Twenty-five patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) implanted intrathoracically (group I) were compared with 25 patients who underwent implant using the nonthoracotomy approach (group II). All systems were implanted by the same medical team, in the same high volume implanting center. Indications for implantation were comparable in both groups. Patient characteristics were n...

BACKGROUND Evidence is available on the effectiveness and costs of treatments to reduce stroke risk in long-term secondary prevention. However, there are few data on the costs and outcomes of urgent assessment and treatment after the onset of transient ischaemic attack (TIA) or minor stroke. The Early use of eXisting PREventive Strategies for Stroke (EXPRESS) study showed that urgent assessment...

OBJECTIVE To identify aspects of provision of total joint replacements which could be improved. DESIGN 10 month prospective study of hospital admissions and hospital costs for patients whose total joint replacement was cancelled. SETTING Information and Waiting List Unit, Musgrave Park Regional Orthopaedic Service, Belfast. PATIENTS 284 consecutive patients called for admission for total ...

OBJECTIVE To compare the incidence of complications and the duration of hospitalization of patients undergoing bariatric surgery admitted to the intensive care unit or a post-surgical hospitalization unit. METHODS This retrospective observational study included 828 patients admitted between January 2010 and February 2015 during the immediate postoperative period of bariatric surgery in a hosp...

OBJECTIVES There is limited evidence of the impact of advance care planning (ACP) on outcomes. We conducted a retrospective cohort study on deaths of all patients known to a hospice in a 2.5-year period to see if use of ACP affected actual place of death, hospital use and cost of hospital care in the last year. RESULTS 969 patients were included. 550 (57%) people completed ACP. 414 (75%) achi...

Objective: To determine the influencing factors for hospital cost of patients with spinal fractures using E-CHAID category tree, we performed this retrospective study. Patients and methods: The data on 2109 patients with spinal fractures in our hospital, including the comorbidity conditions, surgical and other clinical characteristics, were collected. After Pearson correlation test was performe...

Background and Objectives: Efficient hospital management requires appropriate cost and price strategies. Informed decision on costs and prices of healthcare services needs estimation of costs of unit services using microeconomic techniques. There is lack of knowledge and skills for such costing methods in the healthcare sector of developing countries such as Iran. This study aims at detail des...