1,720,960 research outputs found
Prevention of invasive ventilation (PRiVENT)—a prospective, mixed-methods interventional, multicentre study with a parallel comparison group: study protocol
Abstract Background Invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) is a standard therapy for intensive care patients with respiratory failure. With increasing population age and multimorbidity, the number of patients who cannot be weaned from IMV increases, resulting in impaired quality of life and high costs. In addition, human resources are tied up in the care of these patients. Methods The PRiVENT intervention is a prospective, mixed-methods interventional, multicentre study with a parallel comparison group selected from insurance claims data of the health insurer Allgemeine Ortskrankenkasse Baden-Württemberg (AOK-BW) conducted in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, over 24 months. Four weaning centres supervise 40 intensive care units (ICUs), that are responsible for patient recruitment. The primary outcome, successful weaning from IMV, will be evaluated using a mixed logistic regression model. Secondary outcomes will be evaluated using mixed regression models. Discussion The overall objective of the PRiVENT project is the evaluation of strategies to prevent long-term IMV. Additional objectives aim to improve weaning expertise in and cooperation with the adjacent Intensive Care Units. Trial registration This study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05260853).the Federal Joint CommitteeUniversitätsklinikum Heidelberg 50110001893
E-learning—an interventional element of the PRiVENT project to improve weaning expertise
Abstract
Background
PRiVENT (PRevention of
i
nvasive VENTilation) is an evaluation of a bundle of interventions aimed at the prevention of long-term invasive mechanical ventilation. One of these elements is an e-learning course for healthcare professionals to improve weaning expertise. The aim of our analysis is to examine the implementation of the course in cooperating intensive care units.
Methods
The course has been developed through a peer review process by pulmonary and critical care physicians in collaboration with respiratory therapists, supported by health services researchers and a professional e-learning agency. The e-learning platform “weLearn” was made available online to participating healthcare professionals. Feedback on the e-learning programme was obtained and discussed in quality circles (QCs). We measured the acceptance and use of the programme through access statistics.
Results
The e-learning course “Joint Prevention of Long-Term Ventilation” consists of 7 separate modules with practice-oriented training units as well as a cross-module area and corresponding interactive case studies. Users can receive 23 CME (continuing medical education) credits. The platform was released on July 1, 2021. By June 28, 2023, 214 users from 33 clinics had registered. Most users (77–98%) completed the modules, thus performing well in the test, where 90–100% passed. In the QCs, the users commended the structure and practical relevance of the programme, as well as the opportunity to earn CME credits.
Conclusion
Especially for medical staff in intensive care units, where continuous training is often a challenge during shift work, e-learning is a useful supplement to existing medical training.
Trial registration
The PRiVENT study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05260853) on 02/03/2022.Innovation Fund of the Federal Joint CommitteeMedizinische Fakultät Heidelberg der Universität Heidelber
Laser Flare Photometry in Primary Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment: an Evaluation of 2487 Cases
Purpose:
Exploratory analysis associated with the prospective, multicenter, randomized PRIVENT trial. To characterize the associations between laser flare photometry and anatomical and epidemiological features of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD).
Methods:
We measured laser flare values of all 3048 pre-screened patients excluding those with comorbidities. A mixed regression analysis evaluated the strength of the influencing factors age, sex, lens status, presence and extent of RRD on laser flare.
Results:
RRD was more frequent in men (65.8%) than in women (34.2%, p<0.001) and in right (52%) than in left eyes (48%, p=0.045). Phakic RRD affected less quadrants and was less likely to be associated with macula off status than pseudophakic RRD (48.4% vs 58.0% macula off, 23% vs 31% ≥3 quadrants, p<0.001). Laser flare of affected eyes was significantly higher compared to fellow eyes (12.6 ± 15.2pc/ms vs. 8.3 ± 7.4pc/ms, p<0.001). The factors age, sex, lens status, presence of RRD and the number of quadrants affected were independent influencing factors on laser flare. R2 was 0.145 for phakic and 0.094 for pseudophakic eyes.
Conclusions:
The results indicate that there may be more factors affecting laser flare than previously assumed. This might limit flare as predictive value for PVR and retinal re-detachment
Risk factors for long-term invasive mechanical ventilation: a longitudinal study using German health claims data
Abstract
Background
Long-term invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) is a major burden for those affected and causes high costs for the health care system. Early risk assessment is a prerequisite for the best possible support of high-risk patients during the weaning process. We aimed to identify risk factors for long-term IMV within 96 h (h) after the onset of IMV.
Methods
The analysis was based on data from one of Germany's largest statutory health insurance funds; patients who received IMV ≥ 96 h and were admitted in January 2015 at the earliest and discharged in December 2017 at the latest were analysed. OPS and ICD codes of IMV patients were considered, including the 365 days before intubation and 30 days after discharge. Long-term IMV was defined as evidence of invasive home mechanical ventilation (HMV), IMV ≥ 500 h, or readmission with (re)prolonged ventilation.
Results
In the analysis of 7758 hospitalisations, criteria for long-term IMV were met in 38.3% of cases, of which 13.9% had evidence of HMV, 73.1% received IMV ≥ 500 h and/or 40.3% were re-hospitalised with IMV. Several independent risk factors were identified (p < 0.005 each), including pre-diagnoses such as pneumothorax (OR 2.10), acute pancreatitis (OR 2.64), eating disorders (OR 1.99) or rheumatic mitral valve disease (OR 1.89). Among ICU admissions, previous dependence on an aspirator or respirator (OR 5.13), and previous tracheostomy (OR 2.17) were particularly important, while neurosurgery (OR 2.61), early tracheostomy (OR 3.97) and treatment for severe respiratory failure such as positioning treatment (OR 2.31) and extracorporeal lung support (OR 1.80) were relevant procedures in the first 96 h after intubation.
Conclusion
This comprehensive analysis of health claims has identified several risk factors for the risk of long-term ventilation. In addition to the known clinical risks, the information obtained may help to identify patients at risk at an early stage.
Trial registration
The PRiVENT study was retrospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05260853). Registered at March 2, 2022.Innovation Fund of the Federal Joint CommitteeMedizinische Fakultät Heidelberg der Universität Heidelber
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
The 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
“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
We 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
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
We conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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