Each of the apps in this article help clinicians practice evidence-based medicine at the point of care and in clinic and hospital settings.
Frailty Tool
As cardiac procedures such as transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) have become more popular in the elderly, it has become even more critical to determine which patients are at a higher risk for mortality and disability following the procedure.
Since TAVR and aortic valve replacements (AVR) performed on the very elderly are still relatively new, integration of consensus algorithms and scores has been suboptimal.
In order to solve this problem, researchers published the FRAILTY-AVR Study last year in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Researchers wanted to compare seven different frailty scales in order to predict poor outcomes following AVR in the elderly. The Essential Frailty Toolset (EFT) was found to be the more predictive for one-year mortality and disability.
This toolset is now easy to access through the Frailty Tool, an app developed by physician Jonathan Afilalo, the first author of the FRAILTY-AVR study.
The EFT is relatively easy to use, having only four main components that can essentially be performed at a patient’s bedside (as long as you have key lab values).
It’s important to note the Frailty Tool app isn’t exclusive for TAVR and AVR procedures. The frailty app can be utilized for other procedures or simply to assess frailty in your elderly patient.
GOLD 2017 Pocket Guide
The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) is a global initiative and organization that works with health professionals and public health officials to improve prevention and treatment of COPD. They focus on evidence-based strategies for COPD management.
When GOLD released its 2017 Pocket Guide, they also released an accompanying medical app. The comprehensive app covers the whole spectrum of COPD, from definition and diagnosis to management of stable COPD versus acute exacerbations.
This isn’t the first COPD application that has been available to download, but it’s the first one that is completely comprehensive and focused on COPD. The GOLD 2017 Pocket Guide has everything in one app.
The app is relatively easy to navigate and lets you favorite high-usage tools for quick access, such as the ABCD assessment tool, CAT assessment and mMRC dyspnea scale.
The only concern with the GOLD 2017 Pocket Guide is that their last app didn’t receive frequent updates.
EBM Stats Calc
Joshua Steinberg, M.D., is back at it with another great application: EBM Stats Calc. Those who read this column know we feature Steinberg’s medical apps frequently. We find them to provide a great deal of functionality while being simple to use. EBM Stats Calc is another one of his apps that fits the bill.
Steinberg wants EBM Stats Calc to help clinicians and educators do more effective clinical reasoning by helping with the math. The app:
- Calculates the number needed to treat from event rates
- Calculates post-test probability from sensitivity, specificity and likelihood ratios
- Demonstrates diagnostic principles to learners dynamically
June 1, 2021
David Geer
