Objectives To determine the frequency, types and severity of medications use-related problems among medical outpatients in a tertiary care setting in southwestern Nigeria. Setting Medical outpatient clinics of a 900-bed Teaching Hospital located in Ibadan, Southwestern Nigeria. Methods A prospective cross-sectional medication use review was conducted by ten pharmacists for ...

Tobacco dependence is a chronic disease that often requires repeated interventions and multiple attempts to quit. To date, three medications are FDA-approved for smoking cessation: nicotine replacement therapy, sustained-release bupropion, and varenicline. These treatments are effective across a broad range of populations, and are recommended for all smokers, including those ...

BACKGROUND: Self-report scales are used to assess medication adherence. Data on how to discriminate change in self-reported adherence over time from random variability are limited. OBJECTIVE: To determine the minimal detectable change for scores on the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8). METHODS: The MMAS-8 was administered twice, using a ...

Within the medical home, understanding the family and community context in which children live is critical to optimally promoting children's health and development. How to best identify psychosocial issues likely to have an impact on children's development is uncertain. Professional guidelines encourage pediatricians to incorporate family psychosocial screening within the ...

BACKGROUND:: Although nonadherence is well documented and strategies for adherence have been shown to be critical to overcoming barriers and improving overall adherence rates, it is unknown how family strategy use is related to adherence in the pediatric renal transplant population. OBJECTIVES:: The aims of this study were to assess ...

Medication errors in pediatric anesthesia represent an important risk to children. Concerted action to reduce harm from this cause is overdue. An understanding of the genesis of avoidable adverse drug events may facilitate the development of effective countermeasures to the events or their effects. Errors include those involving the automatic ...

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to provide information on overall medication use throughout pregnancy, with particular focus on the first trimester and specific prescription medications. STUDY DESIGN: The study design included the Slone Epidemiology Center Birth Defects Study, 1976-2008, and the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, 1997-2003, which ...

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Elective lumbar discectomy among injured workers is a prevalent spine surgery that often requires a lengthy rehabilitation. It is important to determine presurgical biopsychosocial predictors of compensation and medical costs in such patients. PURPOSE: To determine if presurgical biopsychosocial variables are predictive of compensation and medical costs in ...

Abstract Previous study has shown that in the United States, most maternal deaths and severe obstetric complications due to chronic disease are potentially preventable through improved medical care before conception. Many women who need assisted reproductive technology (ART) because of infertility are older than the average pregnant woman. Risks for ...

In January 2010, fifth year medical students in the medical programme at the University of Auckland were asked to write a 1200-word report as part of their ethics assessment. The purpose of the report was to get students to reflect critically on the ethical dimension of a clinical case or ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The assumption behind the presented work is that the information people search for on the internet reflects the disease status in society. By having access to this source of information, epidemiologists can get a valuable complement to the traditional surveillance and potentially get new and timely epidemiological insights. ...

Previous research suggests that routinization of medication-taking behavior promotes antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence. The current study explored the nature of medication-taking routines in the home environment, where medication is most often taken, to identify home-based cues for taking ART. Qualitative interviews were conducted in the homes of 31 HIV-positive adult ...

Clinical data in electronic medical records (EMRs) are a potential source of longitudinal clinical data for research. The Electronic Medical Records and Genomics Network (eMERGE) investigates whether data captured through routine clinical care using EMRs can identify disease phenotypes with sufficient positive and negative predictive values for use in genome-wide ...

Background Medical problems are described in a population of persons with Down syndrome. Health surveillance is compared to the recommendations of national guidelines. Method Case records from the specialised and primary healthcare and disability services were analysed. Results A wide spectrum of age-specific medical and surgical problems was described. Congenital ...

OBJECTIVE:: To describe the range of ergonomic stressors and effective interventions in otherwise healthy patients diagnosed with upper extremity disorders associated with occupational keyboard/mouse use. METHODS:: From patients treated in our Medical-Ergonomic Program, we report demographic data, symptoms, signs, diagnoses and associated ergonomic stressors and response to medical/ergonomic interventions. RESULTS:: ...

Background  The role of information on patients' decision to non-adhere is important, yet not well explored. Objective  To identify differences between perceived information needs for hypertension and medication to treat it, to explore the information channels used by patients and to test what type of information is more important to ...

The use of multiple medications, in persons 65 years and older, has been linked to increased risk for cognitive impairment, falls, hip fractures, hospitalizations, adverse drug reactions, and mortality. The purpose of this study was to determine if trained undergraduate students, in conjunction with pharmacists, could provide in-home medication reviews and ...

OBJECTIVE: Assess the odds of having an initial claim for statutory sickness benefit awarded (ascribed to mental disorder as the main registered diagnosis), in relation to institutional, clinical, sociodemographic and welfare factors in Juiz de Fora-MG, Brazil. METHOD: Two models of logistic regression, taking into account the categories of the ...

The Department of Health of Executive Yuan in Taiwan (R.O.C.) is implementing a five-stage project entitled Electronic Medical Record (EMR) converting all health records from written to electronic form. Traditionally, physicians record patients' symptoms, related examinations, and suggested treatments on paper medical records. Currently when implementing the EMR, all text ...

This study's purpose was to describe compliance with established venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis guidelines in medical and surgical inpatients at US academic medical centers (AMCs). Data were collected for a 2007 University HealthSystem Consortium Deep Vein Thrombosis/Pulmonary Embolism (DVT/PE) Benchmarking Project that explored VTE in AMCs. Prophylaxis was considered appropriate ...

OBJECTIVE: Increasingly health care facilities are adopting electronic medical record systems and installing computer workstations in patient exam rooms. The introduction of computer workstations into the medical interview process makes it important to consider the impact of such technology on older patients as well as new types of interfaces that ...

The primary aim of this paper is to examine the characteristics of a large sample of youth with OCD who are partial responders (i.e., still have clinically significant symptoms) to serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) medication. The sample will be described with regard to: demographics, treatment history, OCD symptoms/severity, family history ...

BACKGROUND: We aimed to estimate the societal costs of rotavirus cases among children less than 5 years in Kazakhstan, an upper-middle income country in Central Asia. METHODS: Data on medical, non-medical and indirect costs were collected for 190 patients less than 5 years, hospitalized with severe diarrhea in 2009 in ...

BACKGROUND: It is well recognized that medication errors occur and can affect success in treating patients with HIV/AIDS. However, little information is available describing the prevalence, nature, and causes of medication errors. OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence of combination antiretroviral therapy (ARR)- and opportunistic infection (OI)-related medication errors and describe ...

Much of the available literature on individuals with trisomy 9 mosaicism focuses on reports concerning results of prenatal testing or fetal autopsy with limited reports of long-term survivors. Data from the Tracking Rare Incidence Syndromes (TRIS) project offer the largest series to date examining the presenting physical characteristics and medical ...

Effective collaboration and teamwork is essential to providing safe hospital care. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of an intervention designed to improve interdisciplinary collaboration and lower the rate of adverse events (AEs). The study was a controlled trial of an intervention, Structured Inter-Disciplinary Rounds, implemented ...

BACKGROUND: As with other long-term conditions patients with bipolar disorder are rarely totally adherent or non-adherent. Rates of non-adherence have not changed since the first introduction of psychotropic medications in the 1950s despite vast numbers of new compounds being marketed. Non-adherence with medication in bipolar disorder is associated with affective ...

Background Medical tourism involves patients travelling internationally to receive medical services. This practice raises a range of ethical issues, including potential harms to the patient's home and destination country and risks to the patient's own health. Medical tourists often engage the services of a facilitator who may book travel and ...

We are revising the criteria in the Listing of Impairments (the listings) that we use to evaluate claims under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act (Act) involving endocrine disorders in adults and children. The revisions reflect our adjudicative experience, advances in medical knowledge, information from medical experts, ...

Abstract Background: Ototopical self-medication is a common practice in Nigeria. Objective: The aim of the study was to establish the proportion of patients with otological problems that practice ototopical self-medication. Methods: A 12-week cross-sectional study of all the new patients attending the general outpatient (also called family medicine (FM)) and ...

Montel S, Albertini L, Spitz E. Coping strategies as related to medical and demographic data in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Acta Neurol Scand: DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0404.2011.01513.x. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Introduction -  The aim of this study was to examine the coping strategies of 49 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ...

Objective:  Medication errors are a frequent cause of adverse drug events and a major concern for patient safety. This study compared the predictors of error among seven countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany and the Netherlands). Methods:  We conducted a cross-sectional study using the ...

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the medical professionals and medical students perceived usefulness of an emergency medical card (EMC) and a continuity of care (CoC) report, in enhancing CoC. METHODS: The study reviewers included medical professionals from outpatient clinics at Intermountain Healthcare and fourth-year medical students from the University of Utah. Three ...

This issue provides a clinical overview of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease focusing on prevention, diagnosis, treatment, practice improvement, and patient information. Readers can complete the accompanying CME quiz for 1.5 credits. Only ACP members and individual subscribers can access the electronic features of In the Clinic. Non-subscribers who wish to ...

BACKGROUND: Longer survival of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) has been linked to initiation of national newborn screening, new therapies that prevent and treat pulmonary exacerbations, and closer monitoring of health outcomes. However, few studies have examined the economic impact of these medical advances on costs, and none have examined ...

Objective : To evaluate the evidence for quality of life (QoL) impairment, disability, healthcare resource use and economic burden associated with chronic daily headache (CDH), focusing on chronic migraine (CM) with or without medication overuse. Methods : A systematic review and qualitative synthesis of studies of patients/subjects with CDH that ...

ABSTRACTBackground: Doctors working in the majority of medical subspecialties provide care for patients with dementia, but there is current international concern that many do not have adequate knowledge or skills to deliver appropriate care for these patients in hospital or community settings. The aim of this review is to draw ...

As many as 1 in every 110 children in the United States has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Many medical treatments for ASDs have been proposed and studied, but there is currently no consensus regarding which interventions are most effective. To systematically review evidence regarding medical treatments for children aged ...

Medical abortion is under-used in developing countries. We assessed whether early fi rst-trimester medical abortion provided by midlevel providers (government-trained, certified nurses and auxiliary nurse midwives) was as safe and effective as that provided by doctors in Nepal. This multicentre randomised controlled equivalence trial was done in fi ve rural ...

Apologizing to patients and their families for medical mistakes is an increasingly accepted practice. Overlooked is the need to apologize to other members of the treatment team or patients for humiliations inflicted in medical practice, independent of medical mistakes. A humiliated treatment team member or patient is apt to undermine ...

Background: Predictors of medication adherence are not well known in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It is therefore necessary to identify factors associated with adherence to improve the effectiveness of COPD management within real-world situations. Objectives: The goals of this study were to estimate adherence to respiratory medication and to ...

(Headache 2011;51:520-532) Study Objectives.- To examine race-related differences in adherence to preventive medication agents in headache patients and identify factors predictive of medication adherence in Caucasian and African American headache patients. Methods.- Using a longitudinal naturalistic study design, data from 77 Caucasian and 32 African American headache patients were collected ...

: To describe the prevalence, type, and factors associated with medication errors in a pediatric emergency department. : This is a descriptive retrospective study about the treatments administered in the pediatric emergency department during a week in November 2007. We used the protocols and clinical guides at our center as ...

Abstract Objective: Internet-based medical visits, or "structured e-Visits," allow patients to report symptoms and seek diagnosis and treatment from their doctor over a secure Web site, without calling or visiting the physician's office. While acceptability of e-Visits has been investigated, outcomes associated with e-Visits, that is, whether patients receiving diagnoses ...

Background: Many physician trainees care for patients in an academic hospital. We studied parent understanding of the roles of medical students, interns, residents, and attending physicians in the inpatient setting of a children's hospital. Description: Surveys were given to parents during a hospital stay on a medical service asking about ...

With increased medication use among the older adult population, adverse drug events and polypharmacy can be significant causes of dizziness in the elderly. The evidence evaluated in this review is helpful in clinical practice but requires an additional detailed investigation into the agents discussed to understand the risk/benefit ratio associated ...

Neurosarcoidosis can worsen despite standard immunosuppressive therapy, a situation for which there is no established medical management. We present three cases of medically refractory neurosarcoidosis treated with infliximab. All three patients showed a clinical response to this treatment and side effects were limited. A summary of reported cases of neurosarcoidosis ...

When can pharmaceutical companies be held liable for failure to disclose medication risks-such as the link between selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and suicidality of young people? The companies have claimed that Food and Drug Administration approval of labeling information, required by federal law, should preempt liability in state courts. Thus ...

It is obvious that pharmacists play a critical role as risk managers in the healthcare system, especially in medication treatment. Hitherto, there is not a single multicenter-survey report describing the effectiveness of clinical pharmacists in preventing medical errors from occurring in the wards in Japan. Thus, we conducted a 1-month ...

BACKGROUND:: Religious (R) and spiritual (S) beliefs often affect patients' health care decisions, particularly with regard to care at the end of life. Furthermore, patients desire more R/S involvement by the medical community; however, physicians typically do not incorporate R/S assessment into medical interviews with patients. The effects of physicians' ...