Search results for "statistical"
showing 10 items of 4960 documents
Linear and nonlinear heart rate dynamics in elderly inpatients. Relations with comorbidity and depression
2010
Background. Hospitalization processes are known to increase depressive symptoms arising among elderly population. Meanwhile, dysregulation of cardiac autonomic function has been suggested to link depression and cardiovascular mortality. In this context, analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) is emerging as a powerful mortality risk stratifier clinical tool. The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship among HRV, depression, and comorbidity risk among an elderly inpatient population. Material and methods. Twenty-six subjects (aged 78±9 years) were recruited from the Short- Term Stay Unit at the Hospital General de Alicante. Before joining a Physical Activity Program aimed to pr…
Reliability of the bright liver echo pattern in diagnosing steatosis in patients with cryptogenic and HCV-related hypertransaminasaemia.
2008
Aim To evaluate the reliability of the bright liver (BL) echo pattern on ultrasound to detect histological steatosis in chronic cryptogenic hypertransaminasaemia (CCH) and hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related forms of hypertransaminasaemia. Materials and methods One hundred and fifty patients, 54 with CCH and 96 with HCV hypertransaminasaemia (76 genotype 1/2 and 20 genotype 3), were enrolled. Histological steatosis was measured as the percentage of hepatocytes involved. The reliability of the BL sign was estimated using the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values. Results Histological steatosis was present in 102/150 patients (68%) divided into 59/96 (62%) in the HCV g…
In the Identification of Cardiovascular Risk With the SCORE Model, Could We Recommend Its Calculation Interchangeably With Total Cholesterol or Ather…
2011
The SCORE table indiscriminately recommends the use of total cholesterol (SCORE-TC) or atherogenic index (SCORE-AI) for calculating cardiovascular (CV) risk. We evaluated reliability and agreement between both methods and the clinical implications for the identification of high CV risk. Observational study (n = 8942) in a 40- to 65-year-old population. Spearman’s Rho correlation was 0.987 (P < .001), the agreement intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.671 (IC 95% 0.413–0.796; with Bland–Altman’s method, the average of the differences between models was 0.74. Kappa index was poor, 0.297 (P < .001) and positive specific agreement was 0.31. Discrepancies fitted individuals with high CV risk…
Assessing decentering: validation, psychometric properties, and clinical usefulness of the Experiences Questionnaire in a Spanish sample.
2014
Decentering is defined as the ability to observe one’s thoughts and feelings in a detached manner. The Experiences Questionnaire (EQ) is a self-report instrument that originally assessed decentering and rumination. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of EQ-Decentering and to explore its clinical usefulness. The 11-item EQ-Decentering subscale was translated into Spanish and psychometric properties were examined in a sample of 921 adult individuals, 231 with psychiatric disorders and 690 without. The subsample of nonpsychiatric participants was also split according to their previous meditative experience (meditative participants, n = 3…
Implementation of augmented reality in operative dentistry learning.
2017
Objective To evaluate the efficacy of augmented reality (AR) in the gaining of knowledge and skills amongst dental students in the design of cavity preparations and analyse their degree of satisfaction. Material and methods AR cavity models were prepared for use with computers and mobile devices. Forty-one students were divided into two groups (traditional teaching methods vs AR). Questionnaires were designed to evaluate knowledge and skills, with the administration of a satisfaction questionnaire for those using AR. The degree of compliance with the standards in cavity design was assessed. The Mann-Whitney U-test was used to compare knowledge and skills between the two groups, and the Wilc…
Multiple sclerosis severity score: Using disability and disease duration to rate disease severity
2005
Background: There is no consensus method for determining progression of disability in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) when each patient has had only a single assessment in the course of the disease. Methods: Using data from two large longitudinal databases, the authors tested whether cross-sectional disability assessments are representative of disease severity as a whole. An algorithm, the Multiple Sclerosis Severity Score (MSSS), which relates scores on the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) to the distribution of disability in patients with comparable disease durations, was devised and then applied to a collection of 9,892 patients from 11 countries to create the Global MSSS. I…
Oral cancer associated with chronic mechanical irritation of the oral mucosa
2017
Background Most of the studies dealing with Chronic Mechanical Irritation (CMI) and Oral Cancer (OC) only considered prosthetic and dental variables separately, and CMI functional factors are not registered. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess OC risk in individuals with dental, prosthetic and functional CMI. Also, we examined CMI presence in relation to tumor size. Material and Methods A case-control study was carried out from 2009 to 2013. Study group were squamous cell carcinoma cases; control group was patients seeking dental treatment in the same institution. Results 153 patients were studied (Study group n=53, Control group n=100). CMI reproducibility displayed a correlation coe…
Image-guided transcranial Doppler sonography for monitoring of vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage.
2016
Transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD) is a standard method for bedside vasospasm monitoring after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Image guidance has previously been shown to reduce intra- and interobserver variability of this method. The aim of the present study was to compare image-guided and conventional TCD in vasospasm monitoring after SAH.418 TCD exams of 24 consecutive SAH patients registered in a database were evaluated. Of these, 130 image-guided exams were identified which had been performed on the same day as conventional Doppler exams. These matched pairs were taken for statistical analysis. Data were tested statistically using the sign test applied at patient level to aggregated …
Development and validation of the mastocytosis quality of life questionnaire: MC-QoL
2016
Background Mastocytosis is a heterogeneous disease characterized by a clonal expansion of mast cells in various organs. The vast majority of patients affected suffer from signs and symptoms caused by mediator release from mast cells. Although the disease burden is high, there is currently no specific instrument to measure health-related quality of life (HRQoL) impairment in patients with mastocytosis. Objective The aim of this study was to develop and validate a disease-specific tool to assess HRQoL impairment in patients with cutaneous and indolent systemic mastocytosis, the Mastocytosis Quality of Life Questionnaire (MC-QoL). Methods Sixty-two potential MC-QoL items were developed in a co…
Alpha lipoic acid efficacy in burning mouth syndrome: a controlled clinical trial
2014
Background A double-blind placebo-controlled trial was conducted in order to evaluate the efficacy of alpha lipoic acid (ALA) and determine the statistical significance of the outcome variables. Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is defined as an oral burning sensation in the absence of clinical signs which could justify the syndrome. Recent studies suggest the existence of neurological factors as a possible cause of the disease. Material and Methods 60 patients with BMS, in two groups: case group with 600 mg/day and placebo as control group; with follow up of 2 months. Results 64% of ALA patients reported some level of improvement, with a level of maintenance of 68.75% one month after treatment.…