OBJECTIVES To systematically describe appropriateness criteria (AC) developed in the United States for surgical procedures and to summarize how these criteria have been applied to identify overuse and underuse of procedures in US populations. DATA SOURCES MEDLINE literature search performed in February 2010 and May 2011. STUDY SELECTION Studies were included if they addressed the appropriat...

INTRODUCTION Initial abbreviated surgery with planned reoperation (damage control surgery) is frequently used for major trauma patients to rapidly control haemorrhage while limiting surgical stress. Although damage control surgery may decrease mortality risk among the severely injured, it may also be associated with several complications when inappropriately applied. We seek to scope the litera...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the appropriateness of the use of total hip joint replacements. DESIGN Observational study of consecutive patients with a diagnosis of hip osteoarthritis and who had undergone total hip arthroplasty over a 1-year period from seven hospitals. MAIN MEASURES The appropriateness of the use of hip replacement was judged by explicit criteria developed by a panel of experts u...

OBJECTIVE Indicators of potentially preventable hospitalisations have been adopted internationally as a measure of health system performance; however, few assess appropriate processes of care around medication use, that if followed may prevent hospitalisation. The aim of this study was to develop and validate evidence-based medication-related indicators of potentially preventable hospitalisatio...

OBJECTIVE To develop quality indicators for the diagnosis and antibiotic treatment of acute respiratory tract infections, tailored to the Danish general practice setting. DESIGN A RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method was used. SETTING General practice. SUBJECTS A panel of nine experts, mainly general practitioners, was asked to rate the relevance of 64 quality indicators for the diagnosis and...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE We sought to determine whether there are racial differences in use of carotid artery imaging after controlling for clinical factors and to ascertain racial differences in presenting signs and symptoms and overall appropriateness for carotid endarterectomy (CE). METHODS We performed a retrospective cohort study of 803 patients older than 45 years, hospitalized between 19...