BACKGROUND Health-care costs following acute hospital care have been identified as a major contributor to regional variation in Medicare spending. This study investigated the associations of preoperative physical therapy and post-acute care resource use and its effect on the total cost of care during primary hip or knee arthroplasty. METHODS Historical claims data were analyzed using the Cent...

This retrospective study used a population-based national registry to determine the impact of local treatment modalities on survival in patients with metastatic esophageal cancer (EC). The Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database was used to identify patients with metastatic EC from 1988 to 2012. A total of 9,125 patients were identified. There were 426 patients underwent prima...

The unknown outcome of surgery has always been a source of anxiety for patients and their relatives. However, the experiences of Ghanaian surgical patients have not been adequately explored. This study sought to have an in-depth exploration of the preoperative experiences of Ghanaian general surgical patients to inform effective preoperative care. The study employed an ethnographic design and w...

BACKGROUND Translating research into practice, especially the implementation of digital health technologies in routine care, is increasingly important. Yet, there are few studies examining the challenges of implementing patient-facing digital technologies in health care settings. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to report challenges experienced when implementing mobile apps for patients to...

OBJECTIVE To document preoperative outcomes of a behavioral lifestyle intervention delivered to patients prior to bariatric surgery in comparison to treatment as usual (insurance-mandated physician supervised diet). DESIGN AND METHODS After completing a baseline assessment, candidates for surgery were randomized to a 6-month, evidence-informed, manualized lifestyle intervention (LIFESTYLE, n ...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate data reporting related to external validity from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatment for hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS All RCTs assessing pharmacologic treatments and nonpharmacologic treatments for hip and knee OA indexed between January 2002 and December 2006 were selected. A sample of 120 articles were...

children, similar to adults, are required to fast before general anesthesia in order to reduce  the volume and acidity of stomach contents. it is thought that npo regulations reduce the risk of regurgitation and aspiration of gastric contents during surgery. recent developments have encouraged a shift from the standard 'nil by mouth from midnight' fasting policy to more relaxed regime...

conclusions in this study, the preoperative anxiety was reduced by explaining anesthesia and surgery to the mothers and children (in mothers it was significant p < 0.05). since there is a direct relation between mothers’ and their children’s anxiety, using an effective method to reduce anxiety in children and their mothers together at the same time would be very useful for children and their mo...