Clinical diagnosis by junior doctors - how confident and accurate are they?

Opioid Conversion Tables: How Accurate Are They?

There are a number of reasons why physicians might want to switch from one opioid to another. Rotating opioids can reduce the risk of developing tolerance to the analgesic effects of any single drug and of developing hyperalgesia (where the extended use of an opioid can actually reduce the pain threshold, resulting in a worsening of the pain).2 Thus, changing to another opioid can be quite bene...

Caries-detector dyes--how accurate and useful are they?

Commercially available caries-detector dyes are purported to aid the dentist in differentiation of infected dentin, yet research has established that these dyes are not specific for infected dentin. They are non-specific protein dyes that stain the organic matrix of less mineralized dentin, including normal circumpulpal dentin and sound dentin in the area of the amelo-dentinal junction. A consi...

Electrocardiograph interpretation by junior doctors.

The object of this study was to assess the ability of junior doctors in the accident and emergency department to detect electrocardiographic (ECG) abnormalities. The ECG's performed in this department were monitored over a 4 week period. The initial diagnosis by the accident and emergency doctor was compared with the report from the cardiologist on 126 ECG's which showed abnormalities. The erro...

Indications for Antibiotic Orders: How Accurate Are They?

Hearing aid software predictive gain values : How accurate are they ?

There are several ways to assess the electroacoustic characteristics of hearing aids. The most commonly used techniques have been the 2-cc coupler, functional gain, and real-ear probe-microphone measurements. In each of these methods, the actual hearing aid that the person will use is assessed either on that individual, in the cases of functional gain and probe-microphone measurements, or in a ...