Search results for "predictive value of tests"
showing 10 items of 850 documents
Association of renal resistive index with aortic pulse wave velocity in hypertensive patients
2014
Background: Recent data suggest that renal haemodynamic parameters obtained by duplex Doppler sonography, especially the intrarenal resistive index (RI), may be associated with systemic vascular changes. However, conflicting data exist about the independent relationship between aortic stiffness and RI. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between RI and arterial stiffness, assessed by aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV), in hypertensive patients. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: We enrolled 264 hypertensive subjects aged between 30 and 70 years. They were divided into two groups, either with normal renal function (n=140) or with chronic kidney disease (CKD) (n=124). E…
Prevalence and predictors of left ventricular hypertrophy in patients with hypertension and normal electrocardiogram.
2013
Background: Electrocardiography (ECG) has low sensitivity for detecting left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), while echocardiography cannot be routinely performed. Design/methods: In this study we evaluate the prevalence of LVH and diastolic dysfunction in hypertensive patients with normal ECG. We excluded patients with cardiovascular (CV) diseases, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or presenting ECG-LVH or other ECG anomalies. The enrolled 440 hypertensive patients underwent echocardiographic examination (Acuson Sequoia 512); LV mass was indexed by body surface area (LVMI) and LVH was defined as LVMI >125 g/m2 in men and >110 g/m2 in women. Diastolic function was evaluated by mitral inflow a…
Sudomotor testing predicts the presence of neutralizing botulinum A toxin antibodies.
2002
The increasing number of patients being treated with botulinum toxin A complex (BoNT/A) has led to a higher incidence of neutralizing anti-BoNT/A antibodies (ABAs). Because BoNT/A is known to inhibit sweating, here we report sudometry as a possibility for predicting the presence of ABA. Sixteen patients suffering from spasmodic torticollis were selected: in 2 patients, BoNT/A treatment continued to be effective, in 9 patients, the treatment effect was impaired, and in 5 patients, secondary treatment failure developed. BoNT/A (100 mouse units, Dysport; Ipsen Pharma, Berkshire, United Kingdom) was injected subcutaneously into the lateral calves. Sweating was visualized with iodine starch stai…
Physical loading and performance as predictors of back pain in healthy adults. A 5-year prospective study.
1996
We investigated muscle strength, aerobic power, and occupational and leisure-time physical loading as predictors of back pain in a 5-year follow-up study. A cohort of 456 adults aged 25, 35, 45 and 55 years, free of back pain, participated in measurements of anthropometric characteristics, aerobic power and muscle strength characteristics at baseline. The subjects' levels and types of physical activity and occupational physical loading were also determined. At 5 years after the baseline examinations 356 of these subjects (78.1 %) were reached by mail, and 262 of them (73.6%) properly completed and returned a questionnaire including a detailed back pain history for the 5 years following the …
Focal breast lesion characterization according to the BI-RADS US lexicon: role of a computer-aided decision-making support
2018
Objectives: to assess the diagnostic performance of a computer-guided decision- making software (S-Detect) in the US characterization of focal breast lesions (FBLs), according to the radiologist's experience. Materials and Methods: 300 FBLs (size: 2.6-47.2 mm; mean: 13.2 mm) in 255 patients (mean age: 51 years) were prospectively assessed in consensus according to BIRADS US lexicon by two experienced radiologists without and with S-Detect; to evaluate intra and inter-observer agreement, the same 300 FBLs were independently evaluated by two residents at baseline and after 3 months. Results: 120/300 (40%) FBLs were malignant, 2/300 (0.7%) high-risk and 178/300 (59.3%) benign. Experts review s…
Two-Year Stability of Psychosis Proneness Scales and Their Relations to Personality Disorder Traits
2000
Two-year stability of Physical Anhedonia (PhA), Perceptual Aberration (PER), and Magical Ideation (MI) scale scores and their relation to personality disorder traits were examined. Additionally, the effects of a time-lagged (prospective) versus concurrent measurement of psychosis proneness and personality disorder traits were studied to examine the specificity of MI, PER, and PhA. With a non-college-student sample (n = 404), stability for PhA was sufficiently high, but for PER and MI, stability was moderate to low. The correlations between personality disorder traits and psychosis proneness scales demonstrate that simultaneous assessment leads to a more nonspecific pattern of associations f…
Predicting relapse after a first episode of non-affective psychosis: A three-year follow-up study
2011
Preventing relapse during the first years of illness has a critical impact on lifelong outcomes in schizophrenia. A better understanding and improvement in factors which influence relapse should diminish the risk of relapse and consequently improve the outcome of the illness.To identify factors associated with relapse after 3 years of a first episode in a sample of non-affective psychosis patients who are representative of clinical practice in an epidemiological catchment.We analyzed socio-demographic and clinical data from a cohort of patients who were treated in a specialized early intervention service and who were at risk of relapse during a 3-year follow-up. Univariate analyses, logisti…
Three-year European follow-up of endovenous radiofrequency-powered segmental thermal ablation of the great saphenous vein with or without treatment o…
2011
BackgroundRadiofrequency segmental thermal ablation (RSTA) has become a commonly used technology for occlusion of incompetent great saphenous veins (GSVs). Midterm results and data on clinical parameters are still lacking.MethodsA prospective multicenteral trial monitored 295 RSTA-treated GSVs for 36 months. Clinical control visits included flow and reflux analysis by duplex ultrasound imaging and assessment of clinical parameters according to the CEAP classification and Venous Clinical Severity Score (VCSS).ResultsA total of 256 of 295 treated GSVs (86.4%) were available for 36 months of follow-up. At 36 months, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed the probability of occlusion was 92.6% a…
Pulsatile and steady 24-h blood pressure components as determinants of left ventricular mass in young and middle-aged essential hypertensives
2003
In order to explore the relations between left ventricular mass (LVM) and the pulsatile (pulse pressure) and steady (mean pressure) components of the blood pressure (BP) curve, 304 young and middle-aged essential hypertensive patients were studied by means of 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring and echocardiography. In the overall study population, both the BP components showed significant correlations with LVM. These correlations were unevenly distributed in the subgroups of subjects younger and in those older than 50 years. While in this latter subgroup, in multivariate analysis, both 24-h mean BP (24-MBP) (beta = 0.27; P = 0.008) and 24-h pulse pressure (24-h PP) (beta = 0.23; P = 0.02) were a…
Impaired exercise tolerance is associated with increased urine albumin excretion in the early stages of essential hypertension
2011
Background: Our aim was to investigate the relationship between impaired exercise capacity and albumin excretion level in the setting of never treated essential hypertension. Design and methods: For this purpose, 338 consecutive essential hypertensives (52 ± 8.5 years, 227 males, office BP = 148.6/96.1 mmHg) performed a negative for myocardial ischemia, maximal treadmill exercise testing and were classified based on the gender specific median value of the amount of metabolic equivalents (METs) achieved (10.1 ml/kg/min for women and 11 ml/kg/min for men) as fit ( n = 177) and unfit ( n = 161). All the participants underwent 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring, complete echocardiographic study inc…