OBJECTIVE To assess the quality of clinical care at first clinic attendance in children with suspected epilepsy from a defined geographical population. METHOD All hospital- and community-based consultant paediatricians in Nottingham City region, UK, were asked to collaborate with a retrospective clinical audit identifying children seen between January 2001 and March 2002. The British Paediatr...

BACKGROUND Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a major health and financial burden. VTE impacts health outcomes in surgical and non-surgical patients. VTE prophylaxis is underutilized, particularly amongst high risk medical patients. We conducted a multicentre clinical audit to determine the extent to which appropriate VTE prophylaxis in acutely ill hospitalized medical patients could be improved v...

OBJECTIVE To develop a questionnaire to assess audit activity and to use it to evaluate systematically the quality of audit in obstetrics and gynaecology within NHS hospitals in the UK. DESIGN Retrospective review of 212 consecutive questionnaires completed at hospital recognition committee visits for training accreditation, between 1 January 1993 and 31 August 1998, validated against hospita...

BACKGROUND Clinical guidelines recommend the routine use of a single antipsychotic drug in a standard dose, but prescriptions for high-dose and combined antipsychotics are common in clinical practice. AIMS To evaluate the effectiveness of a quality improvement programme in reducing the prevalence of high-dose and combined antipsychotic prescribing in acute adult in-patient wards in the UK. ...

In Greek mythology the song of the Sirens was of such beauty and promise that no sailor could resist steering his ship towards them. Instead of the promised heaven, however, the route led to disaster upon the rocks. Audit has developed rapidly over the past three years in Britain from an activity carried out by only a few enthusiasts'4 to one in which all doctors are enjoined to take part.5 Pro...

BACKGROUND There is increasing global interest and performance of minimally invasive foot surgery (MIS) however, limited evidence is available in relation to complications associated with MIS for digital deformity correction. The aim of this prospective audit is to report the surgical and medical complications following MIS for digital deformity against standardised clinical indicators. METHO...

OBJECTIVES To investigate perceptions of family health service authorities and medical audit advisory groups of advisory groups' involvement in clinical audit and wider quality issues; communication with the authorities; and manager satisfaction. DESIGN National postal questionnaire survey in 1994. SETTING All family health services authority districts in England and Wales. SUBJECTS Chief...