PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

B Kleiber

Publications and source records attributed to B Kleiber.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Development and implementation of computerized clinical guidelines: barriers and solutions.

Research indicates that computerized decision support systems (CDSSs) can improve clinical performance and patient outcomes, and yet CDSSs are not in widespread use. Physician guidelines, in general, face barriers in implementation. Guidelines in a computerized format can overcome some of the barriers to conventional text-form guidelines; however, computerized programs have novel aspects that have to be considered, aspects such as technical problems/support and user interface issues that can act as barriers. Though the literature points out that human, organizational, and technical issues can act as barriers in the implementation of CDSSs, studies clearly indicate that there are methods that can overcome these barriers and improve CDSS acceptance and use. These methods come from lessons learned from a variety of CDSS implementation ventures. Notably, most of the methods that improve acceptance and use of a CDSS require feedback and involvement of end-users. Measuring and addressing physician or user attitudes toward the computerized support system has been shown to be important in the successful implementation of a CDSS. This article discusses: 1) the barriers of implementation of guidelines in general and of CDSSs; 2) the importance of the physician's role in development, implementation, and adherence; 3) methods that can improve CDSS acceptance and use; and 4) the types of tools needed to obtain end-user feedback.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

The semaphorin 3A receptor may directly regulate the activity of small GTPases.

The axon guidance signal semaphorin 3A induces the rapid collapse of growth cones by activating a receptor complex that contains neuropilin-1 as the ligand-binding and a plexin as the signal-transducing subunit. Here we show that plexins bind Rho-like GTPases and may directly regulate their activity. The cytoplasmic domain of plexins shows sequence similarity to GTPase activating proteins (GAPs) and mutation of two arginines that correspond to the catalytic residues of Ras GAPs inactivates plexin-A1. Our data suggest that plexins may be integral membrane proteins with an intrinsic GAP activity that is essential for their ability to induce growth cone collapse.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Primary coronary angioplasty in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

In some patients with acute myocardial infarction, thrombolytic therapy may be limited by its failure to reperfuse the occluded artery, by recurrent ischemia (despite initially successful reperfusion), and by major hemorrhagic complications. Primary coronary angioplasty may circumvent these limitations. This article reviews the results of primary angioplasty reported in patients with myocardial infarction and makes recommendations for its use. The review includes pertinent articles found in the English language literature from July 1987 to July 1993 on MEDLINE. Nonrandomized series of primary angioplasty in acute myocardial infarction have demonstrated high procedural success rates (86% to 99%) and infrequent recurrent ischemia (4%). Two randomized trials comparing primary angioplasty and thrombolytic therapy have shown that primary angioplasty results in lower mortality, less recurrent ischemia, shorter length of hospital stay, and improved left ventricular function. Two other randomized studies have shown little benefit from primary angioplasty on myocardial salvage, recurrent ischemia, or ventricular function. One major limitation of primary angioplasty is that it requires 24-hour availability of a catheterization laboratory and experienced surgical personnel. Primary angioplasty may be the preferred approach in patients with extensive myocardial infarction who have immediate (< 120 min) access to a cardiac catheterization laboratory with experienced personnel. Patients having 1) contraindications to thrombolytic therapy, 2) cardiogenic shock, 3) prior coronary bypass surgery, or 4) "stuttering" onset of pain may also benefit from primary angioplasty. Poor candidates for this procedure are those with a small myocardial infarction, those in whom undue delays in access to a cardiac catheterization facility would be expected, or those with complex coronary anatomy, including left main coronary artery disease.

Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary↗

Immunocytochemistry in diagnostic cytology.

As the decision for immunocytochemistry is usually made on the basis of findings in Papanicolaou-stained smears and uncovering of the smears takes time, the immunocytochemical results are often reported with some delay. But they are of clinical interest only if reported within a short time. Therefore, immunocytochemistry on cytologic preparations must be carefully organized. The decision for immunocytochemistry must be made before the mounting medium has completely hardened to keep the time of uncovering short. The method of immunocytochemistry should fulfill the following prerequisites: 1. Cell sampling and fixation should be easy to handle for the clinician who sends the specimen to the laboratory. 2. Unspecific background staining, especially in cytologic preparations rich in blood and protein, should not occur. 3. The immunostaining method should be applicable to all kinds of cytologic material, fixed and stained smears included. 4. The nuclear structure of tumor cells should not be destroyed by the immunocytochemical procedure so that tumor cells after incubation are clearly distinguishable from normal cells showing a similar reaction as the tumor cells. There has hitherto been no such all-round method fulfilling all these prerequisites since the properties of the antigenic epitopes of the cells and of the antibodies recognizing them are too heterogeneous. Therefore several methods have to be considered and a variety of technical aspects such as fixation, storage of cytologic material, properties of tinctorial stains, of antibodies and of the antigenic epitopes must be studied to find out the two or three standard methods which meet the requirements in most cases. We recommend the ABC method for Papanicolaou-stained smears and the APAAP method for demonstration of lymphocyte markers. The indication of immunocytochemistry in diagnostic cytology is restricted by the limited number of specimens. Therefore, the following rules have to be observed: 1. The conventional light-microscopic examination must have priority over the immunocytochemical examination. 2. The cytologic specimens assigned for immunocytochemical examination must have been adequately fixed and stored. 3. As the number of smears is limited, the immunocytochemical examinations must be carefully planned and restricted to the absolutely necessary incubations. If possible, an informative smear has to be spared for documentation and future training of cytologists and cytotechnicians. 4. Immunocytochemical examinations in cytology are only justified if the diagnostic problem can be clearly defined. 5. The panel of antibodies should be selected carefully so that the results may give an answer to alternative questions. At least two antibodies should be applied.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Cytodiagnosis↗

Extranodal multilobated B-cell lymphoma: diagnosis by fine needle aspiration.

Malignant lymphoma with multilobated nuclei is a rare variant of follicle centre cell lymphoma. We describe a 34-year-old patient who initially presented with enlarged cervical and inguinal lymph nodes due to a histologically proven centroblastic-centrocytic lymphoma. Two years later, she developed a soft tissue mass in the gluteal area and malignant lymphoma with multilobated nuclei was diagnosed on fine needle aspiration.

Adult↗