Search results for " Character"
showing 10 items of 1756 documents
Serum Concentrations of Fluvoxamine and Clinical Effects: A prospective open clinical trial
1998
This pilot study examined prospectively blood serum concentrations of fluvoxamine, side effects and therapeutic response after a fixed dosage of 100 mg fluvoxamine/day for 14 days. Twenty male and female patients who met the DSM-IV criteria of a major depression received 50 mg fluvoxamine b.i.d. for two weeks. On days 7 and 14 side effects and therapeutic response were registered and serum concentrations of fluvoxamine were determined. A Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed to determine a possible relationship between serum concentrations and clinical effects. The serum concentrations of fluvoxamine were highly variable, even when dosages were corrected for body wei…
Therapeutic drug monitoring for optimizing amisulpride therapy in patients with schizophrenia.
2005
Amisulpride is a clinically effective antipsychotic drug in a broad dose range with low propensity for extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS). Daily doses and plasma levels of amisulpride were analyzed within a large-scale therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) survey to find plasma level ranges for optimized treatment under naturalistic conditions. Data of 378 schizophrenic patients treated with amisulpride (100-1550 mg) were included (40% female). Amisulpride plasma levels were analyzed at steady state; assessment comprised improvement (CGI-I) and side-effects, particularly EPS. For detection of cut-off values regarding non-response or EPS, receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves were applied a…
Sex-related differences in D-dimer levels for venous thromboembolism screening.
2021
Background D-dimer is generally considered positive above 0.5 mg/L irrespective of sex. However, women have been shown to be more likely to have a positive D-dimer after controlling for other factors. Thus, differences may exist between males and females for using D-dimer as a marker of venous thromboembolic (VTE) disease. We hypothesized that the accuracy of D-dimer tests may be enhanced by using appropriate cutoff values that reflect sex-related differences in D-dimer levels. Methods This research is a secondary analysis of a multicenter, international, prospective, observational study of adult (18+ years) patients suspected of VTE, with low-to-intermediate pretest probability based on We…
Predictive biomarkers for complicated acute appendicitis: A prospective Ecuadorian study.
2020
The aim of the study was to determine the usefulness of known biomarkers as pre-operative predictors of complicated acute appendicitis (CAA) and perforated appendicitis (PA).This was an observational, analytic, cross-sectional, and prospective study at Hospital Teodoro Maldonado Carbo (August 2016-December 2017). Evaluated biomarkers: white blood cells count, neutrophil percentage (N%), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, glucose, total bilirubin, C-reactive protein, and procalcitonin (PCT). The statistical analysis was performed by means of the area under the receiver operating characteristics (AUROC) curve estimation. Biomarkers' cutoff point was identified using Youden's index. Sensitivity, …
Dopamine D4 receptor exon III polymorphism, adverse life events and personality traits in a nonclinical German adult sample.
2010
Personality and temperament embrace a wide area of both psychological and behavioral processes which are also based on disposition. A functional polymorphism in exon III of the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) has been a highly suspect genetic marker for personality in spite of ambiguous results. The present study aimed to further elucidate the relationship between DRD4, negative life events and personality in a representative nonclinical sample. Hundred sixty-seven Germans completed the NEO Five-Factor Inventory, the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire and the California Adult Q-Sort. A factor analysis revealed 3 factors: emotional stability, social orientation and impulsivity. DNA fr…
Low incidence of psychosis in Italy: confirmation from the first epidemiological study in Sicily
2017
Purpose: The incidence of psychotic disorders varies in different geographical areas. As there have been no reports from Southern Italy, this study aimed to determine the incidence rate of first-episode psychosis in Palermo, Sicily. Methods: All patients, aged 18–65 years, presenting with a first episode of psychosis (FEP) (ICD-10 F20–29, F30–33) to mental health services in Palermo, were recorded over a 3-year period. Incidence rates of psychotic disorders and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated. Poisson regression was applied to estimate the differences in incidence rate ratio (IRR) by age, sex and migrant status. Results: Two hundred and four FEP participants were iden…
Alterations in androgen conjugate levels in women and men with alopecia.
1994
Objective To assess levels of androgen metabolites thought to reflect, at least in part, peripheral androgen activity in women with androgenic alopecia and men with premature balding in an effort to determine if a common abnormality exists. Design Prospective study in various groups of women and men. Setting Reproductive Endocrine Clinic at our university medical center. Patients Ten normal ovulatory female controls and 50 hyperandrogenic women divided on the basis of hirsutism and alopecia as follows: [1] 8 hirsute women with androgenic alopecia; [2] 12 nonhirsute women with androgenic alopecia; [3] 18 hirsute women without androgenic alopecia; and [4] 12 nonhirsute women without androgeni…
Kinetics of plasma biomarkers of inflammation and lung injury in surgical patients with or without postoperative pulmonary complications
2017
Background Postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) are common after major abdominal surgery. The kinetics of plasma biomarkers could improve identification of patients developing PPCs, but the kinetics may depend on intraoperative ventilator settings. Objective To test whether the kinetics of plasma biomarkers are capable of identifying patients who will develop PPCs, and whether the kinetics depend on the intraoperative level of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP). Design A preplanned substudy of a randomised controlled trial. Setting Operation room of five centres. Patients Two hundred and forty-two adult patients scheduled for abdominal surgery at risk of developing PPCs. Interv…
Sex difference and intra-operative tidal volume: Insights from the LAS VEGAS study
2021
BACKGROUND: One key element of lung-protective ventilation is the use of a low tidal volume (V(T)). A sex difference in use of low tidal volume ventilation (LTVV) has been described in critically ill ICU patients. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine whether a sex difference in use of LTVV also exists in operating room patients, and if present what factors drive this difference. DESIGN, PATIENTS AND SETTING: This is a posthoc analysis of LAS VEGAS, a 1-week worldwide observational study in adults requiring intra-operative ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery in 146 hospitals in 29 countries. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Women and men were compared with respect to use o…
Diagnostic performance of reformatted isotropic thin-section helical CT images in the detection of superior semicircular canal dehiscence
2017
Purpose The purpose of this article is to assess the diagnostic performance of computed tomography (CT) reformatted images for detection of superior semicircular canal (SSC) dehiscence. Material and methods Forty-two patients, with sound- and/or pressure-induced vestibular symptoms, and 42 control participants underwent helical CT examination with a highly collimated beam (0.5 mm). Reformatted images of the vestibular labyrinth were obtained in the standard axial and coronal planes (group A images), and in a plane parallel and perpendicular to the SSC (group B images). Diagnostic performance obtained by evaluating the group A images alone and the group B images alone was analyzed by using t…