Published papers on telepathology projects

Introduction: Although many studies have been conducted in the telepathology field in recent years, a systematic review that examines studies in a comparative manner has not yet been undertaken. This paper aims to review the published papers on telepathology projects and compare them in several aspects such as telepathology method, telecommunication method, clinical outcome, etc.

Method: This is a systematic review study. PubMed database was used to find the studies published in the past ten years [2004-2014]. The 71 final related papers were evaluated. Data were extracted from these studies based on the following items: country, national [in country] or international [between countries], frozen section or slide, body part, type of camera used, telecommunication method, telepathology method, clinical outcome, cost evaluation, satisfaction evaluation and the description of consultation providers and receivers. Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis

Results: Results showed that most of the studies were performed in developed countries on a national level, on slide and on a specific body part. In most studies, a Nikon camera was used to take images. Online methods were the most used telecommunication method in the studies, while store and forward was the most used telepathology method. Clinical outcome of many studies showed that telepathology is a reliable and accurate method for consultation. More than half of the studies considered the cost, and most of them showed that a telepathology system is cost effective. Few studies evaluated satisfaction of the participants. In most studies, the telepathology project was undertaken between pathologists

Conclusion: Although there is enough evidence to suggest that telepathology is an effective way of consultation between pathologists, there are still some areas that should be addressed and for which there is a lack of convincing evidence. For example, pathologist satisfaction, cost evaluation, legal issues and ethical issues still need to be addressed

Impact of Computer-Based Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension and Diabetes Decision Aids on Empowering Pregnant Women / 대한의료정보학회지

OBJECTIVES: We designed a computer-based decision aid (CDA) for use by pregnant women at home to investigate and participate in solving their pregnancy problems related to pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) and gestational diabetes (GD). The system cannot and is not intended to replace visits to physicians; rather it can help women focus on the most important symptoms and provides guidance on when to see a doctor. METHODS: The study is a randomized controlled trial, which is performed among Iranian pregnant women. For subjects, 420 healthy pregnant women have been recruited from two private and two public prenatal centers. The intervention group will receive the CDA for use at home, and the control group will receive care as usual. The CDA relies on knowledge extracted from the national guidelines on PIH and GD. RESULTS: The two primary outcomes for the study are self-efficacy and knowledge. Self-efficacy will be measured by the Stanford self-efficacy scale and knowledge will be evaluated by 15 binary (true/false) questions provided by the researchers. Secondary outcomes include type and frequency of doctor and/or medical center visits; blood pressure and blood sugar changes based on the national guidelines and according to pregnancy records, and anxiety will be assessed by the state component of the short Spielberger anxiety scale. CONCLUSIONS: This paper describes the design of a CDA and a protocol for a randomized controlled trial to study the effects of the CDA on self-efficacy and knowledge of pregnant women pertaining to PIH and GD. Differences in the primary outcomes will be analyzed using 'intention-to-treat' principles.

Sleep quality among health care workers

Sleep problems are common complaints in health care workers that can affect quality of life and productivity, both in patients and healthy individuals. This study evaluates the prevalence of low sleep quality in health care workers with no health issues or complaints of sleep problems. In this cross-sectional study was conducted on healthy employees of a health care organization in Tehran. The presence of physical and mental health issues and satisfaction from their sleep quality was assessed by means of a self-administered questionnaire. Sleep quality was evaluated by the Persian version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [PSQI]. PSQI scores of 5 or less were considered as good sleep quality. From 925 participants, 56.9% were good sleepers. There was a significant association between poor sleep quality and female sex, divorced, shift-working, and age; it was not associated with education level. Self-rated health [SRH] had a significant positive correlation with sleep quality. Poor sleep quality is common in our study population and associated with a lower SRH. The high prevalence of poor sleep quality in a group of healthy non-complaining employees can be an important early sign of underlying physical or mental health issues. Providing screening and monitoring programs to detect the underlying health conditions and their consequent treatment can promote health and productivity of employees and improve society's health, both directly and indirectly

Can We Accurately Assess Liver Fibrosis with Fibroscan(R) Using Fewer Valid Measurements?

No abstract available.