Routine Clinical Care (routine + clinical_care)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Decision aids in routine practice: lessons from the breast cancer initiative

HEALTH EXPECTATIONS, Issue 3 2006
Kerry A. Silvia BA
Abstract Background, Many decision aids have been developed to help patients make treatment and screening decisions; however, little is known about implementing them into routine clinical practice. Objective, To assess the feasibility of implementing a patient decision aid (PtDA) for the early stage breast cancer surgical decision into routine clinical care. Design, Structured individual interviews. Setting and participants, A convenience sample of providers from nine sites, including two community resource centres, a community hospital and six academic centres. Main outcome measures, Usage data, barriers to and resources for implementing the PtDAs. Results, Six of the nine sites were using the PtDAs with patients. Two sites were primarily using a scheduling system and four sites relied on a lending system. For the academic centres, the keys to successful implementation included integrating the PtDA into the flow of patients through the centre and having physicians who recommended it to patients. At the community centres, the keys to successful implementation included an informed staff and the flexibility to get the PtDAs to patients in different ways. Barriers that limited or prevented sites from using the PtDA included a lack of clinical support, a lack of system support, competing priorities and scheduling problems. Conclusions, It is feasible to implement a breast cancer PtDA into routine clinical care at academic centres and community resource centres. Future research should assess the effectiveness of PtDAs in routine clinical care as well as resources and barriers to their implementation in community hospitals. [source]


Where is the wisdom?

JOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 6 2009
A conceptual history of evidence-based medicine
Abstract Rationale, Evidence-based medicine (EBM) has been acclaimed as a major advance in medical science, but criticized as a proposed alternative model for the practice and teaching of medicine. Ambiguity regarding the proper role of the contributions of EBM within the fabric of medicine and health care has contributed to this discrepancy. Aims and objectives, We undertook a critical review of the history of the EBM movement, beginning with its origins in the 1970s and continuing through this century. We drew upon the results of an independent project that rationalized the EBM domain from the perspective of educational evaluation and assessment. We considered the content of EBM in relationship to the propositions and promises embodied in advocacy publications. Results, EBM emerged in the context of the explosion of biomedical information in the decade preceding public access to the Internet in the mid-1990s and drew upon the independently derived ,information literacy' formula developed by information scientists during the 1980s. The critically important content and achievements of EBM are fully explained within the confines of the information literacy model. The thesis that EBM offers an alternative paradigm for individualized health care, asserted in the advocacy literature, is not supported by published models of evidence-based clinical practice. Conclusion, A critical historical review of the origins, content and development of the EBM movement proposes that full integration of the fruits of the movement into routine clinical care remains a conceptual and practical challenge. [source]


Incorporating psycho-educational family and carers work into routine clinical practice

JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRIC & MENTAL HEALTH NURSING, Issue 6 2003
J. SIN msc bsc (hons)- thorn bn bgs rmn
There is growing evidence of the benefits of family and carers interventions using a psycho-educational model for carers of people with psychosis. In order to get this work into clinical practice, a network of interrelated services for carers and families of people with psychoses has been established in Reading, Berkshire. This paper reports the experience of the authors in establishing these services using a series of practice development initiatives including training for staff, education programmes, integration projects and collaboration across organizations. This work illustrates change processes through which evidence-based practice has been incorporated into routine clinical care and in which research-based assessment and evaluation tools have being used in routine clinical practice to measure outcomes. [source]


Classic pyomyositis of the extremities as an unusual manifestation of Blastomyces dermatitidis: a report of two cases

MYCOSES, Issue 4 2010
Michael Y. Lin
Summary Pyomyositis is an infection of skeletal muscle that, by definition, arises intramuscularly rather than secondarily from adjacent infection. It is usually associated with bacterial infection, particularly Staphylcococcus aureus. Fungi are rare causes, and Blastomyces dermatitidis has not been reported previously. In this case series, we report two cases of pyomyositis caused by B. dermatitidis. Cases were prospectively identified through routine clinical care at a single academic referral hospital. Two patients with complaints of muscle pain and subacute cough were treated at our hospital in 2007. Both patients were found to have pyomyositis caused by B. dermatitidis, in the quadriceps muscles in one patient, and in the calf muscle in another , by radiological imaging and fungal culture. Both were also diagnosed with pneumonia caused by B. dermatitidis (presumptive in one, confirmed in the other). There was no evidence of infection of adjacent structures, suggesting that the route of infection was likely direct haematogenous seeding of the muscle. A review of the literature confirmed that although B. dermatitidis has been described as causing axial muscle infection secondary to adjacent infection such as vertebral osteomyelitis, our description of isolated muscle involvement (classic pyomyositis) caused by B. dermatitidis, particularly of the extremity muscles, is unique. We conclude that B. dermatitidis is a potential cause of classic pyomyositis. [source]


Assessment is not enough: a randomized controlled trial of the effects of HRQL assessment on quality of life and satisfaction in oncology clinical practice

PSYCHO-ONCOLOGY, Issue 12 2007
Sarah K. Rosenbloom
Abstract The potential benefits of health-related quality of life (HRQL) assessment in oncology clinical practice include better detection of problems, enhanced disease and treatment monitoring and improved care. However, few empirical studies have investigated the effects of incorporating such assessments into routine clinical care. Recent randomized studies have reported improved detection of and communication about patients' concerns, but few have found effects on patient HRQL or satisfaction. This study examined whether offering interpretive assistance of HRQL results would improve these patient outcomes. Two hundred and thirteen participants with metastatic breast, lung or colorectal cancer were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: usual care; HRQL assessment or HRQL assessment followed by a structured interview and discussion. Interviews about patients' assessment responses were conducted by a research nurse, who then presented HRQL information to the treating nurse. HRQL and treatment satisfaction outcomes were assessed at 3 and 6 months. No significant differences were found between study conditions in HRQL or satisfaction. Results suggest that routine HRQL assessment, even with description of results, is insufficient to improve patient HRQL and satisfaction. It is suggested that positive effects may require supplementing assessment results with specific suggestions for clinical management changes. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Reducing alcohol related harm experienced by Indigenous Australians: identifying opportunities for Indigenous primary health care services

AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 2010
Anthony Shakeshaft
Abstract Objective: Identify key issues and opportunities relating to the dissemination of cost-effective interventions for alcohol in Indigenous-specific settings. Methods: Update previous reviews of the Indigenous alcohol literature, particularly in relation to intervention and dissemination studies aimed at identifying and integrating into routine clinical care those strategies that are most cost-effective in reducing alcohol-related harm. Results: The harmful use of alcohol has been identified as a major public health issue, which has a disproportionately high negative impact on Indigenous Australians. While the disproportionately high burden of harm borne by Indigenous Australian communities is well documented in descriptive studies, attempts to redress this imbalance through well controlled intervention and dissemination studies appear to have been inadequate to date. There is compelling evidence from the non-Indigenous community that brief intervention is an effective treatment for harmful alcohol use, compared to the relatively lower levels of evidence for primary and tertiary level interventions. The effectiveness of brief intervention for alcohol in Indigenous Australian communities should, therefore, be examined. Conclusions and Implications: An opportunity exists to implement brief intervention into Indigenous primary health care settings, as an evidence-based strategy using established resources. There is the possibility that such Indigenous-specific health services research will lead the dissemination field in demonstrating how the implementation process can be successfully tailored to specific and defined clinical settings. [source]


Population pharmacokinetics of valproate in Mexican children with epilepsy

BIOPHARMACEUTICS AND DRUG DISPOSITION, Issue 9 2008
Tania Correa
Abstract Background. The aim of this study was to determine the factors that influence valproate clearance (CL) in Mexican epileptic pediatric patients using a mixed-effect model and sparse data of serum concentrations of valproic acid (VPA) collected during routine clinical care of patients. Methods. The number of patients included in the study was 110. The population CL was calculated by using the NONMEM program. The following covariates were tested by their influence on CL: total body weight (TBW), height, age, body surface area, daily dose (DD), sex of the patient and comedication with phenobarbital (PB) or carbamazepine. Results. The final regression model for valproic CL found best to describe the data was: CL/F=(0.0466+0.00363 TBW+0.000282 DD) * (1+0.236 PB). This model allows a reduction of 50% of the interindividual variability and of 31% of the residual variability described by the basic model that does not include covariables. Conclusions. Total body weight, daily dose of valproate and concomitant therapy with PB are factors that significantly influence VPA kinetic disposition and they should be considered in programming dosage regimens for this antiepileptic drug in the pediatric population. The validation of the model supports its acceptability for clinical purposes. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Implementing Early Goal-directed Therapy in the Emergency Setting: The Challenges and Experiences of Translating Research Innovations into Clinical Reality in Academic and Community Settings

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 11 2007
Alan E. Jones MD
Research knowledge translation into clinical practice pathways is a complex process that is often time-consuming and resource-intensive. Recent evidence suggests that the use of early goal-directed therapy (EGDT) in the emergency department care of patients with severe sepsis and septic shock results in a substantial mortality benefit; however, EGDT is a time- and resource-intensive intervention. The feasibility with which institutions may translate EGDT from a research protocol into routine clinical care, among settings with varying resources, staff, and training, is largely unknown. The authors report the individual experiences of EGDT protocol development, as well as preimplementation and postimplementation experiences, at three institutions with different emergency department, intensive care unit, and hospital organization schemes. [source]