Blood pressure (BP) is one of the most important monitoring parameters in clinical medicine. For years, the cuff-based sphygmomanometer and the arterial invasive line have been the gold standards for ...care professionals to assess BP. During the past few decades, the wide spread of the oscillometry-based BP arm or wrist cuffs have made home-based BP assessment more convenient and accessible. However, the discontinuous nature, the inability to interface with mobile applications, the relative inaccuracy with movement, and the need for calibration have rendered those BP oscillometry devices inadequate for next-generation healthcare infrastructure where integration and continuous data acquisition and communication are required. Recently, the indirect approach to obtain BP values has been intensively investigated, where BP is mathematically derived through the “Time Delay” in propagation of pressure waves in the vascular system. This holds promise for the realization of cuffless and continuous BP monitoring systems, for both patients and healthy populations in both inpatient and outpatient settings. This review highlights recent efforts in developing these next-generation blood pressure monitoring devices and compares various mathematical models. The unmet challenges and further developments that are crucial to develop “Time Delay”-based BP devices are also discussed.
With increasing healthcare costs and the high cost of spending driven by “defensive medicine,” shedding light on recent litigation trends is critical for understanding current tort patterns, ...especially in the field of cardiology, a specialty with higher rates of malpractice suits than average. Understanding the characteristics of these liability claims and common types of patient injuries can aid cardiologists in mitigating malpractice risk and better patient care. Thus, the objective of this study was to characterize current malpractice trends in the field of cardiology and common sources of patient injury. An analysis of malpractice litigation claims from 2006 to 2015 in cardiology was performed on a database of nationwide professional liability insurers, health systems, and community hospitals. Both the total number of claims and annual indemnity payments in cardiology have seen an overall increase from 2006 to 2015. Of the 1,538 claims observed, the leading allegations were improper medical treatment and diagnostic error. However, despite the large number of claims, most cardiology claims during this decade were either decreased, denied, or dismissed (68%) and the plurality of the remainder was settled outside of court (30%). In conclusion, from 2006 to 2015, rates of cardiology malpractice claims and amount paid in compensation have increased substantially in the United States. Further understanding of the characteristics of these lawsuits can aid cardiologists in avoiding common sources of injury to improve patient care.
Methods: This is a retrospective case-control study of patients with isolated bile duct dilatation who were referred to a tertiary care center for EUS/ERCP. A multiple logistic regression model with ...a manual selection method of clinically relevant covariates including age > 60, history of cholecystectomy, abnormal total bilirubin, and pancreatic duct dilatation was designed. The association between Chronic narcotic usage and idiopathic CBD dilatation remained statistically significant aOR 2.92 CI 1.02-8.36 after subgroup analysis for patients with normal total bilirubin (N = 78).
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