CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne
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Comparative Study
What happens to patients who leave hospital against medical advice?
Patients who leave hospital against medical advice (AMA) may be at risk of adverse health outcomes and readmission. In this study we examined rates of readmission and predictors of readmission among patients leaving hospital AMA. ⋯ The significantly increased risk of readmission among general medicine patients who leave hospital AMA is concentrated in the first 2 weeks after discharge. However, it is difficult to identify which patients will likely be readmitted.
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Comparative Study
An observational study comparing 2-hour 75-g oral glucose tolerance with fasting plasma glucose in pregnant women: both poorly predictive of birth weight.
The definition and treatment of glucose intolerance during pregnancy are matters of intense controversy. Our goal was to examine the value of the 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in terms of its ability to predict birth weight percentile in a group of women with singleton pregnancies who received minimal treatment for their glucose intolerance. ⋯ In this population of pregnant, untreated diabetic women, plasma glucose levels (either fasting or after various glucose loads) were independently but poorly correlated with birth weight; no more than 3% to 5% of birth weight variability could be explained by changes in glucose tolerance. Fasting plasma glucose was consistently but marginally better than the plasma glucose level 2 hours after 75-g glucose load for predicting LGA neonates. We conclude that neonatal macrosomia is influenced by variables that are largely independent of plasma glucose concentrations.
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Comparative Study
Equity in Canadian health care: does socioeconomic status affect waiting times for elective surgery?
Waiting times for surgical and other procedures are an important measure of how well the health care system responds to patient needs. In a universal health care system such as Canada's, it is important to determine if waiting times vary by socioeconomic status (SES). We compared waiting times for elective surgery of patients living in low and high socioeconomic areas. ⋯ We found little evidence that residing in a region in which SES was in the lowest third was associated with longer waiting times for elective surgery.