Effect of nonmedical factors on family physicians' decisions about referral for consultation.

OBJECTIVES: To identify nonmedical factors perceived by family physicians (FPs) and consultants as important influences on decisions about referral for consultation, to determine the relative frequency with which such factors are cited and to identify those factors ranked as most important by the FPs and consultants. DESIGN: Survey with semistructured interview between July 1989 and April 1990. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 41 FPs and 20 consultants who were practising or had practised previously in Nova Scotia. INTERVENTIONS: The questionnaire comprised 10 questions: 4 were nondirective "probes" designed to elicit responses without suggesting possible answers, 2 asked the participants to rank such responses in order of importance, and 4 were "prompts" that asked for comments about a list of factors based on a review of the literature. RESULTS: A total of 4845 discrete items were mentioned as being capable of influencing FPs' decisions about referral for consultation. Aggregation of related items resulted in a list of 35 nonmedical factors, of which 11 were identified by at least half the respondents and 14 by less than half but more than 10. These 25 factors fell into three categories: patient and family factors (e.g., patient's wishes), FP and consultant factors (e.g., FP's capabilities), and other influences (e.g., style of practice). On the basis of both frequency of identification and priority scores "patient's wishes" emerged as the most important factor. Two medical factors that were consistently cited--type of problem and age of patient--were thought to interact with the other factors. CONCLUSION: Certain nonmedical considerations may substantially affect physicians' referral practices.     

Nosocomial respiratory syncytial virus infection in Canadian pediatric hospitals: a Pediatric Investigators Collaborative Network on Infections in Canada Study

OBJECTIVE: To determine nosocomial transmission of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in Canadian pediatric hospitals, outcomes associated with nosocomial disease, and infection control practices. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study in the 1992 to 1994 winter respiratory seasons. SETTING: Nine Canadian pediatric university-affiliated hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: Hospitalized children with symptoms of lower respiratory tract infection (at least one of cough, wheezing, dyspnea, tachypnea, and apnea) and RSV antigen identified in a nasopharyngeal aspirate. RESULTS: Of 1516 children, 91 (6%) had nosocomial RSV (NRSV), defined as symptoms of lower respiratory tract infection and RSV antigen beginning >72 hours after admission. The nosocomial ratio (NRSV/[com-munity-acquired RSV {CARSV})] + NRSV) varied by site from 2.8% to 13%. The median length of stay attributable to RSV for community-acquired illness was 5 days, but 10 days for nosocomial illness. Four children with NRSV (4. 4%) died within 2 weeks of infection, compared with 6 (0.42%) with CARSV (relative risk = 10.4, 95% confidence interval: 3.0, 36.4). All sites isolated RSV-positive patients in single rooms or cohorted them. In a multivariate model, no particular isolation policy was associated with decreased nosocomial ratio, but gowning to enter the room was associated with increased risk of RSV transmission (incidence rate ratio 2.81; confidence interval: 1.65, 4.77). CONCLUSIONS: RSV transmission risk in Canadian pediatric hospitals is generally low. Although use of barrier methods varies, all sites cohort or isolate RSV-positive patients in single rooms. Children with risk factors for severe disease who acquire infection nosocomially have prolonged stays and excess mortality.     

Informed consent, parental awareness, and reasons for participating in a randomised controlled study

BACKGROUND: The informed consent procedure plays a central role in randomised controlled trials but has only been explored in a few studies on children. AIM: To assess the quality of the informed consent process in a paediatric setting. METHODS: A questionnaire was sent to parents who volunteered their child (230 children) for a randomised, double blind, placebo controlled trial of ibuprofen syrup to prevent recurrent febrile seizures. RESULTS: 181 (79%) parents responded. On average, 73% of parents were aware of the major study characteristics. A few had difficulty understanding the information provided. Major factors in parents granting approval were the contribution to clinical science (51%) and benefit to the child (32%). Sociodemographic status did not influence initial participation but west European origin of the father was associated with willingness to participate in future trials. 89% of participants felt positive about the informed consent procedure; however, 25% stated that they felt obliged to participate. Although their reasons for granting approval and their evaluation of the informed consent procedure did not differ, relatively more were hesitant about participating in future. Parents appreciated the investigator being on call 24 hours a day (38%) and the extra medical care and information provided (37%) as advantages of participation. Disadvantages were mainly the time consuming aspects and the work involved (23%). CONCLUSIONS: Parents' understanding of trial characteristics might be improved by designing less difficult informed consent forms and by the investigator giving extra attention and information to non-west European parents. Adequate measures should be taken to avoid parents feeling obliged to participate, rather than giving true informed consent.     

The free radical spin trap alpha-phenyl-tert-butyl nitrone attenuates the cerebral response to deep hypothermic ischemia

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the role of reactive oxygen species in the impairment of cerebral recovery that follows deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. METHODS: Twelve 1-week-old piglets were randomized to placebo (control group; n = 6) or 100 mg x kg(-1) intravenous alpha-phenyl-tert -butyl nitrone, a free radical spin trap (PBN group; n = 6). All piglets underwent cardiopulmonary bypass, cooling to 18 degrees C, 60 minutes of circulatory arrest followed by 60 minutes of reperfusion, and rewarming. Cerebral blood flow and metabolism were determined at baseline before deep hypothermic circulatory arrest and after 60 minutes of reperfusion. RESULTS: In control animals, mean global cerebral blood flow (+/- 1 standard error) before circulatory arrest was 48.4 +/- 3.6 mL x 100 g(-1) x min(-1) and fell to 25.1 +/- 3.6 mL x 100 g(-1) x min(-1) after circulatory arrest (P =.001). Global cerebral metabolism fell from 3.5 +/- 0.2 mL x 100 g(-1) x min(-1) before arrest to 2.2 +/- 0.2 mL x 100 g(-1) x min(-1) after circulatory arrest (P =.0002). In the PBN group after circulatory arrest, the mean global cerebral blood flow and metabolism of 37.2 +/- 4.9 and 3.6 +/- 0.5 mL. 100 g(-1). min(-1), respectively, were significantly higher than in the control group (P <.05). Recovery of cerebral blood flow in the PBN group was 78% of pre-arrest level compared with 52% in the control group (P =.002). Global cerebral metabolism after circulatory arrest was 100% of the pre-arrest value compared with 61% in the control group (P =.01). Regional recovery of cerebral metabolism in the cerebellum, brain stem, and basal ganglia was 131%, 130%, and 115%, respectively, of pre-arrest values in the PBN group compared with 85%, 78%, and 70% in the control group (P <.04). CONCLUSIONS: Reactive oxygen species contribute to the impairment of cerebral recovery that follows deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. The use of alpha-phenyl-tert -butyl nitrone before the arrest period attenuates the normal response to ischemia and improves recovery by affording protection from free radical-mediated damage.     

Accuracy of algorithms for detection of atrial fibrillation from short duration beat interval recordings

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is characterised by highly variable beat intervals. The aims of the study were to assess the accuracy of AF detection algorithms from short analysis durations and to validate prospectively the accuracy on a large community-based cohort of elderly subjects. Three algorithms for AF detection were evaluated: coefficient of variation (CV), mean successive difference (Δ) and coefficient of sample entropy (COSEn), using two databases of beat interval recordings: 167 recordings of 300 s duration for a range of rhythms acquired in a hospital setting and 2130 recordings of 10 s duration acquired in the community. Using the longer recordings receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to identify optimal algorithm thresholds and to evaluate analysis durations ranging from 5 s to 60 s. An ROC area of 93% was obtained at recording duration of 60 s but remained above 90% for durations as low as 5 s. Prospective analysis on the 2130 recordings gave AF detector sensitivities from 90.5% (CV and Δ) to 95.2% (COSEn), specificities from 89.3% (Δ) to 93.4% (COSEn) and accuracy from 89.3% (Δ) to 93.4% (COSEn), not significantly different to those obtained on the initial database. AF detection algorithms are effective for short analysis durations, offering the prospect of a simple and rapid diagnostic test based on beat intervals alone.