Evidence-based medicine: what it is, what it isn't, and are we practicing it?

Leisure-Related Social Work Interventions for Patients with Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The social work profession has been exploring nonpharmacological interventions for patients with cognitive impairment, but there are few evidence-based research outputs. Systematically evaluating the effectiveness of social work interventions for people with cognitive impairment can shed light on the matter to further improve similar interventions. Randomized controlled trials of nonpharmacological interventions for patients with cognitive impairment were selected from key literature databases in both English and Chinese from 2010 to 2021. A systematic review and meta-analysis with Revman 5.4 were performed. Seven trials were included, involving 851 patients with cognitive impairment. The meta-analysis showed that, in terms of overall cognitive function, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment score (MD = 1.64, 95% CI [0.97, 2.30], p < 0.001) of the intervention group was superior to the control group, but there was no significant difference in the Mini-Mental State Examination score between the two groups (MD = 0.33, 95% CI [-0.16, 0.82], p = 0.18). Compared with the control group, nonpharmacological intervention can effectively improve the neuropsychiatric condition of patients (SMD = -0.42, 95% CI [-0.64, -0.20], p = 0.0002). In summary, the current evidence shows that nonpharmacological social work interventions had a positive effect on the cognitive function and neuropsychiatric status of patients with cognitive impairment. Suggestions for future nonpharmacological intervention practice are discussed.

Cohort study evaluating management of burns in the community in clinical practice in the UK: costs and outcomes

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate health outcomes, resource use and corresponding costs attributable to managing burns in clinical practice, from initial presentation, among a cohort of adults in the UK.

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort analysis of the records of a randomly selected cohort of 260 patients from The Health Improvement Network (THIN) database who had 294 evaluable burns.

SETTING

Primary and secondary care sectors in the UK.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES

Patients' characteristics, wound-related health outcomes, healthcare resource use and total National Health Service (NHS) cost of patient management.

RESULTS

Diagnosis was incomplete in 63% of patients' records as the location, depth and size of the burns were missing. Overall, 70% of all the burns healed within 24 months and the time to healing was a mean of 7.8 months per burn. Sixty-six per cent of burns were initially managed in the community and the other 34% were managed at accident and emergency departments. Patients' wounds were subsequently managed predominantly by practice nurses and hospital outpatient clinics. Forty-five per cent of burns had no documented dressings in the patients' records. The mean NHS cost of wound care in clinical practice over 24 months from initial presentation was an estimated £16 924 per burn, ranging from £12 002 to £40 577 for a healed and unhealed wound, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Due to incomplete documentation in the patients' records, it is difficult to say whether the time to healing was excessive or what other confounding factors may have contributed to the delayed healing. This study indicates the need for education of general practice clinicians on the management and care of burn wounds. Furthermore, it is beholden on the burns community to determine how the poor healing rates can be improved. Strategies are required to improve documentation in patients' records, integration of care between different providers, wound healing rates and reducing infection.

Evidence-based safety (EBS) management: A new approach to teaching the practice of safety management (SM)

INTRODUCTION

In safety management (SM), it is important to make an effective safety decision based on the reliable and sufficient safety-related information. However, many SM failures in organizations occur for a lack of the necessary safety-related information for safety decision-making. Since facts are the important basis and foundation for decision-making, more efforts to seek the best evidence relevant to a particular SM problem would lead to a more effective SM solution. Therefore, the new paradigm for decision-making named "evidence-based practice (EBP)" can hold important implications for SM, because it uses the current best evidence for effective decision-making.

METHODS

Based on a systematic review of existing SM approaches and an analysis of reasons why we need new SM approaches, we created a new SM approach called evidence-based safety (EBS) management by introducing evidence-based practice into SM.

RESULTS

It was necessary to create new SM approaches. A new SM approach called EBS was put forward, and the basic questions of EBS such as its definition and core were analyzed in detail. Moreover, the determinants of EBS included manager's attitudes towards EBS; evidence-based consciousness in SM; evidence sources; technical support; EBS human resources; organizational culture; and individual attributes.

CONCLUSIONS

EBS is a new and effective approach to teaching the practice of SM. Of course, further research on EBS should be carried out to make EBS a reality. Practical applications: Our work can provide a new and effective idea and method to teach the practice of SM. Specifically, EBS proposed in our study can help safety professionals make an effective safety decision based on a firm foundation of high-grade evidence.

Quaternary ammonium-based biomedical materials: State-of-the-art, toxicological aspects and antimicrobial resistance

Microbial infections affect humans worldwide. Many quaternary ammonium compounds have been synthesized that are not only antibacterial, but also possess antifungal, antiviral and anti-matrix metalloproteinase capabilities. Incorporation of quaternary ammonium moieties into polymers represents one of the most promising strategies for preparation of antimicrobial biomaterials. Various polymerization techniques have been employed to prepare antimicrobial surfaces with quaternary ammonium functionalities; in particular, syntheses involving controlled radical polymerization techniques enable precise control over macromolecular structure, order and functionality. Although recent publications report exciting advances in the biomedical field, some of these technological developments have also been accompanied by potential toxicological and antimicrobial resistance challenges. Recent evidenced-based data on the biomedical applications of antimicrobial quaternary ammonium-containing biomaterials that are based on randomized human clinical trials, the golden standard in contemporary medicinal science, are included in the present review. This should help increase visibility, stimulate debates and spur conversations within a wider scientific community on the implications and plausibility for future developments of quaternary ammonium-based antimicrobial biomaterials.