OBJECTIVE To examine the use and cost of the nonindicated treatment regimens of antibiotics for nonspecific upper respiratory tract infections (URIs) in a Medicaid population. DESIGN A cross-sectional sample of Kentucky Medicaid claims for 50000 people (July 1, 1993-June 30, 1994). SETTING Episodes of care were created linking outpatient and emergency department visits for URIs to medicatio...

Cardiovascular diseases have surpassed infectious disorders to become the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in India.1 A national-level registry comprehensively documenting the current-day prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and disease burden among patients seeking care in the outpatient setting in India is currently non-existent. With a burgeoning urban population, the cardiovasc...

BACKGROUND One of Europe's most well-developed industrial regions is found in the Republic of Bulgaria. The industrialization of the region has a big impact on air pollution. Thermal power plant "Maritza East" (the largest of its kind in southeastern Europe), the army training range, machine manufacturers, household heating and high volume of automobile traffic are all major sources of pollutio...

OBJECTIVE Poor quality of diabetes care has been ascribed to the acute care focus of primary care practice. A better understanding of how time is spent during outpatient visits for diabetes compared with visits for acute conditions and other chronic diseases may facilitate the design of programs to enhance diabetes care. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Research nurses directly observed consecutiv...

Tel.: +2348035534449 Background: To assess the distribution and prevalence of rheumatic diseases in a tertiary hospital rheumatology outpatient practice. Methods: This was a prospective study of rheumatological diagnoses of 472 consecutive new and follow up patients over a period of three years (Jan 2011Dec 2013). All patients with age 14 years and above whom presented with rheumatology diagnos...

OBJECTIVES To investigate trends in the prevalence of allergic disease over a 9-year period. METHODS Using National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) data, the annual number of patients with allergic disease was obtained for each regional subdivisions (small cities, counties, and districts) from 2003 to 2011. Annual populations for each sub-region were obtained and used to calculate the standar...