OBJECTIVE To introduce clinical audit into a referral hospital in Ethiopia, and whether clinical standards can be improved as a result. BACKGROUND Clinical audit is a method of checking that patient care is delivered to the highest possible level by health care professionals. Practice is measured against agreed guidelines, and is then adjusted to meet the required standard. METHODS Audit wa...

Personalized medicine is the ability to tailor healthcare decisions based on an individual’s unique characteristics (genetics, demographic information, healthcare experience, environment and social factors) to more accurately diagnose the individual’s disease, predict its outcomes, and select treatments that increase the chances of a successful outcome and reduce possible adverse reactions. Mor...

The irreversible cessation of life may be diffi cult to determine with complete confi dence, particularly in the austere environment of out-of-hospital emergency care. As a result, resuscitation efforts are often initiated and continued by EMS providers, even in circumstances that are likely to be medically futile. In cases of nontraumatic cardiac arrest, few unassailable criteria exist for det...

T he primary reason to develop the Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives (www.JCHIMP.org) was to focus on and encourage the scholarly work of faculty and physicians in training (students, residents, and fellows) in community teaching hospitals. Our secondary focus was based on the belief that the presence of quality research is of itself a goal to strive for. Our third fo...

Ten patients (5 males and 5 females) with gastroschisis were treated in Alor Setar Hospital from January 1989 to December 1993. Two patients had associated congenital anomalies. Primary closure was possible in 9 patient while the other patient had stage closure. All patients received prophylactic antibiotics, 9 patients were ventilated electively in the post-operative period and 7 patients rece...

For this article, a new national data base of Medicare's cost reports on more than 2,000 hospitals is used to measure the impact of State prospective rate setting on capital formation. Several investment measures are analyzed, both in nominal and real terms, using a combination of descriptive and multivariate techniques. Results indicate that, over the last decade, State hospital rate-setting p...

BACKGROUND : Emergency thoracotomy (ET) is a life-saving procedure used to control hemorrhage and relieve cardiac tamponade. It has been in routine use at Ulleval University Hospital since 1987. Our objective was to see the outcome of patients subjected to ET in recent times. METHODS : One hundred and nine consecutive ET performed in our emergency department during a 6-year period were analyz...

Two hundred paediatric cases of tuberculosis were studied over two years. The children usually presented with fever, cough, weight loss or failure to thrive and pallor. The diagnosis was based on history, clinical examination, chest and other relevant radiographs, Mantoux test, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and where necessary cerebrospinal, pleural and ascitic fluid examinations and lym...

NonInvasive Ventilation (NIV) provides ventilatory support without the use of an invasive artificial airway device. Compared to invasive ventilation, NIV reduces the risk of infections, prevents tracheal injury and diminishes the use of sedatives and analgesia. The physiological benefits from NIV are similar to invasive ventilation, providing reduced work of breathing and improving gas exchange...

OBJECTIVES This study was designed to report factors associated with asthma hospital admission, such as patient characteristics, type of admission and subsequent outcome i.e. discharge or death, for the years 2000-2005. These data are used for health economic models regarding asthma burden in the hospital setting in Australia. METHODS Data was obtained from the Australian Centre for Asthma Mo...