Biomedical subjects

C Pallás Alonso

Publications and source records attributed to C Pallás Alonso.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

[Impact of new eligibility criteria on a screening program for retinopathy of prematurity. one-year evaluation].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate, in clinical and economical terms, a screening program for retinopathy of prematurity 1 year after implementing new eligibility criteria. METHOD: New criteria to safely reduce the number of newborn infants screened without missing any stage 3 retinopathies of prematurity were established after reviewing the clinical information from the 1991-1998 screening program. In 1999 the infants were screened according to the new eligibility criteria. The absolute and relative reduction in the number of patients requiring screening was determined by comparing the implementation of the new eligibility criteria with the previous criteria. Criteria 1991-1998: a) Birth weight 1,500 g or gestational age 33 weeks; and b) gestational age 34-36 weeks with exposure to supplemental oxygen for at least 24 h. New criteria 1999: a) Birth weight 1,250 g or gestational age 30 weeks; and b) infants with birth weight > 1,250 g or gestational age > 30 weeks with very serious neonatal medical problems according to the neonatologist. RESULTS: In 1999, 244 patients would have been screened with the 1991-1998 criteria. Applying the new 1999 criteria, only 72 patients were screened. The number of examinations saved was 369 and the cost of the program decreased by 30,000 euros. CONCLUSIONS: The new eligibility criteria for retinopathy of prematurity screening has reduced the number of patients screened by 70 %. To ensure inclusion of all newborn infants at risk of developing the disease and to minimize the number of screened infants and cost of the program, screening strategies can be tailored to health centers' specific characteristics.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗

PubMed2001

[Medication errors in a neonatal unit].

INTRODUCTION: Medication errors occur as a result of human mistakes or system flaws and could be prevented by studying and modifying the conditions that predispose to errors. In recent years, interest in medical errors has increased because of their health and economic implications. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the frequency and types of prescribing errors in the Neonatology Unit of the Hospital 12 Octubre before and after an intervention to raise awareness of errors among the medical staff by comparing the frequency of error before and after the intervention. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a prospective pilot study in two phases. In the first phase, we studied prescribing errors by reviewing 100 prescriptions for newborns admitted to the Intensive or Intermediate Care Units. When the prescriptions were written, the neonatologists were unaware that the study would be performed. Legibility, dose, units used to express medications, route of administration, use of abbreviations, specification of dosage per kilogram of body weight and use of brand names were evaluated. The information was analyzed and an information-training intervention was performed in which the results were made known in a clinical session and recommendations for improving prescriptions were made. In the second phase, another 100 prescriptions were reviewed. The results were compared with those obtained before the intervention using the chi-squared test. RESULTS: In the first phase, 22 % of prescriptions were illegible or doubtful, 4 % contained dose errors and 28 % did not specify the route of administration. After the intervention, 8 % (p 0.005) of prescriptions were illegible, 4 % contained dose errors and 5 % (p 0.0001) did not specify the route of administration. Regarding other quality markers, the percentage of prescriptions specifying dosage per kilogram of body weight increased from 46 % to 78 %. Brand names were used in 21 %. Units were always expressed in abbreviations. All errors were severity index 0 or 1. CONCLUSIONS: The first step in prevention is recognition of mistakes. Increasing awareness among the medical staff of the consequences of errors improved the quality of prescriptions in our department. Awareness of the frequency and type of errors is the first step towards implementing strategies to reduce iatrogeny.

Humans↗

PubMed1993

[Early discharge of low-birth-weight neonates. 5-year experience].

The object of this study was to determine whether the hospital stay could be reduced in low birth weight infants without any risk. A prospective, controlled and randomized study has been made with 80 newborn infants with birth weights < or = 2.000 gm. The infants of the experimental group (n = 40) were discharged with weights < or = 2.000 gm and the control group (n = 40) were discharged with weights > or = 2.000 gm. Both groups showed similar social, economic, perinatal and postnatal conditions. We have found significant advantages in the experimental group such as: reducing the period of hospitalization (p = 0.005), greater weight increase (p < 0.001), a longer breast feeding period (p = 0.02) and a 29% reduction in expenditures. The follow-up shows that there are no significant differences between the groups regarding morbidity, mortality, growth or psychomotor development. We conclude that there are no disadvantages, but considerable advantages, in early discharge of low birth weight infants.

Female↗

PubMed1993

[Transcutaneous bilirubin measurement in neonates].

A study was performed to determine, in our population, the relationship between transcutaneous, visual and serum bilirubin values. This was done in attempts to reduce the number of serum bilirubin determinations to be performed in the future. We did a correlation coefficient between serum bilirubin and five measurements of transcutaneous bilirubin levels in a group of 60 term newborns and 60 preterm newborns, obtaining a value of 0.84 in both groups. The results were also considered from an analytical point of view where the ability of the test to predict an alteration in serum bilirubin levels, for example > or = 12 mg/dl in preterm and > or = 13 mg/dl in term newborns, was assessed. For values of 18 in preterm and 17 in term infants, the transcutaneous method was found to be both sensitive and specific. If Kramer's test is also evaluated the results improve.

Bilirubin↗