Background Medical care for admitted patients in hospitals is increasingly reallocated to physician assistants (PAs). There is limited evidence about the consequences for the quality and safety of care. This study aimed to determine the effects of substitution of inpatient care from medical doctors (MDs) …

AimTo assess the quality of evidence and determine the effect of patient-related and economic outcomes of self-management support interventions in chronically ill patients with a low socio-economic status. BackgroundIntegrated evidence on self-management support interventions in chronically ill people …

Background: Immune-related adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to immunotherapy agents have been associated with beneficial clinical outcomes in oncology. Viscum album L. (VA, European mistletoe) is frequently used as an immunomodulatory agent alongside conventional cancer treatment in Europe. VA has been …

Surgery is aimed at improving a patient's health. However, surgery is plagued with a risk of negative consequences, such as perioperative complications and prolonged hospitalization. Also, achieving preoperative levels of physical functionality may be delayed. Above all, the "waiting" period before the …

Interdisciplinary multimodal pain therapy (IMPT) is a biopsychosocial treatment approach for patients with chronic pain that comprises at least psychological and physiotherapeutic interventions. Core outcome sets (COSs) are currently developed in different medical fields to standardize and improve the …

Background: In clinical practice, nurses’ attitudes regarding older patients are important in relation to quality of care. The Older People in Acute Care Survey (OPACS) is an instrument measuring hospital nurses attitudes regarding older patients and is validated in Australia and the USA. The OPACS …

Background: A pragmatic, stepped wedge trial design can be an appealing design to evaluate complex interventions in real-life settings. However, there are certain pitfalls that need to be considered. This paper reports on the experiences and lessons learned from the conduct of a cluster randomized, …

Objectives Meta-analyses using individual patient data (IPD) rather than aggregated data are increasingly applied to analyze sources of heterogeneity between trials and have only recently been applied to unravel multicomponent, complex interventions. This study reflects on methodological challenges …

Abstract: Hypertension is both a health problem and a financial one globally. It affects nearly 30 % of the general population. Elderly people, aged ≥65 years, are a special group of hypertensive patients. In this group, the overall prevalence of the disease reaches 60 %, rising to 70 % in those aged …

Background Preference-weighted multi-faceted endpoints have the potential to facilitate comparative effectiveness research that incorporates patient preferences. The Older Persons and Informal Caregivers Survey—Composite endpoint (TOPICS-CEP) is potentially a valuable outcome measure for evaluating interventions …