Treatment of remifentanil-induced postoperative hyperalgesia (RIH) remains a clinical challenge because the mechanisms are not fully understood. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is a key component in neuroinflammation because of its facilitation of pro-inflammatory cytokine maturation. Therefore, inhibition of MMP-9 may represent a novel therapeutic approach to the treatment of RIH. Sprague-D...

Background At present, the diagnosis-related groups-based prospective payment system (DRG-PPS) that has been implemented in China is merely a prototype called the simplified DRG-PPS, which is known as the 'ceiling price for a single disease'. Given that studies on the effects of a simplified DRG-PPS in China have usually been controversial, we aim to synthesize evidence examining whether DRGs c...

BACKGROUND In this study we examined the influence of type of insurance and the influence of managed care in particular, on the length of stay decisions physicians make and on variation in medical practice. METHODS We studied lengths of stay for comparable patients who are insured under managed or non-managed care plans. Seven Diagnosis Related Groups were chosen, two medical (COPD and CHF), ...

This study was designed to quantitatively assess the impact of deficiencies in completeness and precision of hospital case cost data on cost weight compression. For the nursing per diem model versus the nursing workload model the average compression was 19.6 percent (for the 25.9 percent of cases that changed cost weight by at least 5 percent). We concluded that the compression of case mix cost...

In this article, alternative methodologies for recalibration of the diagnosis-related group (DRG) weights are examined. Based on 1984 data, cost and charge-based weights are less congruent than those calculated with 1981 data. Previous studies using 1981 data demonstrated that cost- and charge-based weights were not very different. Charge weights result in higher payments to surgical DRGs and l...

We present deep 3.6 − 8μm imaging of the Hubble Deep Field South with IRAC on the Spitzer Space Telescope. We study Distant Red Galaxies (DRGs) at z > 2 selected by Js − Ks > 2.3 and compare them to a sample of Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs) at z = 2 − 3. The observed UV-to-8μm spectral energy distributions are fit with stellar population models to constrain star formation histories and derive ste...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The dorsal root ganglion (DRG) of the spinal nerve has been considered a key structure in the mechanism of low-back pain and radicular symptoms. The purpose of this study was to clarify the normal morphologic features and variations of the lumbar DRGs in a healthy population by using 3D MR imaging. METHODS 3D fast-field echo (FFE) with water selective excitation coronal...

T he present health care environment conflicts with the values in· ternalized by many clinicians Patient care seems to be subordinated to a set of rules governing the length of hos· pitalization. The decision makers in health care seem to take a clerical rather than a clinical perspective. As one frustrated clinician exclaimed, "Forget TLC; it's DRGs that count." Although the feelings in this t...

INTRODUCTION Casemix reimbursement was introduced to Singapore in October 1999 using the Australian National Diagnosis Related Groups Version 3.1 (AN-DRGs 3.1). The possible impact of this classification system on a Singapore Children's Hospital is discussed. MATERIALS AND METHODS Data on paediatric patients in KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) were drawn from the inhouse Datamart ware...