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H Sigmund

Publications and source records attributed to H Sigmund.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Does health technology assessment benefit health services and politics? The experiences of an established HTA institution: the Danish Centre for Evaluation and HTA.

Health technology assessment (HTA) was introduced in Denmark 20 years ago. However, it only came into fashion a few years ago. This happened when politicians and health service decision-makers realized that due to the increasing pressure on resources prioritization was an inescapable fact. HTA was supposed to support this effort by providing a broad spectrum of information designed for decision-making. Events speeded up from that point on: a national HTA strategy, a national HTA institution, satellite institutions, and many HTA projects were set up - at national, regional, and local levels. The diversity and decentralization of decision-making combined with a broad and interdisciplinary approach to methodology guided the development of Danish HTA. Experiences with HTA were gained from successful applications and disappointing encounters with uncontrollable political processes. Politicians seem in general to be content with the development. An evaluation of the impact of HTA has not yet been undertaken, and a good deal of work lies ahead. The implementation of HTA results will be one of the greatest challenges of the years ahead.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Identification of yeast species by fatty acid profiling as measured by gas-liquid chromatography.

An improved rapid method for the identification of yeasts and yeast-like fungi from clinical sources which is based on fatty acid profiles obtained by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) is described. The fatty acid profile database is based upon internal standardisation and using the relative retention times and the retention index of the analysed fatty acids. Differentiation between yeast species was achieved by the quantitative and qualitative comparison of measured fatty acid profiles with those in the database. A total of 1024 clinical isolates were analysed by GLC to test the validity of the database. 96.2% of all tested samples were identified correctly to the species level by the improved GLC method.

Chromatography, Gas↗
PubMed1999

Technologies to minimize blood transfusion in cardiac and orthopedic surgery. Results of a practice variation survey in nine countries. International Study of Peri-operative Transfusion (ISPOT) Investigators.

OBJECTIVES: Due to the discovery in the 1980s that blood transfusion can transmit HIV, there has been increased interest in technologies that reduce the amount of allogeneic blood used during and after surgery. These technologies include drugs (aprotinin, tranexamic acid, epsilon-aminocaproic acid, erythropoietin), devices (cell salvage), and techniques (acute hemodilution, predeposited autologous donation). The purpose of this study was to ascertain the degree of practice variation, if any, that exists for eight technologies in nine countries in orthopedic and cardiac surgery. METHODS: In each country, either all hospitals or a random sample of hospitals with medical/surgical beds were surveyed between 1995 and 1997. Two instruments were used. The first instrument was a postcard that asked recipients whether the technologies were currently being used in their hospital for orthopedic and/or cardiac surgery to reduce perioperative allogeneic transfusion. The second questionnaire elicited information regarding the degree of use both in qualitative and quantitative terms. Data were collected, entered, and analyzed in each country, with summary results submitted to the Canadian coordinating center on a standardized data collection form. RESULTS: Pharmaceuticals were generally used in a much smaller proportion of hospitals in orthopedic than in cardiac surgery. Aprotinin and tranexamic acid were the drugs most frequently used in cardiac surgery. Nonpharmacological technologies were used to a greater degree than drugs in orthopedic surgery, although there was wide variation among technologies and countries. Acute hemodilution and cell salvage were used in a greater proportion of hospitals for cardiac surgery than orthopedic surgery. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this survey indicate that there is considerable practice variation in the use of technologies to minimize exposure to perioperative allogeneic transfusion within and between countries.

Antifibrinolytic Agents↗