Angular and Linear Accelerations, Ear, and the Skeletal Muscle.

The ear serves two vital functions of hearing and maintaining balance. It achieves these roles within three major compartments: the outer, the middle, and the inner ear. Embryological development of the ear and its associated structures have been studied in some animal models. Yet, the role of skeletal muscle in ear development and its related structures is largely unknown. Research suggests the outer ear and parts of the inner ear may require skeletal muscle for normal embryogenesis. Here, we describe the role of skeletal muscle in the development of the ear and its associated structures. Moreover, we report the possible consequences of defect in the skeletal muscle of the ear and the clinical correlates of such consequences.

Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Initiatives in Cleft Lip and Palate Surgery: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Cleft lip and/or palate repair techniques require continued reevaluation of best practice through high-quality evidence. The objective of this systematic review was to highlight the existing evidence for patient safety and quality improvement (QI) initiatives in cleft lip and palate surgery. METHODS: A systematic review of published literature evaluating patient safety and QI in patients with cleft lip and/or palate was conducted from database inception to June 9, 2022, using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews guidelines. Quality appraisal of included studies was conducted using Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies, Cochrane, or a Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) 2 instruments, according to study type. RESULTS: Sixty-one studies met inclusion criteria, with most published between 2010 and 2020 (63.9%). Randomized controlled trials represented the most common study design (37.7%). Half of all included studies were related to the topic of pain and analgesia, with many supporting the use of infraorbital nerve block using 0.25% bupivacaine. The second most common intervention examined was use of perioperative antibiotics in reducing fistula and infection (11.5%). Other studies examined optimal age and closure material for cleft lip repair, early recovery after surgery protocols, interventions to reduce blood loss, and safety of outpatient surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Patient safety and QI studies in cleft surgery were of moderate quality overall and covered a wide range of interventions. To further enhance PS in cleft repair, more high-quality research in the areas of perioperative pharmaceutical usage, appropriate wound closure materials, and optimal surgical timing are needed.

Active Versus Passive Transcutaneous Bone Conduction Hearing Devices: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Active and passive transcutaneous devices (tBCHDs) have been introduced in an effort to address complication concerns with percutaneous devices. Direct comparison of active and passive devices through evidence synthesis practices is incomplete. This systematic review and meta-analysis sought to synthesize and compare available evidence on audiological, quality of life, and complication-related outcomes of active and passive tBCHDs. DESIGN: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Cochrane CENTRAL were searched from inception to September 23, 2019. Observational and experimental studies investigating active or passive tBCHDs in adults were eligible. Studies were screened independently in duplicate. This study is reported in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. Risk of bias and quality assessments were completed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and the Quality Appraisal Tool for Case Series. Meta-analysis was performed with random-effects models. Audiological outcomes included changes in pure-tone average, functional hearing, and high-frequency hearing. Quality of life outcomes included patient-reported results. Complications included minor, major, and total complications experienced. RESULTS: One thousand five hundred forty-two nonduplicate articles were screened. Twenty-eight studies were included. Quality of included studies was low overall. The pooled complication rate for active devices was 14.8% (95% confidence interval: 0.09-0.21, I2: 0%). The pooled improvement in functional hearing for active devices among those with mixed or conductive hearing loss was 31.8 dB (95% confidence interval: 27.7-35.9, I2: 44.6). Improvement in functional hearing ranged from 25.2 to 44.3 dB for passive devices. Active devices provided improved high-frequency hearing compared to passive devices: the weighted average hearing gains at 2, 3, 4, and 6 kHz were 26.5, 25.7, 31.8, and 34.3 dB for active devices and 26.2, 21.1, 16.8, and 6.4 dB for passive devices, respectively. Both device types demonstrated improvement in ease of communication, reverberation, and understandability in background noise. CONCLUSIONS: Both active and passive tBCHDs demonstrate acceptable safety profiles and QoL improvements. Active devices may provide better hearing outcomes, especially in high frequencies, but high-quality comparative studies are lacking. Future work is needed in this regard.

Turn analysis and patient-centredness in paediatric otolaryngology surgical consultations.

OBJECTIVES: Physician and patient/parent communication is of utmost importance in consultations to improve the shared decision-making (SDM) processes. This study investigated SDM-related outcomes through turn analysis and an assessment of patient-centred dialogue. DESIGN: Multi-centre prospective cohort study analysing audio- and video-recorded patient/parent-physician interactions. SETTING: Two tertiary paediatric hospitals in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Salt Lake City, Utah. PARTICIPANTS: Paediatric otolaryngologists, patients and parents during consultation for adenotonsillectomy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Medical dialogue measures (turn analysis, patient-centredness scores via the Roter Interaction Analysis System) and SDM questionnaires (SDM-Q-9). RESULTS: Turn density was significantly higher for physicians than patients/parents (P < .001), as were total statements (P < .001), and total time talking (P < .001). The opening statement was completed by the physician in 91.5% of interactions and was significantly longer than family opening statements (P = .003). The mean number of informed consent elements addressed per interaction was 4.5 out of 6. The mean patient-centredness score was 0.2 (range 0-0.56). Significant negative correlations between patient-centredness score and physician turn density (r = -.390, P = .002), physician mean turn time (r = -.406, P = .001), total physician statements (r = -.426, P = .001) and total physician speaking time (r = -.313, P = .016) were noted. There were no correlations in SDM questionnaire scores with turn analysis variables, informed consent elements or patient-centredness scores. CONCLUSIONS: Surgeons dominated the consultation in terms of talking, mostly in a unidirectional manner. Neither patient-centredness nor turn analysis correlated with perceptions of SDM from the parents' perspective.

Shared decision-making in older children and parents considering elective adenotonsillectomy.

OBJECTIVES: Shared decision-making describes a collaborative process in which healthcare providers and patients/families make treatment decisions using the best available evidence, while taking into account the patient's values and preferences. The objectives of this study were to assess the level of decisional conflict and shared decision-making experienced by older children and their parents when considering elective adentonsillectomies. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study. SETTING: Paediatric otolaryngology clinic in a teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Participants included 53 children older than 9 years and their parents who underwent consultation for tonsillectomy with or without adenoidectomy. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES: Children and parents completed the Decisional Conflict Scale (DCS) and Shared Decision-Making Questionnaire-Patient Version (SDM-Q-9). Surgeons completed the Shared Decision-Making Questionnaire-Physician Version (SDM-Q-Doc). RESULTS: Overall, 10 (19%) parents and 18 (34%) children reported clinically significant decisional conflict. Parents who opted not to proceed with surgery had significantly higher DCS scores than those who decided to proceed with surgery. Both parents and children SDM-Q-9 and total DCS scores were significantly negatively correlated. Physician SDM-Q-Doc and parent total DCS scores were negatively correlated, while parent and physician SDM scores were positively correlated. CONCLUSIONS: Many older children and parents reported significant decisional conflict when considering elective paediatric otolaryngology surgery. Decisional conflict levels for both children and parents decreased with greater perceived levels of shared decision-making. Older children did not appear to discern the same levels of shared decision-making as parents and surgeons. Future research should assess methods to implement shared decision-making into clinical practice for clinicians, parents and children when appropriate.

Validity of laryngomalacia classification systems: A multi-institutional agreement study.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the agreement of paediatric otolaryngologists on classifying laryngomalacia (LM). DESIGN: Intra- and interobserver agreement study of two classification systems. SETTING: Three tertiary referral paediatric centres. PARTICIPANTS: Three paediatric otolaryngologists, who were blinded to any clinical details, interpreted the videos of children diagnosed with LM using the Holinger and Olney classifications independently. They rated the videos twice with a washout period of at least 2 weeks. THE MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Inter- and intra-observer agreement measured by overall Fleiss kappa and unweighted Cohen's kappa coefficients. The secondary outcome measures were inter- and intra-observer agreement on the individual anatomical subunits of the supraglottis affected by LM, characterised by the subcategories of the classifications. RESULTS: Video records of infants and children <18 years who had an endoscopic diagnosis of LM from 2012 to 2017 were retrospectively chosen for inclusion (n = 73). The overall Fleiss kappa coefficient was 0.25 (95% CI 0.18-0.32) amongst the raters using the Holinger classification and 0.31 (95% CI 0.21-0.42) for the Olney classification. Intra-observer agreement using the Holinger classification was 0.30 (95% CI 0.18-0.42), 0.62 (95% CI 0.23-0.85) and 0.84 (95% CI 0.75-0.94], whilst the Olney classification yielded values of 0.41 (95% CI 0.26-0.56), 0.51 (95% CI 0.29-0.63) and 0.63 (95% CI 0.48-0.78). CONCLUSIONS: The agreement on types of LM between expert observers is modest using the Holinger and Olney classifications. This has significant implications for accurately diagnosing LM and exposes potential obstacles against credible pooling of data and extrapolation of information.

Assessing Attentional Bias in Secondary Cleft Lip Deformities: An Eye-Tracking Study.

OBJECTIVE: Using a well-established measure of attention, we aimed to objectively identify differences in severity between types of simulated secondary cleft lip deformities. DESIGN: Volunteer participants viewed a series of images of a child digitally modified to simulate different secondary unilateral cleft lip deformities (long lip, short lip, white roll/vermilion disjunction, and vermilion excess), a lip scar with no secondary deformity, or a normal lip. Eye movements were recorded using a table-mounted eye-tracking device. Dwell times for 7 facial regions (eyes, nose, mouth, left ear, right ear, scar, and entire face) were compared. PARTICIPANTS: Forty-six naive adults (25 male; mean age 25.5 years) were recruited from our local university community. MAIN OUTCOME: The primary outcome of the study was cumulative dwell time between facial regions (eyes, nose, mouth, left ear, right ear, scar, and entire face). RESULTS: Participants spent significantly more time focused on the upper lip regions in patients with simulated secondary deformities relative to those who did not ( P < .01). Severe short lip deformities resulted in longer fixation times than severe long lips ( P < .05). Participants spent less time focused on the eye region in the presence of a secondary lip deformity ( P < .05). When total facial fixation time was assessed, short lip deformities resulted in the greatest duration dwell time ( P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: This study presents objective data to support the concept that observers show varying degrees of attentional bias to the lip region depending on the type and severity of the simulated secondary cleft lip deformity.

The Effect of Written Information on Recall of Surgical Risks of Primary Cleft Palate Repair: A Randomized Controlled Study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate parents' understanding of the risks of primary cleft palate surgery after counseling with and without the use of a written informational aid. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, single-blind trial. SETTING: Academic tertiary care center. PARTICIPANTS: Parents of children undergoing primary cleft palate surgery. INTERVENTIONS: Parents were randomized to receive a standard informed consent discussion with or without provision of a written informational aid in the form of a pamphlet. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURE: Parents' recall of 9 specific surgical risks 3 weeks after informed consent discussion. RESULTS: Forty parents enrolled in and completed the study (20 participants each in the control and intervention groups). There were no statistically significant differences between groups in terms of baseline demographics. The mean number of risks recalled were 3.7 (1.6) for the control group and 4.2 (1.9) for the intervention group (P = .37). The most commonly recalled risks were fistula formation and bleeding, while the least frequent were facial growth restriction and need for further surgery. No differences in risk recall were observed based on participant's gender, level of education, or income. CONCLUSION: Parents of children undergoing primary cleft palate surgery recall less than 50% of counseled risks. The use of a written aid in the form of a pamphlet did not significantly improve recall in this sample. These results demonstrate that surgeons should implement additional measures to improve comprehension of surgical risks.

The benefit of a remotely monitored implantable loop recorder as a first line investigation in unexplained syncope: the EaSyAS II trial.

AIMS: This prospective randomized controlled study evaluated the first-line use of a novel remotely monitored implantable loop recorder (ILR) in the initial investigation of unexplained syncope, and compared this to conventional therapy and a dedicated Syncope Clinic (SC). METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 246 patients (mean age 70.3 years) were randomly allocated to conventional management, SC alone, ILR alone, or SC + ILR. Median follow-up was 20 months (IQR 15-25 months). Time to electrocardiogram (ECG) diagnosis was significantly shorter with ILR alone vs. conventional [hazard ratio (HR) 35.5, P = 0.0004] and with SC vs. conventional (HR 25.6, P = 0.002). Seventy-four per cent of first syncopal events documented in the SC groups occurred during provocative tilt testing. Twenty-two per cent of patients who received an ILR were found to have a bradycardia indication for permanent pacing, compared with 3% of patients who did not. Overall, more investigative tests were undertaken in the conventional group than in any other. Only patients who received an ILR had a significant increase in time to second syncope (P = 0.02), suggesting successful diagnosis and management of treatable causes of syncope. CONCLUSIONS: Implantable loop recorder monitoring achieved a more rapid diagnosis in unexplained syncope than usual care. Conventional management of syncope failed to achieve an ECG diagnosis despite a large number of investigative tests. Syncope Clinic and provocative tilt testing delivered a rapid ECG diagnosis, but did not prevent recurrent syncope. Implantable loop recorders offered rapid diagnosis, increased the likelihood of syncope being reported, demonstrated a high rate of intermittent bradycardia requiring pacing, and reduced recurrent syncope.

Public Perception of the Burden of Microtia.

Microtia is associated with psychosocial burden and stigma. The authors' objective was to determine the potential impact of being born with microtia by using validated health state utility assessment measures. An online utility assessment using visual analogue scale, time tradeoff, and standard gamble was used to determine utilities for microtia with or without ipsilateral deafness, monocular blindness, and binocular blindness from a prospective sample of the general population. Utility scores were compared between health states using Wilcoxon and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Univariate regression was performed using sex, age, race, and education as independent predictors of utility scores. Over a 6-month enrollment period, 104 participants were included in the analysis. Visual analogue scale (median 0.80, interquartile range [0.72-0.85]), time tradeoff (0.88 [0.77-0.91]), and standard gamble (0.91 [0.84-0.97]) scores for microtia with ipsilateral deafness were higher (P <0.01) than those of binocular blindness (visual analogue scale, 0.30 [0.20-0.45]; time tradeoff, 0.42 [0.17-0.67]; and standard gamble, 0.52 [0.36-0.78]). Time trade-off scores for microtia with deafness were not different from monocular blindness (0.83 [0.67-0.91]). Higher level of education was associated with higher time tradeoff and standard gamble scores for microtia with or without deafness (P <0.05). Using objective health state utility scores, the current study demonstrates that the perceived burden of microtia with or without deafness is no different or less than monocular blindness. Given high utility scores for microtia, delaying autologous reconstruction beyond school entrance age may be justified.

Otoplasty Outcomes With Different Suture Materials in a Rabbit Model.

Otoplasty is a commonly performed procedure to correct prominent ears. Many different otoplasty techniques have been described but there is no gold standard technique. As well, many different suture materials are used in otoplasty but studies directly comparing different sutures materials are lacking. An otoplasty outcome study with Nylon and Mersilene (2 of the most commonly used sutures in otoplasty) sutures was conducted using a rabbit model. Each rabbit ear was randomized to receive a Mustardé-type horizontal mattress suture with either 4-0 clear Nylon (N = 12 ears) or 4-0 Mersilene sutures (N = 12 ears). Two weeks after surgery, the auricular bend angle was measured with a finger goniometer and histologic analysis with hematoxylin and eosin staining was performed on the rabbit auricular cartilage. Overall, there was no significant difference in the mean bend angle between the 2 groups (Nylon: 135.8°, SD = 22.7° and Mersilene: 143.2°, SD = 19.7°; P = 0.559). Also, no qualitative difference was observed on histologic analysis between the 2 suture groups. In the current rabbit model study, both Nylon and Mersilene sutures performed well and no significant differences were noted.

Parents' experiences of managing their child's postoperative pain at home: an exploratory qualitative study.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To understand parents' experiences of managing their child's postoperative pain at home. BACKGROUND: Recent changes in children's health care services often shift the responsibility of managing children's postoperative pain to parents. Although pain management is important for good postoperative outcomes, it can be a challenging task for families, and children's pain is often under-managed. DESIGN: This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews to explore parents' experiences of managing their child's postoperative pain at home. METHODS: Participants were parents of 10 typically developing 5- and 6-year olds, who underwent (adeno)tonsillectomy, and experienced no complications leading to hospitalisation in the postoperative period. One-on-one interviews were conducted with parents within three months of their child's surgery. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and content analysis was used to identify themes in parents' experiences. RESULTS: All children experienced some postoperative pain. Parents' experiences of managing their child's pain were impacted by balancing the pros and cons of administering analgesic medications, managing the emotional and psychological effects of their child's pain, as well as parents' information needs. CONCLUSIONS: Most parents' information needs were met yet they still struggled to manage their child's pain. These findings provide insight into some of the barriers that make this process challenging for many families, and what health care centres can do to help support parents manage their child's postoperative pain at home. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The results of this study may aid in the design of interventions that will support parents when managing their child's postoperative pain at home and thus improve children's experiences.

Decisional Conflict in Parents Considering Bone-Anchored Hearing Devices in Children With Unilateral Aural Atresia.

OBJECTIVE: The benefits of bone-anchored hearing devices (BAHD) in children with unilateral aural atresia are controversial. We sought to determine whether there is parental decisional conflict surrounding elective placement of BAHD for this indication. METHODS: Caregivers of pediatric patients with unilateral aural atresia and normal contralateral ear undergoing percutaneous BAHD consultation were enrolled. All consultations were carried out by one pediatric otolaryngologist in a consistent manner. After consultation, the participants completed a demographics form and the Decisional Conflict Scale (DCS) questionnaire. RESULTS: Twenty-three caregivers of 15 male (65.2%) and 8 female (34.8%) children (mean age 5.65 years) participated. The overall median DCS score was 15.63 (standard error = 4.21). Significant decisional conflict (DCS score ≥ 25) was found in 10 participants (43.5%). The median DCS score in the group choosing surgery was 5.47, and it was 23.44 in those who did not choose surgery (Mann-Whitney U = 39, Z = -1.391, P = .164). The median DCS score for mothers and fathers was 25 and 3.91, respectively. CONCLUSION: Many parents experienced significant decisional conflict when considering percutaneous BAHD surgery in children with unilateral aural atresia in our study population. Future research should explore the impact of decisional conflict on health outcomes.

In search of the optimal processing technique for fat grafting.

OBJECTIVE: Unpredictability in graft retention remains a significant drawback of fat grafting. Processing of fat grafts has been the focus of several studies to improve graft survival. The objective of this study was to systematically review the outcomes of different fat graft processing techniques with the goal of (1) deriving clinically oriented insights and (2) identifying gaps in knowledge to stimulate future research. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Databases were searched to identify studies that compared different fat graft processing techniques. Outcome measures of interest were any subjective or objective measures of fat graft survival or reports of adverse events. RESULTS: A total of 2056 abstracts were generated from the literature searches; 13 studies met the criteria for data extraction and analysis. Processing methods assessed included decantation, washing, gauze filtration, and centrifugation. Each processing method was found to be better than other methods, depending on the outcome measure used to study graft survival. As well, several studies found statistical equipoise in the outcome measures when analyzing the results of the different techniques. Adverse events were rarely reported and did not correlate with any processing method in particular. CONCLUSIONS: No firm concluding recommendation can be made to deem 1 processing technique superior to the others. However, it would seem that techniques, which use a combination of gentle washing and centrifugation, strike the optimal balance of preserving adipocyte viability while removing bulk of the contaminants.

Positional specification in the segmental growth pattern of an early arthropod.

In many arthropods, there is a change in relative segment size during post-embryonic development, but how segment differential growth is produced is little known. A new dataset of the highest quality specimens of the 429 Myr old trilobite Aulacopleura koninckii provides an unparalleled opportunity to investigate segment growth dynamics and its control in an early arthropod. Morphometric analysis across nine post-embryonic stages revealed a growth gradient in the trunk of A. koninckii. We contrastively tested different growth models referable to two distinct hypotheses of growth control for the developing trunk: (i) a segment-specific control, with individual segments having differential autonomous growth progression, and (ii) a regional control, with segment growth depending on their relative position along the main axis. We show that the trunk growth pattern of A. koninckii was consistent with a regional growth control producing a continuous growth gradient that was stable across all developmental stages investigated. The specific posterior-to-anterior decaying shape of the growth gradient suggests it deriving from the linear transduction of a graded signal, similar to those commonly provided by morphogens. A growth control depending on a form of positional specification, possibly realized through the linear interpretation of a graded signal, may represent the primitive condition for arthropod differential growth along the main body axis, from which the diverse and generally more complex forms of growth control in subsequent arthropods have evolved.

Is drain placement necessary in pediatric patients who undergo the Sistrunk procedure?

BACKGROUND: Thyroglossal duct cysts are usually managed with the Sistrunk procedure, which involves excision of the cervical cyst with the central portion of the hyoid bone, along with its tract. Surgical drains are commonly placed with this procedure, which necessitates postoperative hospital admission. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to determine if surgical drain placement is necessary in pediatric patients who underwent the Sistrunk procedure. METHODS: The current study describes the outcomes of 30 consecutive children who underwent the Sistrunk procedure without drain placement. Complication rates are compared to an age-matched control group who had drains placed. RESULTS: No major complications, including hematomas were observed in the study group; outpatient surgery was safely observed in 20 patients. No significant difference in complication rates was observed between the study and control groups. CONCLUSIONS: Routine drain placement in children who are undergoing the Sistrunk procedure may not be necessary. Subsequently, postoperative admission may be avoided.

Lean practices for quality results: a case illustration.

PURPOSE: Increasingly, healthcare providers are implementing lean practices to achieve quality results. Implementing lean healthcare practices is unique compared to manufacturing and other service industries. The purpose of this paper is to present a model that identifies and defines the lean implementation key success factors in healthcare organisations. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The model is based on an extant literature review and a case illustration that explores actual lean implementation in a major USA hospital located in a Midwestern city (approximately 300,000 people). An exploratory/descriptive study using observation and follow-up interviews was conducted to identify lean practices in the hospital. FINDINGS: Lean practice key drivers include growing elderly populations, rising medical expenses, decreasing insurance coverage and decreasing management support. Effectively implementing lean practices to increase bottom-line results and improve organisational integrity requires sharing goals and processes among healthcare managers and professionals. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: An illustration explains the model and the study provides a sound foundation for empirical work. Practical implications are included. Lean practices minimise waste and unnecessary hospital stays while simultaneously enhancing customer values and deploying resources in supply systems. Leadership requires clear project targets based on sound front-end planning because initial implementation steps involve uncertainty and ambiguity (i.e. fuzzy front-end planning). Since top management support is crucial for implementing lean practices successfully, a heavyweight manager, who communicates well both with top managers and project team members, is an important success factor when implementing lean practices. SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Increasingly, green orientation and sustainability initiatives are phrases that replaced lean practices. Effective results; e.g. waste reduction, employee satisfaction and customer values are applicable to bigger competitive challenges arising both in specific organisations and inter-organisational networks. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Healthcare managers are adopting business practices that improve efficiency and productivity while ensuring their healthcare mission and guaranteeing that customer values are achieved. Shared understanding about complex goals (e.g. reducing waste and enhancing customer value) at the front-end is crucial for implementing successful lean practices. In particular, this study shows that nursing practices, which are both labour intensive and technology enabled, are good candidates for lean practice.

Proposed Quality Indicators for Aspects of Pediatric Acute Otitis Media Management.

BACKGROUND: The high incidence of pediatric acute otitis media (AOM) makes the implications of overdiagnosis and overtreatment far-reaching. Quality indicators (QIs) for AOM are limited, drawing from generalized upper respiratory infection QIs, or locally developed benchmarks. Recognizing this, we sought to develop pediatric AOM QIs to build a foundation for future quality improvement efforts. METHODS: Candidate indicators (CIs) were extracted from existing guidelines and position statements. The modified RAND Corporation/University of California, Los Angeles (RAND/UCLA) appropriateness methodology was used to select the final QIs by an 11-member expert panel consisting of otolaryngology-head and neck surgeons, a pediatrician and family physician. RESULTS: Twenty-seven CIs were identified after literature review, with an additional CI developed by the expert panel. After the first round of evaluations, the panel agreed on 4 CIs as appropriate QIs. After an expert panel meeting and subsequent second round of evaluations, the panel agreed on 8 final QIs as appropriate measures of high-quality care. The 8 final QIs focus on topics of antimicrobial management, specialty referral, and tympanostomy tube counseling. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence of variable and substandard care persists in the diagnosis and management of pediatric AOM despite the existence of high-quality guidelines. This study proposes 8 QIs which compliment guideline recommendations and are meant to facilitate future quality improvement initiatives that can improve patient outcomes.

Applying Machine Learning to Healthcare Operations Management: CNN-Based Model for Malaria Diagnosis.

The purpose of this study is to explore how machine learning technologies can improve healthcare operations management. A machine learning-based model to solve a specific medical problem is developed to achieve this research purpose. Specifically, this study presents an AI solution for malaria infection diagnosis by applying the CNN (convolutional neural network) algorithm. Based on malaria microscopy image data from the NIH National Library of Medicine, a total of 24,958 images were used for deep learning training, and 2600 images were selected for final testing of the proposed diagnostic architecture. The empirical results indicate that the CNN diagnostic model correctly classified most malaria-infected and non-infected cases with minimal misclassification, with performance metrics of precision (0.97), recall (0.99), and f1-score (0.98) for uninfected cells, and precision (0.99), recall (0.97), and f1-score (0.98) for parasite cells. The CNN diagnostic solution rapidly processed a large number of cases with a high reliable accuracy of 97.81%. The performance of this CNN model was further validated through the k-fold cross-validation test. These results suggest the advantage of machine learning-based diagnostic methods over conventional manual diagnostic methods in improving healthcare operational capabilities in terms of diagnostic quality, processing costs, lead time, and productivity. In addition, a machine learning diagnosis system is more likely to enhance the financial profitability of healthcare operations by reducing the risk of unnecessary medical disputes related to diagnostic errors. As an extension for future research, propositions with a research framework are presented to examine the impacts of machine learning on healthcare operations management for safety and quality of life in global communities.

Element distribution in electrochemically treated mine wastewater for efficient resource recovery and water treatment: A pilot study.

The feasibility of recovering major and critical elements from acid mine drainage using a pilot-scale electrochemical reactor (ECR) was investigated by assessing elements concentration and species distribution in the liquid and solid phase (sludge) in multistage tests. These were carried out at different electrical currents (18-22 amps) and thus, pH (8-12). The results showed that major metals Al, Cu and Fe were removed from the liquid phase at pH 5.9 while remaining the majority of Zn (57.2 ppm). On the other hand, at pH 7, the effluent was mainly composed of Mn (7.3 ppm). These results were confirmed by the simulation results using the PHREEQC model, which also identified the main chemical species in solution and the precipitates formed after the treatment (oxyhydroxides/sulfates/oxides). The ECR treatment led to sludges with targeted critical elements, some up to 20 times (Co, Be and Sb) higher than their earth's crustal abundance. At pH 10, rare earth elements in the sludge targeted Ce, followed by Nd and La. This study is one of the few studies carrying a detailed analysis of the behavioural distribution pattern of these elements at each pH, which opens the door for the potential of recovering these elements.