BMJ open
-
To assess changes in quality of life and costs of patients undergoing primary total hip replacement using the Exeter prosthesis compared with a hypothetical 'no surgery' group. ⋯ 85% of cases had a cost of <£20 000 per QALY (with 70% having a cost per QALY under £10 000) compared with no surgery. Cases would be considered cost-effective under currently accepted thresholds (£25 000-£30 000) compared with 'no surgery'. However, depending on age and severity, younger patients and more severe patients had below average cost per QALYs. These results help to confirm the long-term benefits and cost-effectiveness of total hip replacement in a wide variety of patients using well-established implant models such as the Exeter. However, further and ongoing economic appraisal of this and other models is required for comparative purposes.
-
Patients admitted to hospital with acute respiratory symptoms remain a diagnostic challenge for the emergency physician. The use of focused sonography may improve the initial diagnostics, as most of the diseases, commonly seen and misdiagnosed in patients with acute respiratory symptoms, can be diagnosed with sonography. The protocol describes a prospective, blinded, randomised controlled trial that aims to assess the diagnostic impact of a pragmatic implementation of focused sonography of the heart, lungs and deep veins as a diagnostic modality in acute admitted patients with respiratory symptoms. ⋯ This clinical trial is performed according to the Declaration of Helsinki and has been approved by the Regional Scientific Ethical Committee for Southern Denmark and the Danish Data Protection Agency. The results of the trial will be published according to the CONSORT statement with the extension for pragmatic trials. The results of the trial will be published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal regardless of the outcome.
-
It is recommended that non-operative treatment of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) should be individually tailored and include multiple treatment modalities. Despite these recommendations, no one has yet investigated the efficacy of combining several non-surgical treatment modalities in a randomised controlled study. The purpose of this randomised controlled study is to examine if an optimised, combined non-surgical treatment programme results in greater improvements in pain, function and quality of life in comparison with usual care in patients with KOA who are not eligible for total knee arthroplasty (TKA). ⋯ This study was approved by the local Ethics Committee of The North Denmark Region (N-20110085) and the protocol conforms to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Data collection will be completed by April 2014. Publications will be ready for submission in the summer of 2014.
-
Structured methods to assess and support improvement in the quality of end-of-life care are lacking and need to be developed. This need is particularly high outside the specialised palliative care. This study examines whether participation in a national quality register increased the quality of end-of-life care. ⋯ Participation in a national quality register covariates with quality improvements in end-of-life care over time.
-
The last decade has seen the introduction of new technology which has transformed many aspects of our culture, commerce, communication and education. This study examined how medical teachers and learners are using mobile computing devices such as the iPhone in medical education and practice, and how they envision them being used in the future. ⋯ This new technology offers the potential to enhance learning and patient care, but also has potential problems associated with its use. It is important for leadership in medical schools and healthcare organisations to set the agenda in this rapidly developing area to maximise the benefits of this powerful new technology while avoiding unintended consequences.