Aspects of job satisfaction concerning the content of the profession seem to increase job satisfaction, and aspects concerning employment conditions seem to decrease job satisfaction.

No abstract

During a two-year study, 505 teledermatology consultations were carried out on 503 patients of 29 participating general practitioners (GPs) in the province of Friesland. One overview and two detail digital photographs of the skin problems were taken on a digital camera and attached to an email message containing standard clinical information. These email messages were sent to a dermatologist, who replied by email after evaluation. After a median follow-up time of 548 days, the GPs were interviewed about the dermatological referrals. The reduction in referrals was 51% (0.95 confidence interval = 47-58%) when the GP had the intention to refer. When the GPs had no intention to refer, there turned out to be a secondary traditional consultation in 17% of cases. The reduction of 51% of referrals after store-and-forward teledermatology consultation was similar to that seen in other studies of videoconferencing. Consultation using digital store-and-forward teledermatology by the GP can halve the number of referrals to a dermatologist for selected patients.

During catheter ablation of cardiac tissue, the insulting stimulus may damage and activate the blood. Specifically activation of platelets and the clotting system is a potential risk by their formation of thrombi. In this study the effect of two different techniques, a radiofrequency and a cryo-application procedure, on the activation of platelets and clotting in an in vitro blood circulation model was investigated. The radio-frequency procedure induced significantly more blood cell damage, platelet activation and clotting than did the cryo-application procedure. Macroparticles were circulating in blood after the radiofrequency procedure. In the cryo procedure, blood damage was limited to the frozen blood spherule around the tip of the catheter. It is concluded that at least in those circumstances where blood is directly contacting the tip of the radiofrequency or cryo-application catheter, the latter is more safe with regard to thrombus formation.