Search results for "Assessment tool"
showing 10 items of 26 documents
The effects of low doses of pregabalin on morphine analgesia in advanced cancer patients
2012
Abstract OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the opioid response in patients receiving morphine and pregabalin, independently from the presumed pain mechanisms, in comparison with patients receiving morphine treatment only. METHODS: A multicenter prospective randomized controlled study was carried out in a sample of 70 advanced cancer patients with pain requiring strong opioids. Thirty-five patients (group MO) were randomized to receive sustained-release morphine using initial doses of 60 mg/day. Thirty-five patients (group MO-PR) were randomized to start the same morphine doses and pregabalin in increasing doses, starting with 25 mg/day up to 150 mg/day in one week. The follo…
Tools for identifying cancer pain of predominantly neuropathic origin and opioid responsiveness in cancer patients.
2009
Neuropathic pain (NP) is a difficult issue, particularly in cancer which is a dynamic condition where multiple pain etiologies are concomitantly present. Cancer pain is often labeled as mixed mechanism pain and is not easily classified as exclusively nociceptive or NP. The aim of this study was to explore the value of evaluation tools such as Neuropathic Pain Questionnaire (NPQ), complete and short form (NPQ-SF), Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Signs and Symptoms (LANSS) and Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory (NPSI). The secondary outcome was to evaluate the response to opioid titration, according to the hierarchical classification of definite, possible and unlikely NP. A consecutive sample…
Receiving water body quality assessment: an integrated mathematical approach applied to an Italian case study
2011
This study presents a basin-scale approach to the analysis of receiving water body quality considering both point and non-point pollution sources. In particular, this paper describes an extensive data gathering campaign carried out in the Nocella catchment, which is an agricultural and semi-urbanised basin located in Sicily, Italy. Two sewer systems, two wastewater treatment plants and a river reach were monitored during both dry and wet weather periods. A mathematical model of the entire integrated system was also created. Specifically, a detailed modelling approach was developed by employing three well known models: Storm Water Management Model, GPS-X and Soil and Water Assessment Tool. T…
Incidence of mandibular osteoradionecrosis (MORN) after intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) versus 3D conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT): A systemat…
2022
Background: Analyze the incidence of MORN after head and neck radiotherapy by two novel irradiation techniques. 3DCRT and IMRT and compare the success rates of distinct authors. Material and Methods: An electronic search in Pubmed (MEDLINE), Ovid. Google Scholar and Cochrane Library (Wiley). databases was conducted with the key words Radiotherapy, Conformal[Mesh] OR Radiotherapy. Intensity-Modulated[Mesh]) AND Osteoradionecrosis[Mesh] for all databases. The inclusion criteria randomized controlled trials (RCT), as well as prospective and retrospective cohort studies published in English; MORN patients treated with 3D-CRT y IMRT. Results: 27 articles were selected from 194 initially found. 1…
Empirical evaluation of home-based reablement: A review
2021
Home-based reablement (HBR) aims to restore or increase patients’ level of functioning, thereby increasing the patients’ self-reliance and consequently decreasing their dependence on healthcare services. To date, the evidence on whether HBR is an efficient method has not been comprehensively reviewed. The aim of this study was to provide a concise summary of relevant existing findings. In addition, we provide a critical constructive assessment of the publications reflecting the extant research. The relevant literature on this topic was identified through a systematic search of appropriate databases. Thereafter, we screened the studies, first by title, followed by abstract and then by asses…
Assessing the quality of studies in meta-research: Review/guidelines on the most important quality assessment tools
2020
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses pool data from individual studies to generate a higher level of evidence to be evaluated by guidelines. These reviews ultimately guide clinicians and stakeholders in health-related decisions. However, the informativeness and quality of evidence synthesis inherently depend on the quality of what has been pooled into meta-research projects. Moreover, beyond the quality of included individual studies, only a methodologically correct process, in relation to systematic reviews and meta-analyses themselves, can produce a reliable and valid evidence synthesis. Hence, quality of meta-research projects also affects evidence synthesis reliability. In this overview…
The future of assessment in Higher Education
2020
The pending challenge of assessment in higher education, although also at other educational levels, continues to be its effective link with student learning. Students' strategic learning could and should be achieved by the assessment. This paper arises from the attempt to answer the question about what would be the future of assessment in higher education and it is presented under the form of a collaborative text that was elaborated by all the authors who sign it. This contribution offers a joint reflection by various authors from different contexts and regions on three essential aspects. First, the need for reflection and a change in assessment based on current trends that are demonstratin…
Assessment and treatment of the withdrawal syndrome in paediatric intensive care units
2020
Background: Sedoanalgesia secondary iatrogenic withdrawal syndrome (IWS) in paediatric intensive units is frequent and its assessment is complex. Therapies are heterogeneous, and there is currently no gold standard method for diagnosis. In addition, the assessment scales validated in children are scarce. This paper aims to identify and describe both the paediatric diagnostic and assessment tools for the IWS and the treatments for the IWS in critically ill paediatric patients. Methods: A systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. This review included descriptive and observational studies published since 2000 that analyzed paediatric scales for the evaluation of the i…
Validation of the ISTH/SSC bleeding assessment tool for inherited platelet disorders: A communication from the Platelet Physiology SSC
2020
Background: Careful assessment of bleeding history is the first step in the evaluation of patients with mild/moderate bleeding disorders, and the use of a bleeding assessment tool (BAT) is strongly encouraged. Although a few studies have assessed the utility of the ISTH-BAT in patients with inherited platelet function disorders (IPFD) none of them was sufficiently large to draw conclusions and/or included appropriate control groups. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to test the utility of the ISTH-BAT in a large cohort of patients with a well-defined diagnosis of inherited platelets disorder in comparison with two parallel cohorts, one of patients with type-1 von Willebrand disea…
TEACHING ACTIVITY AND EVALUATION OF CRITICAL THINKING IN PRIMARY SCHOOL
2019
The aim of this work is to verify the efficacy of a training program focused on the enhancement of critical thinking skills, realized with a group of children between the ages of 9 and 11 years, in the last year of primary school in the Palermo area. At school as in life, critical thinking skills are fundamental; these skills concern above all the integrated processing of information, the correct use of reasoning, the adequate formulation of judgments, the taking of autonomous and controlled choices. Technological expansion fuels the children and young people’s difficulties to organize the knowledge data, coming from several sources, in a coherent and logical way as well as to evaluate info…