OBJECTIVES

Clinical pathways (CPs) ensure adherence to heart failure (HF) management guidelines. To optimize quality care in a low resource setting, an evidence-based care pathway for the management of acute HF was implemented at the emergency department (ED) of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), the designated national tertiary hospital and referral center. This study aimed to describe the characteristics of adults with acute HF admitted at the ED and evaluate the quality of care they received, measured using physician adherence to the hospital’s acute heart failure CP.

METHODS

This was a retrospective, descriptive cohort study. We reviewed the inpatient charts of all adult patients with acute HF admitted to the ED of the PGH and referred to the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine between December 1, 2022 and May 31, 2023. Quality of care was assessed based on adherence to quality indicators adapted from routine and conditional order sets detailed in the pathway. Descriptive statistics was utilized to describe patient characteristics, quality of care, and outcomes.

RESULTS

Two hundred thirty-six (236) patients were included, with a mean age of 51.8 years. Majority were male (53.4%); hypertension (61.4%) and ischemic heart disease (53.8%) were the most common comorbidities, and infection the most common precipitant of decompensation (60.6%). There were optimal adherence rates to routine orders, which included referrals to Internal Medicine and Cardiology, baseline vital signs monitoring, fluid intake and output monitoring, chest radiograph, complete blood count, blood urea nitrogen, sodium, potassium, prothrombin time, partial thromboplastin time, arterial blood gas, urinalysis, and N-terminal pro b-type natriuretic peptide. Conditional orders, such as oxygen support, focused echocardiography, thyroid - stimulating hormone, and the use of vasopressors, diuretics, and venous thromboembolism prophylactic agents, were optimally performed when warranted. However, we noted suboptimal adherence to certain resource-intensive conditional orders, such as hourly monitoring of urine output (61.4%), hooking to cardiac monitor (53.8%), and performance of 12-lead ECG within 10 minutes (56.8%). Further, only 43.9% of patients were referred to the intensive care unit. Troponin I, calcium, magnesium, and albumin were ordered in excess.

CONCLUSION

Overall adherence rate of physicians to the hospital’s Acute Heart Failure Pathway was satisfactory. Work is needed to improve adherence to hourly urine output monitoring, consistent hooking to cardiac monitor, and timely performance of 12-lead ECG – an effort that begins with expanding in-hospital diagnostic equipment and human resource supply. We recommend continuous pathway implementation with periodic evaluation and stakeholder feedback to further improve quality of care.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged: 45-64 Yrs Old ; Adult ; Albumins ; Blood ; Blood Urea Nitrogen ; Calcium ; Cardiology ; Chart ; Charts ; Cohort Studies ; Critical Care ; Critical Pathways ; Diagnostic Equipment ; Disease ; Diuretics ; Echocardiography ; Electrocardiography ; Emergencies ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Equipment And Supplies ; Evaluation Studies As Topic ; Feedback ; Heart ; Heart Diseases ; Heart Failure ; Hormones ; Hospitals ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Indicators And Reagents ; Infection ; Infections ; Inpatients ; Intensive Care Units ; Internal Medicine ; Lead ; Magnesium ; Male ; Medicine ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain ; Natriuretic Peptides ; Nitrogen ; Overall ; Oxygen ; Partial Thromboplastin Time ; Patients ; Peptides ; Philippines ; Physicians ; Potassium ; Prothrombin ; Prothrombin Time ; Quality Of Health Care ; Referral And Consultation ; Sodium ; Statistics ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Thorax ; Thromboembolism ; Thromboplastin ; Thyroid Gland ; Time ; Troponin ; Troponin I ; Universities ; Urea ; Urinalysis ; Urine ; Venous Thromboembolism ; Vital Signs ; Work ; Workforce

The objective of inspection, testing and supervision of medical devices is to ensure the effectiveness and safety of medical devices in use. Leachables are substances that are leached from medical devices or materials during their clinical use. Leachables are important factors for the safety risks of medical devices. The analysis, detection, and safety evaluation of leachables are important parts of the safety evaluation of medical devices. The allowable limits for leachable substances which are established on the toxicological research provide a scientific basis for the judgment of qualitative and quantitative analysis results. Obtaining more detailed, rigorous and sufficient toxicological research data is of great significance to set highly enforceable product technical indicators. For the establishment of allowable limits for leachable substances, its role in the safety evaluation of medical devices is summarized, and the relevant standards and their implementation status in the testing of medical devices are introduced.
Equipment and Supplies/standards* ; Equipment Safety

Compared with total knee arthroplasty, unicondylar knee replacement has the advantage of preserving the knee tissue structure and motor function to the greatest extent. Pre-clinical in-vitro test is an important tool to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of unicondylar knee prostheses, and it is also a key focus of the product registration process. Through collection, comparison, and analysis of current regulations, technical standards, guidelines, and related research literature, this paper expounds on the relevant research methods for the pre-clinical in-vitrotesting of unicondylar knee prostheses. At the same time, in conjunction with current evaluation requirements and experience, the study discusses the focus of pre-clinical performance research for unicondylar knee prostheses during the registration process to clarify the performance evaluation requirements of this product category. This aims to provide a reference for the pre-clinical performance research of unicondylar knee prostheses and to standardize industry testing standards.
Knee Prosthesis ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee ; Humans ; Prosthesis Design ; Materials Testing

Medical equipment management plays a crucial role in enhancing the quality and efficiency of healthcare services. However, traditional management approaches are increasingly inadequate to meet the growing demands of modern healthcare. As intelligent operation and maintenance (O&M) models based on big data, the Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies develop, it is imperative to explore their application in medical equipment management. This paper reviews the technical overview of intelligent O&M and discusses the algorithms and challenges of intelligent O&M models based on different technologies. It also proposes issues that need improvement in intelligent O&M models, aiming to provide valuable references for the future development of medical equipment management.
Artificial Intelligence ; Algorithms ; Internet of Things ; Equipment and Supplies ; Big Data

The rapid development of nanomaterials has brought groundbreaking opportunities for high-quality innovation in medical devices, but it has also become a new challenge for regulatory authorities. How to scientifically and rationally evaluate the risks of medical device products with nanomaterials and establish appropriate regulatory classifications have become critical research priorities. To solve this problem, this study focuses on medical devices with nanomaterials, conducts a comparative analysis of domestic and international regulatory classification policies, reviews the current registration status of related products, and provides recommendations on key considerations for the classification and regulation of medical devices with nanomaterials, which aims at promoting high-quality advancement in China's medical device regulation.
Nanostructures/classification* ; Equipment and Supplies/classification*

In recent years, with the development of big data application technology, the real-world data and the corresponding generated real-world evidence have attracted the attention of healthcare regulatory authorities around the world. Regulators recognize that real-world research with specific purposes using real-world data can provide important evidence for regulatory decisions. A total of 90 instances of publicly released on the application of real-world evidence to support regulatory decisions of U. S. Food and Drug Administration are explored, and the positioning and value of real-world evidence in U. S. Food and Drug Administration regulatory decisions are summarized and analyzed, providing references for the use of real-world data and real-world evidence to promote medical devices whole cycle regulation in China.
United States ; United States Food and Drug Administration ; Equipment and Supplies ; Device Approval ; China

Cleaning process validation is an important guarantee for implantable medical devices to ensure product cleanliness. In the manufacturing process, implantable devices usually need to control pollution through cleaning process to achieve a certain cleanliness to ensure the effectiveness of sterilization and product safety. This paper discusses the cleaning process validation of the manufacturing process of the implantable devices based on relevant regulations and technical standards, and proposes the influencing factors and principles to be considered in the cleaning process validation, so as to provide technical reference for the design of the cleaning process validation.
Prostheses and Implants ; Sterilization ; Equipment and Supplies

Adenoid cystic carcinoma is a malignant tumor of the head and neck, this article reports a case of a large adenoid cystic carcinoma of the skull base, with the lesion involving the sphenoid sinus, sphenoid bone wings, pterygopalatine fossa, nfratemporal fossa, hard palate, and other structures. The treatment plan consisted of surgical excision, primary reconstrction of the surgical defect,and postoperative radiotherapy, resulting in a favorable prognosis for the patient.
Humans ; Carcinoma, Adenoid Cystic/surgery* ; Maxillary Sinus/surgery* ; Maxillary Sinus Neoplasms/surgery* ; Palate, Hard/surgery* ; Skull Base Neoplasms/surgery* ; Surgical Flaps

Objective:To analyze the application efficacy of employing high-density porous polyethylene （Su-por） in combination with temporoparietal fascial flaps via a minimally invasive scalp incision in auricular reconstruction. Methods:This study carried out a retrospective analysis of 50 patients （50 ears in total） who underwentprimary auricular reconstruction with a Su-por scaffold in our hospital from June 2022 to January 2024. All patients underwent primary auricular reconstruction using a minimally invasive scalp incision with high-density porous polyethylene （Su-por） and temporoparietal fascial flaps. The postoperative treatment effects and complications were statistically analyzed. Results:The reconstructed ears of all patients survived. After 6 months of follow-up, the scar hyperplasia of the scalp minimally invasive incision was not obvious in any patient, and no significant hair loss was observed. The reconstructed auricle of 48 patients had a realistic shape and strong three-dimensional sense. With the extension of follow-up time, the three-dimensional structure of the auricle became clearer, and patient satisfaction increased. Among the remaining two patients, one case of flap necrosis survived after skin grafting and dressing changes. One patient had scar hyperplasia at the incision of the reconstructed ear due to a scar-prone constitution, and the shape of the auricle was not ideal, but the scar hyperplasia at the scalp incision was not obvious. Conclusion:One-stage ear reconstruction with high-density porous polyethylene （Su-por） combined with superficial temporal fascia flap through a minimally invasive scalp incision can better show the fine structure of the reconstructed ear. The minimally invasive scalp incision can effectively reduce the occurrence of scar hyperplasia and postoperative alopecia at the scalp incision.
Humans ; Plastic Surgery Procedures/methods* ; Retrospective Studies ; Surgical Flaps ; Tissue Scaffolds ; Polyethylene ; Ear Auricle/surgery* ; Male ; Scalp/surgery* ; Female ; Skin Transplantation ; Fascia/transplantation* ; Porosity ; Adult ; Middle Aged

Objective:To investigate the application value of nasolabial flaps in addressing tissue defects after resection of benign and malignant nasal vestibular lesions. Methods:The clinical data of patients with benign and malignant nasal vestibular lesions were analyzed retrospectively. There were 4 cases of squamous cell carcinoma, 2 cases of black hairy nevus and 1 case of chronic proliferative inflammatory lesions, all of which were repaired by adjacent nasolabial flap. Results:After 6 months of follow-up, none of the patients developed nasal vestibular contracture or nostril stenosis, and postoperative nasal ventilation function was good. Conclusion:The preoperative design of individual nasolabial flaps is very important for maintaining maxillofacial aesthetics, protectingthe nasolabial framework, and preserving postoperative nasal ventilation function.
Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Middle Aged ; Nose Neoplasms/surgery* ; Surgical Flaps ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Nose/surgery* ; Plastic Surgery Procedures/methods* ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/surgery* ; Aged ; Skin Transplantation