When Exclusion Criteria Are Appropriate

Appropriate Use Criteria.

Clinical criteria and the appropriate use of transthoracic echocardiography for the exclusion of infective endocarditis.

BACKGROUND Clinical guidelines currently suggest that transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) be carried out in all patients with suspected endocarditis, but the use of TTE where there is a low probability of infective endocarditis has a poor diagnostic yield. This screening approach may no longer be appropriate. OBJECTIVE To examine whether clinical criteria might aid decision making with respe...

File notes and breach reports: when are they appropriate?

Protocol and/or GCP deviations occur in many clinical trials. There are clear definitions and reporting guidelines on serious breaches in Clinical Trials of Investigational Medicinal Products (CTIMPs)[1]. However there is no such national guidance for non-CTIMPs. For any trial design, there is little, if any, information on when and for what type of incident it is appropriate to write a file no...

Can appropriate use criteria lead to appropriate care?

T he rapid pace of technological development has brought a wealth of diagnostic and therapeutic options to the care of patients. These new diagnostic and therapeutic tools have dramatically altered medical care but have come with a steep price tag, and it is not clear that the improvement in the quality of care is proportional to the cost of the medical system. In recognition of the fact that t...

when appropriate statistical analysis is dismissed