Publications
68 results found
Kostopoulou O, Shepherd A, 2000, Fragmentation of treatment and the potential for human error in neonatal intensive care., Top Health Inf Manage, Vol: 20, Pages: 78-92, ISSN: 1065-0989
Neonatal intensive care involves continuous monitoring of highly unstable patients in order to plan and deliver effective care and treatment. Making care and treatment decisions depends upon using information obtained in many different ways. Analysis of care and treatment tasks shows how much staff need to rely on one another for crucial information. This problem becomes more acute as personnel change shifts, yet are still obliged to maintain continuity of care. Effective sharing of information is done through the medium of shared records, shift handovers, ward rounds, and informal verbal exchanges. This article describes strategies for understanding the tasks involved in neonatal intensive care, considers issues of task fragmentation, identifies the communication systems designed to minimize the effects of this fragmentation, and reviews problems associated with those systems that give rise to the potential for human error.
Kostopoulou O, Brickley MR, Shepherd JP, et al., 2000, Perceived risk of future pathology associated with pathology-free third molars: a comparison of oral and maxillofacial surgeons and family dentists, BRITISH DENTAL JOURNAL, Vol: 188, Pages: 28-31, ISSN: 0007-0610
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- Citations: 6
Kostopoulou O, 2000, Perceived risk of future pathology associated with pathology-free third molars: A comparison of oral and maxillofacial surgeons and family dentists, British Dental Journal, Vol: 188, Pages: 28-31, ISSN: 0007-0610
Objective To examine and compare practitioners' judgements of risk of future pathology associated with pathology-free disease asymptomatic third molars. Subjects 10 oral and maxillofacial surgeons and 18 family dentists (90% male) with experience ranging from 5-28 years. Method Participants were presented with periapical radiographs of 36 asymptomatic, disease-free mandibular third molars and were informed of the age and sex of the patients and the degree of eruption of the third molars. Participants were asked to assess likelihood of future pathology in general, and more specifically, likelihood of root resorption, pericoronitis, periodontitis, cystic change and neoplasia if the third molar was left in situ. Results There was significant variation between the 28 raters but not between the two groups. Excepting assessment of future cystic change, there was no evidence that oral and maxillofacial surgeons and family dentists rated the 36 cases in consistently different ways. Conclusions Practitioners varied very considerably in their judgment of the risks of pathology associated with asymptomatic disease-free third molars. Specialisation, did not account for this variation. © British Dental Journal 2000;.
Kostopoulou O, Brickley MR, Shepherd JP, et al., 1998, Intra-observer reliability regarding removal of asymptomatic third molars, BRITISH DENTAL JOURNAL, Vol: 184, Pages: 557-559, ISSN: 0007-0610
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- Citations: 10
Jones ML, Armstrong R, Kostopoulou O, et al., 1997, Treatment strategies for lower third molars following orthodontic care., Br J Orthod, Vol: 24, Pages: 319-324, ISSN: 0301-228X
To examine the extent to which orthodontists consider it appropriate to refer post-orthodontic patients for lower third molar treatment. The subjects were 10 orthodontists from hospital, specialist practice and community setting. Participants were presented with 15 case histories of orthodontic patients (including full records) and asked to state whether they would have referred the case to an oral surgeon for management of their third molars. Data were analysed using multi-kappa measure. Two-hundred-and-sixty-two decisions of 300 (88%) were not to refer cases for third molar management. Little consensus was seen between orthodontists on which post-orthodontic cases referral (kappa = 0.14). Some clinicians referred cases much more frequently than others (Kruskall-Wallis = 46.84, P < 0.001) and some clinicians referred much more frequently (Kruskall-Wallis = 85.57, P < 0.001). This group of orthodontists did not refer post-orthodontic cases for third molar management and little consensus was observed regarding which cases did warrant removal.
Kostopoulou O, Brickley MR, Shepherd JP, et al., 1997, Agreement between practitioners concerning removal of asymptomatic third molars., Community Dent Health, Vol: 14, Pages: 129-132, ISSN: 0265-539X
OBJECTIVE: To investigate and compare agreement within two groups of dental practitioners, family dentists and oral surgeons, in their decisions regarding removal of asymptomatic mandibular third molars. SUBJECTS: Ten oral surgeons and 18 family dentists from South Wales with experience ranging from 5 to 28 years. METHODOLOGY: Participants were presented with periapical radiographs of 36 asymptomatic, mandibular third molars and were informed of the age and gender of the patients and the degree of eruption of the third molars. Participants were asked to indicate whether they thought that the third molar should be removed or not. The degree of agreement between participants was measured by kappa indices for multiple raters. RESULTS: The kappa indices were 0.14 for the oral surgeons and 0.09 for the family dentists, indicating poor agreement beyond chance. Although in most cases the participants decided not to remove the third molar, they did so inconsistently, that is, they did not make this decision on the same cases. There were also differences in the inclination of the participants to suggest removal of the 36 third molars. CONCLUSION: Poor inter-observer agreement suggested that treatment decisions regarding asymptomatic third molars are based more on subjective beliefs and habitual practices than on rational decision making.
Brickley MR, Jones ML, Kostopoulou O, et al., 1997, Treatment strategies for lower third molar following orthodontic care., Publisher: AMER ASSOC DENTAL RESEARCH, Pages: 1046-1046, ISSN: 0022-0345
Kostopoulou O, Brickley MR, Shepherd JP, 1997, Perceptions of risk of third molar pathology: Myths or evidence-based?, Publisher: AMER ASSOC DENTAL RESEARCH, Pages: 1064-1064, ISSN: 0022-0345
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