Methods 2-5 gave remarkably similar results, with transfers included in approximately 25% of ICU-containing hospital episodes, and 10% of ICU episodes. Comparison with Method 1 showed that failure to account for such transfers resulted in overestimating the number of episodes by 7-10%, and underestimating mean or median lengths-of-stay by 9-30%.

Conclusions:

In Manitoba is it not uncommon for critically ill patients to be transferred between hospitals and between ICUs. Failure to account for transfers resulted in inaccurate assessment of parameters relevant to researchers, clinicians, and policy-makers. The details of the method used to identify transfers, at least among the variations tested, made relatively little difference. In addition, we showed that these methods for constructing episodes of hospital and ICU care can be implemented in a large, complex dataset.”
“Background. The STI571 research buy role of vitamin D in the body’s ability to fight influenza and URI’s may be dependent on regulation of specific cytokines that participate in the host inflammatory response. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that vitamin D can influence intracellular signaling to regulate the production of cytokines. Subjects and Methods. This study was a 3-month prospective

placebo-controlled trial of vitamin D3 supplementation in ambulatory adults [Li-Ng et al., 2009]. 162 volunteers were randomized to receive either 50 mu g/d (2000 IU) of vitamin D3 or matching placebo. 25(OH) D and the levels of 10 different cytokines (IL-2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 13, GM-CSF, IFN-gamma, GDC-0973 TNF-alpha) were measured in the serum of participants at baseline and the final visit. There were 6 drop-outs buy CUDC-907 from the active vitamin D group and 8 from the placebo group. Results. In the active vitamin D group, we found a significant median percent decline in levels of GM-CSF (-62.9%, P < .0001), IFN-gamma (-38.9%, P < .0001), IL-4 (-50.8%, P = .001), IL-8 (-48.4%, P < .0001), and IL-10 (-70.4%, P < .0001). In the placebo group, there were significant declines for GM-CSF (-53.2%, P = .0007) and IFN-gamma (-34.4%,

P = .0011). For each cytokine, there was no significant difference in the rate of decline between the two groups. 25(OH) D levels increased in the active vitamin D group from a mean of 64.3 +/- 25.4 nmol/L to 88.5 +/- 23.2 nmol/L. Conclusions. The present study did not show that vitamin D3 supplementation changed circulating cytokine levels among healthy adults.”
“Background: Despite growing support for mixed methods approaches we still have little systematic knowledge about the consequences of combining surveys and focus groups. While the methodological aspects of questionnaire surveys have been researched extensively, the characteristics of focus group methodology are understudied. We suggest and discuss whether the focus group setting, as compared to questionnaire surveys, encourages participants to exaggerate views in a negative direction.