Treatment Matching in Alcoholism

Treatment Matching in Alcoholism. Edited by T. F. Babor andF. K. Del Boca. International Research Monographs in the Addictions(IRMA), Cambridge University Press, 2003, 275 pp., indexed,£55. ISBN 0-521-65112-3. Hardback. The sheer size of this US government-funded project is a well-knownfact. The book is dedicated to the 1726 research subjects, 159research personnel, 81 therapists, and the many others who wereinvolved. It is also widely recognized     

Matching in retrospective studies

Retrospective studies have always taken for granted that matching should be done on factors which affect the incidence of the disease. Worcester stated that when that "when a disease group is being compared with another group, matching is usually done on variables known to be related to the disease rather than on variables related to the outcome." Miettinen et al. however disagrees. They believe that factors on which matching should be done must be related to the outcome variable, otherwise, they do not affect the measure that is the basis for a decision about the association between the putative etiologic agent and the disease. Thus in a retrospective study of the association between blood group and cervical cancer, male controls would be quite acceptable if they were healthy and were matched to the patients on race. The erroneous view that one should match on factors which affect the incidence of disease may have resulted from the confusion with follow-up studies where it is proper to match on factors that are correlated with the disease since the occurrence of disease is the outcome variable in follow-up studies. Miettinen further states that one should match only on those factors that are correlated with both the outcome variable and disease incidence. The authors state that whenever a factor is strongly correlated with the outcome, one should match on this factor or consider it in the analysis, even if, a priori, it is thought not to affect the incidence of the disease. In cases where there is uncertainty whether a variable is or is not correlated with the outcome variable, the decision to match or not may be influenced by whether the variable is kown to affect the disease incidence.     

微柱凝胶卡配血法与凝聚胺配血法的比较

目的探讨微柱凝胶卡法和凝聚胺法在交叉配血工作中的应用，为临床提供可靠的诊治依据。方法用两种方法对所有受血者做不规则抗体筛查和对所有配血不合者进行交叉配血试验。结果微柱凝胶卡法检测出不规则抗体17例，交叉配血不合者51例；凝聚胺法测出不规则抗体14例，交叉配血不合49例。微柱凝胶卡法，不受非特异性因素及温度等的影响，但脂血及高纤维蛋白原血清对试验干扰明显。结论提倡推广微柱凝胶卡法，应将2种配血方法结合起来应用，以利于临床诊治工作。     

Matching talents to problems

Which type of manager are you--the superstar, the visionary, the traditionalist, the catalyst, or old reliable? There are as many useful managerial skills, abilities, and approaches as there are managers. By carefully analyzing the problems at hand in your organization and assigning employees with particular management talents to correct the problems for which they are best suited, your organization can be strengthened. The author identifies several of the talent areas most important to good management, and matches talents to specific problems.     

注射器和输液泵的匹配问题

讨论了恒速输液泵与注射器之间的匹配问题,对同一输液泵使用13个品牌注射器的实际泵速进行了比较,证明使用非指定注射器可能导致泵注速度较大的误差,给临床及科研工作造成不良影响,认识并重视该问题是目前可行的规避手段。     

Partial Participation Flaws Residency Matching Trials

Abstract

There is a growing pandemic of atrial fibrillation (AF), affecting nearly 2% of the general adult population. Atrial fibrillation is commonly associated with structural heart disease, and AF itself causes a sequence of complex processes of electrical, contractile, and structural remodeling of the atrial myocardium, which facilitate further AF progression. Nonetheless, AF may also affect individuals aged ≤ 65 years who have no evidence of associated cardiopulmonary or other disease, including hypertension; this is otherwise referred to as “lone” AF and is considered to have a generally favorable prognosis. The true prevalence of lone AF is unknown. Growing insights into the diversity of numerous mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of AF, including acute atrial stretch, structural and electrophysiological alterations, systemic inflammation, oxidative stress, autonomic imbalance, genetic predisposition, and many others, and increasing recognition of novel risk factors for AF, including obesity, metabolic syndrome, subclinical atherosclerosis, sleep apnea, alcohol consumption, and endurance sports, suggest that apparently lone AF might not be so “lone” in many patients, which could have important prognostic and therapeutic implications. In this article, we summarize the current knowledge of epidemiology, etiopathogenesis, and pathophysiology of so-called lone AF and discuss the issues of long-term prognosis and management of patients who have an apparently lone AF.     

Matching and efficiency in cohort studies

Contrary to the impression given in some textbooks, matching can reduce the efficiency of a cohort study, even when it produces no sample-size reduction and even if the matching variable is a confounder. The authors illustrate this along with some additional points regarding cohort matching. First, the impact of matching on efficiency can be in opposite directions for different measures of effect; as a consequence, criteria for deciding whether to match must depend on whether one wishes to estimate relative or absolute effects. Second, the commonly drawn analogy between blocking in randomized trials and matching in cohort studies is misleading when one considers the impact of matching on covariate distributions. Third, the conditions for efficiency overmatching in a cohort study are different from the conditions in a case-control study. It appears that, under an additive model, matching will usually increase the efficiency of both risk-difference and risk-ratio estimation, and the power of the Mantel-Haenszel test. Under a multiplicative model, the impact of matching is not as consistently beneficial. The authors present some approximate criteria which allow one to use a priori information to predict whether cohort matching is likely to improve efficiency.     

基于图像匹配的血管外渗漏检测

目的:提出一种非接触式检测血管外渗漏的方法,用于研制采用自动推注系统注射药液以进行CT造影剂增强扫描时监测血管外药液渗漏并控制推注的装置,降低血管外渗漏对患者的伤害。方法:基于图像匹配的非接触式渗漏检测方法,即利用彩色相机实时获取注射图像,并根据彩色图像的差异性,判断是否发生渗漏。结果:该文提出的算法可以检测1.5 mL造影剂的渗漏,在Matlab 2008R中处理的时间短于0.5 s。结论:基于图像匹配的非接触式自动血管外渗漏检测方法可以快速、有效地发现渗漏,能够用于研制非接触式检测血管外渗漏装置,提高自动推注系统使用的安全性。     

王冰 信息化系统选配心得

山东省潍坊市人民医院的信息系统（HIS）随着医院的改扩建工程，经历了3个产品的转换，从以财务信息为主，转为以财务信息和行政管理为主，之后走向“以患者为中心”的临床信息为主的系统。副院长王冰恰恰是这一变革的推动者。学计算机专业的他，向我们透露了他在选配信息系统时的心得。     

对放射医疗设备非通用辅助装置配置方法的探讨

目的：探讨放射医疗设备非通用辅助装置的配置方法。方法：总结具体运作的实践经验。结果：采取三方合作。共同研制出一套与DSA区配的介入防护装置。结论：这种配置方法对器材管理是有益的。     

治疗用激光光纤波长匹配问题的探讨

治疗用激光是以光导纤维为传播介质,将光能用于治疗疾病,对应的医疗器械行业标准为YY/T 0758-2009治疗用激光光纤通用要求。标准要求制造商应给出光纤适用的波长（或光谱范围）,并给出对应波长的最低传输效率。该文对治疗用激光光纤与设备波长匹配问题进行探讨,以进一步明确YY/T 0758-2009相关要求的重要性和必要性。     

Matching algorithms for causal inference with multiple treatments

Randomized clinical trials are ideal for estimating causal effects, because the distributions of background covariates are similar in expectation across treatment groups. When estimating causal effects using observational data, matching is a commonly used method to replicate the covariate balance achieved in a randomized clinical trial. Matching algorithms have a rich history dating back to the mid-1900s but have been used mostly to estimate causal effects between two treatment groups. When there are more than two treatments, estimating causal effects requires additional assumptions and techniques. We propose several novel matching algorithms that address the drawbacks of the current methods, and we use simulations to compare current and new methods. All of the methods display improved covariate balance in the matched sets relative to the prematched cohorts. In addition, we provide advice to investigators on which matching algorithms are preferred for different covariate distributions.