INTRODUCTION Rheumatic diseases are becoming more and more common in Poland with the ageing of the population. Nearly 18% of the total hospital admissions in Poland result from rheumatic diseases, which was equivalent to 350 thousand cases in the year 2008. These diseases tend to last for many decades, decreasing both the quality of life and income of the patients as well as increasing the medi...

OBJECTIVES Misuse of investigations, medications and hospital beds is costing the National Health Service (NHS) billions of pounds with little evidence that approaches centred on reducing overuse are sustainable. Our previous study demonstrated that twice-daily consultant ward rounds reduce inpatient length of stay and suggested a reduction in overuse of investigations and medications. This stu...

OBJECTIVES Delayed discharges are a significant problem for the National Health Service. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence and impact of delayed discharge at a single specialist vascular surgery ward. DESIGN A cross-sectional observational study. SETTING A single specialist vascular unit in the UK during a 4-month study period (01/09/2014-31/12/2014). PARTICIPA...

IT is not many years since the old-fashioned chronic wards of a hospital' were thought to have an entirely custodial function. They existed to provide care and attention for elderly patients when nothing further could usefully be done. With a rapidly ageing population this custodial approach proved inadequate, and since it was not possible to provide and staff an ever increasing number of chron...

OBJECTIVE To examine how improved attention to nutritional status and dietary intake, achieved through the employment of dietetic assistants (DAs), will affect postoperative clinical outcome among elderly women with hip fracture. DESIGN Open prospective randomised controlled trial, comparing conventional nursing care with the additional nutritional support provided by DA. SETTING Thirty-eig...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Usefulness of multidisciplinary stroke units in acute stroke patients is well established. There is extensive western literature on usefulness of stroke units in outcome, but limited evidence from the rest of the world. We aim to evaluate the impact of establishing a stroke unit on outcome in patients presenting to a tertiary care facility. METHODS This is a retrospecti...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the initial results after the implementation of perioperative protocol in patients over 60 years of age undergoing surgical treatment for femur fractures. METHODS We conducted a prospective study of patients older than 60 years who were hospitalized with femur fracture. They were operated under spinal anesthesia and analgesia by lumbar plexus blockade. Data evaluation wa...

M e t h o d s Design: Randomized controlled trial (Pulmonary Artery Catheters in Management of patients in intensive care [PACMan] trial). Allocation: Concealed.* Blinding: Unblinded.* Follow-up period: Until discharge from the acute hospital or up to 3 months after the recruitment phase ended. Setting: 65 intensive care units (ICUs) in the United Kingdom. Patients: 1041 patients admitted to an...

Objectives Prospective data is required to clarify the role of a one night stay ward (23‐hour ward, 23HW) for the post‐operative monitoring of surgical patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). The aim was to use a modified American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) screening tool to stratify the perioperative risk of OSA related complications and evaluate the role of a 23HW in the post‐op...

OBJECTIVE To examine factors affecting the length of hospital stay (LOS) of patients referred to psychiatric consultation liaison (C-L) services. METHODS The study sample prospectively included all the referrals in 2004 to the C-L psychiatry unit at King Khaled University Hospital in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The following factors were documented for each consultation: patient demograp...