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Control Procedures (control + procedure)
Kinds of Control Procedures Selected AbstractsEthics in operations research and sustainable developmentINTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS IN OPERATIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 4 2010Jean-Pierre Brans Abstract During the last 100 years, major social, economic, environmental and technical problems have arisen that today jeopardise mankind's very existence. The authors argue that operations research (OR) should be more strongly involved by developing models to face today's crucial challenges. OR should change drastically because it is traditionally involved mainly with optimisation problems, which are often counterproductive in the sense of ethical behaviour: new basic approaches are required. This paper provides some avenues on how to develop instruments for addressing mankind's sustainability problems, and for complying with ethical principles. It is proposed to have a mix of techniques, mainly: systems thinking, multi-criteria decision-making and dynamic control. A global framework, called ASMC (Adaptive, Systemic, Multi-criteria, Control procedure), is proposed for developing these ideas. Some sustainable development applications are presented. [source] A Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Breastfeeding Intervention Delivery MethodsJOURNAL OF OBSTETRIC, GYNECOLOGIC & NEONATAL NURSING, Issue 6 2009Barbara Pate ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze breastfeeding intervention delivery methods to determine the likelihood of successful breastfeeding outcomes of e-based interventions compared to provider-based interventions. Data Sources: Eligible studies were identified by searching MEDLINE, CINAHL, Academic Search Elite, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition, SOC INDEX, and PsycINFO. Study Selection: Studies were included if they were conducted in a developed country, published between the years 2004 and 2008, included a concurrent control group, and reported frequency data on breastfeeding initiation or duration. The suitability of design and quality of execution were evaluated using the Centers for Disease Control procedure for systematic reviews. Twenty-one articles met the criteria for inclusion. Data Extraction: Study design, demographics, intervention/control conditions, settings, sampling strategies, potential threats to validity, and breastfeeding outcomes were abstracted and entered into a database for analysis and synthesis. Data Synthesis: Odds ratios were calculated for each individual study, and studies were stratified into 2 groups by intervention delivery type. The pooled results indicated that studies using e-based interventions had a moderate effect on breastfeeding (odds ratio=2.2 [1.9-2.7], d=0.5); whereas provider-based interventions had very little to no effect (odds ratio=1.1 [1.0-1.2], d=0.03). Conclusions: Results indicate that breastfeeding promotion programs delivered via the Internet may be an appealing alternative to time-consuming and expensive provider-based breastfeeding education and support. [source] Gill disease of marine fish caused by infection with Neoparamoeba pemaquidensisJOURNAL OF FISH DISEASES, Issue 9 2001B L Munday Amoebic gill disease (AGD) of maricultured salmonids, turbot, Scophthalmus maximus (L.), European seabass, Dicentrarchus labrax (L.), and sharpsnout seabream, Diplodus puntazzo (Cetti), caused by Neoparamoeba pemaquidensis has been reported from Australia (Tasmania), Ireland, France, Chile, North America (Washington State and California) and Spain. Of the salmonids, Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., appears to be the most susceptible with rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), also suffering significant disease. Only minor outbreaks have been reported in coho, O. kisutch (Walbaum), and chinook salmon, O. tshawytscha (Walbaum). The disease now accounts for 10,20% of production costs of Atlantic salmon in Tasmania and has lead to temporary abandonment of culture of this species in parts of Spain. It is of lesser, but still significant, importance in other countries. Much is known about the pathology of AGD but the pathophysiology of the disease is poorly understood. There is evidence that non-specific immunity is involved in fish acquiring resistance to AGD, but no unequivocal evidence exists for protection as a result of specific immune responses. To date, for salmonids, the only effective treatment for AGD is a freshwater bath. Control procedures based on modification of management strategies have been minimal and virtually unresearched. [source] Effects of rapid smoking on post-cessation urges to smokeADDICTION, Issue 3 2007Hayden McRobbie ABSTRACT Context Rapid smoking (RS) is a smoking cessation technique with sufficient indications of promise to warrant further investigation. The main presumed effect of RS is on reducing desire to smoke. Aim To evaluate the effect of a single session of RS immediately prior to quitting smoking on urges to smoke over the first week of abstinence. Design Randomized controlled trial. Setting Specialist smoking cessation clinic (SSCC). Participants A total of 100 smokers attending the quit day session. Intervention Participants in the rapid smoking group underwent a single session of RS immediately prior to quitting smoking. Participants in the control group watched a health promotion video on giving up smoking. Primary outcome measures Ratings of urges to smoke in the first 24 hours and 1 week of abstinence. Findings The RS procedure was well tolerated. It led to significantly lower urges to smoke compared to the control procedure during the first 24 hours (mean rating of 2.6 versus 3.2, P < 0.001) and the first week of abstinence (1.8 versus 2.5, P < 0.01). In patients abstinent for 4 weeks, urges to smoke were low and the difference was no longer significant (1.4 versus 1.8). Conclusion RS has an ,active ingredient' (craving reduction) and its effects on smoking cessation may merit further examination using modern rigorous methodology. [source] Automated detection of malaria by means of the haematology analyser Coulter® GEN.STMINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LABORATORY HEMATOLOGY, Issue 6 2004C. FOURCADE Summary The haematology analysers Coulter® GEN.STM and LHTM give a set of data ,,positional parameters', which define each WBC population by mean of index values, the mean and the standard deviation (SD) of volume, conductivity and scatter, used to identify the WBC populations. These parameters were analysed in patients investigated for suspicion of malaria, in order to show a difference between malaria negative and malaria positive patients and to use it for malaria detection. The six parameters exhibiting a significant difference between the two groups were submitted to a ROC analysis, which showed both sensitivity >90% and specificity >60% for two parameters, lymphocyte and monocyte SDs of volumes. A discriminator combining the two parameters showed a sensitivity of 96.9% and a specificity of 82.5%. The cut off of the discriminative value was calculated. Because of the good stability and reproducibility of the parameters selected, the test can be used in order to detect patients having a high probability to be malaria positive and to pay particular attention to these blood smears. For more extensive diagnostic use, a standard control procedure of the positional parameters should be introduced. [source] Measuring the edge-to-edge available bandwidth in a DiffServ domainINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NETWORK MANAGEMENT, Issue 5 2008N. Blefari-Melazzi The new Internet will be deployed with a number of tools for network management and quality of service control. To this end, we focus on a single administrative domain based on the Differentiated Services architectural model, and we recognize the need for two main functions for each supported traffic class: an admission control procedure, and a monitoring of the edge-to-edge bandwidth availability. In this work, we specifically focus on the second issue. To preserve scalability and thus to be compliant with Differentiated Services architecture, we propose stateless and distributed procedures based on traffic measurements. Our technique tests network resources by means of ,special' probing packets, which have the task of implicitly conveying the network status to its edges. We show by means of simulations the effectiveness of our solutions, in spite of a very low overhead. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Facilitating eyewitness memory in adults and children with context reinstatement and focused meditationJOURNAL OF INVESTIGATIVE PSYCHOLOGY AND OFFENDER PROFILING, Issue 2 2006Laura Hammond Abstract This study examined the comparative efficacy of two brief techniques for facilitating eyewitness memory in police investigations. Adult and child participants (N = 126; 64 children and 62 adults) who had viewed a videotape of a crime were subsequently tested for their memory of the event following either a focused meditation procedure (FM, derived from hypnotic interviewing techniques), a context reinstatement procedure (CR, a component of the cognitive interview), or a control procedure (no memory facilitation instructions). For both adults and children, the FM and CR procedures enhanced performance on both open-ended and closed questions to levels above those achieved by controls, although those in the CR condition produced significantly more correct responses than those in the FM condition. However, only those in the CR group displayed elevated levels of confidence in relation to incorrect responses on closed questions. Implications for the possible use of such procedures are discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Three-dimensional spatial interpolation of surface meteorological observations from high-resolution local networksMETEOROLOGICAL APPLICATIONS, Issue 3 2008Francesco Uboldi Abstract An objective analysis technique is applied to a local, high-resolution meteorological observation network in the presence of complex topography. The choice of optimal interpolation (OI) makes it possible to implement a standard spatial interpolation algorithm efficiently. At the same time OI constitutes a basis to develop, in perspective, a full multivariate data assimilation scheme. In the absence of a background model field, a simple and effective de-trending procedure is implemented. Three-dimensional correlation functions are used to account for the orographic distribution of observing stations. Minimum-scale correlation parameters are estimated by means of the integral data influence (IDI) field. Hourly analysis fields of temperature and relative humidity are routinely produced at the Regional Weather Service of Lombardia. The analysis maps show significant informational content even in the presence of strong gradients and infrequent meteorological situations. Quantitative evaluation of the analysis fields is performed by systematically computing their cross validation (CV) scores and by estimating the analysis bias. Further developments concern the implementation of an automatic quality control procedure and the improvement of error covariance estimation. Copyright © 2008 Royal Meteorological Society [source] Biological weapons preparedness: the role of physiciansINTERNAL MEDICINE JOURNAL, Issue 5-6 2003C. L. Cherry Abstract The real risk posed by biological weapons was demonstrated with the distribution of anthrax spores via the USA postal service in 2001. This review outlines the central roles of physicians in optimizing biopreparedness in Australia, including maintaining awareness of the risk, promptly recognizing an event, notifying appropriate authorities upon suspicion of an event, and instituting appropriate management. Management aspects covered include appropriate diagnostic tests, infection control procedures, and empirical therapy of agents considered possible biological weapons. The critical role of physicians as public health advocates working to prevent the use of biological weapons is also outlined. (Intern Med J 2003; 33: 242,253) [source] Community psychiatric nurses' experience of working with people who engage in deliberate self-harmINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MENTAL HEALTH NURSING, Issue 3 2008Andrew R. Thompson ABSTRACT:, This paper reports on a study that explored community psychiatric nurses' experiences of working with people who self-harm. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used with eight experienced community psychiatric nurses who participated in semi-structured interviews. Established quality control procedures were utilized including audit of the analysis process and validating the results with participants. The participants described struggling to conceptualize self-harm behaviour and generally reported finding working with people who self-harm stressful particularly in terms of managing the emotional impact upon themselves and the boundaries of their professional responsibilities in relation to managing risk. The therapeutic relationship was viewed as crucial and a variety of coping methods to manage the impact of the work, which had largely developed through ,on the job', experience were described. The results highlight the potential difficulties faced by community staff and can be translated into clear recommendations for training and support. [source] Reducing the density of breeding gulls influences the pattern of recruitment of immature Atlantic puffins Fratercula arctica to a breeding colonyJOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2003S. K. Finney Summary 1By acting as both competitors and predators, gulls (Larus spp.) are generally considered to reduce significantly the attractiveness of potential breeding sites for other birds. This perceived threat posed by gulls to other breeding birds has led to the implementation of gull control procedures at many seabird colonies. However, the extent to which reducing gull numbers benefits other species has received little rigorous scientific investigation. 2During a gull control programme (1972,89), gull nest density on the Isle of May, south-east Scotland, was reduced by between 30% and 100% in different sections of the island. Following termination of the original programme in 1989, several sections were maintained as gull-free by repeated removal of nests. 3We used data collected over a 23-year period to determine the extent to which the spatial variation in puffin Fratercula arctica recruitment was influenced by changes in the density and spatial distribution of breeding gulls resulting from the control programme. 4The presence of breeding gulls significantly affected the pattern of recruitment of puffins to the colony. Puffin recruitment rate was highest in the sections of the island where gull nest density was low. Gull density explained 21% of the variation in puffin recruitment rate. 5These results suggest that the reduction in the number of breeding gulls substantially increased the attractiveness of areas of the colony as breeding sites for puffins, and is thus likely to have played an important role in the pattern of expansion of the puffin population on the island. 6Synthesis and applications. Following a recent increase in the conservation status of both herring L. argentatus and lesser black-backed gulls L. fuscus, there has been a move to make management decisions more objective. This has highlighted the need for studies such as this, aimed at assessing the impact of gulls and their removal on other breeding birds, to ensure that any future control programmes are both necessary and effective. [source] Embezzlement: Don't be a victim!JOURNAL OF CORPORATE ACCOUNTING & FINANCE, Issue 4 2009Stanton C. Lindquist During a recession, everyone looks for ways to augment their income,including corporate fraudsters. Don't be a victim! The authors discuss the motivations for embezzlement and then cover control procedures your company can take to prevent it. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] PATHOGEN DETECTION IN FOOD MICROBIOLOGY LABORATORIES: AN ANALYSIS OF QUALITATIVE PROFICIENCY TEST DATA, 1999,2007JOURNAL OF FOOD SAFETY, Issue 4 2009DANIEL C. EDSON ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to assess laboratories' ability to detect or rule out the presence of four common food pathogens: Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes and Campylobacter spp. To do this, qualitative proficiency test data provided by one proficiency test provider from 1999 to 2007 were examined. The annual and cumulative 9-year percentages of false-negative and false-positive responses were calculated. The cumulative 9-year false-negative rates were 7.8% for E. coli O157:H7, 5.9% for Salmonella spp., 7.2% for L. monocytogenes and 13.6% for Campylobacter spp. Atypical strains and low concentrations of bacteria were more likely to be missed, and the data showed no trend of improving performance over time. Percentages of false-positive results were below 5.0% for all four pathogens. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The results imply that food testing laboratories often fail to detect the presence of these four food pathogens in real food specimens. To improve pathogen detection, supervisors should ensure that testing personnel are adequately trained, that recommended procedures are followed correctly, that samples are properly prepared, that proper conditions (temperature, atmosphere and incubation time) are maintained for good bacterial growth and that recommended quality control procedures are followed. Supervisors should also always investigate reasons for unsatisfactory proficiency test results and take corrective action. Finally, more research is needed into testing practices and proficiency test performance in food testing laboratories. [source] Effects of HIV/AIDS on Maternity Care Providers in KenyaJOURNAL OF OBSTETRIC, GYNECOLOGIC & NEONATAL NURSING, Issue 5 2008Janet M. Turan ABSTRACT Objective: To explore the impact of HIV/AIDS on maternity care providers in labor and delivery in a high HIV-prevalence setting in sub-Saharan Africa. Design: Qualitative one-on-one in-depth interviews with maternity care providers. Setting: Four health facilities providing labor and delivery services (2 public hospitals, a public health center, and a small private maternity hospital) in Kisumu, Nyanza Province, Kenya. Participants: Eighteen maternity care providers, including 14 nurse/midwives, 2 physician assistants, and 2 physicians (ob/gyn specialists). Results: The HIV/AIDS epidemic has had numerous adverse effects and a few positive effects on maternity care providers in this setting. Adverse effects include reductions in the number of health care providers, increased workload, burnout, reduced availability of services in small health facilities when workers are absent due to attending HIV/AIDS training programs, difficulties with confidentiality and unwanted disclosure, and maternity care providers' fears of becoming HIV infected and the resulting stigma and discrimination. Positive effects include improved infection control procedures on maternity wards and enhanced maternity care provider knowledge and skills. Conclusion: A multifaceted package including policy, infrastructure, and training interventions is needed to support maternity care providers in these settings and ensure that they are able to perform their critical roles in maternal healthcare and prevention of HIV/AIDS transmission. [source] Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a veterinary orthopaedic referral hospital: staff nasal colonisation and incidence of clinical casesJOURNAL OF SMALL ANIMAL PRACTICE, Issue 4 2008C. L. McLean Objectives: To evaluate staff nasal colonisation with meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a veterinary orthopaedic referral hospital, and its effect on the occurrence of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -associated postoperative wound complications in orthopaedic and spinal surgical patients. Methods: Nasal bacterial swabs were collected from veterinary staff and environmental surfaces swabbed at six monthly intervals for meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus monitoring over an 18 month period. The incidence of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -associated postoperative wound complications of two veterinary orthopaedic surgeons was reviewed for a period when one was positive for nasal meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Results: Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from a maximum of two out of 10 staff on each occasion. The persistently infected clinician was primary surgeon in 180 cases, of which four developed meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -associated wound complications. None of 141 operations led by the other surgeon developed meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -associated complications. This difference is not statistically significant (P=0·0974). The 95 per cent confidence interval for this odds ratio was 0·83 to 44·0. Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus resistance patterns of the human nasal isolates and three of four wound-associated isolates were similar. Clinical Significance: Veterinary workers are at increased risk for meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonisation, so it is likely that many veterinary patients are treated by meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -positive staff. Nasal colonisation of veterinary surgeons with meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus appears to present only a small risk to their patients when appropriate infection control procedures are followed. [source] Detection and Management of an Outbreak of Equine Herpesvirus Type 1 Infection and Associated Neurological Disease in a Veterinary Teaching HospitalJOURNAL OF VETERINARY INTERNAL MEDICINE, Issue 5 2010L.S. Goehring Background: Because of the serious disease sequelae associated with equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) infections, awareness and control measures used to control outbreaks are important issues for all horse populations. Objectives: Describe the occurrence and management of an outbreak of EHV-1 infection at a veterinary hospital. Animals: Horses hospitalized at a referral veterinary hospital. Methods: A horse with myeloencephalopathy associated with EHV-1 infection (EHM) was admitted for diagnostic evaluation and treatment under strict infection control procedures. We describe the occurrence and management of a nosocomial outbreak of EHV-1 infections associated with admission of this patient. Results: Despite institution of rigorous biosecurity precautions at the time of admission of the index case, EHV-1 infections spread to 6 other horses that were hospitalized at the James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hopsital, including 2 that served as sources of infection for horses on their home premises after discharge. Infection with EHV-1 was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and by seroconversion documented by glycoprotein G ELISA. A voluntary quarantine was imposed and admissions were restricted to prevent additional horses from being exposed. Quarantine duration was abbreviated by serial testing of all horses with PCR. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: These findings illustrate the contagious disease risk that can accompany management of horses with EHM. Horses with active nasal EHV-1 shedding should be isolated in an airspace that is separate from other horses by strictly enforced biosecurity and isolation procedures. Serial testing with PCR may be a useful adjunct to determine when the risk of transmission has been minimized. [source] Development of a decision support system for diagnosis and grading of brain tumours using in vivo magnetic resonance single voxel spectraNMR IN BIOMEDICINE, Issue 4 2006Anne R. Tate Abstract A computer-based decision support system to assist radiologists in diagnosing and grading brain tumours has been developed by the multi-centre INTERPRET project. Spectra from a database of 1H single-voxel spectra of different types of brain tumours, acquired in vivo from 334 patients at four different centres, are clustered according to their pathology, using automated pattern recognition techniques and the results are presented as a two-dimensional scatterplot using an intuitive graphical user interface (GUI). Formal quality control procedures were performed to standardize the performance of the instruments and check each spectrum, and teams of expert neuroradiologists, neurosurgeons, neurologists and neuropathologists clinically validated each case. The prototype decision support system (DSS) successfully classified 89% of the cases in an independent test set of 91 cases of the most frequent tumour types (meningiomas, low-grade gliomas and high-grade malignant tumours,glioblastomas and metastases). It also helps to resolve diagnostic difficulty in borderline cases. When the prototype was tested by radiologists and other clinicians it was favourably received. Results of the preliminary clinical analysis of the added value of using the DSS for brain tumour diagnosis with MRS showed a small but significant improvement over MRI used alone. In the comparison of individual pathologies, PNETs were significantly better diagnosed with the DSS than with MRI alone. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Error norm estimation and stopping criteria in preconditioned conjugate gradient iterationsNUMERICAL LINEAR ALGEBRA WITH APPLICATIONS, Issue 4 2001Owe Axelsson Abstract Some techniques suitable for the control of the solution error in the preconditioned conjugate gradient method are considered and compared. The estimation can be performed both in the course of the iterations and after their termination. The importance of such techniques follows from the non-existence of some reasonable a priori error estimate for very ill-conditioned linear systems when sufficient information about the right-hand side vector is lacking. Hence, some a posteriori estimates are required, which make it possible to verify the quality of the solution obtained for a prescribed right-hand side. The performance of the considered error control procedures is demonstrated using real-world large-scale linear systems arising in computational mechanics. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Event report training: An examination of the efficacy of a new intervention to improve children's eyewitness reports,APPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 6 2010Elisa Krackow This study tested the efficacy of Event Report Training (ERT), a training procedure designed to improve children's memory reports and decrease suggestibility. Children (N,=,58) participated in two forensically relevant play events. Two weeks later, children received ERT or participated in control procedures, after which they received a memory interview. Results indicated that ERT decreased suggestibility to abuse-related questions in preschoolers; their responses were highly accurate and age differences were eliminated. ERT did not increase the amount of information preschoolers provided in response to open-ended questions. However, with ERT 7- to 8-year-olds reported 32% more information which included a 32% increase in actions, without an accompanying increase in incorrect information. Due to school-aged children's high accuracy rates, it was impossible to gauge the effectiveness of ERT in reducing suggestibility. The failure to obtain an effect of ERT in preschoolers' open-ended recall is discussed in terms of their cognitive-developmental limitations. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Acute increase in femoral artery resistance in response to direct physical stimuli in the human fetusBJOG : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS & GYNAECOLOGY, Issue 10 2003Richard P. Smith Objective To determine whether fetal response to needling resembles the fetal ,brain sparing' response seen with hypoxaemia. Design Prospective observational study. Setting Centre for Fetal Care, Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital, London. Population Eighty-five pregnant women undergoing invasive procedures associated with fetal prenatal diagnosis and/or management. Methods The femoral artery and the middle cerebral artery pulsatility index were measured by Doppler ultrasonography before and after 89 invasive procedures (fetal blood sampling, transfusion, bladder or cyst aspiration, shunt insertion and amniocentesis, between 17 and 36 weeks). Cases in which the fetal body was transgressed were compared with ,control' fetuses undergoing invasive procedures which did not directly involve needling the fetus (amniocentesis and placental cord insertion procedures). Main outcome measures Femoral artery and middle cerebral artery pulsatility index. Results The femoral artery pulsatility index rose after transgression [median change (,) 0.73; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.51 to 0.98]. In contrast, there was no significant change in femoral artery pulsatility index after non-transgression procedures (mean , 0.28; 95% CI ,0.20 to 0.76). Analysis confirmed the fall in middle cerebral artery pulsatility index after transgression procedures (median ,,0.19; 95% CI ,0.07 to ,0.35), but there was also a significant fall in middle cerebral artery pulsatility index after non-transgression procedures (mean ,,0.47; 95% CI ,0.23 to ,0.71). Conclusions The human fetus mounts a peripheral haemodynamic response to invasive procedures involving transgression of the fetal body, which is consistent with the brain sparing effect. However, the change in middle cerebral artery pulsatility index in both transgression and control procedures suggests that the changes and mechanisms may be more complex than previously thought. [source] An after-hours clinical liaison blood culture service,is it worth it?CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION, Issue 10 2004F. Fitzpatrick Abstract The impact of clinical liaison on therapy for positive after-hours blood cultures was evaluated. Of 223 positive blood cultures, no change in management occurred in 164 (73%) cases: 115 positive cultures were regarded as contaminants, and 49 patients were receiving appropriate therapy already. The results of microscopy or culture altered the antimicrobial management of 59 (27%) patients: therapy was altered on the basis of microscopy for 33 patients, and was altered for 26 patients when culture results were available. In total, 94 doses of inappropriate antibiotics were avoided. The main benefit of after-hours blood cultures was that laboratory results were available a day earlier, facilitating timely initiation of appropriate therapy and infection control procedures. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||