PLoS medicine
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Review Comparative Study
Patient outcomes with teaching versus nonteaching healthcare: a systematic review.
Extensive debate exists in the healthcare community over whether outcomes of medical care at teaching hospitals and other healthcare units are better or worse than those at the respective nonteaching ones. Thus, our goal was to systematically evaluate the evidence pertaining to this question. ⋯ The available data are limited by their nonrandomized design, but overall they do not suggest that a healthcare facility's teaching status on its own markedly improves or worsens patient outcomes. Differences for specific diseases cannot be excluded, but are likely to be small.
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The authors discuss a new systematic review that found no difference in health outcomes between academic and nonacademic health care settings.
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Comparative Study
Feasibility and cost-effectiveness of treating multidrug-resistant tuberculosis: a cohort study in the Philippines.
Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is an important global health problem, and a control strategy known as DOTS-Plus has existed since 1999. However, evidence regarding the feasibility, effectiveness, cost, and cost-effectiveness of DOTS-Plus is still limited. ⋯ Treatment of patients with MDR-TB using the DOTS-Plus strategy and individualised drug regimens can be feasible, comparatively effective, and cost-effective in low- and middle-income countries.