Curbing the diabetes and tuberculosis co-epidemic: the potential role of China.

China has been playing an increasingly important role in global health in recent decades. Substantial progress and reform has been made in the country's health care system, but China still hosts one third of the world's diabetes mellitus (DM) patients and one fifth of the world's tuberculosis (TB) patients. Recent economic and public health advancements have provided tools for new drug development and facilitated the implementation of novel strategies. However, a unique set of challenges exist, including regulatory barriers, ethical concerns and the lack of a unified system and approaches across disease areas. This article analyses the current disease situation in China and discusses China's potential role in the global battle against the TB and DM co-epidemic.

Hospital-acquired Clostridium difficile infection: an institutional costing analysis.

BACKGROUND: Healthcare-acquired Clostridium difficile infection (HA-CDI) is a common infection and a financial burden on the healthcare system. AIM: To estimate the hospital-based financial costs of HA-CDI by comparing time-fixed statistical models that attribute cost to the entire hospital stay to time-varying statistical models that adjust for the time between admission, diagnosis of HA-CDI, and discharge and that only attribute HA-CDI costs post diagnosis. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted (April 2008 to March 2011) using clinical and administrative costing data of inpatients (≥15 years) who were admitted to The Ottawa Hospital with stays >72 h. Two time-fixed analyses, ordinary least square regression and generalized linear regression, were contrasted with two time-dependent approaches using Kaplan-Meier survival curve. FINDINGS: A total of 49,888 admissions were included and 366 (0.73%) patients developed HA-CDI. Estimated total costs (Canadian dollars) from time-fixed models were as high as $74,928 per patient compared to $28,089 using a time-varying model, and these were 1.47-fold higher compared to a patient without HA-CDI (incremental cost $8,997 per patient). The overall annual institutional cost at The Ottawa Hospital associated with HA-CDI was as high as $10.07 million using time-fixed models and $1.62 million using time-varying models. CONCLUSION: When calculating costs associated with HA-CDI, accounting for the time between admission, diagnosis, and discharge can substantially reduce the estimated institutional costs associated with HA-CDI.

Universal vs Risk Factor Screening for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a Large Multicenter Tertiary Care Facility in Canada.

OBJECTIVE To assess the clinical effectiveness of a universal screening program compared with a risk factor-based program in reducing the rates of nosocomial methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among admitted patients at the Ottawa Hospital. DESIGN Quasi-experimental study. SETTING Ottawa Hospital, a multicenter tertiary care facility with 3 main campuses, approximately 47,000 admissions per year, and 1,200 beds. METHODS From January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2007 (24 months), admitted patients underwent risk factor-based MRSA screening. From January 1, 2008 through August 31, 2009 (20 months), all patients admitted underwent universal MRSA screening. To measure the effectiveness of this intervention, segmented regression modeling was used to examine monthly nosocomial MRSA incidence rates per 100,000 patient-days before and during the intervention period. To assess secular trends, nosocomial Clostridium difficile infection, mupirocin prescriptions, and regional MRSA rates were investigated as controls. RESULTS The nosocomial MRSA incidence rate was 46.79 cases per 100,000 patient-days, with no significant differences before and after intervention. The MRSA detection rate per 1,000 admissions increased from 9.8 during risk factor-based screening to 26.2 during universal screening. A total of 644 new nosocomial MRSA cases were observed in 1,448,488 patient-days, 323 during risk factor-based screening and 321 during universal screening. Secular trends in C. difficile infection rates and mupirocin prescriptions remained stable after the intervention whereas population-level MRSA rates decreased. CONCLUSION At Ottawa Hospital, the introduction of universal MRSA admission screening did not significantly affect the rates of nosocomial MRSA compared with risk factor-based screening. Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol. 2015;37(1):41-48.

Superior labral anteroposterior lesions: MR arthrography with arm traction.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of arm traction combined with MR arthrography in the evaluation of superior labral anteroposterior (SLAP) lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cadaveric shoulders were studied with a 1.5-T MR imaging unit with the arm externally rotated. Fifteen milliliters of a gadolinium-containing contrast agent were injected into the glenohumeral joint. Twenty-four sets of images of cadaveric joints were evaluated independently by two observers. These sets consisted of MR arthrographic images obtained with traction (applied to the wrist using 1- to 3-kg weights) and without traction in five shoulders in which SLAP lesions had been excluded arthroscopically or by cadaveric sectioning; and MR arthrographic images obtained with and without traction in seven shoulders in which various types of SLAP lesions had been created arthroscopically and later confirmed by cadaveric sectioning. RESULTS: Analysis of the data indicated that MR arthrography in combination with arm traction and external rotation improved diagnostic accuracy with regard to identification and categorization of SLAP lesions when compared with studies made without traction. CONCLUSION: The combination of MR arthrography and arm traction with the shoulder in external rotation provides a more effective approach for detection of SLAP lesions than does similar MR arthrography performed without arm traction.

Association of posterior rib fractures with exaggerated kyphosis and sternal collapse.

The ribs, sternum, and vertebrae all play an important role in stabilizing the thorax. Failure of one of these components places additional stress on the other supporting structures. We present a case of a 62-year-old man with multiple myeloma and osteopenia who sustained fractures to all three components.

Partners in powersharing--the role of midwives in information technology.

The contribution which midwives can make to the successful implementation of information systems is described. Issues such as Change Management, Quality, Benefits Realisation, and Public Relations are discussed. Damage limitation in the information age is outlined.