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Acute mastoiditis in children: review of the current status.

BACKGROUND: acute mastoiditis is the most common intratemporal complication of otitis media. Its management is still a challenge due to potentially serious consequences. This study was designed to evaluate the recent experience with pediatric acute mastoiditis at our institution and to determine if the incidence of this entity is changing over time. MATERIAL AND METHODS: retrospective review of records of children with acute mastoiditis treated at the hospital of the Medical School at the University of Porto, Portugal, between July 1993 and June 1998. Criteria for the diagnosis of acute mastoiditis were postauricular swelling and erythema, protrusion of the auricle, and evidence of co-existent or recent otitis media. RESULTS: 43 patients fulfilled the entry criteria. Most were boys (69%). Ages ranged from 8 months to 14 years and 4 months; infants represented 40% of the total. Acute mastoiditis was the first recognized sign of otitis media in 48% of patients. More recent years of the study saw an increase in the number of children referred with acute mastoiditis. Upon admission, 56% were under antibiotic treatment, with an average intake of 5.8 days. All patients were hospitalized; 26 cases recovered after intravenous antibiotics plus myringotomy, and the rest required an additional surgical procedure. The most common organisms recovered from cultures were Streptococcus pneumoniae and Streptococcus pyogenes. In our series, associated complications occurred in 13.9%; facial paralysis in one, and involvement of the central nervous system in five. CONCLUSIONS: pediatric acute mastoiditis continues to be a potentially dangerous infection in the antibiotic era. The incidence of this complication may be increasing recently in the community studied. Great care is required of clinicians to reach an early diagnosis in order to promote adequate management and prevent inherently severe complications.

Acute Disease↗

Toxic oil syndrome: the perspective after 20 years.

Toxic oil syndrome burst upon the scene in Spain in May of 1981, draining the resources of a newly evolving political and social medicine system. The vehicle of the causative toxic agent was identified as an illicit oil that had been diverted from industrial use and refined in order to remove the aniline denaturant, and that was sold in unlabeled 5-liter containers by itinerant salesmen. Over 20,000 people were ultimately affected, and over 1,200 deaths from all causes have been recorded in the affected cohort. The epidemiologic investigation of toxic oil syndrome involved all facets of investigative and analytical work; from visits to factories and interviewing workers, to sophisticated chemical and statistical analytical techniques. This investigation serves as a further illustration that data and information of all types, and from a wide range of fields, need to be systematically collected and evaluated in order to best resolve an epidemiologic mystery. Astute clinical observation of the patients, however, led to the hypothesis that toxic oil syndrome was a result of a toxic exposure. In this and other epidemics of unknown etiology, clinical observation and the intense scrutiny of patients' histories, signs, and symptoms by treating clinicians have often led to hypotheses that could be tested epidemiologically. When there are medical unknowns, the role of the astute clinician continues to be crucial. The toxic oil syndrome epidemic is an example of how even a developed country can be affected by a massive epidemic of environmental origin if failures occur in the systems that control and regulate the food supply or other consumer products. However, such failures could occur anywhere that large commercial networks operate on the regulatory edge, and if these business lack an in depth knowledge of the consequences of alterations in manufacturing conditions. Such was the case with eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome as well, when apparently minor alterations in manufacturing conditions of L-tryptophan led to an increase in impurities in the product that were later associated with the illness. These risks are even greater in countries with few or inconsistent control systems, making the food and drug supply potential portals of entry for serious health hazards, as is further exemplified by the tragic episode of pediatric renal failure in Haiti associated with a legitimate consumer product, paracetamol elixir, that had been manufactured using a fraudulently supplied toxic ingredient, diethylene glycol (81). The potential toxicants in the adulterated rapeseed oil were present in extremely small amounts. If fatty acid anilides or related compounds are indeed the etiologic agents in toxic oil syndrome, then these compounds must be extremely toxic at the parts per million concentrations at which they were found. Further, the roles of causative agents in the development of disorders such as scleroderma, eosinophilic fasciitis, eosinophilic perimyositis, and other similar diseases are unknown, but scientists can speculate that some sort of low level environmental agent may play a role if such extremely small quantities of contaminants are indeed capable of causing disease. Although the exact identity of the etiologic agent in toxic oil syndrome remains unknown, work on toxic oil syndrome continues. Follow-up clinical studies and long-term mortality studies are under way. Investigation of the mechanisms involved in toxic oil syndrome continues. The identification of suspect chemical compounds, their characterization, and effects will hopefully one day contribute to the prevention of other similar diseases.

Aniline Compounds↗

Order creation and communication in healthcare.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this paper is to examine the adequacy of the concept of Physician Order Entry (POE) as a model for clinical systems, and to suggest an alternative understanding of the order creation and communication process. METHODS: The study is based on an interpretative analysis of POE as a model for clinical systems and the results of our recent fieldwork. RESULTS: Observations from our recent fieldwork suggest that orders, like patient care in general, emerge from interactions among patients, physicians, nurses, family members, and others, employing a variety of technologies and information resources in the process. Orders as we have observed them originate, are negotiated, and are carried out in a dynamically evolving group with fluctuating membership and shifting role responsibilities. Furthermore, orders by themselves represent only a partial picture of what is done for the patient. CONCLUSION: We argue that information systems are more likely to be helpful if they accommodate and facilitate POE as a multidisciplinary collaboration effort and fit better into the larger system of patient care.

Cognition↗

Workplace redesign: meeting the challenge of change while living within your resources.

It is 9 months after reconfiguration, and it is safe to say that the operation is a success. The quality of distributive service provided by the department has improved. Pharmacists and technicians report a higher degree of job satisfaction, and the dimension and quality of the clinical programs now cannot be compared with before. Future plans are to evaluate technician order entry as a means of further increasing pharmacists' time for clinical activities. This must be accomplished in a manner that ensures appropriate concurrent monitoring and screening of orders with compromising patient therapy. The department also is planning follow-up surveys that address the staff's attitudes regarding the reconfiguration. Recognizing change as a dynamic process, we plan to continue involving the entire pharmacy staff in the planning and implementation of future change. While we as managers were able to recognize the need for global change, it is our staff who helped us identify specific changes that led us to the needed skill mix adjustment. It is also essential that the staff understand that resources are limited and that is why compromise is sometimes necessary.

Hospital Bed Capacity, 500 and over↗

Comparison of time spent writing orders on paper with computerized physician order entry.

Computerized physician order entry (CPOE) has been shown to improve quality, and to reduce resource utilization, but most available data suggest that it takes longer to enter orders using CPOE. We had previously implemented a CPOE system, and elected to evaluate its impact on physician time in the new setting. To do this, we performed a prospective study using random reminder methodology. Key findings were that interns spent 9.0% of their time ordering with CPOE, compared to 2.1% before, although CPOE saved them an additional 2% of time, so that the net difference was 5% of their total time. However, this is counterbalanced by decreased time for other personnel such as nursing and pharmacy, and by the quality and efficiency changes. We conclude that while CPOE has many benefits, it represents a major process change, and organizations must factor this in when they implement it.

Hospital Information Systems↗

Electronic prescribing in ambulatory practice: promises, pitfalls, and potential solutions.

OBJECTIVE: To examine advantages of and obstacles to electronic prescribing in the ambulatory care environment. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE and International Pharmaceutical Abstract searches were conducted for the period from January 1980 to September 2000. Key words were electronic prescribing, computerized physician order entry, prior authorization, drug utilization review, and consumer satisfaction. In September 2000, a public search engine (www.google.com) was used to find additional technical information. In addition, pertinent articles were cross-referenced to identify other resources. DATA EXTRACTION: Articles, symposia proceedings, and organizational position statements published in the United States on electronic prescribing and automation in healthcare are cited. DATA SYNTHESIS: Electronic prescribing can eliminate the time gap between point of care and point of service, reduce medication errors, improve quality of care, and increase patient satisfaction. Considerable funding requirements, segmentation of healthcare markets, lack of technology standardization, providers' resistance to change, and regulatory indecisiveness create boundaries to the widespread use of automated prescribing. The potential solutions include establishing a standardizing warehouse or a router and gaining stakeholder support in implementation of the technology. CONCLUSIONS: Electronic prescribing can provide immense benefits to healthcare providers, patients, and managed care. Resolution of several obstacles that limit feasibility of this technology will determine its future.

Ambulatory Care Information Systems↗

The Effects of CPOE on ICU workflow: an observational study.

Computerized physician order entry (CPOE) has had demonstrated benefits in error reduction and guideline adherence, but its implementation has often been complicated by disruptions in established workflow processes. We conducted an observational study of the healthcare team in an intensive care unit after the implementation of mandatory CPOE. We found that policies designed to increase flexibility and safety led to an increased coordination load on the healthcare team, and created opportunities for new sources of error. We attribute this in part to implicit assumptions in the CPOE system design that execution of physician orders is a linear work process. Observational workflow studies are an important tool to understand how to redesign CPOE systems so as to avoid harm and achieve the full potential of benefit for improved patient safety.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

Ontology annotation treebrowser : an interactive tool where the complementarity of medical subject headings and gene ontology improves the interpretation of gene lists.

Gene expression and proteomics analysis allow the investigation of thousands of biomolecules in parallel. This results in a long list of interesting genes or proteins and a list of annotation terms in the order of thousands. It is not a trivial task to understand such a gene list and it would require extensive efforts to bring together the overwhelming amounts of associated information from the literature and databases. Thus, it is evident that we need ways of condensing and filtering this information. An excellent way to represent knowledge is to use ontologies, where it is possible to group genes or terms with overlapping context, rather than studying one-dimensional lists of keywords. Therefore, we have built the ontology annotation treebrowser (OAT) to represent, condense, filter and summarise the knowledge associated with a list of genes or proteins. The OAT system consists of two disjointed parts; a MySQL database named OATdb, and a treebrowser engine that is implemented as a web interface. The OAT system is implemented using Perl scripts on an Apache web server and the gene, ontology and annotation data is stored in a relational MySQL database. In OAT, we have harmonized the two ontologies of medical subject headings (MeSH) and gene ontology (GO), to enable us to use knowledge both from the literature and the annotation projects in the same tool. OAT includes multiple gene identifier sets, which are merged internally in the OAT database. We have also generated novel MeSH annotations by mapping accession numbers to MEDLINE entries. The ontology browser OAT was created to facilitate the analysis of gene lists. It can be browsed dynamically, so that a scientist can interact with the data and govern the outcome. Test statistics show which branches are enriched. We also show that the two ontologies complement each other, with surprisingly low overlap, by mapping annotations to the Unified Medical Language System. We have developed a novel interactive annotation browser that is the first to incorporate both MeSH and GO for improved interpretation of gene lists. With OAT, we illustrate the benefits of combining MeSH and GO for understanding gene lists. OAT is available as a public web service at: http://www.ifm.liu.se/bioinfo/oat.

Algorithms↗

Data collection for an obstetric department.

A well-designed computerized data collection system allows an accurate, complete data-set to be compiled for all pregnant women. It should be able to produce all the documentation necessary for pregnancy care, with minimum delay, and avoid repetitive data entry. Data is stored on computer on the back of operational tasks so that it may be subsequently used for audit. In addition it may be used for research purposes. Patient care can be improved if the computer is programmed to react to certain items being entered by requesting further relevant data-items. This therefore acts as a teaching method. A further extension of this is to use the data to help reach a diagnosis and thus suggest a logical management. A computerized data collection system cannot bring order out of chaos. Before introducing one there must be well-stated objectives of what is required from it. It must be clearly stated what is to be collected by whom and for what purpose. Apart from the capital outlay there may be a need to set money aside for revenue purposes for additional staff involved in maintaining the system. If a large system is being introduced then this will have considerable implications with regard to the work done by some staff, and job descriptions may need renegotiation--an aspect usually overlooked.

Data Collection↗

Development of an integrated prostate cancer research information system.

BACKGROUND: In this article, we describe the design and implementation of a comprehensive prostate cancer database developed to collect, store, and access clinical, treatment, and outcomes data for research and clinical care. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The Prostate Cancer Clinical Research Information System is a relational database. Data are entered from multiple sources, including medical records, institutional laboratory, patient registration, pharmacy systems, and clinician forms. The history, design, and operational characteristics of the database are described. Issues regarding necessary staffing and funding of databases are reviewed. RESULTS: Four thousand two hundred forty-six patients have information in the Prostate Cancer Clinical Research Information System. Mean age of patients is 62 years, and 89% are white. Seventy-one percent of patients presented at diagnosis with T1 or T2 disease, and 78% had biopsy Gleason scores of <or=7, 8-10 in 18%. Median prostate-specific antigen level at diagnosis was 7 ng/mL, and 77% of patients presented with increased prostate-specific antigen as a trigger symptom. Sixty-four percent of patients presented to our clinic having had no previous treatment for prostate cancer. The majority of approached patients provided consent for collection of clinical data, blood, and tissue. Quality control assessments demonstrate high levels of concordance among data entry personnel. CONCLUSION: Clinical databases are difficult to implement and maintain; however, they represent a valuable resource, particularly when linked to blood and tissue banks. Elements needed for a successful clinical database include engagement of clinicians, utility for research, and the ability to integrate with legacy systems. As cancer centers develop such databases, lessons learned from each experience should be shared in order to optimize the process.

Adult↗

[Drug interactions in an intensive care unit].

BACKGROUND: A new computerised interaction database in Norwegian is available at www.druid.uio.no and in some computer physician order entry systems. The scope of this paper was to assess drug use and examine the potential usefulness of DRUID in an intensive care unit. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Drugs given patients during their first 24 hours in our mixed surgical intensive care unit over one year were entered into DRUID. RESULTS: 191 patients received 1413 drugs (median 7). According to DRUID, 110 patients (58%) had 274 potential drug interactions (median 2) of 72 classes. No interaction was of grade A (should not be combined) or C (absorption of oral drugs), 153 were of grade B (take precautions), and 121 were of grade D (academic interest). Of grade B interactions, 51% were in two and 49% in 39 classes of drug interactions. Of grade D interactions, 60% in 4 and 40% in 27 classes. INTERPRETATION: Surprisingly few serious drug interactions were found. However, in every fourth patient precautions should be taken (e.g. dose adjustments). Electronic prescribing systems might give fewer adverse effects.

Databases, Factual↗

Creation of a master table for checking indication and contraindication of medicine from a knowledge base linked with a thesaurus.

To develop a system for checking indication and contraindication of medicines in prescription order entry system, a master table consisting of the disease names corresponding to the medicines adopted in a hospital is needed. The creation of this table requires a considerable manpower. We developed a Web-based system for constructing a medicine/disease thesaurus and a knowledge base. By authority management of users, this system enables many specialists to create the thesaurus collaboratively without confusion. It supports the creation of a knowledge base using concept names by referring to the thesaurus, which is automatically converted to the check master table. When a disease name or medicine name was added to the thesaurus, the check table was automatically updated. We constructed a thesaurus and a knowledge base in the field of circulatory system disease. The knowledge base linked with the thesaurus proved to be efficient for making the check master table for indication/contraindication of medicines.

Artificial Intelligence↗

Perceptions of physician order entry: results of a cross-site qualitative study.

OBJECTIVE: To identify perspectives of success factors for implementing computerized physician order entry (POE) in the inpatient setting. DESIGN: Qualitative study by a multidisciplinary team using data from observation, focus groups, and both formal and informal interviews. Data were analyzed using a grounded approach to develop a taxonomy of patterns and themes from the transcripts and field notes. RESULTS: A taxonomy of ten high level themes was developed, including 1) separating POE from other processes, 2) terms, concepts, and connotations, 3) context, 4) tradeoffs, 5) conflicts and contradictions, 6) collaboration and trust, 7) leaders and bridgers, 8) the organization of information, 9) the ongoing nature of implementation, and 10) temporal concerns. CONCLUSION: The identified success factors indicate that POE implementation is an iterative and difficult process, but informants perceive it is worth the effort.

Attitude to Computers↗

Multiple perspectives on physician order entry.

OBJECTIVE: Describe the complex interplay of perspectives of physicians, administrators, and information technology staff regarding computerized physician order entry (POE) in hospitals. METHODS: Linstone's Multiple Perspectives Model provided a framework for organizing the results of a qualitative study done at four sites. Data from observation, focus groups, and formal and informal interviews were analyzed by four researchers using a grounded approach. RESULTS: It is not a simple matter of physicians hating POE and others loving it. The issues involved are both complex and emotional. All groups see both positive and negative aspects of POE. CONCLUSION: The Multiple Perspectives Model was useful for organizing a description to aid in understanding all points of view. It is imperative that those implementing POE understand all views and plan implementation strategies accordingly.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

Implementation of physician order entry: user satisfaction and self-reported usage patterns.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate user satisfaction, correlates of satisfaction, and self-reported usage patterns regarding physician order entry (POE) in one hospital. DESIGN: Surveys were sent to physician and nurse POE users from medical and surgical services. RESULTS: The users were generally satisfied with POE (mean = 5.07 on a 1 to 7 scale). The physicians were more satisfied than the nurses, and the medical staff were more satisfied than the surgical staff; satisfaction levels were acceptable (more than 3.50) even in the less satisfied groups. Satisfaction was highly correlated with perceptions about POE's effects on productivity, ease of use, and speed. POE features directed at improving the quality of care were less strongly correlated with satisfaction. The physicians valued POE's off-floor accessibility most, and the nurses valued legibility and accuracy of POE orders most. Some features, such as off-floor ordering, were perceived to be highly useful and reported to be frequently used by the physicians; while other features, such as "quick mode'' ordering and personal order sets, received little self-reported use. CONCLUSIONS: Survey of POE users showed that satisfaction with POE was good. Satisfaction was more correlated with perceptions about POE's effect on productivity than with POE's effect on quality of care. Physicians and nurses constitute two very different types of users, underscoring the importance of involving both physicians and nonphysicians in POE development. The results suggest that development efforts should focus on improving system speed, adding on-line help, and emphasizing quality benefits of POE.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

A computer based intervention to reduce unnecessary serologic testing.

OBJECTIVE: Laboratory testing is important in the evaluation of patients with possible systemic rheumatic disease, but uncritical use of any test may result in misleading information and unnecessary costs. We attempted to reduce the number of unnecessary antinuclear antibody, rheumatoid factor, and complement level tests ordered by house officers at a large teaching hospital, where inpatient orders are written through a computer based order entry system. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study of an interactive test ordering program. The intervention consisted of displaying post-test probability estimates during the usual physician order entry session. These estimates were based on pretest probabilities entered by the ordering physician and sensitivities and specificities derived from a literature review. Another group of test orders did not prompt the intervention and were considered controls. The outcome of interest was the percentage of tests canceled in the intervention group versus the control group. RESULTS: Eleven percent (11/99) of intervention orders were canceled, versus only one order among 236 controls (p = 0.001). However, there was no association between the physicians' pretest probability estimates and whether test orders were canceled (p = 0.59). Additionally, 43 of the 335 orders (13%) yielded positive tests, but only 4 patients (1%) were given new diagnoses of rheumatic disease. CONCLUSION: The computer based intervention significantly reduced orders for antinuclear antibody and rheumatoid factor levels by 10%. Further reductions without clinical harm are probably possible, since the yield of testing for new rheumatic diseases was low.

Adult↗

Adding insight: a qualitative cross-site study of physician order entry.

The research questions, strategies, and results of a 7-year qualitative study of computerized physician order entry implementation (CPOE) at successful sites are reviewed over time. The iterative nature of qualitative inquiry stimulates a consecutive stream of research foci, which, with each iteration, add further insight into the overarching research question. A multidisciplinary team of researchers studied CPOE implementation in four organizations using a multi-method approach to address the question "what are the success factors for implementing CPOE?" Four major themes emerged after studying three sites; ten themes resulted from blending the first results with those from a fourth site; and twelve principles were generated when results of a qualitative analysis of consensus conference transcripts were combined with the field data. The study has produced detailed descriptions of factors related to CPOE success and insight into the implementation process.

Attitude to Computers↗

Principles for a successful computerized physician order entry implementation.

To identify success factors for implementing computerized physician order entry (CPOE), our research team took both a top-down and bottom-up approach and reconciled the results to develop twelve overarching principles to guide implementation. A consensus panel of experts produced ten Considerations with nearly 150 sub-considerations, and a three year project using qualitative methods at multiple successful sites for a grounded theory approach yielded ten general themes with 24 sub-themes. After reconciliation using a meta-matrix approach, twelve Principles, which cluster into groups forming the mnemonic CPOE emerged. Computer technology principles include: temporal concerns; technology and meeting information needs; multidimensional integration; and costs. Personal principles are: value to users and tradeoffs; essential people; and training and support. Organizational principles include: foundational underpinnings; collaborative project management; terms, concepts and connotations; and improvement through evaluation and learning. Finally, Environmental issues include the motivation and context for implementing such systems.

Costs and Cost Analysis↗