The impact of outliers on available resources in a teaching hospital in Colombia.

This letter describes the experience of long-stay patients and provides a perspective of the need for more studies on outliers' impact on health care.

Prospective monitoring improves outcomes of primary total hip replacement: a cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Over the past decade several studies have questioned current standards of patient safety in health care delivery. In response, our institution started a clinical pathway for total hip replacement in 1996. Prospective monitoring with regular feedback sessions to the individuals involved in patient care did however not start until 2003. The present study evaluates the effect of prospective monitoring on outcomes of total hip replacement. METHODS: Clinical records of patients undergoing primary elective total hip replacement between 1997 and 2004 were reviewed. Data on adverse events as well as adherence to protocols for venous thromboembolism prophylaxis were extracted retrospectively for the period 1997 to 2001 and prospectively from 2003 to 2004. Results were compared and analyzed in order to establish possible improvement in outcomes. Data was analyzed with Chi-square or Fisher's Exact test for categorical variables and Student's t-test for continuous variables. Alpha was set as less than 5% and analysis was performed with Stata 9.0 for Macintosh. RESULTS: Two-hundred and eighty-three patients were included from 1997 to 2001, and 62 from 2003 to 2004. Mean age, male to female ratio and initial diagnosis were similar in both groups. At least one adverse event occurred in 45% of patients in 1997-2001 and in 21% in 2003-2004 (p < 0.001). In-hospital hip dislocations occurred in 6% and 0% (p = 0.05), oliguria in 19% and 5% (p = 0.007), SSI and VTE in 3% and 0% (p = 0.37), adverse drug reactions in 11% and 13% (p = 0.66) and non-adherence to VTE prophylaxis protocols in 15% and 2% of cases respectively (p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Overall rate of adverse events as well as in-hospital hip dislocations, oliguria and non-adherence to VTE prophylaxis protocols were significantly reduced during the second period. We conclude that clinical pathways alone are insufficient to improve patient safety and require prospective monitoring and continuous feedback to health care providers in order to achieve the desired effect.

Prevalencia de eventos adversos en reemplazos total de cadera primario, un estudio de corte transversal / Prevalence of adverse events in primary total hip replacements, a cross-sectional study

Durante la fase de levantamiento de la línea de base de un proyecto de gestión clínica en la Fundación Santa Fe de Bogota, medimos la prevalencia de eventos adversos en el reemplazo total de cadera primario. Este objetivo se logró realizando un estudio observacional analítico con un diseño de corte transversal , tomando un período de tres años (1997-a 2001). De las 308 artroplastias realizadas en este período, el 45.2% presentaron uno o mas eventos adversos. Los eventos mas frecuentes fueron : oliguria de las primeras 24 horas (18,5%), luxación intrahospitalaria de los componentes articulares (5,8%), y total (11,6%), reacción medicamentosa (10,7%) e infección o sospecha de ésta en (2,9%). Encontramos que la prevalencia de eventos adversos fue mayor que la reportada por los centros que ejercen liderazgo en la literatura universal, y discutimos la utilización de la gestión clínica como estrategia para disminuir la frecuencia de estos eventos.

Anti M. leprae IgM antibody determination by ultramicroimmunoenzimatic (UMELISA HANSEN) for the diagnosis and monitoring leprosy

Se analizo la relacion entre la carga antigenica y la respuesta de anticuerpos IgM, el comportamiento de dicha respuesta y la utilidad de su deteccion para el diagnostico y seguimento de la lepra. Se obtuvo un 82 por cento de coincidencia entre los resultados del UMELISA HANSEN y los de la baciloscopia. Este valor se vio afectado fundamentalmente por 16 pacientes con respuesta positiva a IgM y baciloscopia negativa. En estos pacientes de acuerdo a lo reportado, la respuesta IgM puede indicar la reaparicion de bacilos, precediendo a su deteccion en la piel. En uno de estos pacientes se demonstro la presencia de bacilos, dos meses despues de resultar positivo por el UNELISA HANSEN. Entre los pacientes coincidentes en IgM baciloscopia positivas con tratamiento quimioterapeutico...