Dilemma and promotion strategy of “dual channel”management policy for China’s medical insurance negotiated drugs / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE To provide reference for the smooth implementation of the “dual channel” management policy for China’s medical insurance negotiated drugs. METHODS Based on Smith policy implementation process model， the dilemmas for the implementation of “dual channel” policy for medical insurance negotiated drugs were analyzed from four aspects： implementation details and regulatory system， drug selection， drug provision and quality control， the situation of medical insurance funds and information technology capabilities. The corresponding promotion strategies were put forward. RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS The “dual channel” policy for medical insurance negotiated drugs in China might face implementation difficulties such as a lack of clear implementation rules and a full process supervision system， the suitability and operability of some medical insurance negotiated drugs need to be considered in the “dual channel” management， difficulties in drug allocation and quality control， differences in the management and operation of medical insurance funds in different regions， and insufficient informatization capability. In this regard， this study suggests that measures， such as improving the implementation rules of the “dual channel” policy， enhancing the rationality of the “dual channel” drug catalog， establishing a dynamic exit mechanism for “dual channel” pharmacies， promoting professional delivery services， and improving the electronic prescription circulation platform， which can be taken to enhance the implementation effect of the “dual channel” policy.

Obstacles and approaches for the implementation of external long-term prescription dispensing for chronic diseases / 中国药房

The policy of long-term prescription for chronic diseases in China is gradually being improved and implemented， and external long-term prescription dispensing is being encouraged. The long-term prescription policy runs through the links of drug supply， equipment， use and policy， involving government departments such as medical security and health， as well as stakeholders such as patients， medical institutions and designated detail pharmacies. There are still some problems in the external dispensing of long-term prescriptions， such as the disunity of drug catalogue and the need for coordination among regulatory parties in the policy link； the need to improve the participation enthusiasm and service ability in the equipment link； the increased difficulty of prescription management， the need to improve the circulation platform in the use link. The promotion of external long-term prescription policy requires health insurance， medical service， and the medicine industry co-development， multi-party participation， and policy coordination. Among them， the “dual channel” policy， the policy of centralized medicine procurement， and the pharmacy included in outpatient overall management policy have all played a positive role in promoting the implementation of external long-term prescription dispensing for chronic diseases. It is necessary to improve supporting policies and implement regulatory responsibilities in the policy link， promote drug classification and service capabilities in the equipment link， improve the electronic prescription circulation platform， and strengthen prescription management in use link， so as to promote the implementation of external long-term prescription dispensing.

Landing practices of national medical insurance negotiated drugs in tertiary medical institutions of Zhejiang province / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE To provide reference for the subsequent landing of national medical insurance negotiated drugs （referred to as “national negotiated drugs”） at the provincial level. METHODS By reviewing the data publicly released by the official websites of National Healthcare Security Administration and the Healthcare Security Administration of Zhejiang Province， combined with policy documents， the descriptive analysis was conducted on the number of tertiary medical institutions， the actual allocation of national negotiated drugs， the availability rate of national negotiated drugs， the allocation rate of national negotiated drug varieties， and the allocation rate of medical institutions of various cities in Zhejiang province. The Spearman rank correlation test was used to analyze the correlation between the number of types of national negotiated drugs equipped in tertiary medical institutions in Zhejiang province and the per capita disposable income， the number of tertiary medical institutions equipped with national negotiated drugs， and the implementation time of disease diagnosis-related grouping （DRG） of various cities in Zhejiang province. RESULTS As of the first quarter of 2022， 135 tertiary medical institutions in Zhejiang province were equipped with a total of 261 types of national negotiated drugs， accounting for 94.91% of the 2021 edition of the National Negotiated Drugs Catalogue （275 types）. The allocation rates of Goserelin acetate sustained-release implant， Sacubitril valsartan sodium tablets， Alteplase for injection and other varieties were at high level， and the types of national negotiated drugs equipped were highly coincident with the top 10 causes of death with disease of urban and rural residents in Zhejiang province. The tertiary medical institutions in Hangzhou had the most types of national negotiated drugs， with 230 types， while Quzhou had the lowest， with only 34 types； allocation rate of national negotiated drugs in medical institutions of Zhoushan was the highest （100%）， while that of Lishui was the lowest （57.14%）. The types of national negotiated drugs equipped were positively correlated with per capita disposable income in various cities and the number of tertiary medical institutions equipped with national negotiated drugs （P＜0.01）， and there was no significant correlation with the length of implementation of DRG （P＞0.05）. CONCLUSIONS mail：lanyao@mails.tjmu.edu.cn The landing of national negotiated drugs in Zhejiang province is generally good， with a high rate of equipping tertiary medical institutions with national negotiated drugs and a high rate of equipping drug varieties. Therefore， it is recommended that the provincial implementation of national negotiated drugs should be multi-faceted， and policy-making departments should adopt a dual-channel of “unbundling” and “driving” to smooth the drug chain into hospitals. The health insurance sector should improve the “dual channel” management mechanism to share the pressure on hospitals to use drugs. At the same time， it should also improve the multi-level medical security system and raise the level of reimbursement of medical insurance for national negotiated drugs.

Experience and enlightenment of out-of-hospital pharmacy management under the 340B drug pricing program in the United States / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE To learn from 340B drug pricing program （short for 340B program） in the United States， and provide reference for optimizing the operation and management of designated retail pharmacies under the “dual channel” policy in China. METHODS The status quos of the implementation of out-of-hospital pharmacies under the 340B program in the United States was reviewed to summarize the experience of the management of out-of-hospital pharmacies under the program in the United States， and to propose thoughts of management and possible problems for designated retail pharmacies under the “dual channel” policy in China. RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS Out-of-hospital pharmacies under the 340B program lacked sufficient basic information and medical insurance status of patients compared to medical institutions， which easily led to duplicate discounts and drug diversion issues. Due to the separation of out-of-hospital pharmacies from the management and restrictions on the use of drugs in medical institutions， coupled with the economic incentives brought by the sale of drugs， the 340B program in the United States faced high medical expenditure and adverse selection risks for out-of-hospital pharmacies. In this regard， when China is carrying out the construction of designated retail pharmacies under the “dual channel” policy， it is necessary to clarify the selection criteria for designated retail pharmacies， enhance the financial transparency of medical institutions and designated retail pharmacies， establish a scientific prescription circulation mechanism， strengthen the review and certification of insured patients and prescriptions， and improve the supervision and management mechanism. Meanwhile， the drug sales situation of designated retail pharmacies should be reasonably incorporated into the drug use management of medical institutions， so as to achieve the availability of drugs without abuse， and effectively control costs.

Management of Hypertension in Patients with Diabetes: A Comprehensive Review of the Perceptions and Practices of Health Care Providers in India

Objectives: This study evaluated the perception and practices of health care providers (physicians, diabetologists, and endocrinologists) regarding the treatment of hypertension in patients with diabetes in India. Methods: Health care providers throughout India who treated patients with diabetes and hypertension were invited to participate in an online survey and periodic 21 virtual meetings. They were questioned about their perception and practices in managing these patients, and strategies to improve blood pressure (BP). Results: The online survey was completed by 2,513 health care providers, and 344 participated in virtual meetings. More than 50% reported that 31–50% of their patients with diabetes also had hypertension. Home BP monitoring was recommended by 88%, and lifestyle modifications were consistently recommended. Choice of antihypertensive treatment varied based on comorbidities, and a renin–angiotensin system blocker plus a calcium channel blocker (CCB) was the most common combination for dual antihypertensive therapy. Suggested strategies to improve BP control included patient awareness/education, lifestyle modifications, better follow-up/monitoring, and optimization of therapy. Conclusion: Indian health care providers were aware of clinical recommendations and practices regarding treatment of patients with diabetes and hypertension, and generally make clinical decisions consistent with current guidelines. Optimization of care for these patients is essential to reduce cardiovascular disease risk and improve patient outcomes.

Analysis and practice on the " dual-channel" management mode of national medicare negotiated drugs in China / 中华医院管理杂志

" Dual-channel" management is an important management measure to solve the difficulty of national medicare negotiated drugs entering the hospital and improve the accessibility of the drugs. China clearly included some social pharmacies into the supply guarantee channel of national medicare negotiated drugs, and formed a " dual-channel" supply mode for negotiated drugs together with the hospital supply. By sorting out China′s national medicare negotiated drugs policy management documents and the management modes and specific measures in various regions and periods, this paper summarized and analyzed the progress of process management, multi-level medical security integration, remote handling, drug safety supervision, and information construction in various regions. Based on the relevant policy guidance and local practical experience, the authors explored and optimized the " dual-channel" landing management, so as to provide reference and suggestions for further improving the accessibility of national medicare negotiated drugs and giving full play to the effectiveness of medical security.

Effect Evaluation of National Drug Centralized Volume-based Procurement in a Public Hospital from the Per- spective of Value-based Healthcare / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE：To evaluate the implementation of national drug centralized volume-based procurement （called “VBP”for short）in a public hospital，so as to provide reference for promoting VBP policy guided by value-based healthcare. METHODS：A total of 6 varieties and 12 specifications of antibiotics included in VBP in a public hospital in Chongqing were analyzed. The drug use data of the hospital one year before the implementation of VBP（i.e. April 20，2019- April 19，2020）and one year after the implementation（i.e. April 20，2020-April 19，2021）were collected and analyzed in respects of price change， generic drug substitution rate，average daily cost（DDDc），actual cost savings and other indicators. The problems and suggestions were put forward，and the effects of VBP policy implementation whether reflects the core connotation of value-based healthcare were evaluated. RESULTS：After the implementation of VBP，drug prices fell by an average of 63.44％，the average price drop of original drugs was 27.38％ ，and substitution rate of generic drugs was 25.59％ . DDDc of selected antibiotics in the hospital decreased in varying degrees，of which the decline of four drugs was 10％-40％，and that of Moxifloxacin hydrochloride tablets was 80.14％. Compared with bef VBP，6 kinds of antibiotics saved about 521 300 yuan，of which the imported Moxifloxacin hydrochloride tablets and Moxifloxacin hydrochloride sodium chloride injection saved 495 300 yuan（accounting for 94.97％ of the total cost savings of antibiotics）. CONCLUSIONS：The value of VBP based on the perspective of value-based healthcare is mainly reflected in the dual channel management mechanism of drugs，which improves the availability of drugs，effectively controls the unreasonable growth of medical expenses，reduces the expenditure of medical insurance fund，and helps to further reduce the drug burden of patients. At present，the implementation of VBP still faces difficulties，including the need for drug prices to return to a reasonable range，the need for foreign enterprises to change strategies to seek a breakthrough，and different therapeutic efficacy due to the difference in quality between the selected generic drugs and the original drugs. Therefore，the author believes that the pharmaceutical market structure should be transformed positively，value-based healthcare should help the regulation of medical insurance，and the consistency evaluation system should be optimized，so as to further improve the health level of patients.

To Study The Significance Of Processing Variables Using Quality By Design For Optimization Of Nanoparticulate System Of Cilnidipine

This investigation aimed to prepare Cilnidipine Nanoparticles by nanoprecipitation ultrasonication method and to study the significance of processing variables by applying quality by design. Cilnidipine is fourth-generation dual L/N-type Ca2+ channel blocker used for the management of hypertension. It is BCS class-II drug exhibiting lower aqueous solubility, which tends to lower bioavailability. The combination of Poloxamer 188 and Tween 80 was used as a stabilizer. The design of the experiment is one of the tools of Quality by design. Plackett -Burman design was applied for the screening of processing variables, which are significant for the method. The processing variables screened were stirring speed, antisolvent ratio, drug concentration, polymer concentration, stabilizer concentration. The effect of each parameter evaluated by particle size, entrapment efficiency, and drug release at 10 minutes of prepared Nanoparticles of Cilnidipine. Analysis of variance and Pareto-plot of Plackett-Burman design were utilized to find the significance of the factor and extent of the effect. The surface morphology of Cilnidipine Nanoparticles was studied by SEM. The Pareto plot, as well as statistical analysis of design, had shown that the Concentration of drug, solvent: antisolvent ratio and concentration of poloxamer 188 were the significant parameters for the method. The stabilizer concentration, the stirring speed, and the antisolvent ratio had a negative effect of while the concentration of drug has a positive effect on the particle size of Nanoparticles and drug release at 10 minutes and positive effect of entrapment efficiency of Cilnidipine Nanoparticles. The Cilnidipine Nanoparticles were characterized by FTIR and DSC analysis.

A study to assess the prevalence of hypertension in children with nephrotic syndrome

Background: Hypertension is been one of the most common co morbidity of this disease. It was mostly attributed to sodium retention, which is a major clinical feature of nephrotic syndrome. These mechanisms likely have a role in the development of hypertension in nephrotic syndrome, where hypertension may be difficult to control, and provide new therapeutic options for the management of blood pressure in the setting of nephrotic syndrome. Objective of study the prevalence of hypertension in children with NS and also the number of antihypertensive required to control it.Method: A Retrospective study of the hospital records of 100 children diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome admitted to Pediatric and Nephrology Ward at YMCH was accessed.Results: In our study 35 (35%) of them were Infrequent relapse nephrotic syndrome (IFNS) and 35(35%) were' Frequent relapse nephrotic syndrome (FRNS) ,while 30 cases (30%) were First episode nephrotic syndrome (FENS). 65 cases were steroid sensitive, while 28 and 7 of them were steroid dependent and resistant respectively. Of the 100 study population 54 of them had hypertension while 46 of them did not develop it .Of the 54 hypertensive nephrotic syndrome children, 15 of them (28.%) required three anti hypertensives to control the pressure, while 19 (35%) and 20 (37%) required single and dual anti hypertensives respectively.Conclusion: Prevalence of hypertension is increasing among the children with nephrotic syndrome. Its more prevalent among the male then female FRNS, SRNS and SDNS are more prone to develop hypertension and also they needed two or more antihypertensives to control the hypertension, whereas hypertension in SSNS could be managed with single drug.

Um conto de duas ttaquicardias / A tale of two tachycardias

Relato de caso de um paciente de 78 anos de idade, portador de marcapasso dupla-câmara há mais de 10 anos por doença do nó sinusal, bloqueio atrioventricular de primeiro grau e bloqueio de ramo direito, que se apresentou com taquicardia de QRS largo incessante e alternância de morfologia do QRS entre deflagração e inibição do canal ventricular

We describe the case of a 78-year-old patient who received a dual-chamber pacemaker implant ten years ago due to sick sinus syndrome, first degree heart block and right bundle branch block and now presents with an incessant wide QRS tachycardia with alternating morphology between deflagration and inhibition of the pacemaker's ventricular channel

Compliance with the Prescription of Antihypertensive Medications and Blood Pressure Control in Primary Care / Conformidade da Prescrição Anti-Hipertensiva e Controle da Pressão Arterial na Atenção Básica

Abstract Background: Hypertension is the most prevalent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and its proper control can prevent the high morbidity and mortality associated with this disease. Objective: To assess the degree of compliance of antihypertensive prescriptions with the VI Brazilian Guidelines on Hypertension and the blood pressure control rate in primary care. Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted between August 2011 and November 2012, including 332 adults ≥ 45 years registered in the Family Doctor Program in Niteroi and selected randomly. The analysis included the prescribed antihypertensive classes, doses, and frequencies, as well as the blood pressure (BP) of the individuals. Results: The rate of prescription compliance was 80%. Diuretics were the most prescribed medications, and dual therapy was the most used treatment. The most common non-compliances were underdosing and underfrequencies. The BP goal in all cases was < 140/90 mmHg, except for diabetic patients, in whom the goal was set at < 130/80 mmHg. Control rates according to these goals were 44.9% and 38.6%, respectively. There was no correlation between prescription compliance and BP control. Conclusions: The degree of compliance was considered satisfactory. The achievement of the targets was consistent with national and international studies, suggesting that the family health model is effective in BP management, although it still needs improvement.

Resumo Fundamento: A hipertensão arterial é o fator de risco mais prevalente para a doença cardiovascular e seu controle adequado pode prevenir a elevada morbi-mortalidade associada a esta doença. Objetivo: Avaliar o grau de conformidade das prescrições de anti-hipertensivos com as VI Diretrizes Brasileiras de Hipertensão e a taxa de controle pressórico na atenção básica. Métodos: Estudo transversal conduzido entre agosto de 2011 e novembro de 2012, incluindo 332 adultos ≥ 45 anos cadastrados no Programa Médico de Família de Niterói e selecionados aleatoriamente. Foram analisadas as classes de anti-hipertensivos prescritos, suas doses e frequências, bem como a pressão arterial (PA) dos indivíduos. Resultados: A taxa de conformidade das prescrições foi de 80%. Diuréticos foram as medicações mais prescritas e a terapia dupla foi o tratamento mais utilizado. As não conformidades mais comuns foram subdoses e subfrequências. A meta de PA para todos os casos foi < 140/90 mmHg, exceto para diabéticos, que foi < 130/80 mmHg. As taxas de controle de acordo com essas metas foram de 44,9% e 38,6%, respectivamente. Não houve correlação entre conformidade da prescrição e controle pressórico. Conclusões: O grau de conformidade foi considerado satisfatório. O alcance das metas foi compatível com estudos nacionais e internacionais, sugerindo que o modelo de saúde da família é efetivo no manejo da PA, embora ainda necessite aprimoramento. (Arq Bras Cardiol. 2017; [online].ahead print, PP.0-0)

Management Practices in Hypertension : Results of WIN-OVER — A Pan India Registry.

Hypertension is a common disease seen in clinical practice and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Many patients require combination therapy for the management of hypertension. Objective: To evaluate co-morbidities, risk factors and management practices of hypertension in Indian population. Material and methods: A total of 1596 hypertensive adult patients received antihypertensive medications were studied in a cross-sectional, multi-centric, non-interventional, observational registry. Statistical analysis: Categories or nominal data was expressed as numbers with percentages. Continuous variables were analyzed by descriptive statistics using mean, SD, and range Chi square test was used for in between group comparison. Results: The study included 73.50% males and 26.50% females. Overweight (50.50%) and obesity (30.01%) was common in the hypertensive patients (n=903). A total of 54.76% patients had history of smoking. Alcohol use (33.08%), sedentary life style (32.96%) and history of tobacco chewing (17.92%) were the other lifestyle habits of hypertensive patients. Diabetes (36.03%) and dyslipidemia (39.79%) history was common in these patients. Family history of hypertension and diabetes was seen in 82.21% and 45.99% patients respectively. Most (89.16%) patients were treated with combination of antihypertensive agents. ARBs were the by far most commonly used agents (91.98%) followed by calcium channel blockers (68.23%) and diuretics (60.21%). ARB was the most (80.35%) preferred agent as monotherapy. ARB was also the most common agent as a component of dual therapy, four drug and five drug combinations. Conclusion: Most of the hypertensive patients need combination treatment with antihypertensive agents. ARBs are the most preferred agents as monotherapy for the management of hypertension. ARBs are also very commonly used as a component of combination therapy during hypertension management.

Antihypertensive drugs for elderly patients: a cross- sectional study

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>As the population ages, the prevalence of hypertension also increases. Although primary care is usually the patient's first point of contact for healthcare, little is known about the management of hypertension among elderly patients at the primary care level. This study aimed to determine the antihypertensive prescription trend for elderly patients, the predictors of antihypertensive use and any inappropriate prescribing practices in both public and private primary care settings.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Data on patient demographics, diagnosis, prescription pattern, payment mode and follow-up was extracted from a cross-sectional study involving 122 public primary care clinics and 652 private primary care clinics in Malaysia. Encounters with hypertensive patients aged ≥ 60 years were included.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of 1,017 antihypertensive medications were prescribed - calcium channel blockers (27.1%), beta blockers (25.5%), diuretics (23.3%), angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (14.9%) and angiotensin receptor blockers (6.3%). Out of the 614 patient encounters, 53.1% of the patients were prescribed monotherapy, 31.6% were prescribed dual therapy, 12.2% triple therapy, 2.8% quadruple therapy and 0.3% quintuple therapy. Type of primary care clinic and payment mode were significant predictors for the prescription of combination therapy and fixed-dose combination therapy, respectively. Four types of inappropriate prescriptions were identified.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Calcium channel blockers were the most common antihypertensive drug prescribed and more than half of the elderly patients were on monotherapy. Antihypertensive drug prescription was found to be associated with the type of primary care clinic and the payment mode, suggesting that prescription is influenced by the cost of the drug.</p>

Practice patterns in the management of threatened preterm labor in Korea: A multicenter retrospective study

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine clinical practice patterns in the management of pregnant women admitted with threatened preterm labor (TPL) in Korea. METHODS: Data from women admitted with a diagnosis of TPL were collected from 22 hospitals. TPL was defined as regular uterine contractions with or without other symptoms such as pelvic pressure, backache, increased vaginal discharge, menstrual-like cramps, bleeding/show and cervical changes. Data on general patient information, clinical characteristics at admission, use of tocolytics, antibiotics, and corticosteroids, and pregnancy outcomes were collected using an online data collections system. RESULTS: A total of 947 women with TPL were enrolled. First-line tocolysis was administered to 822 (86.8%) patients. As a first-line tocolysis, beta-agonists were used most frequently (510/822, 62.0%), followed by magnesium sulfate (183/822, 22.3%), calcium channel blockers (91/822, 11.1%), and atosiban (38/822, 4.6%). Of the 822 women with first-line tocolysis, second-line tocolysis were required in 364 (44.3%). Of 364 with second-line, 199 had third-line tocolysis (37.4%). Antibiotics were administered to 29.9% of patients (284/947) with single (215, 22.7%), dual (26, 2.7%), and triple combinations (43, 4.5%). Corticosteroids were administered to 420 (44.4%) patients. Betamethasone was administered to 298 patients (71.0%), and dexamethasone was administered to 122 patients (29.0%). CONCLUSION: Practice patterns in the management of TPL in Korea were quite various. It is needed to develop standardized practice guidelines for TPL management.

Study of prescribing patterns of antihypertensives in South Indian population.

Background: Objective of the study is to study the prescribing pattern of drugs used in the management of hypertension. Methods: A prospective study was conducted for the period of 6 months in an out-patient department. All patients of either gender with primary essential hypertensive patients who have been diagnosed with hypertension as per Joint National Committee-VII (JNC-VII) guidelines and patients receiving or prescribed with antihypertensive drugs were included. The collected was analyzed for the demographic profi le of the patients and the prescribing pattern of antihypertensives drugs used in the treatment of hypertension. Results: A total of 360 prescriptions were analyzed during the study period, 59% were male and 41% were female. Maximum numbers of the patients were in the age group of 32.2% (50-59) years and 56.73% of the patients were in Stage-I hypertension. The results revealed that, the maximum number of patients underwent dual therapy, followed by 30.24% monotherapy, 13% of patients with triple drug therapy and 8.31% of the patients treated with more than 3 drugs. The results of pharmacotherapy revealed that dual therapy was the most preferred choice of treatment in reducing systolic blood pressure with (25.13%, p<0.0001) Angiotensin receptor-II blocker (ARBs) + β–Blockers than ARBs alone. Whereas in diastolic blood pressure there is a high percentage of reduction was found with (20.24%, p<0.0001) angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) + calcium channel blockers (CCBs) compare to ACEIs used alone. Conclusion: The most common drug classes involved in the study was ARBs 42.24% followed by CCBs 22%. The prescribing patterns of antihypertensive drugs follow the standard treatment as per the algorithm JNC-VII guidelines for hypertension.

The Introduction of Knowledge Management Technique in Aviation Safety Management

The causes of aviation accidents are not simple. Human error could possibly be caused by outside factors such as an environmental factor, laws and regulations, organizational, and national culture. An approach to an organizational factor on safety management and aircraft accident investigation is indispensable to improve aviation safety. Data collection from diversified sources is very important. Therefore, safety management focuses on safety inspections within the organization, and understanding the organization and employees' culture. Data from people who work in the aviation field must be merged with information technology to produce information and knowledge. Decision and policy making must be executed using knowledge-based aviation information. Policy makers must make it a priority to create an infrastructure for collecting data, transforming the data to information and the using information knowledge in amending aviation acts and regulations. The system that uses the infrastructure is composed of data collection from multi-channel, analysis and feedback to understand different culture organization-to-organization and country-to-country factors. Policy must be established and be enforced using this system to make it function positively. This study is a fundamental research to enhance aviation safety and to improve Korea's aviation acts and regulations.

A Case of Dual-Chamber Pacing Treatment in a Patient with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy with Left Ventricular Outflow Tract Obstruction

The management of symptomatic patients with hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy has generally included the use of beta-blockers and calcium channel blockers. Surgical treatment has been attempted for operable patients who have become refractory to medical therapy. However, associated complications, high mortality rate, and high recurrence of symptoms have shifted the treatment focus toward alternative therapy modalities. Recently, a DDD type pacemaker has been introduced as an alternative treatment option. We report a case of a patient with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy treated with dual-chamber pacing.

The Development of a Continuing Nursing Care Program for Cancer Patients after Discharge / 간호학회지

The purpose of this study was to develop a continuing nursing care program for cancer patients and the caregivers staying at their home and to test its effects on patients' symptom distress, caregiver burden, and satisfaction of life. The continuing nursing care program was based on the homecare needs of cancer patients, and was provided by three clinical nurses who took care of the patients while they were hospitalized. The program consisted of discharge education about selfcare using education materials(book and handout) and provisions of direct care. These were counselling and education during which visiting patients' home one week after discharge and telephone counseling two weeks after discharge. Counseling by telephone was always available during the research period. A quasi-experimental research design was used to test the effects of the program. Subjects for this study were 53 cancer patients discharged from the hospital and caregivers. These subjects were assigned to an experimental group (n=23) receiving continuous nursing care, or to a control group (n=30) not receiving continuous nursing care. Data from control group was collected first to protect from contamination. Data collection was done from October of 1998 to February of 2000. The collected data was analysed using mean, t-test, and chi-square test computed by SPSS software. The summary of results was as follows: 1) The symptom distress was a little decreased at posttest, but there were no significant differences between the experimental and the control group in symptom distress. 2) The score of caregiver burden was significantly decreased in experimental group at posttest, but no differences in control group. 3) There were no significant differences between the experimental and control group in the satisfaction of life. 4) The score of satisfaction of continuing nursing care program in experimental group at posttest was 2.321 of 3. In conclusion, even though this study did not obtain evidence of effectiveness of continuing nursing care program on patients, such as. It is still expected to be effective by a more improved program. Therefore we want to give some suggestions for further studies. 1) It is needed to make a communication channel with the patient's doctor to response promptly and appropriately to patient's conditions. 2) The research is necessary on patients in terminal stage or early stage of cancer diagnosis who have many nursing needs. 3) It is needed to readjust the roles and job assignment of clinical nurse to implement effectively as a program provider.