Postgraduate medical journal
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Multicenter Study
Factors that trigger emergency physicians to contact a poison centre: findings from a Swiss study.
Poison centres offer rapid and comprehensive support for emergency physicians managing poisoned patients. This study investigates institutional, case-specific and poisoning-specific factors which influence the decision of emergency physicians to contact a poison centre. ⋯ We found low rates of poison centre consultation by emergency physicians. It appears that intensive care unit admission and other factors reflecting either complexity or uncertainty of the clinical situation are the strongest predictors for poison centre consultation. Hospital size did not influence referral behaviour.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Emergency physician recognition of delirium.
To compare the recognition of delirium by emergency physicians based on observations made during routine clinical care with concurrent ratings made by a trained researcher after formal cognitive assessment and to examine each of the four individual features of delirium separately to determine the variation in identification across features. ⋯ When emergency physicians use routine clinical observations, they may miss diagnosing up to two-thirds of patients with delirium. Recognition of delirium can be enhanced with standardised cognitive testing.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Did the 'Be Clear on Bowel Cancer' public awareness campaign pilot result in a higher rate of cancer detection?
To assess the impact of a 7-week public bowel cancer awareness campaign pilot by reviewing the number of 2-week referrals from general practitioners (GPs) to hospital, endoscopic procedures and new cancers diagnosed throughout the five acute hospitals in The Peninsular Cancer Network, UK. ⋯ The pilot 'Be Clear on Cancer' awareness campaign had a significant effect on the number of patients being referred from GPs to hospital; however, the effect was short lived and had returned to baseline by 3 months. The campaign had no effect on the number of new cancers diagnosed, which was the stated underlying aim of the pilot.
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Review Multicenter Study
An analysis of the current educational status and future training needs of China's rural doctors in 2011.
To analyse the educational status and future training needs of China's rural doctors and provide a basis to improve their future training. ⋯ Our results suggest that the training status and needs of China's rural doctors are still disjointed; measures including the introduction of remote education and clinical further education, extended training time and more clinical skills training should be adopted.
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Multicenter Study
Muscle weakness, health status and frequency of exacerbations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Multiple factors contribute to muscle weakness and reduced muscle mass in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and this impacts patients' quality of life. One factor implicated in this process is systemic inflammation, an accompaniment of acute exacerbations. Recurrent exacerbations are associated with lower health status. This study examines the relationship between muscle weaknesses, health status and exacerbation frequency in a cohort of patients with COPD. ⋯ Our data clearly demonstrate that reduction in grip strength occurs more frequently and to a greater extent in patients with a history of frequent exacerbations and is associated with reduced health status.