Internal medicine journal
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Internal medicine journal · Jun 2012
Preliminary evaluation of the prevalence of falls, pain and urinary incontinence in remote living Indigenous Australians over the age of 45 years.
To report on the prevalence of falls, urinary incontinence, pain and associated factors in remote living Indigenous Australians over the age of 45 years. ⋯ Falls, urinary incontinence and pain are common and reported for the first time in older indigenous people living in remote regions. The presence of these syndromes in ages over 45 may be due to accumulation of health insults during the life course.
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Internal medicine journal · Jun 2012
Point-prevalence study of inappropriate antibiotic use at a tertiary Australian hospital.
A point-prevalence study at a tertiary Australian hospital found 199 of 462 inpatients (43%) to be receiving antibiotic therapy. Forty-seven per cent of antibiotic use was discordant with guidelines or microbiological results and hence considered inappropriate. Risk factors for inappropriate antibiotic prescribing included bone/joint infections, the absence of infection, creatinine level >120 µmol/L, carbapenem or macrolide use and being under the care of the aged care/rehabilitation team. In the setting of finite antimicrobial stewardship resources, identification of local determinants for inappropriate antibiotic use may enable more targeted interventions.
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Internal medicine journal · Jun 2012
Detection of patients presenting with adverse drug events in the emergency department.
Adverse drug events (ADE) have been studied widely in hospitalised and emergency department (ED) patients. Less is known about the ED visits of drug-related injury in Taiwan. This study seeks to determine the incidence, risk and patient outcomes of ADE in an ED population. ⋯ ADE-related ED visits are not uncommon in Taiwan and many cases are preventable. ED-based surveillance may provide useful information for monitoring outpatient ADE.
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Internal medicine journal · Jun 2012
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyComparison of empirical continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment versus initial portable sleep monitoring followed by CPAP treatment for patients with suspected obstructive sleep apnoea.
Polysomnography is labour-intensive for diagnosing obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). We compared two algorithms for initiating continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment for patients with suspected OSA. ⋯ An ambulatory approach with portable sleep monitoring for diagnosing OSA before a CPAP trial can identify more patients who would adhere to CPAP at 6 months than empirical CPAP treatment alone.
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Internal medicine journal · Jun 2012
Identifying patient-specific beliefs and behaviours for conversations about adherence in asthma.
Asthma guidelines advise addressing adherence at every visit, but no simple tools exist to assist clinicians in identifying key adherence-related beliefs or behaviours for individual patients. ⋯ This study identified several specific beliefs and behaviours which clinicians could use for initiating patient-centred conversations about medication adherence in asthma.