Internal medicine journal
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Internal medicine journal · Nov 2004
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialA chronic disease management programme can reduce days in hospital for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
A steady increase in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) admissions was addressed by enhancing primary care to provide intensive chronic disease management. ⋯ A chronic disease management programme for COPD patients that incorporated a variety of interventions, including pulmonary rehabilitation and implemented by primary care, reduced admissions and hospital bed days. Key elements were patient participation and information sharing among healthcare providers.
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Internal medicine journal · Nov 2004
Comparative StudyClinical features in the emergency department can identify patients with suspected acute coronary syndromes who are safe for care in unmonitored hospital beds.
Standard practice for patients requiring hospital admission with suspected acute coronary syndromes (ACS) is admission to a monitored cardiology bed. The Western Hospital Chest Pain Protocol was developed to identify a subset of these patients who could be safely managed in an unmonitored bed. ⋯ There is a subgroup of patients with suspected ACS who require hospital admission who can, based on clinical and biochemical features in the emergency department, be safely assigned to unmonitored beds.
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Internal medicine journal · Nov 2004
Comparative StudyUnobvious wounds: the suffering of hospice patients.
The suffering of palliative care patients is ordinarily thought of in terms of symptoms, and these are identified by medical terms (pain, nausea, depression). The problematic issue of relief of patients' pain meaning the same thing as the 'relief of the suffering and distress of terminally ill patients' has been raised. ⋯ Asking hospice patients about suffering in a simple open-ended way can expose a different dimension of distress, and the views of the 100 patients of this study support the statement that relief of pain and relief of suffering are not the same.