Exploring current physiotherapy practices in the care of people who are potential lung donors: A qualitative study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine physiotherapists' current practices and perspectives regarding their role in caring for people who are potential lung donors in the intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS: A qualitative descriptive design was used. Qualitative data were collected through audio-recorded, semistructured focus groups with a purposive sample of physiotherapists with experience working with people who are potential lung donors in ICUs. Two investigators completed independent thematic analysis to identify themes. RESULTS: Seven focus groups were completed with 27 physiotherapists at six metropolitan health services in Victoria, Australia. Six key themes were identified: (i) physiotherapists' involvement in care was highly variable; (ii) physiotherapists were not aware of existing evidence or guidelines for the care of people who are potential donors and followed usual practices; (iii) a consistent vision of the physiotherapy role was lacking; (iv) physiotherapists' engagement with the team routinely involved in care of people who are potential donors varied considerably; (v) physiotherapists faced practice challenges associated with delivering care to potential donors; and (vi) several enablers could support a role for physiotherapy in this patient population. CONCLUSIONS: Variability in physiotherapy practice is associated with local ICU culture, physiotherapy leadership capabilities, knowledge, and experience. The spectrum of practice ranged from physiotherapists being highly engaged to being completely uninvolved. Physiotherapists held mixed perspectives regarding whether physiotherapists should have a role in managing people who are potential lung donors. It would benefit the profession to develop consensus and standardisation of the role of physiotherapists in caring for these patients. TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: Variability in views and practices amongst physiotherapists who provide care to patients who are potential lung donors in the ICU.

Parents' Awareness of Bullying Involvement in Relation to Physician Practices: Implications for Practice Modifications.

Background Bullying is a complex abusive behavior with potentially serious consequences. Persons who bully and those who are bullied have consistently been found to have higher levels of depression, suicidal ideation, physical injury, distractibility, somatic problems, anxiety, poor self-esteem, and school absenteeism than those not involved with bullying. Objectives To our knowledge, no study has compared physicians' practices of bullying prevention across different hospital settings and the effect of these practices on parents' level of awareness. This article represents a subset (phase I) of the inter-departmental quality improvement study for comparing practices of healthcare professionals regarding bullying prevention between the pediatric outpatient clinic and child & adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinic, and parents' awareness about provider's anti-bullying practices. Methods Phase I was conducted as a cross-sectional study with the target population of adolescents (age 12-17 yrs) and corresponding guardians, seeking care from healthcare providers (residents, fellows and attendings) in the child & adolescent outpatient psychiatry clinic and pediatric outpatient clinic. It targeted both patients and providers, with adolescents/guardians completing questionnaire about bullying experiences, physician's anti-bullying practices during past healthcare visits and adolescent Peer Relations Instrument. Providers answered questions about bullying assessing practices, level of self-preparedness and limitations. Results Data were analyzed in SAS 9.2 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC) and SPSS (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY) and Chi-square tests were used for analyses of variables, and cross-comparing results for particular subsets. A total of 150 questionnaires were distributed. Among the provider surveys, self-reported level of preparedness (on a scale of 1-5; 1- least, 5-most) for assessing bullying was more in Psychiatry providers (Median 4, Mean 4.1) as compared to Pediatric providers (Median 3, Mean 2.9). In the first evaluation, very unprepared, unprepared and neutral (1, 2, 3) responses were contrasted with prepared to very prepared responses (4,5). The second evaluation excludes the neutral responses (3) and tests responses for the unprepared group (1,2) with the prepared group (4,5). The first evaluation resulted in Chi-Squared = 6.810, significant at p = 0.05 and the second evaluation resulted in Chi-squared = 4.774, also significant at p = 0.05. Conclusions This study identifies differences in healthcare professional's anti-bullying practices and helps in identifying limiting factors. This identification of the practice gap helps in developing interventional strategies to improve the assessment of bullying situations across specialties.

Regional Variability in the Care and Outcomes of Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Patients in the United States.

Background and Objectives: Regional variability in subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) care is reported in physician surveys. We aimed to describe variability in SAH care using patient-level data and identify factors impacting hospital outcomes and regional variability in outcomes. Methods: A retrospective multi-center cross-sectional cohort study of consecutive non-traumatic SAH patients in the Vizient Clinical Data Base, between January 1st, 2009 and December 30th, 2018 was performed. Participating hospitals were divided into US regions: Northeast, Midwest, South, West. Regional demographics, co-morbidities, severity-of-illness, complications, interventions and discharge outcomes were compared. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify factors independently associated with primary outcomes: hospital mortality and poor discharge outcome. Poor discharge outcome was defined by the Nationwide Inpatient Sample-SAH Outcome Measure, an externally-validated outcome measure combining death, discharge disposition, tracheostomy and/or gastrostomy. Regional variability in the associations between care and outcomes were assessed by introducing an interaction term for US region into the models. Results: Of 109,034 patients included, 24.3% were from Northeast, 24.9% Midwest, 34.9% South, 15.9% West. Mean (SD) age was 58.6 (15.6) years and 64,245 (58.9%) were female. In-hospital mortality occurred in 21,991 (20.2%) and 44,159 (40.5%) had poor discharge outcome. There was significant variability in severity-of-illness, co-morbidities, complications and interventions across US regions. Notable findings were higher prevalence of surgical clipping (18.8 vs. 11.6%), delayed cerebral ischemia (4.3 vs. 3.1%), seizures (16.5 vs. 14.8%), infections (18 vs. 14.7%), length of stay (mean [SD] days; 15.7 [19.2] vs. 14.1 [16.7]) and health-care direct costs (mean [SD] USD; 80,379 [98,999]. vs. 58,264 [74,430]) in the West when compared to other regions (all p < 0.0001). Variability in care was also associated with modest variability in hospital mortality and discharge outcome. Aneurysm repair, nimodipine use, later admission-year, endovascular rescue therapies reduced the odds for poor outcome. Age, severity-of-illness, co-morbidities, hospital complications, and vasopressor use increased those odds (c-statistic; mortality: 0.77; discharge outcome: 0.81). Regional interaction effect was significant for admission severity-of-illness, aneurysm-repair and nimodipine-use. Discussion: Multiple hospital-care factors impact SAH outcomes and significant variability in hospital-care and modest variability in discharge-outcomes exists across the US. Variability in SAH-severity, nimodipine-use and aneurysm-repair may drive variability in outcomes.

The attitudes and practices of physicians caring for patients with rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease: an international survey.

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to determine the level of understanding and opinion among rheumatologist and pulmonologists regarding risk factors, diagnostic approach and treatment of RA-associated interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD). METHODS: We conducted an international electronic survey of rheumatologists and pulmonologists utilizing two separate Redcap-based surveys with questions on the epidemiology, workup and management of RA-ILD as well as ILD screening questions using case-based scenarios directed at rheumatologists. The survey also collected demographic data on participants including their practice setting, years in practice and country of practice. RESULTS: We received a total of 616 responses (354 rheumatologists and 262 pulmonologists) from six continents. There were significant differences in responses between pulmonologists and rheumatologists in estimated prevalence and mortality, risk factors for the development of ILD in RA and medications that are effective or should be avoided. Rheumatologists were much less likely to consider assessment for ILD in high risk, asymptomatic patients compared with high-risk patients with either symptoms or exam findings suggestive of ILD. CONCLUSION: Our study brought to light the variability in disease assessment and clinical practice among providers caring for patients with RA-ILD and indicate that greater education is needed to optimize clinical decision making in the risk assessment, screening and treatment of RA-ILD. Research questions that address appropriate screening and treatment strategies for RA-ILD will be valuable for rheumatologists given their central role in the overall health and lung health of patients with RA.

Spectrum Of Pulmonary Exacerbation In Children And Adolescent With Cystic Fibrosis And Physicians' Practices: Experience From Tertiary Care Center From Lower-Middle Income Country.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary exacerbations (PEx) are major contributor of significant morbidity and mortality in CF patients. Managing PEx needs standardization and without standard local practice guidelines there will be significant variation in practice in managing these children. The aim of this study is to analyse the clinical management of PEx in our setup and to document variation in practices among physicians. METHODS: Children and adolescents ≤18 years with CF pulmonary exacerbations admitted at high dependency unit (HDU) or wards were included in the study. Frequencies of different intravenous antibiotic combinations were documented along with use of different inhaled antibiotics and inhalation therapy. Practices of different physician were further studied with regards to use of systemic steroids, oral azithromycin and inhaled antibiotics. One way ANOVA was used to assess differences between physicians' practices. RESULTS: Fifty-seven patients were selected according to the inclusion criteria for 114 different exacerbations. Mean pulmonary exacerbation (PEx) for a patient (events/person-year) over five years was 3.16±1.41 per year and average length of stay was 5.7±4.4 days. Combination of intravenous ceftazidime and amikacin was the most frequently used regimen (28.07%). Five different physicians dealing with majority of the exacerbations (n=74) were studied further. Variability among consultants was significant in using systemic steroids (21.42-92.30%), use of maintenance oral azithromycin (0- 80%) and inhaled antibiotics (0-86.6%). CONCLUSIONS: Significant variation exists in practices of physicians dealing with CF PEx. Variability observed in our study will definitely provide openings for local CF experts to come up with standardized inpatient exacerbation guidelines.

Scoliosis Research Society survey: brace management in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

PURPOSE: While the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) has established criteria for brace initiation in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), there are no recommendations concerning other management issues. As the BrAIST study reinforced the utility of bracing, the SRS Non-Operative Management Committee decided to evaluate the consensus or discord in AIS brace management. METHODS: 1200 SRS members were sent an online survey in 2017, which included 21 items concerning demographics, bracing indications, management, and monitoring. Free-text responses were analyzed and collated into common themes. Data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2013. RESULTS: Of 218 respondents; 207 regularly evaluate and manage patients with AIS, and 205 currently prescribe bracing. 99% of respondents use bracing for AIS and the majority (89%) use the published SRS criteria, or a modified version, to initiate bracing. 85% do not use brace monitoring and 66% use both %-Cobb correction and fit criteria to evaluate brace adequacy. In contrast, other aspects of brace management demonstrated a high degree of practice variability. This was seen with a radiographic assessment of maturity level, hours prescribed, timing and frequency of radiographic evaluation, the use of nighttime bracing only, and the method and timing of brace discontinuation. CONCLUSION: Although there is consensus in brace management amongst SRS members with respect to brace initiation and evaluation of adequacy, there is striking variability in how bracing for AIS is used. This variability may impact the overall efficacy of brace treatment and may be decreased with more robust guidelines from the SRS. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.

Demographic and Practice Variability Amongst Indian Centres in a Multicentre Prospective Observational Study on Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip.

BACKGROUND: Since 2017, five Indian centres have enrolled into the International Hip Dysplasia Registry for prospective collection of data on Developmental Dysplasia of Hip (DDH). AIMS: To assess how baseline patient characteristics and initial treatment modalities differ across these five centres. METHODS: Registry data collected over 3 years were analyzed. Children with DDH that had radiograph-based diagnoses were included. RESULTS: Collectively, there were 234 hips (181 patients), of which 218 had undergone surgery. Overall, median age at presentation was 25.3 months (IQR 16.8-46.0); female/male ratio was 2.6:1 (range 1.46-4.75:1); with 42%, 29%, and 29% unilateral left, bilateral and unilateral right hip dislocations respectively. Most were IHDI grade III and IV dislocations (94%). Closed reduction was performed at all but one centre, at median 15.3 months (IQR 9.6-21.1). Open reduction (OR) as a stand-alone procedure was performed at all centres, at median 20.8 months (IQR 15.4-24.9). Combination of OR with a single osteotomy, femoral (FO) or acetabular (AO), was performed at all centres at median 29.7 months (IQR 22.1-43.5). However, for the same age group, three centres exclusively performed FO, whereas the other two exclusively performed AO. The combination of OR with both FO and AO was used at all centres, at median 53.4 months (IQR 42.1-70.8). CONCLUSIONS: The preliminary findings of this multi-centre study indicate similar patient demographics and diagnoses, but important differences in treatment regimens across the five Indian centres. Comparison of treatment regimens, using the 'centre' as a predictive variable, should allow us to identify protocols that give superior outcomes.

Improving quality of care and clinical outcomes for rectal cancer through clinical audits in a multicentre cancer care organisation.

INTRODUCTION: Colorectal cancer treatment requires a complex, multidisciplinary approach. Because of the potential variability, monitoring through clinical audits is advisable. This study assesses the effects of a quality improvement action plan in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer and treated with radiotherapy. METHODS: Comparative, multicentre study in two cohorts of 120 patients each, selected randomly from patients diagnosed with rectal cancer who had initiated radiotherapy with a curative intent. Based on the results from a baseline clinical audit in 2013, a quality improvement action plan was designed and implemented; a second audit in 2017 evaluated its impact. RESULTS: Standardised information was present on 77.5% of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) staging reports. Treatment strategies were similar in all three study centres. Of the patients whose treatment was interrupted, just 9.7% received a compensation dose. There was an increase in MRI re-staging from 32.5 to 61.5%, and a significant decrease in unreported circumferential resection margins following neoadjuvant therapy (ypCRM), from 34.5 to 5.6% (p <  0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The comparison between two clinical audits showed improvements in neoadjuvant radiotherapy in rectal cancer patients. Some indicators reveal areas in need of additional efforts, for example to reduce the overall treatment time.

Examining the impact of data quality and completeness of electronic health records on predictions of patients' risks of cardiovascular disease.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the extent of variation of data quality and completeness of electronic health records and impact on the robustness of risk predictions of incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) using a risk prediction tool that is based on routinely collected data (QRISK3). DESIGN: Longitudinal cohort study. SETTINGS: 392 general practices (including 3.6 million patients) linked to hospital admission data. METHODS: Variation in data quality was assessed using Sáez's stability metrics quantifying outlyingness of each practice. Statistical frailty models evaluated whether accuracy of QRISK3 predictions on individual predictions and effects of overall risk factors (linear predictor) varied between practices. RESULTS: There was substantial heterogeneity between practices in CVD incidence unaccounted for by QRISK3. In the lowest quintile of statistical frailty, a QRISK3 predicted risk of 10 % for female was in a range between 7.1 % and 9.0 % when incorporating practice variability into the statistical frailty models; for the highest quintile, this was 10.9%-16.4%. Data quality (using Saez metrics) and completeness were comparable across different levels of statistical frailty. For example, recording of missing information on ethnicity was 55.7 %, 62.7 %, 57.8 %, 64.8 % and 62.1 % for practices from lowest to highest quintiles of statistical frailty respectively. The effects of risk factors did not vary between practices with little statistical variation of beta coefficients. CONCLUSIONS: The considerable unmeasured heterogeneity in CVD incidence between practices was not explained by variations in data quality or effects of risk factors. QRISK3 risk prediction should be supplemented with clinical judgement and evidence of additional risk factors.

Intraoperative Practice Variability in Total Knee Arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: Considerable practice variability exists among orthopedic surgeons performing total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The purpose of this study is to understand what TKA surgical and perioperative techniques are standard among high-volume academic knee arthroplasty surgeons. METHODS: A written survey with 59 questions regarding management preferences in TKA was distributed by the 2018 John N. Insall Traveling Fellows to all arthroplasty-trained attending physicians at 13 medical centers, with 45 responses recorded. RESULTS: Surveyed surgeons performed unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (88%) and bilateral TKA (87%). Most surveyed surgeons rarely or never performed outpatient primary TKA (71%). Conventional alignment guides and cemented implants were used by 80% of respondents. Most surgeons used posterior-stabilized implants (67%), followed by cruciate-retaining (20%), ultracongruent (20%), and medial congruent or medial pivot designs (17.8%). Surveyed surgeons frequently or always resurfaced the patella (73%), used a tourniquet for the entire case (73%), and used tranexamic acid for all TKAs (91%). The most common locations for intra-articular anesthetic injection were the arthrotomy (91%), the periosteum (84%), and the medial posterior capsule (82%). Saline (62%) and dilute iodine (47%) were the most common irrigation fluids. The arthrotomy was most commonly closed with running barbed suture (60%) followed by interrupted vicryl (40%). Skin closure was predominantly with running monocryl (60%) followed by staples (29%). Anticoagulation for TKA was primarily aspirin 81 mg BID (60%). CONCLUSION: There was considerable variability among surgeons polled although a strong preference for more conventional and less developmental techniques prevailed.

Assessing variability in surgical decision making among attending neurosurgeons at an academic center.

OBJECTIVE: Although it is known that intersurgeon variability in offering elective surgery can have major consequences for patient morbidity and healthcare spending, data addressing variability within neurosurgery are scarce. The authors performed a prospective peer review study of randomly selected neurosurgery cases in order to assess the extent of consensus regarding the decision to offer elective surgery among attending neurosurgeons across one large academic institution. METHODS: All consecutive patients who had undergone standard inpatient surgical interventions of 1 of 4 types (craniotomy for tumor [CFT], nonacute redo CFT, first-time spine surgery with/without instrumentation, and nonacute redo spine surgery with/without instrumentation) during the period 2015-2017 were retrospectively enrolled (n = 9156 patient surgeries, n = 80 randomly selected individual cases, n = 20 index cases of each type randomly selected for review). The selected cases were scored by attending neurosurgeons using a need for surgery (NFS) score based on clinical data (patient demographics, preoperative notes, radiology reports, and operative notes; n = 616 independent case reviews). Attending neurosurgeon reviewers were blinded as to performing provider and surgical outcome. Aggregate NFS scores across various categories were measured. The authors employed a repeated-measures mixed ANOVA model with autoregressive variance structure to compute omnibus statistical tests across the various surgery types. Interrater reliability (IRR) was measured using Cohen's kappa based on binary NFS scores. RESULTS: Overall, the authors found that most of the neurosurgical procedures studied were rated as "indicated" by blinded attending neurosurgeons (mean NFS = 88.3, all p values < 0.001) with greater agreement among neurosurgeon raters than expected by chance (IRR = 81.78%, p = 0.016). Redo surgery had lower NFS scores and IRR scores than first-time surgery, both for craniotomy and spine surgery (ANOVA, all p values < 0.01). Spine surgeries with fusion had lower NFS scores than spine surgeries without fusion procedures (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: There was general agreement among neurosurgeons in terms of indication for surgery; however, revision surgery of all types and spine surgery with fusion procedures had the lowest amount of decision consensus. These results should guide efforts aimed at reducing unnecessary variability in surgical practice with the goal of effective allocation of healthcare resources to advance the value paradigm in neurosurgery.

Don't look, don't think, just do it! Toward an understanding of alpha gating in a discrete aiming task.

Prior to and during movement, oscillatory alpha activity gates cognitive resources toward motor areas of the cortex by inhibiting neuronal excitability in nonmotor areas. The present study examined the effect of manipulating target variability on this alpha gating phenomenon. Using a baseline-test-retention design, we measured EEG alpha power, performance accuracy, and task difficulty in 32 recreational golfers as they putted golf balls (20 per target) to one central target (baseline, retention) and four targets of different directions and extents (manipulation). For participants in the random group (n = 16), target location varied with each repetition in a random fashion, whereas for participants in the blocked group (n = 16), it was kept constant within blocks. Regional analyses revealed a focal pattern of lower central alpha and higher occipital and temporal alpha. This topography was specific to preparation for movement and was associated with performance: smallest performance errors were preceded by decreased central combined with increased occipital alpha. The random group performed worse than the blocked group and found the task more difficult. Importantly, left temporal alpha prior to movement onset was lower for the random group than the blocked group. No group differences were found at baseline or retention. Our study proved that alpha gating can be altered by manipulating intertrial variability and thereby demonstrated the utility of the alpha gating model. Our findings underscore the importance of inhibiting occipital and left temporal areas when performing movements and provide further evidence that alpha gating reflects neural efficiency during motor tasks.

Rowing Simulator Modulates Water Density to Foster Motor Learning.

Although robot-assisted training is present in various fields such as sports engineering and rehabilitation, provision of training strategies that optimally support individual motor learning remains as a challenge. Literature has shown that guidance strategies are useful for beginners, while skilled trainees should benefit from challenging conditions. The Challenge Point Theory also supports this in a way that learning is dependent on the available information, which serves as a challenge to the learner. So, learning can be fostered when the optimal amount of information is given according to the trainee's skill. Even though the framework explains the importance of difficulty modulation, there are no practical guidelines for complex dynamic tasks on how to match the difficulty to the trainee's skill progress. Therefore, the goal of this study was to determine the impact on learning of a complex motor task by a modulated task difficulty scheme during the training sessions, without distorting the nature of task. In this 3-day protocol study, we compared two groups of naïve participants for learning a sweep rowing task in a highly sophisticated rowing simulator. During trainings, groups received concurrent visual feedback displaying the requested oar movement. Control group performed the task under constant difficulty in the training sessions. Experimental group's task difficulty was modulated by changing the virtual water density that generated different heaviness of the simulated water-oar interaction, which yielded practice variability. Learning was assessed in terms of spatial and velocity magnitude errors and the variability for these metrics. Results of final day tests revealed that both groups reduced their error and variability for the chosen metrics. Notably, in addition to the provision of a very well established visual feedback and knowledge of results, experimental group's variable training protocol with modulated difficulty showed a potential to be advantageous for the spatial consistency and velocity accuracy. The outcomes of training and test runs indicate that we could successfully alter the performance of the trainees by changing the density value of the virtual water. Therefore, a follow-up study is necessary to investigate how to match different density values to the skill and performance improvement of the participants.

Diagnosis and Management of Necrotizing Enterocolitis: An International Survey of Neonatologists and Pediatric Surgeons.

BACKGROUND: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a serious complication of prematurity. Currently, there is limited evidence to guide investigation and treatment strategies. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the parameters used to diagnose or exclude NEC, and to identify differences between neonatologists and pediatric surgeons. METHODS: A scenario-based survey was sent to neonatologists and pediatric surgeons. RESULTS: 173 physicians from 26 countries completed the survey (55% neonatologists and 45% pediatric surgeons). Bloody stools, abdominal tenderness, low platelet counts, and increased lactate levels increased the likelihood of NEC for 82, 72, 56, and 45% of respondents, respectively. Intestinal pneumatosis, portal venous gas, and pneumoperitoneum on X-ray increased the likelihood of NEC for 99, 98, and 92% of respondents, respectively. Clinical examination and laboratory tests were insufficient to exclude NEC, but normal intestinal movements and normal gut wall thickness on ultrasonography decreased the likelihood of NEC for 38 and 33% of respondents, respectively. Neonatologists more frequently relied on increased gastric residuals and abdominal distension to diagnose NEC (p = 0.04 and p = 0.03, respectively), whereas pediatric surgeons more frequently reported that absence of bloody stools helped to exclude NEC (p = 0.04). In a deteriorating patient with suspected NEC, 39% of respondents would broaden the antibiotic spectrum, and 42% would recommend a laparotomy. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate a wide variation in the management of NEC, with significant differences between neonatologists and pediatric surgeons. A better appreciation of the relative significance and weighting that should be applied to the clinical features and investigations should reduce the variation in interpretation that appears to exist.

Decaying relevance of clinical data towards future decisions in data-driven inpatient clinical order sets.

OBJECTIVE: Determine how varying longitudinal historical training data can impact prediction of future clinical decisions. Estimate the "decay rate" of clinical data source relevance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We trained a clinical order recommender system, analogous to Netflix or Amazon's "Customers who bought A also bought B..." product recommenders, based on a tertiary academic hospital's structured electronic health record data. We used this system to predict future (2013) admission orders based on different subsets of historical training data (2009 through 2012), relative to existing human-authored order sets. RESULTS: Predicting future (2013) inpatient orders is more accurate with models trained on just one month of recent (2012) data than with 12 months of older (2009) data (ROC AUC 0.91 vs. 0.88, precision 27% vs. 22%, recall 52% vs. 43%, all P<10-10). Algorithmically learned models from even the older (2009) data was still more effective than existing human-authored order sets (ROC AUC 0.81, precision 16% recall 35%). Training with more longitudinal data (2009-2012) was no better than using only the most recent (2012) data, unless applying a decaying weighting scheme with a "half-life" of data relevance about 4 months. DISCUSSION: Clinical practice patterns (automatically) learned from electronic health record data can vary substantially across years. Gold standards for clinical decision support are elusive moving targets, reinforcing the need for automated methods that can adapt to evolving information. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCM: Prioritizing small amounts of recent data is more effective than using larger amounts of older data towards future clinical predictions.

Attending Radiologist Variability and Its Effect on Radiology Resident Discrepancy Rates.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Discrepancy rates for interpretations produced in a call situation are one metric to evaluate residents during training. Current benchmarks, reported in previous studies, do not consider the effects of practice pattern variability among attending radiologists. This study aims to investigate the impact of attending variability on resident discrepancy rates to determine if the current benchmarks are an accurate measure of resident performance and, if necessary, update discrepancy benchmarks to accurately identify residents performing below expectations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All chest radiographs, musculoskeletal (MSK) radiographs, chest computed tomographies (CTs), abdomen and pelvis CTs, and head CTs interpreted by postgraduate year-3 residents in a call situation over 5 years were reviewed for the presence of a significant discrepancy and composite results compared to prior findings. Simulations of the expected discrepancy distribution for an "average resident" were then performed using Gibbs sampling, and this distribution was compared to the actual resident distribution. RESULTS: A strong inverse correlation between resident volume and discrepancy rates was found. There was wide variability among attendings in both overread volume and propensity to issue a discrepancy, although there was no significant correlation. Simulations show that previous benchmarks match well for chest radiographs, abdomen and pelvis CTs, and head CTs but not for MSK radiographs and chest CTs. The simulations also demonstrate a large effect of attending practice patterns on resident discrepancy rates. CONCLUSIONS: The large variability in attending practice patterns suggests direct comparison of residents using discrepancy rates is unlikely to reflect true performance. Current benchmarks for chest radiographs, abdomen and pelvis CTs, and head CTs are appropriate and correctly flag residents whose performance may benefit from additional attention, whereas those for MSK radiographs and chest CTs are likely too strict.

Variability in Rheumatology day care hospitals in Spain: VALORA study. / Variabilidad en los hospitales de día de Reumatología en España: proyecto VALORA.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the variability of the day care hospital units (DCHUs) of Rheumatology in Spain, in terms of structural resources and operating processes. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Multicenter descriptive study with data from a self-completed questionnaire of DCHUs self-assessment based on DCHUs quality standards of the Spanish Society of Rheumatology. Structural resources and operating processes were analyzed and stratified by hospital complexity (regional, general, major and complex). Variability was determined using the coefficient of variation (CV) of the variable with clinical relevance that presented statistically significant differences when was compared by centers. RESULTS: A total of 89 hospitals (16 autonomous regions and Melilla) were included in the analysis. 11.2% of hospitals are regional, 22,5% general, 27%, major and 39,3% complex. A total of 92% of DCHUs were polyvalent. The number of treatments applied, the coordination between DCHUs and hospital pharmacy and the post graduate training process were the variables that showed statistically significant differences depending on the complexity of hospital. The highest rate of rheumatologic treatments was found in complex hospitals (2.97 per 1,000 population), and the lowest in general hospitals (2.01 per 1,000 population). The CV was 0.88 in major hospitals; 0.86 in regional; 0.76 in general, and 0.72 in the complex. CONCLUSIONS: there was variability in the number of treatments delivered in DCHUs, being greater in major hospitals and then in regional centers. Nonetheless, the variability in terms of structure and function does not seem due to differences in center complexity.

Misdiagnosis of obstetrical cases and the clinical and cost consequences to patients: a cross-sectional study of urban providers in the Philippines.

BACKGROUND: Misdiagnosis may be a significant and under-recognized quality of care problem. In birthing facilities located in anurban Philippine setting, we investigated the diagnostic accuracy for three obstetric conditions: cephalopelvic disproportion (CPD), post-partum hemorrhage (PPH), and pre-eclampsia. DESIGN: Identical simulated cases were used to measure diagnostic accuracy for every provider (n=103). We linked misdiagnosis - identified by the simulated cases - to obstetrical complications of the patients at the participating facilities. Patient-level data on health outcomes and costs were obtained from medical records and follow-home in-person interviews. RESULTS: The prevalence of misdiagnosis among obstetric providers was 29.8% overall, 25% for CPD, 33% for PPH, and 31% for pre-eclampsia. Linking provider decision-making to patients, we found those who misdiagnosed the simulated cases were more likely to have patients with a complication (OR 2.96; 95% CI 1.39-3.77) compared with those who did not misdiagnose. Complicated patients were significantly less likely to be referred to a hospital immediately, were more likely to be readmitted to a hospital after delivery, had significantly higher medical costs, and lost more income than non-complicated patients. CONCLUSION: Diagnosis is arguably the most important task a clinician performs because it determines the subsequent course of evaluation and treatment, with the direct and indirect costs of diagnostic error, placing large financial burdens on the patient.

Is There an Interaction between Task Complexity and Practice Variability in Speech-Motor learning?

BACKGROUND: Prior studies have investigated the influence of principles of motor learning (PMLs) on speech-motor learning. However, the interactive effect of different PMLs on speech-motor learning remains unknown. PURPOSE: This study is aimed at investigating the interaction of 2 PMLs, that is, practice variability and task complexity and their influence on speech-motor learning. METHOD: Forty healthy individuals (aged 18-30 years) were randomly and equally allocated to 2 groups where they had to either practice a simple (simple group) or a complex phrase (complex group). Two levels of practice variability (constant and variable) were considered in training participants in simple and complex groups. Participants practiced 50 practice trials of either complex or simple phrase during the first 2 days. At the end of training on each day, participants produced 10 trials of the phrase they practiced without feedback. On the third day, participants returned for a delayed retention test. The participant utterances on all the 3 days were recorded for later analysis. RESULTS: Data analysis revealed that there was no major effect of practice condition, and there was no interaction of task complexity and practice condition. However, there was an interaction between data collection points and complexity. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that irrespective of the complexity of the to-be-learned speech task, there is no preponderance of variable over constant practice, which contradicts the findings of the non-speech-motor learning literature.