RESUMEN

The reuse of real-world symptom monitoring data is essential in improving the quality of hospice care. A framework for achieving this is a Learning Health System, in which the development of a well-defined dataset is essential. This paper discusses the challenges in the design of a comprehensive dataset, focusing on variations in two electronic health record systems and divergent care processes.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

The aim of this work is to share our experience in relevant data extraction from a hospital information system in preparation for a research study using process mining techniques. The steps performed were: research definition, mapping the normative processes, identification of tables and fields names of the database, and extraction of data. We then offer lessons learned during data extraction phase. Any errors made in the extraction phase will propagate and have implications on subsequent analyses. Thus, it is essential to take the time needed and devote sufficient attention to detail to perform all activities with the goal of ensuring high quality of the extracted data. We hope this work will be informative for other researchers to plan and execute extraction of data for process mining research studies.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

HeartCycle is an integrated project aiming to provide a disease management solution for cardiovascular disease patients, by developing technologies, algorithms to interpret data and services to facilitate the remote management of patients at home. In this paper an overview of part of the algorithmic work package, oriented at motivating the patients to be compliant to treatment regimes and to adopt a beneficial lifestyle, will be given. A concept allowing further education of the patient on the effect of medication on their vital signs, as well as the prediction of medication effect and a possible way to check compliance using vital signs measurements will be presented.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

The analysis of measurements of Electrical Bioimpedance (EBI) is on the increase for performing non-invasive assessment of health status and monitoring of pathophysiological mechanisms. EBI measurements might contain measurements artefacts that must be carefully removed prior to any further analysis. Cole model-based analysis is often selected when analysing EBI data and might lead to miss-conclusion if it is applied on data contaminated with measurement artefacts. The recently proposed Correction Function to eliminate the influence of the Hook Effect from EBI data and the fitting to the real part of the Cole model to extract the Cole parameters have been validated on experimental measurements. The obtained results confirm the feasible experimental use of these promising pre-processing tools that might improve the outcome of EBI applications using Cole model-based analysis.

Asunto(s)

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

AIMS: Pressure-flow studies (PFS) are the only reliable way to diagnose bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) in men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). However, in routine clinical practice, BOO is usually inferred by any of a number of tests (symptoms, flow rate, prostate size...). Bayes' Theorem provides a mathematical method, which may be similar to the process used by clinicians, for combining the results of multiple tests to reach a diagnosis. We have applied Bayes' Theorem to the results of several tests known weakly to predict BOO in men with LUTS to assess if they improve the diagnostic accuracy of a flow rate test which alone is known to predict obstruction moderately well. METHODS: We applied Bayes' Theorem to data from 50 patients using Q(max) alone and with the inclusion of additional variables (IPSS, PSA, and residual urine), to establish individual probabilities of BOO. The chi-squared statistic (with trend) was used to compare the relative diagnostic values, against the BOO index calculated from the results of subsequent PFS. RESULTS: The diagnostic value of Q(max) alone (chi-squared = 9.2, P = 0.002), was superior than that for the Bayesian model using the combination of tests available (chi-squared = 4.9, P = 0.026). CONCLUSIONS: Although in our sample relevant additional tests do not improve the diagnostic power of Q(max) as a predictor of BOO, we believe the Bayesian approach is conceptually suited to modeling clinical decision making but may be better tested for a more clinically relevant outcome such as treatment response.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

AIMS: Although measurement of maximum flow rate (Qmax) is a standard and straightforward test, it is often difficult to obtain reliable readings. We obtained multiple measurements using a simple home uroflow device which categorizes Qmax into ranges. We hypothesize that the average of a series of relatively coarse measurements of Qmax would be more repeatable and therefore more representative of an individual's voiding function than a single, albeit more precise measurement. METHODS: We studied 22 male volunteers with a wide range of Qmax. They were asked to record flow category (<10 ml/sec; 10-15 ml/sec; 15-20 ml/sec; >20 ml/sec) and voided volume twice daily for 12 days using the home flow device. In addition, a clinic-based flow recording using a spinning-disc uroflowmeter was obtained at both the start and the end of the 12-day period. RESULTS: Good agreement between mean home flow and mean clinic flow was seen with mean (SD) difference of 1.3 (5) ml/sec. The mean for consecutive halves of an individual's home flow data showed excellent agreement (-0.2 (1.3) ml/sec). The two clinic readings showed poorer agreement (2.3 (6.8) ml/sec) than the home readings, and poorer agreement even than between clinic and home flows. CONCLUSIONS: Although simple in design, the home flowmeter actually shows greater accuracy than might be expected when used repeatedly to study the flow rates of men. Simple flow devices such as this could be used in conjunction with voiding diaries to give a more representative picture of patients' day-to-day voiding function.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

We have compared sleep staging by an automated neural network (ANN) system, BioSleep (Oxford BioSignals) and a human scorer using the Rechtschaffen and Kales scoring system. Sleep study recordings from 114 patients with suspected obstructed sleep apnoea syndrome (OSA) were analysed by ANN and by a blinded human scorer. We also examined human scorer reliability by calculating the agreement between the index scorer and a second independent blinded scorer for 28 of the 114 studies. For each study, we built contingency tables on an epoch-by-epoch (30 s epochs) comparison basis. From these, we derived kappa (kappa) coefficients for different combinations of sleep stages. The overall agreement of automatic and manual scoring for the 114 studies for the classification {wake / light-sleep / deep-sleep / REM} was poor (median kappa = 0.305) and only a little better (kappa = 0.449) for the crude {wake / sleep} distinction. For the subgroup of 28 randomly selected studies, the overall agreement of automatic and manual scoring was again relatively low (kappa = 0.331 for {wake light-sleep / deep-sleep REM} and kappa = 0.505 for {wake / sleep}), whereas inter-scorer reliability was higher (kappa = -0.641 for {wake / light-sleep / deep-sleep / REM} and kappa = 0.737 for {wake / sleep}). We conclude that such an ANN-based analysis system is not sufficiently accurate for sleep study analyses using the R&K classification system.

Asunto(s)