BACKGROUND Whenever questionnaires are used to collect data on constructs, such as functional status or health related quality of life, it is unlikely that all respondents will respond to all items. This paper examines ways of dealing with responses in a 'not applicable' category to items included in the AMC Linear Disability Score (ALDS) project item bank. METHODS The data examined in this p...

3 Junmin Song, Hongxiang Liu, Zhen Li, Chao Yang, Yuling Sun, Chaojie Wang 4 5 *correspondence: Junmin Song, MD/PhD , Associate Professor of Medicine, 6 Department of General Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, 7 1 East Jianshe Road, Zhengzhou 450052, China. [email protected] 8 Telephone: +86-037166913114 9 10 Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Ho...

The usefulness of a diagnostic workup for occult cancer in patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE) is controversial. We used the RIETE (Registro Informatizado Enfermedad Trombo Embólica) database to perform a nested case-control study to validate a prognostic score that identifies patients with unprovoked VTE at increased risk for cancer. We dichotomized patients as having low- (≤2 points) o...

A primary argument used by animal rights advocates to engage the public in questioning our maltreatment of animals is the Argument from Marginal Cases (AMC). It is important that social workers are aware of this argument, because it has the potential to diminish our consideration of people with severe cognitive disabilities. This article provides a brief overview of the argument, followed by a ...

Palpable breast masses are common and usually benign, but efficient evaluation and prompt diagnosis are necessary to rule out malignancy. A thorough clinical breast examination, imaging, and tissue sampling are needed for a definitive diagnosis. Fine-needle aspiration is fast, inexpensive, and accurate, and it can differentiate solid and cystic masses. However, physicians must have adequate tra...

Markets for life-saving vaccines do not often generate the most desired outcomes from a public health perspective in terms of product quantity, quality, affordability, programmatic suitability and/or sustainability for use in the lowest income countries. The perceived risks and uncertainties about sustainably funded demand from developing countries often leads to underinvestment in development ...