Hungarian web-based nationwide anaesthesia and intensive care data collection and reporting system: its development and experience from the first 5 yr.

BACKGROUND: Annual data collection is obligatory in Hungary for every department in the fields of anaesthesia and intensive care. A new, web-based data-reporting system was introduced in Hungary in 2003. The present paper summarizes experience from the first 5 yr of its operation. METHODS: The Information Technology Working Group of Hungarian Society of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care developed a data collection system, which was Internet-based, provided web surface for every accredited department, and used the integration of international code systems. The analysis mode summarized the data automatically at loco-regional, national, or both levels. In 2008, a questionnaire was sent to the users in order to evaluate the usefulness of, and user satisfaction with, the web-based system. RESULTS: The examples of anaesthetic and intensive therapy workload activities reflect the status of the discipline in Hungary. There have been no significant changes in the total number of anaesthesias per year in the past 5 yr, except that the number of combined general and regional anaesthesias has been elevated by more than 30%. The physicians' workload has increased by 13.2% in relation to the total number of anaesthetic procedures per physician per year. In this field, our data have verified that the number of physicians has decreased in Hungary. On the basis of the opinion of the users, the web-based data collection system has increased the effectiveness and accuracy of annual data collection. CONCLUSIONS: The developed web-based system is an effective tool for data collection. Its usefulness was also borne out by its users on the basis of experience from the first 5 yr.

Comparison of different methods used for oestrus examination in the bitch.

The aim of this study was to determine the reliability of oestrus symptoms of the bitch (vulvar swelling, vaginal fluid, attraction of the male, teasing) and that of the most frequently used examination methods (vaginal smear, vaginoscopy, serum progesterone determination) which indicate the stage of the cycle and allow to predict the optimal day of mating (ODM). The determination of the cycle stage was based upon the number of days left from the day of examination to the day of parturition (DTP). Our results indicate that none of the above-mentioned symptoms and examination methods is reliable alone for the determination of DTP, and even the complex picture obtained from the integrated results of different methods will not enable an exact estimation. ODM can be predicted with a higher reliability, and 1-2 days before it, it can be detected very safely. Since most bitches are presented for timing to practitioners, a scheme was created based upon a scoring system, which gives a point value to each individual symptom and examination result, and judges the bitch according to the total amount of points.