Background: EOS is a 2D/3D muscle skeletal diagnostic imaging system. The device has been developed to produce a high quality 2D, full body radiographs in standing, sitting and squatting positions. Three dimensional images can be reconstructed via sterEOS software. This Health Technology Assessment study aimed to investigate efficacy, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of new emerged EOS imag...

BACKGROUND Excess subcutaneous fat causes not only cosmetic issues, but also substantial systemic health problems. Cryolipolysis has been reported to provide non-invasive fat reduction that significantly reduces subcutaneous fat cells with controlled, localized cooling. OBJECTIVE This study is intended to determine whether a cryolipolysis device can effectively reduce subcutaneous fat without...

Effectiveness studies, by definition, must reflect patient and treatment variables that exist in the real world of practice. This includes identifying the covariates that contribute to both positive and negative outcomes. The use of clinically significant change and reliable change indices is reviewed to demonstrate that patient changes can be made on the basis of normative comparisons, using o...

OBJECTIVE To determine the clinical effectiveness of pneumococcal vaccine. DATA SOURCES Computerized searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and SCISEARCH databases were performed, reference lists of retrieved articles were reviewed, and first authors of published studies were contacted. STUDY SELECTION Studies of use of pneumococcal vaccines in adults were included if the study design was a randomize...

BACKGROUND Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second-most-common chronic and progressive neurodegenerative disease. The long-term use of levodopa leads to a loss of efficacy and to complications. Therefore, many patients with PD have turned to complementary therapies to help relieve their symptoms. Acupuncture is most commonly used as a complementary therapy in patients with PD. This paper present...

An essential component of clinical governance is clinical effectiveness, which is achieved through evidence-based practice. This has enormous implications for the way nurses work, and the qualitative approach often taken by nurse researchers can be difficult to incorporate into the new systems. Clinical governance should have benefits for patients and NHS staff alike. If the goals are to be ach...

Contemporary issues facing institutional managers, as well as P&T committee members, focus heavily on balancing patient care costs and outcomes. That balance should assist organizations in achieving their value propositions in providing optimal patient care—in this case, through the appropriate use of pharmaceutical agents. Achieving a balance requires informed decision-making along with access...

H eart failure is the leading cause of hospitalization in adults older than 65 years, and it is currently the most costly cardiovascular disorder in the United States, with estimated annual expenditures in excess of $20 billion. Recent studies have shown that selected pharmacological agents, behavioral interventions, and surgical therapies are associated with improved clinical outcomes in patie...