Journal of evaluation in clinical practice
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Identifying predictors of improvement amongst patients receiving routine treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) could provide information about factors that influence the clinical effectiveness of guideline-concordant care. This study builds on prior work by accounting for delivery of specific evidence-based treatments (EBTs) for PTSD while identifying potential predictors of clinical improvement using patient-reported outcomes measurement. ⋯ VA patients with PTSD can realize significant improvement in routine clinical practice. Although available medical records-based variables were generally insufficient to predict improvement trajectory, this study did indicate that men have lower odds of substantial improvement than women.
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The ability to acquire the best evidence efficiently is an important competency for busy health-care professionals who must make decisions quickly. ⋯ This study is the first to develop and validate a scale for measuring evidence-searching skills through a systematic approach. The scale is composed of 15 items and a global rating score that can be easily used in objective assessment of knowledge-acquiring ability.
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The aim of the present study was to determine the cost-effectiveness of the utilization of "good practice" according to a bronchiolitis clinical practice guideline (CPG) in a population of infants hospitalized for acute bronchiolitis. ⋯ Compared with lack of "good practice," the utilization of "good practice" in the diagnosis and management of acute bronchiolitis according to a bronchiolitis CPG is a dominant strategy because it involves both fewer patients readmitted within 10 days of post discharge and lower costs.
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Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) endeavour to incorporate the best available research evidence together with the clinically informed opinions of leading experts in order to guide clinical practice when dealing with a given condition. There has been increased interest in CPGs that are evidence based and that promote best practice, a central component of which is incorporating the best available research predicated on strong study designs. Despite this soaring interest, there remains heterogeneity in the methodological quality of many CPGs, which may have an effect on the quality of services that clinicians offer. In light of this, this study examined the quality of the methodology used to develop two CPGs of the Canadian Psychiatric Association (CPA). ⋯ Implications for the development of future CPGs on anxiety and depression, including recommendations to improve guideline quality in psychiatry in particular, are discussed.
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Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for preoperative care have been developed for surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis (SAP). The objective of this study was to synthetize recommendations for SAP based on best-evaluated CPGs. ⋯ Several CPGs for SAP were developed without the desired methodological rigour or transparency. Synthesis of recommendations for best-evaluated CPGs provides a broad approach owing to the complementarity of the recommendations.