Clinicians' attitudes to clinical practice guidelines: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review surveys of clinicians' attitudes to clinical practice guidelines. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, HealthStar, Embase and CINAHL were searched electronically for English-only surveys published from 1990 to 2000. STUDY SELECTION: We included surveys with responses to one or more of seven propositions (see below). Studies were excluded if they had fewer than 100 respondents or if the response rate was less than 60%. RESULTS: Thirty studies included responses to one or more of the seven items, giving a total of 11 611 responses. The response rate for the included studies was 72% (95% confidence interval [CI], 69%-75%). Clinicians agreed that guidelines were helpful sources of advice (weighted mean, 75%; 66%-83%), good educational tools (71%; 63%-79%) and intended to improve quality (70%; 60%-80%). However, clinicians also considered guidelines impractical and too rigid to apply to individual patients (30%; 23%-36%), that they reduced physician autonomy and oversimplified medicine (34%; 22%-47%), would increase litigation (41%; 32%-49%) and were intended to cut healthcare costs (52.8%; 39%-66%). CONCLUSIONS: Surveys of healthcare providers consistently report high satisfaction with clinical practice guidelines and a belief that they will improve quality, but there are concerns about the practicality of guidelines, their role in cost-cutting and their potential for increasing litigation.     

The stipulations of one institutional review board: a five year review

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to explore the prevalence and types of stipulations (such as clarifications or changes) required of investigators by the institutional review board (IRB) of one institution over a five year period. DESIGN: Stipulations to research proposals (n = 124) were documented from the minutes of the IRB meetings. SETTING: Community hospital. PARTICIPANTS: IRB submissions. Main measurements: Number and type of IRB stipulations. RESULTS: Nineteen research submissions (15.3%) were approved without any stipulations. For the remainder, the majority of stipulations related to consent forms (74.2%). CONCLUSIONS: Consent forms appear to be at highest risk for IRB stipulations. Being aware of high risk areas before submission of research proposals may reduce the frequency of stipulations required of investigators.     

Access and equity to cancer care in the USA: a review and assessment

Cancer represents a serious threat to the health of women and men living in the USA. As the second leading cause of death, it claims about 500,000 lives annually. Health disparities occur when there are differences in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of disease among specific sub-populations within a specified region. For decades, disparities have been reported among Americans from racial/ethnic minority groups and those from low income groups. African Americans, the largest racial minority group in the USA, have the highest cancer incidence and mortality rates in the USA; it is about 10% higher in African Americans than in white people. Inequities in insurance status among Americans adversely affect their ability to obtain the entire range of cancer care. Those who are members of ethnic minorities and the working poor are especially apt to have poorer access to care and reduced quality of cancer care services as a result.     

Drugs detected in suspected pediatric ingestions: a three-year review

Comprehensive toxicology testing can be a valuable resource when pediatric patients are suspected of having ingested unknown chemicals. In a recent 36-month period (January 2000-December 2002), the Analytical Toxicology Laboratory at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, tested 190 urine samples referred from the hospital's Pediatric Emergency Department for STAT toxicology testing. All samples were tested in parallel using an immunoassay technique for drugs of abuse and a comprehensive technique using gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS). With immunoassay, sixteen percent of the samples were positive for a drug of abuse. In comparison, drugs were detected in 85% of the samples using comprehensive GC/MS analysis. A total of 86 different pharmaceuticals were identified by GC/MS. This review shows that comprehensive toxicology testing provides the clinician significantly more information regarding the exposure of the pediatric patient presenting with an unknown chemical ingestion.     

Aspirin for lower limb arthroplasty thromboprophylaxis: review of international guidelines

Introduction

Aspirin is one of the pharmacological agents used for thromboprophylaxis.

Materials and methods

National thromboprophylaxis guidelines, peer-reviewed studies and data from national joint register of England and Wales were analysed for evidence regarding the efficacy of aspirin versus other agents in thromboprophylaxis and the recommendations of guidelines.

Results

Two of five guidelines reviewed recommend the use of aspirin for thromboprophylaxis. Aspirin is used as thromboprophylactic agent in approximately 25% of patients undergoing total hip and total knee arthroplasty in year 2006 in England and Wales. There is no difference in mortality in these patients compared to patients on other pharmacological agents.

Conclusion

There is conflicting evidence and differences in interpretation of the data from the literature. If specific outcome measures and complications such as symptomatic DVT, PE and bleeding were logged in arthroplasty registers, the resulting data would be useful in individualised decision-making.     

Patient-centred and not disease-focused: a review of guidelines and multimorbidity

INTRODUCTIONSingle-disease clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are not designed to consider patients with multiple chronic conditions, or multimorbidity. Applying multiple CPGs to a single patient may create an overwhelming treatment burden resulting in poor adherence and clinical outcomes. No studies on the cumulative treatment burden from multiple CPGs have been done in Singapore. We described the treatment burden on a hypothetical patient with six chronic conditions when multiple CPGs were applied, and appraised each CPG with respect to the patient-centred care of older adults with multimorbidity.METHODSA treatment plan was developed for a hypothetical 72-year-old woman with asthma, depression, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidaemia, hypertension and osteoarthritis according to the latest CPG recommendations. Treatment burden was quantified in terms of time spent, cost, and the number of appointments and medications. Each CPG was appraised with respect to the care of older adults, patients with multimorbidity and patient-centred care.RESULTSFollowing the CPGs strictly, an average of about two hours was spent daily taking 14 different medications and following 21 non-pharmacological recommendations. Her out-of-pocket payment was SGD 104.42 monthly despite a near 90% subsidy on healthcare bills. Patient-centred care of older adults with multimorbidity was inadequately addressed in all six CPGs.CONCLUSIONWhen six CPGs were cumulatively followed, the treatment burden was time-consuming, costly and disruptive. Patients’ goals and preferences must guide prioritisation of care such that treatment burden remains minimally disruptive to their lives. Developing future CPGs to deliver patient-centred rather than disease-focused care will be crucial to the management of multimorbidity.     

Subclinical thyroid disease: scientific review and guidelines for diagnosis and management

Context  Patients with serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels outside the reference range and levels of free thyroxine (FT₄) and triiodothyronine (T₃) within the reference range are common in clinical practice. The necessity for further evaluation, possible treatment, and the urgency of treatment have not been clearly established. Objectives  To define subclinical thyroid disease, review its epidemiology, recommend an appropriate evaluation, explore the risks and benefits of treatment and consequences of nontreatment, and determine whether population-based screening is warranted. Data Sources  MEDLINE, EMBASE, Biosis, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, National Guideline Clearing House, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Controlled Trials Register, and several National Health Services (UK) databases were searched for articles on subclinical thyroid disease published between 1995 and 2002. Articles published before 1995 were recommended by expert consultants. Study Selection and Data Extraction  A total of 195 English-language or translated papers were reviewed. Editorials, individual case studies, studies enrolling fewer than 10 patients, and nonsystematic reviews were excluded. Information related to authorship, year of publication, number of subjects, study design, and results were extracted and formed the basis for an evidence report, consisting of tables and summaries of each subject area. Data Synthesis  The strength of the evidence that untreated subclinical thyroid disease is associated with clinical symptoms and adverse clinical outcomes was assessed and recommendations for clinical practice developed. Data relating the progression of subclinical to overt hypothyroidism were rated as good, but data relating treatment to prevention of progression were inadequate to determine a treatment benefit. Data relating a serum TSH level higher than 10 mIU/L to elevations in serum cholesterol were rated as fair but data relating to benefits of treatment were rated as insufficient. All other associations of symptoms and benefit of treatment were rated as insufficient or absent. Data relating a serum TSH concentration lower than 0.1 mIU/L to the presence of atrial fibrillation and progression to overt hyperthyroidism were rated as good, but no data supported treatment to prevent these outcomes. Data relating restoration of the TSH level to within the reference range with improvements in bone mineral density were rated as fair. Data addressing all other associations of subclinical hyperthyroid disease and adverse clinical outcomes or treatment benefits were rated as insufficient or absent. Subclinical hypothyroid disease in pregnancy is a special case and aggressive case finding and treatment in pregnant women can be justified. Conclusions  Data supporting associations of subclinical thyroid disease with symptoms or adverse clinical outcomes or benefits of treatment are few. The consequences of subclinical thyroid disease (serum TSH 0.1-0.45 mIU/L or 4.5-10.0 mIU/L) are minimal and we recommend against routine treatment of patients with TSH levels in these ranges. There is insufficient evidence to support population-based screening. Aggressive case finding is appropriate in pregnant women, women older than 60 years, and others at high risk for thyroid dysfunction.      

Access to care: the physician's perspective

Private practice physicians in Hawaii were surveyed to better understand their impressions of different insurance plans and their willingness to care for patients with those plans. Physician experiences and perspectives were investigated in regard to reimbursement, formulary limitations, pre-authorizations, specialty referrals, responsiveness to problems, and patient knowledge of their plans. The willingness of physicians to accept new patients from specific insurance company programs clearly correlated with the difficulties and limitations physicians perceive in working with the companies (p<0.0012). Survey results indicate that providers in private practice were much more likely to accept University Health Alliance (UHA) and Hawaii Medical Services Association (HMSA) Commercial insurance than Aloha Care Advantage and Aloha Quest. This was likely related to the more favorable impressions of the services, payments, and lower administrative burden offered by those companies compared with others.     

The costs of an institutional review board.

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is charged with the responsibility of review of all protocols involving human subjects in research. A large medical institution has many clinical protocols requiring review. The review of hundreds of protocols per year requires much time from the IRB staff, the committees which review the protocols, and the investigators who prepare them. This cost is borne by the institution. Additional federal regulations add to the complexity of review and require additional time on the part of all concerned. An attempt has been made to document the costs of operation of the IRB in a single group of institutions. About 850 new or renewal applications are reviewed each year for $100,000 or about $100 per application.This is a sizable financial burden to be placed on the average medical school. Legislation is now proposed to support IRB activities by direct grants from the federal government.