The objective of the IDEAL DVT study, therefore, is to evaluate whether tailoring the duration of ECS therapy on signs and symptoms of the individual patient is a safe and effective method to prevent PTS, compared with standard ECS therapy.
Thirdly, does the period of increased risk differ by the initial condition triggering admission to hospital, implying a potential benefit of tailoring the duration and intensity of follow-up to the index diagnosis?
Four of the 6 patients testing positive at the first scan underwent another 8 FDG-PET/CT scans; of note, two cases presented a smouldering picture, in which the FDG-PET/CT scan was the main tool for tailoring the duration of the antibiotic therapy (table 3).
We have previously assessed the safety of a shortened duration of ECS therapy based on individual patient clinical scores in a management study of 125 patients, and we have shown that tailoring the duration of ECS therapy based on the signs and symptoms of the individual patient after an initial treatment period of 6 months is a safe strategy to prevent PTS.
Many non-random trials demonstrated that, by tailoring the duration of the antibiotic therapy to the extent of the infection as assessed during surgery, the same clinical results could be obtained in all groups of treated patients without the use of excessive antibiotic treatment regimens [ 5].
The dose of drug delivered depends on the surface area of the patch and the length of time that the patch is worn, which allows for tailoring the duration of medication effect with reductions of first-pass metabolism and fluctuating plasma concentrations encountered with oral medications [ 23, 24].
This may have important implications for clinical practice: effective monitoring of response to treatment, tailoring the duration of anti-tubercular drug therapy, comparing the efficacy of new therapies (including therapeutic vaccines), and rationalising the basis for treatment of latent infection are all possible applications.
IPTc was administered either monthly or every 2 months and the number of courses (between 2 and 6) was tailored to the duration of the malaria transmission season.
In addition, we are interested in studying the cost-effectiveness of individual tailoring of the duration of ECS therapy via a cost-utility analysis (CUA) and we want to retrieve information on the patient's motivations for compliance or non-compliance to therapy.
There's too much paperwork, lawyers, and red tape involved in a corporate makeover to pick the person spontaneously, plus you can't tailor a custom suit in the duration of an hour-long television show.
