Appropriate and Appropriate Use

Appropriate Use Criteria.

Can appropriate use criteria lead to appropriate care?

T he rapid pace of technological development has brought a wealth of diagnostic and therapeutic options to the care of patients. These new diagnostic and therapeutic tools have dramatically altered medical care but have come with a steep price tag, and it is not clear that the improvement in the quality of care is proportional to the cost of the medical system. In recognition of the fact that t...

Appropriate use of the carbapenems.

The carbapenems are a group of broad-spectrum beta-lactam antibiotic agents of which there are three parenteral preparations currently available in South Africa, namely imimpenem/cilastatin, meropenem and ertapenem. Owing to the fact that imipenem/cilastatin and meropenem have a broad spectrum of activity that includes Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter species, they are ideal antibiotics for treatm...

Appropriate use of medical interpreters.

More than 25 million Americans speak English "less than very well," according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This population is less able to access health care and is at higher risk of adverse outcomes such as drug complications and decreased patient satisfaction. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act mandates that interpreter services be provided for patients with limited English proficiency who need t...

Guideline: appropriate use of tigecycline.

INTRODUCTION Tigecycline, the first of a new class of antibiotics, the glycylcyclines, was licensed in South Africa for the parenteral treatment of adult patients with complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAIs) and complicated skin and soft-tissue infections (cSSTIs). METHODS A multidisciplinary meeting representative of the Association of Surgeons of South Africa, the Critical Care Socie...