Search results for "Effective"
showing 10 items of 1371 documents
Specific allergen immunotherapy for the treatment of allergic asthma: a review of current evidence.
2017
Asthma is frequently associated with atopy, characterized by the production of specific immunoglobulin E in response to environmental allergens. Currently, two types of allergen immunotherapy (AIT) are used in clinical practice: subcutaneous and sublingual immunotherapy, both accepted as key components of the therapeutic repertoire for allergic rhinitis and conjunctivitis. However, their role in asthma remains controversial. The present document is aimed at providing the clinicians with a review of the evidence on the use of AIT in asthma, focusing on the most relevant aspects of its mechanism of action, its efficacy, and existing data on safety, tolerability, and cost-effectivity, both in …
Roles of participation and feedback in group potency.
2009
The roles of group participation and group performance feedback were examined as antecedents of group potency, i.e., beliefs shared among a work group's members about the general effectiveness of the work group. Also examined were how group participation and the congruence of the feedback received from different sources about performance predicted convergence in members' beliefs about group effectiveness. The sample comprised 61 work groups of professionals involved in Master in Business Administration (MBA) programs (284 participants). Mean group size was 4.6 members ( SD = .58). 65% of participants were male, and 51% were between 30 and 40 years of age. Data were gathered at two measurem…
The Italian Multiple Sclerosis Database Network (MSDN): The risk of worsening according to IFNβ exposure in multiple sclerosis
2006
We evaluated the risk of worsening according to the length of exposure to interferon beta (IFNβ)ina large cohort of 2090 multiple sclerosis patients collected by the Italian MS Database Network. Overall 44-140 patient-visits with a follow-up of 22-143 patient-years were evaluated. Forty-one per cent of patients were exposed to IFNβ for up to 2 years, 39% for 2- 4 years and 20% for more than 4 years. A Cox regression model was used to analyse two clinical outcomes: disability progression and worsening of relapse rate. The technique of propensity score was applied to reduce bias in the comparison of non-randomized groups. The risks of disability progression (HR=0.23; 95% CI: 0.17 - 0.30) and …
Efficacy of single-source rapid kV-switching dual-energy CT for characterization of non-uric acid renal stones: a prospective ex vivo study using ant…
2019
Purpose To investigate the accuracy of rapid kV-switching single-source dual-energy computed tomography (rsDECT) for prediction of classes of non-uric-acid stones. Materials and methods Non-uric-acid renal stones retrieved via percutaneous nephrolithotomy were prospectively collected between January 2017 and February 2018 in a single institution. Only stones >= 5 mm and with pure composition (i.e., >= 80% composed of one component) were included. Stone composition was determined using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. The stones were scanned in 32-cm-wide anthropomorphic whole-body phantom using rsDECT. The effective atomic number (Zeff), the attenuation at 40 keV (HU40), 70 ke…
The implicit health-related self-concept in somatoform disorders.
2012
Abstract Background and objective Dual-process theories stress the importance of explicit as well as implicit cognitive processes for the development of somatoform disorders (SFDs). 1 In particular, the self-concept has been demonstrated to be a key factor in SFD. Yet, the self-concept in SFDs has been studied only on an explicit but not on an implicit level. Methods The present study empirically examined the implicit health-related self-concept in SFDs by using the Implicit Association Test (IAT). Twenty-two patients with SFDs (according to DSM-IV) and 27 healthy control participants (CG) completed an IAT to assess associations of the self with illness- versus health-related words. Results…
Telemonitoring of Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis (TECCU): Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.
2019
Background Although electronic health interventions are considered safe and efficient, evidence regarding the cost-effectiveness of telemonitoring in inflammatory bowel disease is lacking. Objective We aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of the Telemonitorización de la Enfermedad de Crohn y Colitis Ulcerosa (Telemonitoring of Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis [TECCU]) Web platform (G_TECCU intervention group) for telemonitoring complex inflammatory bowel disease, compared with standard care (G_control) and nurse-assisted telephone care (G_NT intervention group). Methods We analyzed cost-effectiveness from a societal perspective by comparing the 3 follow-up method…
Virtual reality exposure and imaginal exposure in the treatment of fear of flying: a pilot study
2013
Fear of flying (FF) is an impairing psychological disorder that is extremely common in developed countries. The most effective treatment for this particular type of phobia is exposure therapy. However, there are few studies comparing imaginal exposure (IE) and virtual reality (VR) exposure for the treatment of FF. The present study compared the effectiveness of these two approaches using two manualized interventions based on the exposure technique. Patients with FF ( N = 15) were randomly assigned to either VR ( n = 7) or IE therapy ( n = 8), consisting of a total of eight sessions: two assessment sessions (pre-treatment and after the real flight) and six exposure therapy sessions, which w…
Solid bone tumors of the spine: Diagnostic performance of apparent diffusion coefficient measured using diffusion-weighted MRI using histology as a r…
2017
Purpose To assess the diagnostic performance of mean apparent diffusion coefficient (mADC) in differentiating benign from malignant bone spine tumors, using histology as a reference standard. Conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences have good reliability in evaluating spinal bone tumors, although some features of benign and malignant cancers may overlap, making the differential diagnosis challenging. Materials and Methods In all, 116 patients (62 males, 54 females; mean age 59.5 ± 14.1) with biopsy-proven spinal bone tumors were studied. Field strength/sequences: 1.5T MR system; T1-weighted turbo spin-echo (repetition time / echo time [TR/TE], 500/13 msec; number of excitatio…
Cumulative doses analysis in young trauma patients: a single-centre experience
2015
Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) represents the main source of radiation expo- sure in trauma patients. The radiation exposure of young patients is a matter of considerable medical concern due to possible long-term effects. Multiple MDCT stud- ies have been observed in the young trauma population with an increase in radiation exposure. We have identi- fied 249 young adult patients (178 men and 71 women; age range 14-40 years) who had received more than one MDCT study between June 2010 and June 2014. According to the International Commission on Radio- logical Protection publication, we have calculated the cumulative organ dose tissue-weighting factors by using CT-EXPO software ® . We…
Effect of intravenous flecainide on atrial vulnerability in man.
1985
Sixteen patients were investigated by means of programmed atrial stimulation at 2 different driving rates: 100/min and 120/min. All patients had an increased atrial vulnerability at both driving rates. After the administration of intravenous flecainide (1 mg/kg bodyweight as a bolus, followed by the same amount infused over a period of 20 minutes), the increased vulnerability was abolished in 11 and 9 patients, respectively. In the remaining patients the rate of induced atrial tachyarrhythmia decreased. These findings correlate with a significant prolongation of the effective refractory period of the right atrium and a corresponding significant shortening of its relative refractory period. …