The International journal of risk & safety in medicine
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Observational Study
Efficacy of paediatric anaesthetic trolleys: A call for a basic standard and layout.
Providing safe anaesthesia to children especially in emergency situations goes hand in hand with instant availability of appropriately sized equipment and monitoring. This is best achieved using a designated paediatric anaesthetic trolley containing essential equipment. Guidance for the contents of such trolleys is neither explicit nor standard. We used a survey and a qualitative enquiry to develop a checklist suitable for standardisation of contents and layout of paediatric anaesthetic trolleys. ⋯ Standardising the contents and layout of the paediatric anaesthetic trolley is an essential pre-requisite for safer paediatric anaesthetic practice.
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Understanding principles of evidence-based medicine is of vital importance for improving quality of care, promoting public health and health system development. Understanding principles of evidence-based medicine allows using the most powerful information source, which have ever existed in medicine. ⋯ Barriers to implementation of Evidence-Based Medicine in education and practice are lack of funding to provide access to reliable sources of information, websites; outdated research methodology skills in medical education, lack of skills in critical evaluation of medical information; tradition of authoritarian relationships, use of past experience stencils; failure to comply with continuing education programs ("from training to professional development"). Knowledge of Evidence-Based Medicine, skills to perform searches for scientific data, to evaluate their validity and to transform scientific data into practical solutions are necessary for health workers in their daily activities. This culture needs to be rooted in modern medical education.
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The impact of the extension of the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) statement, which was published in 2004 and aimed to improve the quality of the safety information presented in clinical trials, remains uncertain. ⋯ The adverse event information was insufficient for the RCTs published in four high-impact medical journals five years after the publication of the extension of the CONSORT statement.
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Review
A compromise too far: a review of Canadian cases of direct-to-consumer advertising regulation.
Since the mid 1990's, Canada has introduced partial direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs through administrative policy shifts. Little documentation exists on how regulation occurs in practice. ⋯ There is an astonishing degree of discordance between public health priorities and regulation of DTCA in Canada. The current approach to enforcement is notable both for its lack of teeth and lack of accountability and transparency.
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Wrong site confusions are among the most common mistakes in operations of twosome organs. ⋯ This study illustrates the high error that can result in the absence of side marking prior to cataract surgery, as well as in operations on other twosome organs.