Diagnosis-Related Group (DRG) systems across Europe are very heterogeneous, in particular because of different classification variables and algorithms as well as costing methodologies. But, given the challenge of increasing patient mobility within Europe, health systems are forced to incorporate a common patient classification language in order to compare and identify similar patients e.g. for ...

Alexandra Hospital has the first day hospital for rehabilitation of the elderly in Singapore. To determine if functional skills and mobility improved significantly with a Day Hospital rehabilitation programme, and the factors influencing the outcome, a pre-test/post-test study was conducted on 30 male and 34 female patients discharged from the programme between 1 October 1995 and 30 June 1996. ...

BACKGROUND/AIM Thoracic spine insufficiency is a subject of interest in neck problems. The aim was to investigate thoracic spinal curvature and mobility in subjects with and without chronic neck pain (CNP), cut-off points, and the relationship with pain. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fifty-six patients with CNP (CNP group) and 53 healthy volunteers (control group) were included. Neck pain intensity o...

Echocardiographic studies of the mitral valve were performed in 57 patients with pure or predominant mitral stenosis who subsequently underwent surgery (30 commissurotomy, 27 valve replacement). Mitral valve calcification was graded heavy (thick, conglomerate echoes), light (multiple, discrete linear echoes) or none (thin, single or duplicate signals). Valve mobility, measured as the excursion ...

PURPOSE To compare early functional outcomes, complications, and mortality in elderly patients treated with the less costly, cemented Thompson prosthesis or the cemented bipolar prosthesis in order to identify factors affecting outcomes. METHODS Records of 303 patients with femoral neck fractures treated with the cemented Thompson monoblock prosthesis (n=206) or the cemented bipolar prosthesi...

PURPOSE To compare outcomes of unipolar versus bipolar uncemented hemiarthroplasty and determine factors affecting outcomes. METHODS 433 and 274 elderly patients with displaced intracapsular femoral neck fractures underwent uncemented unipolar hemiarthroplasty and uncemented bipolar hydroxyapatite-coated hemiarthroplasty, respectively. Surgical options were based on the patient's general cond...

In order to evaluate the microsocial factors affecting quality of life in stroke victims, 100 survivors of ischemic stroke and the same number of their relevant family members (key persons, controls) were interviewed using Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scale (SS-QOL) questionnaire. Total SS-QOL score did not differ significantly between post-stroke patients and key persons (z=0.64, P=0.524). ...

The pain in Fibromyalgia (FM) is difficult to treat and functional mobility seems to be an important comorbidity in these patients that could evolve into a disability. In this study we wanted to investigate the analgesic effects of music in FM pain. Twenty-two FM patients were passively exposed to (1) self-chosen, relaxing, pleasant music, and to (2) a control auditory condition (pink noise). T...

Although yet poorly defined and often misused, the concept of functional mobility has been used in research studies as a more global and ecological outcome of patients' health status. Functional mobility is a person's physiological ability to move independently and safely in a variety of environments in order to accomplish functional activities or tasks and to participate in the activities of d...

Echocardiographic studies of the mitral valve were performed in 57 patients with pure or predominant mitral stenosis who subsequently underwent surgery (30 commissurotomy, 27 valve replacement). Mitral valve calcification was graded heavy (thick, conglomerate echoes), light (multiple, discrete linear echoes) or none (thin, single or duplicate signals). Valve mobility, measured as the excursion ...