It was postulated that home hospitalisation (HH) of selected chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations admitted at the emergency room (ER) could facilitate a better outcome than conventional hospitalisation. To this end, 222 COPD patients (3.2% female; 71+/-10 yrs (mean+/-SD)) were randomly assigned to HH (n=121) or conventional care (n=101). During HH, integrated care was deli...

Objectives: Although neurohormones have a well-established prognostic value in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF), little is known about this in CHF patients untreated with angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitors, angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs) and beta-blockers. Methods: Baseline N-terminal pro atrial natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-ANP), N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic pepti...

BACKGROUND Multidisciplinary care (MDC) of heart failure (HF) can significantly reduce rates of unplanned hospitalisation, the major cost component of HF care. AIMS This prospective, randomised, controlled study examines the cost-benefits of MDC of HF in the setting of optimal medical care. METHODS 98 NYHA class IV HF patients (mean age 70.8+/-10.5 years) were randomised to MDC (n=51) or ro...

OBJECTIVE To examine the impact of heart failure (HF) aetiology on long-term outcome after cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT). DESIGN Prospective cohort study. SETTING University hospital. PATIENTS 119 patients (44% with ischaemic and 56% non-ischaemic aetiology) who underwent CRT. INTERVENTIONS Clinical follow-up for 39 (24) months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Cardiovascular mortality...

OBJECTIVES Dengue imposes substantial economic, societal and personal burden in terms of hospital stay, morbidity and mortality. Early identification of dengue cases with high propensity of increased hospital stay and death could be of value in isolating patients in need of early interventions. The current study was aimed to determine the significant factors associated with dengue-related prolo...

BACKGROUND Childhood injury is a leading cause of hospitalisation, yet there has been no comprehensive examination of child injury and survival over time in Australia. To examine the characteristics, temporal trend and survival for children who were hospitalised as a result of injury in Australia. METHOD A retrospective examination of linked hospitalisation and mortality data for injured chil...

INTRODUCTION According to official statistics in Taiwan, the main body region of injury causing bicyclist deaths is the head, and bicyclists are 2.6 times more likely to be fatally injured than motorcyclists. There is currently a national helmet law for motorcyclists but not for bicyclists. OBJECTIVES The primary aim of this study was to determine whether bicyclist casualties have higher odds...

BACKGROUND Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is an important global public health problem made all the more important by the increased likelihood of disability following a hospital admission for TBI. Understanding those groups most at risk will help inform interventions designed to prevent causes of TBI, such as falls prevention measures. This study identifies the rate of hospitalisation episodes of...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate hospitalisation data for patients with a primary or secondary fibromyalgia (FM) diagnosis. We estimated the number of men and women with an FM diagnostic code and compared them across a number of demographic and hospitalisation characteristics; examined age-specific, population-based FM hospitalisation rates; and determined the most common co-morbid diagnoses when FM was ...

BackgroundComparable estimates of household health spending and out-of-pocket (OOP) payment on care in India are a daunting task. Often these provided for specific services such as maternal care, type disease, hospitalisation, outpatient an episode hospitalisation. This paper presents comprehensive comparable hospitalisation over the past 15 years.MethodsA total 73,868 households 2004, 65,932 2...