The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Education to improve timeliness of shingles diagnosis: Cluster RCT and qualitative study.
Herpes zoster (shingles) is normally diagnosed clinically. Timely diagnosis is important so that antiviral treatment can be started soon after rash onset. ⋯ Our educational intervention did not improve the timely assessment of patients with shingles. This may be the result of poor intervention engagement.
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Unplanned admissions to hospital represent a hazardous event for older people. Timely identification of high-risk individuals using a prediction tool may facilitate preventive interventions. ⋯ The models showed satisfactory predictive ability. Reducing the number of predictors and geographic validation did not have an impact on predictive performance, demonstrating the robustness of the model. An easy-to-use tool has been developed in this study that may assist GPs in decision making and with targeted preventive interventions.