Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jul 2011
ReviewAn overview of reviews evaluating the effectiveness of financial incentives in changing healthcare professional behaviours and patient outcomes.
There is considerable interest in the effectiveness of financial incentives in the delivery of health care. Incentives may be used in an attempt to increase the use of evidence-based treatments among healthcare professionals or to stimulate health professionals to change their clinical behaviour with respect to preventive, diagnostic and treatment decisions, or both. Financial incentives are an extrinsic source of motivation and exist when an individual can expect a monetary transfer which is made conditional on acting in a particular way. Since there are numerous reviews performed within the healthcare area describing the effects of various types of financial incentives, it is important to summarise the effectiveness of these in an overview to discern which are most effective in changing health professionals' behaviour and patient outcomes. ⋯ Financial incentives may be effective in changing healthcare professional practice. The evidence has serious methodological limitations and is also very limited in its completeness and generalisability. We found no evidence from reviews that examined the effect of financial incentives on patient outcomes.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jul 2011
ReviewWITHDRAWN: Conjugate vaccines for preventing meningococcal C meningitis and septicaemia.
Meningococcal polysaccharide (MPLS) vaccines protect against Serogroup C disease, but do not produce an immune response in infants less than two years of age. This limitation can be overcome by linking C polysaccharide to carrier proteins ('conjugating'), to create meningococcal serogroup C conjugate (MCC) vaccines. In the absence of trial data, the immune response to vaccination has been considered to be a reasonable surrogate for vaccine protection. ⋯ The MCC vaccine appears to be safe, immunogenic and able to induce immunological memory in all age groups. Observational studies strongly suggest that MCC is clinically effective.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jul 2011
ReviewSingle incision versus conventional multi-incision appendicectomy for suspected appendicitis.
Appendicectomy is a well established surgical procedure used in the management of acute appendicitis. The operation can be performed with minimally invasive surgery (laparoscopic) or as an open procedure. A recent development in appendicectomy has been the introduction of less invasive single incision laparoscopic surgery, using a single multi-luminal port or multiple mono-luminal ports, through a single skin incision. There are yet unanswered questions regarding the efficacy of this new and novel technique including: patient benefit and satisfaction, complications, long-term outcomes, and survival. ⋯ No RCTs comparing single incision laparoscopic appendectomy with multi-incision surgery could be identified. No definitive conclusions can be made at this time. Well designed prospective RCTs are required in order to evaluate benefit or harm from laparoscopic surgical approaches for appendicectomy. Until appropriate data has been reported, the institutional polices of healthcare providers must be based on the clinical judgement of experts in the field.