Search results for "Measurement"
showing 10 items of 2918 documents
Diagnostic accuracy of plasma glial fibrillary acidic protein for differentiating intracerebral hemorrhage and cerebral ischemia in patients with sym…
2011
Abstract BACKGROUND Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is a biomarker candidate indicative of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in patients with symptoms of acute stroke. GFAP is released rapidly in the presence of expanding intracerebral bleeding, whereas a more gradual release occurs in ischemic stroke. In this study the diagnostic accuracy of plasma GFAP was determined in a prospective multicenter approach. METHODS Within a 1-year recruitment period, patients suspected of having acute (symptom onset <4.5 h before admission) hemispheric stroke were prospectively included into the study in 14 stroke centers in Germany and Switzerland. A blood sample was collected at admission, and …
Factors associated with efficacy of an ibuprofen/pseudoephedrine combination drug in pharmacy customers with common cold symptoms
2016
SummaryAim The aim of this study was to explore factors affecting efficacy of treatment of common cold symptoms with an over-the-counter ibuprofen/pseudoephedrine combination product. Methods Data from an anonymous survey among 1770 pharmacy customers purchasing the combination product for treatment of own common cold symptoms underwent post-hoc descriptive analysis. Scores of symptoms typically responsive to ibuprofen (headache, pharyngeal pain, joint pain and fever), typically responsive to pseudoephedrine (congested nose, congested sinus and runny nose), considered non-specific (sneezing, fatigue, dry cough, cough with expectoration) and comprising all 11 symptoms were analysed. Multiple…
Interexaminer reliability of low back pain assessment using the McKenzie method.
2002
STUDY DESIGN A test-retest design was used. OBJECTIVE To assess interexaminer reliability of the McKenzie method for performing clinical tests and classifying patients with low back pain. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Clinical methods and tests classifying patients with nonspecific low back pain have been based mainly on symptom duration or extent of pain referral. The McKenzie mechanical diagnostic and classification approach is a widely used noninvasive, low-technology method of assessing patients with low back pain. However, little is known about the interexaminer reliability of the method, previous studies having yielded conflicting results. METHODS For this study, 39 volunteers with low b…
Is assessment of depression equivalent for migrants of different cultural backgrounds? Results from the German population-based Gutenberg Health Stud…
2018
BACKGROUND Bearing in mind the multicultural background of a national population, little is known about the measurement invariance across different cultures or ethnicities of frequently used screeners for depression. For this reason, the main objective of the current study is to assess the measurement invariance of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) across groups with different migration backgrounds. METHODS We provided psychometric analyses (descriptive statistics at item and scale level, reliability analysis, exploratory [EFA] and confirmatory factor analyses [CFA]) comparing a native population with first- and second-generation migrants of the German population-based Gutenberg Heal…
Complex regional pain syndrome: evidence for warm and cold subtypes in a large prospective clinical sample.
2016
Limited research suggests that there may be Warm complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and Cold CRPS subtypes, with inflammatory mechanisms contributing most strongly to the former. This study for the first time used an unbiased statistical pattern recognition technique to evaluate whether distinct Warm vs Cold CRPS subtypes can be discerned in the clinical population. An international, multisite study was conducted using standardized procedures to evaluate signs and symptoms in 152 patients with clinical CRPS at baseline, with 3-month follow-up evaluations in 112 of these patients. Two-step cluster analysis using automated cluster selection identified a 2-cluster solution as optimal. Resul…
Use of gabapentin to reduce chronic neuropathic pain in Fabry disease.
2003
The effect of the anticonvulsant gabapentin on neuropathic pain was studied in six male patients with Fabry disease, aged 15-45 years. After 4 weeks of treatment, pain, as measured using the Brief Pain Inventory, was decreased compared with baseline. Treatment was generally well tolerated. This study indicates that gabapentin should be considered as a treatment option for the neuropathic pain of Fabry disease.
Postoperative pain therapy after lumbar disc surgery.
2000
Object. This study was undertaken to determine whether a special postoperative pain administration of tramadol and diclofenac provides any benefits in patients who underwent microsurgical lumbar discectomy. Methods. The study consisted of 60 patients undergoing microsurgical lumbar discectomy. Patients were randomly divided into two groups based on the postoperative pain management: 1) Group A (n=30): no standardized pain therapy; these patients received on demand different analgesics and at variable dosages which were selected by the neurosurgeons; 2) Group B (n=30): standardized pain therapy with specific dosages of tramadol and diclofenac in regular time intervals during the first 48 ho…
Impact of environmental temperature on skin thickness and microvascular blood flow in subjects with and without diabetes.
2006
Glucose measurement from different skin areas might be influenced by changes in skin texture due to several environmental confounders. Our study was performed to investigate the effect of changes in ambient temperature on skin thickness and microvascular skin blood flow in subjects with and without diabetes at the lower forearm.Thirteen subjects with diabetes and seven without diabetes participated in the study. The investigations were performed in a temperature- and humidity-controlled climatic chamber (EMPA, St. Gallen, Switzerland). Starting at 25 degrees C, the environmental temperature was changed in 4 degrees C steps every 40 min. Skin thickness was measured by an ultrasonic reflectio…
Psychometric evaluation of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screener GAD-7, based on a large German general population sample.
2017
Abstract Background The Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scales GAD-7 and GAD-2 are instruments for the assessment of anxiety. The aims of this study are to test psychometric properties of these questionnaires, to provide normative values, and to investigate associations with sociodemographic factors, quality of life, psychological variables, and behavioral factors. Methods A German community sample (n=9721) with an age range of 18–80 years was surveyed using the GAD-7 and several other questionnaires. Results Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the unidimensionality and measurement invariance of the GAD-7 across age and gender. Females were more anxious than males (mean scores: M=4.07 vs. M…
Low-energy extracorporeal shock wave therapy for painful heel: a prospective controlled single-blind study.
1996
The aim of this prospective single-blind pilot study was to explore the pain-alleviating effect of low-energy extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) in painful heel associated with inferior calcaneal spurs. Thirty patients who suffered from persistent symptoms for more than 12 months qualified for low-energy ESWT and were assigned at random to two groups, real or simulated ESWT. Before beginning the treatment, any other therapy was stopped for a period of 6 weeks. The shock waves were applied by an experimental device allowing exact localization through an integrated fluoroscopy unit. Patients were treated three times at weekly intervals. Each time 1000 impulses of 0.06 mJ/mm2 were given …