1,721,109 research outputs found
Thecnical performance of colonoscopy: thekey role of sedation/analgesia and other quality indicators
No full textBACKGROUND: It is essential to identify the factors in clinical practice that influence the technical performance of
colonoscopy as a basis for quality improvement programs.
AIMS: To assess the factors linked to two key indicators of colonoscopy performance, i.e., cecal intubation
and polyp diagnosis.
DESIGN AND Consecutives colonoscopies performed over a 2-wk period in 278 unselected practice sites
SETTING: throughout Italy were prospectively evaluated. A multivariate model was developed to identify
determinants of the performance indicators of colonoscopy.
RESULTS: In total, 12,835 patients (mean age 60.5 yr, standard deviation [SD] 15.1, 53% men) were studied.
Sedation and/or analgesia was administered in 55.3% of procedures: 28.8% of patients received
intravenous (IV) benzodiazepines, 15.4% received benzodiazepines in combination with narcotics,
3.1% received propofol, and 7.5% received other sedation regimens. Overall, cecal intubation was
achieved in 80.7% of procedures, and the polyp detection rate was 27.3%. Multivariate analysis
showed that the strongest predictors of cecal intubation were the quality of bowel preparation
(inadequate vs excellent: odds ratio [OR] 0.013, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.009–0.018; fair vs
excellent: OR 0.246, 95% CI 0.209–0.290; and good vs excellent: OR 0.586, 95% CI 0.514–0.667)
and the use of sedation (IV benzodiazepines vs no sedation: OR 1.460, 95% CI 1.282–1.663; IV
benzodiazepines and narcotics vs no sedation: OR 2.128, 95% CI 1.776–2.565; and propofol vs no
sedation: OR 2.355, 95% CI 1.590–3.488). The colonoscopy setting (workload and organizational
complexity of the center) and the endoscopist colonoscopy volume were other factors independently
correlated with completion of the procedure. Detection of polyps partially depended on the quality of
bowel cleansing (inadequate vs excellent: OR 0.511, 95% CI 0.404–0.647) and use of sedation (OR
1.172, 95% CI 1.074–1.286).
CONCLUSION: In usual clinical practice, the use of sedation/analgesia, the colon-cleansing quality, the endoscopist
experience, and some features related to the colonscopy setting decisively influence the quality of
colonoscopy. These factors indicate the targets of future corrective measures to boost the quality of
this examination
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Colonoscopy practice in Italy: a prospective survey on behalf of the Italian Association of Hospital Gastroenterologists
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