Thesis (Ph.D. in Clinical Sciences) -- University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, 2005. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 100-112). Free to UCDHSC affiliates. Online version available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations;

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed Feb. 14, 2008). Includes bibliographical references.

A doença arterial coronária (DAC) é uma das principais causas de morte no mundo. A detecção precoce é importante para prevenir este tipo de ocorrência. O método considerado padrão ouro para avaliar obstruções parciais críticas é a cinecoronariografia, uma técnica invasiva, trabalhosa e cara. Existem métodos não invasivos que podem ser utilizados para estabelecer este diagnóstico. A base do diagnóstico não invasivo da DAC tem sido a análise seqüencial dos fatores de risco e dos resultados do teste ergométrico e da cintilografia de perfusão do miocárdio. Muitos pesquisadores demonstraram que a utilização diagnóstica apropriada da cintilografia de perfusão do miocárdio e da cinecoronariografia é naqueles pacientes que têm probabilidade intermediária e alta para DAC, respectivamente. Apesar desta informação ser útil, ela é utilizada de forma limitada na prática clínica, devido à dificuldade em classificar apropriadamente os pacientes. Desde os artigos pioneiros de Lotfi A. Zadeh, a lógica fuzzy tem sido aplicada em diversas áreas. Ela é especialmente útil nas aplicações médicas, uma vez que as informações utilizadas no processo de decisão são incertas. Neste trabalho, foram desenvolvidos e testados modelos baseados na teoria de conjuntos fuzzy, para selecionar os pacientes que devem ser submetidos a cintilografia de perfusão do miocárdio e a cinecoronariografia. Utilizou-se grupo de 1053 pacientes para desenvolver os modelos e outro de 1045 para testá-los. Comparou-se o desempenho dos modelos com o de médicos especialistas utilizando-se curvas ROC e observou-se que os modelos fuzzy têm desempenho igual ou superior a estes especialistas na seleção dos pacientes que devem ser submetidos a cintilografia e cinecoronariografia, podendo, portanto, ser de grande auxílio ao médico na realização desta tarefa. / Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a worldwide leading cause of death. Early detection is important to prevent such sort of outcome. The gold standard method for evaluating critical partial occlusions is coronary arteriography, a catheterization technique which is invasive, time consuming, and costly. There are noninvasive approaches for early detection of CAD. The basis for the noninvasive diagnosis of CAD has been laid in a sequential analysis of the risk factors, and the results of treadmill electrocardiography and myocardial perfusion scintigraphy. Many investigators have demonstrated that appropriate diagnostic applications of myocardial perfusion scintigraphy and coronary arteriography are in patients who have an intermediate and a high likelihood of disease, respectively. Although this information is useful, it is only partially utilized in the clinical practice due to the difficulty to properly classify the patients. Since the seminal article by Lotfi A. Zadeh fuzzy logic has been applied in numerous areas. It is especially suited to medical applications, since much of the information required for decision-making is uncertain. In this paper, we proposed and tested models to select patients that have to undergo myocardial perfusion scintigraphy and coronary arteriography based on fuzzy set theory. It was used a group of 1053 patients to develop the models and another one of 1045 patients to test them. It was utilized ROC curves to compare the performance of the models with the ones of experts’ physicians and it was observed that the fuzzy models have a performance equal or superior to the experts in the selection of the patients that should perform scintigraphy and coronary arteriography, therefore, they could be a useful tool to assist the general practitioner in this task.

A doença arterial coronária (DAC) é uma das principais causas de morte no mundo. A detecção precoce é importante para prevenir este tipo de ocorrência. O método considerado padrão ouro para avaliar obstruções parciais críticas é a cinecoronariografia, uma técnica invasiva, trabalhosa e cara. Existem métodos não invasivos que podem ser utilizados para estabelecer este diagnóstico. A base do diagnóstico não invasivo da DAC tem sido a análise seqüencial dos fatores de risco e dos resultados do teste ergométrico e da cintilografia de perfusão do miocárdio. Muitos pesquisadores demonstraram que a utilização diagnóstica apropriada da cintilografia de perfusão do miocárdio e da cinecoronariografia é naqueles pacientes que têm probabilidade intermediária e alta para DAC, respectivamente. Apesar desta informação ser útil, ela é utilizada de forma limitada na prática clínica, devido à dificuldade em classificar apropriadamente os pacientes. Desde os artigos pioneiros de Lotfi A. Zadeh, a lógica fuzzy tem sido aplicada em diversas áreas. Ela é especialmente útil nas aplicações médicas, uma vez que as informações utilizadas no processo de decisão são incertas. Neste trabalho, foram desenvolvidos e testados modelos baseados na teoria de conjuntos fuzzy, para selecionar os pacientes que devem ser submetidos a cintilografia de perfusão do miocárdio e a cinecoronariografia. Utilizou-se grupo de 1053 pacientes para desenvolver os modelos e outro de 1045 para testá-los. Comparou-se o desempenho dos modelos com o de médicos especialistas utilizando-se curvas ROC e observou-se que os modelos fuzzy têm desempenho igual ou superior a estes especialistas na seleção dos pacientes que devem ser submetidos a cintilografia e cinecoronariografia, podendo, portanto, ser de grande auxílio ao médico na realização desta tarefa. / Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a worldwide leading cause of death. Early detection is important to prevent such sort of outcome. The gold standard method for evaluating critical partial occlusions is coronary arteriography, a catheterization technique which is invasive, time consuming, and costly. There are noninvasive approaches for early detection of CAD. The basis for the noninvasive diagnosis of CAD has been laid in a sequential analysis of the risk factors, and the results of treadmill electrocardiography and myocardial perfusion scintigraphy. Many investigators have demonstrated that appropriate diagnostic applications of myocardial perfusion scintigraphy and coronary arteriography are in patients who have an intermediate and a high likelihood of disease, respectively. Although this information is useful, it is only partially utilized in the clinical practice due to the difficulty to properly classify the patients. Since the seminal article by Lotfi A. Zadeh fuzzy logic has been applied in numerous areas. It is especially suited to medical applications, since much of the information required for decision-making is uncertain. In this paper, we proposed and tested models to select patients that have to undergo myocardial perfusion scintigraphy and coronary arteriography based on fuzzy set theory. It was used a group of 1053 patients to develop the models and another one of 1045 patients to test them. It was utilized ROC curves to compare the performance of the models with the ones of experts’ physicians and it was observed that the fuzzy models have a performance equal or superior to the experts in the selection of the patients that should perform scintigraphy and coronary arteriography, therefore, they could be a useful tool to assist the general practitioner in this task.

No / OBJECTIVES: Legislation and health policy enabling nurses and pharmacists to prescribe a comprehensive range of medicines has been in place in the UK since 2006. Our objective was to evaluate the clinical appropriateness of prescribing by these professionals. METHODS: A modified version of the Medication Appropriateness Index (MAI) was used by 10 medical, seven pharmacist and three nurse independent raters to evaluate a sample of 100 audio-recorded consultations in which a medicine was prescribed by a nurse or pharmacist. Raters were current prescribers with recognized experience in prescribing. Consultations were recorded in nine clinical practice settings in England. RESULTS: Raters' analysis indicated that, in the majority of instances, nurses and pharmacists were prescribing clinically appropriately on all of the ten MAI criteria (indication, effectiveness, dosage, directions, practicality, drug-drug interaction, drug-disease interaction, duplication, duration, cost). Highest mean 'inappropriate' ratings were given for correct directions (nurses 12%; pharmacists 11%) and the cost of the drug prescribed (nurses 16% pharmacists 22%). Analysis of raters' qualitative comments identified two main themes: positive views on the overall safety and effectiveness of prescribing episodes; and potential for improvement in nurses' and pharmacists' history-taking, assessment and diagnosis skills. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses and pharmacists are generally making clinically appropriate prescribing decisions. Decisions about the cost of drugs prescribed and assessment and diagnostic skills are areas for quality improvement.

No / Dementia is said to be under-recognized and sub-optimally managed in primary care, but there is little information about actual processes of diagnosis and clinical care. To determine general practitioners' concordance with clinical guidelines on the diagnosis and management of patients with dementia. Design: Unblinded, cluster randomized pre-test-post-test controlled trial involving 35 practices in the UK. METHODS: Patients with a diagnosis of probable or confirmed dementia were identified in practices, and permission sought from the older person and/or their carer to study the medical records of these patients. Medical records were reviewed using a data extraction tool designed for the study and based on published guidelines, and unweighted scores for diagnostic concordance and management concordance were calculated. RESULTS: We reviewed 450 records of patients aged 75 and over with a diagnosis of dementia and found that: only 4% of cases were identified first in secondary care; two-thirds of those identified in primary care were referred immediately; about one-third identified had informant history and blood tests documented at the Index consultation and one-fifth underwent cognitive function testing. DISCUSSION: The records analysed in this study came from a period before the Quality Outcomes Framework and show that the documentation in primary care of the diagnostic process in dementia syndromes is good, although there were significant gaps, particularly around depression case-finding. Information about management processes were less evident in the records.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Linköping : Univ., 2004. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

No / Although guidelines indicate when patients are eligible for antihypertensives and statins, little is known about whether general practitioners (GPs) follow this guidance. To determine the factors influencing GPs decisions to prescribe cardiovascular prevention drugs. DESIGN OF STUDY: Secondary analysis of data collected on patients whose cardiovascular risk factors were measured as part of a controlled study comparing nurse-led risk assessment (four practices) with GP-led risk assessment (two practices). SETTING: Six general practices in the West Midlands, England. PATIENTS: Five hundred patients: 297 assessed by the project nurse, 203 assessed by their GP. MEASUREMENTS: Cardiovascular risk factor data and whether statins or antihypertensives were prescribed. Multivariable logistic regression models investigated the relationship between prescription of preventive treatments and cardiovascular risk factors. RESULTS: Among patients assessed by their GP, statin prescribing was significantly associated only with a total cholesterol concentration >/= 7 mmol/L and antihypertensive prescribing only with blood pressure >/= 160/100 mm Hg. Patients prescribed an antihypertensive by their GP were five times more likely to be prescribed a statin. Among patients assessed by the project nurse, statin prescribing was significantly associated with age, sex, and all major cardiovascular risk factors. Antihypertensive prescribing was associated with blood pressures >/= 140/90 mm Hg and with 10-year cardiovascular risk. LIMITATIONS: Generalizability is limited, as this is a small analysis in the context of a specific cardiovascular prevention program. CONCLUSIONS: GP prescribing of preventive treatments appears to be largely determined by elevation of a single risk factor. When patients were assessed by the project nurse, prescribing was much more consistent with established guidelines.