Hypertension, i.e. high systemic arterial pressure, is quantitatively related to future cardiovascular and renal insufficiency. Furthermore, treatment of hypertension is beneficial. Hypertension is therefore, one of the most important cardiovascular risk factors accounting for preventable...

Objective: To determine 1. whether influenza vaccination in the elderly is cost effective or cost saving compared with a non-intervention strategy and 2. whether it is worth framing a vaccination policy for this population. Background: Influenza causes substantial morbidity and mortality in...

The monitoring of vital signs is a basic task that has been carried out on patients that are admitted into specialized units, such as coronary care units, intensive care units and operating rooms. There is now a good deal of interest in the ever-increasing possibility of such monitoring being...

Although the incidence of new hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections may be declining, the prevalence of the diagnosed and treated chronic infection is set to increase over the next 2 decades because of the emergence of hepatic complications of the disease and the increased public awareness of...

The necessity of having reliable measurements of patient care and cost parameters is becoming more recognised in medicine today. This is particularly true for chronic, high cost diseases such as asthma. The goal of this asthma disease management programme was to determine whether the...

Acute repetitive seizures, more commonly known as cluster, crescendo or sequential seizures, are defined as episodes of increased seizure activity occurring in patients with refractory epilepsy who are already receiving stable regimens of anticonvulsants. They lie in the seizure spectrum between...

Background: Patient satisfaction is regarded as an important indicator in assessing the quality of care. Over the past 20 years, in particular, there has been increasing interest in patients' perceptions about the provision of healthcare. Although asthma is a disease that increases the burden on...

As treatment for moderate to severe persistent asthma, inhaled corticosteroid drugs combined with long-acting beta-adrenoceptor agonists are being marketed in a single inhaler device. These combination products have important benefits (e.g. convenience, improved adherence, and improved...

Although modest, sustained weight loss can decrease the risks of morbidity and mortality associated with obesity, medical approaches to the treatment of obesity can be very expensive and time-consuming. Adjunctive use of appetite suppressants in selected patients and use of gastroplasty in...

The rapid expansion of disease management continues. A multitude of stakeholders and marketplaces are now involved in providing cost-effective quality healthcare for individuals and populations. To help you keep up-to-date with the very latest developments in disease management, this section of...