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PubMed2005

[Performance indicators as a measure of the quality of medical care: rhetoric and reality].

Performance indicators may provide an indication of insufficient quality of medical care but they do not identify the cause of the problem. The political context for performance indicators is based on market ideology, where quality improvement is the goal and consumer pressure is the means. It is usually difficult to compare performance indicators among hospitals given the differences in definitions, methods of assessment, case mix, preclinical factors and data quality. Performance indicators are risk assessments and therefore subject to chance variation. Conclusions regarding performance indicators cannot be drawn due to the lack of clear, predefined benchmarks. At this time, the presence and degree of consumer pressure is unclear, and the ultimate effects of making performance factors publicly available on the quality of care is unknown. The question is whether mandatory reporting of a set of performance indicators by hospitals can provide sufficient insight into the quality of care; the measure appears to be too rough and too many factors influence the outcome. Procedure assessment is a good alternative to the use of performance indicators.

Hospital Mortality↗

PubMed2006

Development of quality indicators: lessons learned in bariatric surgery.

Quality indicators will likely be used in comprehensive surgical quality assessment and improvement programs. Quality indicators are the actions equated with good quality of care. As a case example, bariatric surgery quality indicators were developed using evidence in the literature combined with formal expert opinion validation. Qualitative analysis was performed to identify the critical thematic issues surrounding development of these surgical quality indicators. Researchers identified five major thematic categories during the development process. These included feasibility in medical records (availability, ease of abstraction, and cost), the number of indicators developed (optimal number), the lack of evidence in the literature (weight on expert opinion), structural versus process indicators, and linkage to outcomes (need to demonstrate that adherence to indicators is associated with better outcomes). This project, using bariatric surgery as an example, uncovered important issues that need to be addressed when developing quality assessment and quality improvement programs for evaluating surgical quality. As quality indicators will likely be developed and used increasingly, future projects in this regard will benefit from these lessons.

Bariatric Surgery↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Composite indicators for primary health care. The case of Mexico].

In 1978 the World Health Organization proposed as a goal the following slogan: "Health for everyone in the 2000 year". Though, to obtain the covering first assistance indicators is crucial for the evaluation work and for the analysis of the health strategies. In 1981 the World Health Organization proposed 13 indicators, based on them, this work builds up three new indicators. These indicators allow to have a simple and reliable description of the covering that each one of the federal entities of the Mexican Republic keep. The 1985 WHO indicator, PROM, and our mixed indicator, Institutional Medical Assistance Request, are highly correlated. The Mixed indicators of Health Covering allow the making of global covering evaluations. Also allows the studding of all the covering relations and correlations reached with other indicators or variables.

Health Status Indicators↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Bioequivalent chemical steam sterilization indicators.

Biological indicators used to monitor steam sterilization cycles have two major shortcomings--the incubation period needed to determine if sterilization was accomplished, and the reliance on test packs for gathering information in each load. Chemical indicators do not suffer from these shortcomings. Chemical indicators can respond to time, temperature, and steam parameters to thus parallel the BI reaction. Nine commercially available chemical indicators and four biological indicators were evaluated under the conditions of dry heat, in a biological indicator-evaluator resistometer vessel, and in a hospital sterilizer. The results indicate that wider use of integrated chemical steam sterilization indicators is recommended.

Geobacillus stearothermophilus↗

PubMed1995

A new method of analysing indicator dilution curves.

OBJECTIVE: We are currently developing a new indicator dilution method of measuring cardiac output using lithium chloride as the indicator. The aim of the present study was to develop a simple and accurate method of deriving the area under the primary indicator dilution curve: that is, the area which would have been inscribed had there been no recirculation of the indicator. METHOD: A model based upon the representation of the mixing in the circulation as similar to that of the passage of an impulse through a series of filter elements was studied. This was represented physically by a model which consisted of a series of mixing chambers. The model was analysed theoretically using Laplace transforms and was used to test the new method of deriving the area of primary indicator dilution curves. RESULTS: Theoretical analysis showed that such a filter model produces curves which closely approximate the shape of a lognormal distribution over a range of skewness greater than that of human indicator dilution curves. The single pass curves from the physical model were shown to be similar in shape to lognormal distributions, as were the curves obtained from patients to the point when recirculation occurred. A method of estimating the area under the primary curve based upon the lognormal distribution was developed and equations derived. The use of these equations to calculate flows from lithium dilution curves in the mixing chamber model was validated by comparing the results with simultaneous timed collection. CONCLUSIONS: Theoretical justification for treating primary indicator dilution curves as lognormal is presented. A simple method of deriving the integral of the primary indicator dilution curve is described. It uses the whole of the curve up to a point short of recirculation, avoiding the problem which can occur with the classical Hamilton extrapolation method when the cardiac output is low and recirculation distorts the primary curve in the early part of the washout.

Heart↗

PubMed1996

Correlative studies of heart rate and heart rate variability indices from five consecutive ambulatory electrocardiogram recordings in patients with coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: Reproducibility of heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) indices from ambulatory electrocardiograms (AECGs) is a prerequisite for their use as predictors or monitors of disease progression, or response to therapeutic interventions. HYPOTHESIS: This study sought to determine the stability over time of HR and HRV indices in patients with coronary artery disease. METHODS: Five AECGs, recorded at 1-week intervals in 21 clinically stable patients, were used to calculate minimum, average, and maximum HR, and three commonly used HRV indices in data samples of 15, 30, 60, 120, daytime and nighttime intervals (complete data were available on 17 patients). RESULTS: All parameters studied were stable over time (p = NS). Diurnal variation was found only for the average and maximum HR, with values being higher for daytime than for nighttime. Intercorrelations of the HR and HRV indices were poor and varied among the five AECGs, suggesting that these parameters reflect different aspects of HRV. The HR and HRV variables calculated from short-time intervals correlated poorly with the corresponding information from 24-h recordings, and such relationships varied among the five AECGs. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, HR and HRV indices from five consecutive AECGs recorded at 1-week intervals are reproducible. The poor intercorrelations between pairs of the studied indices suggest that none of these parameters can be used as surrogate of the others. Finally, the poor performance of HR and HRV indices, deriving from short-time intervals, indicate that they cannot be employed in lieu of parameters calculated from 24-h AECGs.

Aged↗

PubMed1999

Economic evaluation of alternative indicators for screening for diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: the optimal indicator for screening for diabetes mellitus without relying on fasting conditions was clarified. METHODS: the subjects were 891 men ages 26 through 80 years (48.5 +/- 8.5). The objectives of this study were (1) to elucidate the efficacy of 1,5-anhydroglucitol (1,5-AG), glycosylated hemoglobin, and fructosamine (FRA) as screening tests for non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) or for impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and (2) to perform an economic evaluation for each indicator. The efficacy of each indicator was evaluated by drawing the receiver operating characteristic curves and calculating the areas under these curves (AUCs). An original model was developed for the pur pose of cost-effectiveness analysis. RESULTS: each indicator was evaluated as a screening test for NIDDM alone and for both IGT and NIDDM. The AUCs of 1,5-AG and fasting plasma glucose were the largest in the case of the detection of NIDDM alone and the detection of both IGT and NIDDM, respectively. FRA was, however, the most cost-effective in Japan. CONCLUSION: using equations, we indicated the equi librium points at which the cost-effectiveness ratios of each indicator intersected in order to generalize the results. By calculating the appropriate-actual ratios of costs for each indicator, we could ascertain the optimal indicator for each country.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

[Occupational status and prevalence of cardiovascular risk indicators in employed men in German-speaking Switzerland].

Based on a sample of 623 employed men from the Berne Workplace Health Project ("Härz-As-Project") we studied the relationship between the occupational status and prevalence of cardiovascular risk indicators. Besides "biological" risk indicators, like high total cholesterol, low HDL-cholesterol, hypertension, and overweight, we also studied two behavioral risk indicators (current smoking, physical inactivity in leisure time) and a summary risk score. Odds ratios for several risk indicators controlled for age, were markedly different among different occupational status groups. High cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol ratios were more common in lower occupational status groups, while the likelihood for hypertension and high total cholesterol was highest among qualified workers. There was a strong association between occupational status and the behavioral risk indicators smoking and physical inactivity in leasure time. Similarly, 1 or more risk indicators, and more than 2 risk indicators, respectively, were also found to be strongly related to occupational status. Our results confirm former findings of unequal distribution of cardiovascular disease risk indicators among groups of different occupational status. Future studies will have to focus upon the underlying causes for these inequities.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Multi- and monofractal indices of short-term heart rate variability.

Indices of heart rate variability (HRV) based on fractal signal models have recently been shown to possess value as predictors of mortality in specific patient populations. To develop more powerful clinical indices of HRV based on a fractal signal model, the study investigated two HRV indices based on a monofractal signal model called fractional Brownian motion and an index based on a multifractal signal model called multifractional Brownian motion. The performance of the indices was compared with an HRV index in common clinical use. To compare the indices, 18 normal subjects were subjected to postural changes, and the indices were compared on their ability to respond to the resulting autonomic events in HRV recordings. The magnitude of the response to postural change (normalised by the measurement variability) was assessed by analysis of variance and multiple comparison testing. Four HRV indices were investigated for this study: the standard deviation of all normal R-R intervals; an HRV index commonly used in the clinic; detrended fluctuation analysis, an HRV index found to be the most powerful predictor of mortality in a study of patients with depressed left ventricular function; an HRV index developed using the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) technique for a monofractal signal model; and an HRV index developed for the analysis of multifractional Brownian motion signals. The HRV index based on the MLE technique was found to respond most strongly to the induced postural changes (95% CI). The magnitude of its response (normalised by the measurement variability) was at least 25% greater than any of the other indices tested.

Electrocardiography↗

PubMed2004

[Cystectomy for indications other than bladder cancer].

A cystectomy for indications other than transitional cell cancer of the bladder or general bladder cancer is frequently performed in cooperation with other surgical specialties such as general surgery or gynecology. In these cases the urological procedure as well as the oncological and surgical concepts of other specialties have to be combined. We studied our cystectomy patients who had undergone such a combined procedure for a non-urothelial indication concerning perioperative and postoperative complications.A total of 204 cystectomies were performed by the Department of Urology at the University of Hamburg, Germany between 1995 and 2003. Bladder cancer was the indication for cystectomy in 162 patients, but 42 patients had a non-urothelial indication for this procedure. These patients included 12 cases of advanced rectal cancer, 9 cases of advanced cervical cancer, 6 cases of advanced sigmoid cancer, 4 cases of advanced prostate cancer, 1 case of prostate sarcoma, 5 cases of complex vesicointestinal fistulae, 2 cases of urachal cancer, 1 leiomyosarcoma, 1 rhabdomyoma, and 1 rhabdomyosarcoma, respectively. Perioperative and postoperative complications of those patients were compared to patients who underwent cystectomy for transitional cell cancer of the bladder.Those 42 patients who underwent cystectomy for non-urothelial indications included 14 male and 28 female patients. The mean age was 58.2 years with a range of 3-78 years. For urinary diversion 30 ileum conduits, 4 sigma conduits, and 8 ileum neobladders were used. The mean operative time was 6.25 h. The mean blood loss was 2200 ml. An average of four red blood cell concentrates (RBC) had to be given. Postoperative hydronephrosis had to be treated in three (7%) patients unilaterally and in two (5%) patients bilaterally with a temporary nephrostomy. Postoperative urinary leakage lasting more than 30 days was found in two (5%) patients. A deep vein thrombosis as well as an ileus was found in five (12%) patients each, respectively. There was no perioperative mortality in this study. When comparing the complications of those patients with the 162 patients who underwent cystectomy for bladder cancer, the only significant difference ( p=0.033, chi-square test) was a higher ileus rate in the patients with cystectomy for a non-urothelial indication. Complications with cystectomy for non-urothelial indications are in large comparable to those for transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. The higher ileus rate in non-urothelial patients can be explained by the more radical procedures in this group of patients. Even though the group of patients undergoing cystectomy for indications other than bladder cancer was small in this trial, the procedure is standardized in combination with other specialties. Larger patient numbers and a longer follow-up will lead to more data in this special group of patients.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

A comparison of selected diversity, similarity, and biotic indices for detecting changes in benthic-invertebrate community structure and stream quality.

Implementation of advanced wastewater treatment at the two municipal wastewater-treatment plants for Indianapolis, Indiana, resulted in substantial improvement in the quality of the receiving stream and significant changes in the benthic-invertebrate community. Diversity, similarity, and biotic indices were compared to determine which indices best reflected changes in the composition of the biota in the river. None of the indices perfectly reflected the changes in river quality or community structure. Similarity indices, especially percentage similarity, exhibit the most promise of the three classes of indices. Diversity indices were least useful, wrongly indicating that water quality deteriorated after the upgrade of the wastewater-treatment plants. The most descriptive tool in analyzing the data was the percentage of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) taxa present. Using a mixture of indices and other analytical tools, such as EPT, in the analysis of biological data will ensure the most effective investigations of water quality.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Development of indicators to assess economic vulnerabilities to changes in ecosystem services: case study of counties in Maryland, USA.

We develop indicators showing the relative environmental burdens that human activities place on locales for a given level of economic benefits. The main purpose is to develop tools that allow us to examine the potential vulnerabilities within economies to changes in resource conditions. The indicators of pollution emission or resource consumption per job can be used to identify potential challenges to resource and industry managers and to compare areas in terms of their ability to adapt to change. For example, if a large number of area jobs are dependent on abundant water, this indicates a vulnerability to a reduction in water availability for industrial use. We develop a case study for 23 counties and 1 city in Maryland to examine the usefulness and limitations of the indicators. Our case study demonstrates that the indicators provide an informative view into patterns of local economic activity and use of an area's environmental goods and services. In contrast to patterns for total environmental burdens (e.g., total SO2 emissions) that are typically reported, the rates of environmental burden per job are not simply correlated with high or low economic output. Thus, the indicators represent distinct patterns of environmental burdens per job that reflect reliance on environmental services. The indicators have some limitations when used at this fine scale because they can misrepresent conditions in counties in which economic sectors are dominated by one or a few businesses. For this reason, the indicators are best used as a regional screening tool.

Agriculture↗

PubMed1999

A comparison of different indices used in the clinical assessment of plaque and gingival bleeding.

Indices are used in order to describe clinical variables used in the assessment of periodontal health and diseases. Indices may be divided into those that quantify variables, and those that simply annotate the presence or absence of variables. In this study, quantitative and binary (presence/absence) indices were compared in the evaluation of dental plaque and gingival bleeding. As the data were not directly comparable, they were transformed into percentage changes occurring between consecutive assessments. It was found that the differences between the two types of indices used to assess dental plaque and bleeding on gentle probing were marginal. Thus it was concluded that, the use of quantification indices may have little or no clinical benefit, and did not warrant the extra expenditure of time and effort required for their administration. However, in more detailed clinical and epidemiological trials designed to evaluate the distribution of clinical variables on different regions of tooth surfaces, the quantification indices are necessary. Therefore binary/dichotomous indices may be used effectively, especially in the daily clinical work without recourse to the more detailed and complex quantitative indices.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The role of technical, biological and pharmacological factors in the laboratory evaluation of anticonvulsant drugs. IV. Protective indices.

Calculation of protective or therapeutic indices is widely used in primary and secondary screening for drugs with selective anticonvulsant activity. The protective index is the median minimal 'neurotoxic' dose, TD50, divided by median effective dose, ED50. TD50s are usually determined by tests, such as the rotarod test or the chimney test, for quantification of 'minimal neurological deficit', such as motor impairment, while median effective doses are commonly determined in the maximal electroshock seizure (MES) test or the s.c. pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) seizure test in mice or rats. For antiepileptic drug development, it has been proposed previously that only compounds with an estimated protective index of at least 5 should proceed to further evaluation. However, various technical, biological and pharmacological factors can influence anticonvulsant or 'neurotoxic' potencies and thereby protective indices. In order to reevaluate the value of protective indexes in the prediction of drugs with selective anticonvulsant action, protective indices were determined for various clinically used antiepileptic drugs in standardized seizure tests, i.e. MES and s.c. PTZ tests in mice and rats, as well as in seizure threshold tests. For most drugs, similar TD50s were determined in the rotarod and chimney test. When protective indices were calculated for the different seizure models, only few drugs reached an index of 5 (some not even reaching an index of 2) in the traditional MES or s.c. PTZ tests in mice and rats. In contrast, using anticonvulsant doses determined by seizure threshold tests, the 5 primary drugs against generalized tonic-clonic seizures, i.e., carbamazepine, phenytoin, phenobarbital, primidone and valproate, had indices of more than 5 in the MES threshold model, while drugs with efficacy against absence and myoclonic seizures, i.e., valproate, ethosuximide and the benzodiazepines, had protective indices of at least 5 in the i.v. PTZ seizure threshold model. The data substantiate that valuable information can be obtained by estimation of protective indices. However, in order to minimize the possibility that an interesting new anticonvulsant compound is overlooked during primary or secondary screening, a protective index of 2 should be considered sufficient in case of traditional MES or s.c. PTZ models with fixed seizure stimulus. Alternatively, seizure threshold models could be used for calculation of protective indices in order to avoid underestimation of anticonvulsant selectivity of test compounds.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Cardiologic and neurologic findings in left ventricular hypertrabeculation/noncompaction relating to echocardiographic indication.

BACKGROUND: Left-ventricular hypertrabeculation/noncompaction (LVHT) is characterized by prominent trabeculations and intertrabecular recesses. LVHT is usually diagnosed if a patient is referred for echocardiography. The study assessed if cardiologic and neurologic findings differ relating to indication for echocardiography. METHODS: Included were patients in whom LVHT was diagnosed in one echocardiographic laboratory between June 1995 and December 2005. All patients underwent a cardiologic examination and were invited for a neurological investigation. RESULTS: LVHT was diagnosed in 93/35,181 patients (26 female, 53+/-15 years). Heart failure was the most frequent indication (n=49), followed by chest pain (n=21), syncope (n=8), search for cardiac involvement in myopathy (n=7), stroke or embolism (n=3), arterial hypertension (n=3) and screening of LVHT patients' relatives (n=2). Patients with the indication "heart failure" were older than patients with other indications (59.4+/-13.1 versus 44.9+/-12.9 years, p<0.001), had more often a neuromuscular disorder of unknown etiology (53% versus 32%, p<0.05), exertional dyspnoea (96% versus 32%, p<0.001), edema (25% versus 7%, p<0.05) and advanced heart failure (NYHA III: 41% versus 11%, p<0.01; NYHA IV: 29% versus 9%, p<0.05), suffered less often from arterial hypertension (22% versus 41%, p<0.05), angina pectoris (14% versus 34%, p<0.05) and palpitations or syncope (10% versus 30%, p<0.05). Patients with the indication "heart failure" had less frequent normal ECG than patients with other indications (2% versus 18%, p<0.01), had more frequent > or = 2 ECG abnormalities (57% versus 36%, p<0.05), left bundle branch block (29% versus 9%, p<0.05), a larger left-ventricular enddiastolic diameter (69.9+/-9.7 versus 57.4+/-12.2 mm, p<0.001), a lower left-ventricular fractional shortening (16.9+/-6.1% versus 31.1+/-11.5%, p<0.001) and more often valvular abnormalities (76% versus 30%, p<0.001). Location and extension of LVHT did not differ between indication groups. CONCLUSION: Echocardiographers should be aware of LVHT in any indication for echocardiography.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Assessing accuracy of diagnosis-type indicators for flagging complications in administrative data.

OBJECTIVE: Canadian administrative hospital discharge data contain a diagnosis-type indicator for each coded diagnosis that allows researchers to distinguish complications from pre-existing diagnoses. Given that the validity of diagnosis-type indicators is unknown, we conducted a detailed chart review to evaluate the accuracy of diagnosis-type indicators for flagging complications. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: We obtained administrative hospital discharge data for 1,200 randomly selected adult inpatient separations in Calgary, Alberta, occurring between April 1, 1996 and March 31, 1997. Each discharge record contains up to 16 diagnoses and 16 corresponding diagnosis-type indicators (value of "2"=complication). The corresponding medical charts were reviewed for evidence of diagnoses and complications. A complication was defined as a new diagnosis arising after the start of hospitalization. We determined the extent to which the diagnosis-type indicator in the administrative data agreed with the chart reviewer's assessment (criterion standard) of whether a diagnosis was a complication or not. RESULTS: The agreement for complications between the two databases varied greatly across 12 conditions studied (kappa range: 0-0.72) and was often low (kappa <0.20 for six conditions). Sensitivity ranged from 0 to 57.1% (higher than 50% for only two conditions), indicating a tendency for complications to often be miscoded as baseline comorbidities. In contrast, specificity was generally high (range: 99.0-100%), suggesting that pre-existing conditions were usually appropriately coded as such in the administrative data. CONCLUSION: The validity of diagnosis-type indicators in Canadian administrative discharge data appears to be poor for some types of complications. This is likely to be of greatest concern in studies that rely solely on diagnosis-type indicators to define complications as outcomes.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Environmental performance policy indicators for the public sector: the case of the defence sector.

The development of environmental performance policy indicators for public services, and in particular for the defence sector, is an emerging issue. Despite a number of recent initiatives there has been little work done in this area, since the other sectors usually focused on are agriculture, transport, industry, tourism and energy. This type of tool can be an important component for environmental performance evaluation at policy level, when integrated in the general performance assessment system of public missions and activities. The main objective of this research was to develop environmental performance policy indicators for the public sector, specifically applied to the defence sector. Previous research included an assessment of the environmental profile, through the evaluation of how environmental management practices have been adopted in this sector and an assessment of environmental aspects and impacts. This paper builds upon that previous research, developing an indicator framework--SEPI--supported by the selection and construction of environmental performance indicators. Another aim is to discuss how the current environmental indicator framework can be integrated into overall performance management. The Portuguese defence sector is presented and the usefulness of this methodology demonstrated. Feasibility and relevancy criteria are applied to evaluate the set of indicators proposed, allowing indicators to be scored and indicators for the policy level to be obtained.

Conservation of Natural Resources↗

PubMed2005

Health inequalities across socio-economic groups: comparing geographic-area-based and individual-based indicators.

OBJECTIVES: To compare health inequality estimates obtained with different types of indicators of socio-economic status (SES), and study whether some of these are better predictors of health status, as indicated by observed disability data, than others. METHODS: Australian data were used to compare the use of the geographically based Socio-economic Index for Areas (SEIFA) in health inequality studies with two individual-based SES indicators able to account for family income and size. Inequalities in disability prevalences by SES were measured using age-standardized rate ratios. Logistic regression was used to determine which type of SES measure is a better predictor of the observed disability prevalences. RESULTS: Estimates of health inequalities obtained with the SEIFA were considerably lower than those obtained with the individual-based SES indicators. With the SEIFA, the proportion of disabled people amongst the most disadvantaged 20% of Australians was estimated to be 82% higher than amongst the most advantaged 20%, compared with over 150% with the individual-based SES measures. Also, the individual-based indicators were considerably better predictors of observed disability status than the SEIFA. CONCLUSION: An individual-level SES indicator, such as one based on family income, is a better predictor of people with a disability than a geographic-area-based index. Also, the main reason for the considerably lower inequality estimates obtained with the SEIFA is that, unlike the individual-based indicators, such location-based indices cannot account for the significant, often age-related variations in SES that exist amongst people living in a particular area.

Adolescent↗