creating a need for more practical adherence confirmation methods. Techniques such as video monitoring and devices to time-register the ...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of dosing frequency on adherence in severe chronic psychiatric and neurological diseases. A systematic literature review was conducted for articles in English from medical databases. Diseases were schizophrenia, psychosis, epilepsy, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder. Of 1420 abstracts screened, ...

Burnout is a common problem for interns and residents. It may be related to medical error, but little is known about this relationship. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between burnout and perceived medical errors among interns and residents. The study group consisted of interns and ...

Although proven stroke secondary prevention medications are available, persistent use is required to be effective. The present study aimed to investigate the degree of secondary prevention medications persistence after acute ischemic stroke (AIS) or transient ischemic attack (TIA), factors influencing persistence and its association with stroke outcomes. We examined patients ...