The MMSE is the most widely used cognitive test but its accuracy and clinical utility in diagnosing cognitive disorders is not fully known. A meta-analysis of 34 dementia studies and five mild cognitive impairment (MCI) studies was conducted, separated into high and low prevalence settings. In memory clinic settings the MMSE had a pooled sensitivity (Se) of 79.8%, a specificity (Sp) of 81.3%, a...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether drawings can aid in the differential diagnosis of headaches in children. METHODS Before taking any history, 226 children who were seen consecutively for the evaluation of headache were asked to draw a picture to show how their headache felt. The pictures were then scored as migraine or nonmigraine by pediatric neurologists who were blinded to the clinical histor...

introduction: vertical root fracture (vrf) is common in endodontically treated teeth. conventional and digital radiographies have limitations for detection of vrfs. cone-beam computed tomography (cbct) offers greater detection accuracy of vrfs in comparison with conventional radiography. this study compared the effects of metal artifacts on detection of vrfs by using two cbct systems. methods a...

PURPOSE Large-scale observational studies based on existing medical databases may have an important role in studies of long-term effects of different treatments in prostate cancer patients if the coding of the treatment is valid. We therefore estimated the positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of hospital codes for gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist trea...

OBJECTIVE We validated an algorithm designed to identify new or prevalent users of antidepressant medications via population-based drug prescription records. PATIENTS AND METHODS We obtained population-based drug prescription records for the entire Olmsted County, Minnesota, population from 2011 to 2012 (N=149,629) using the existing electronic medical records linkage infrastructure of the Ro...

PURPOSE We investigated the effectiveness of tele-mentored ultrasonography between emergency medicine (EM) residents and remote experts in diagnosing acute appendicitis. METHODS This prospective observational study was performed in an academic emergency department. Beginning in June 2014, the EM residents performed the initial ultrasonography for suspected pediatric acute appendicitis; then, ...

STUDY OBJECTIVE To determine the ability of emergency department (ED) physicians to diagnose cholelithiasis with bedside ultrasound. METHODS ED gallbladder ultrasounds recorded over 37 months were compared to radiology ultrasound interpretation. RESULTS Of 1,690 ED gallbladder ultrasound scans performed during this period, radiology ultrasound was performed in 575/1690 (34%) cases. ED physi...

This study compares the performance of clinical diagnosis and three laboratory diagnostic methods (thick film microscopy (TFM), rapid diagnostic test (RDT), and polymerase chain reaction (PCR)) for the diagnosis of Plasmodium falciparum in Nigeria. Using clinical criteria, 217 children were recruited into the study out of which 106 (48.8%) were positive by TFM, 84 (38.7%) by RDT, and 125 (57.6%...

OBJECTIVE To prospectively evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of spiral computed tomography (CT) versus ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) scanning in the examination of patients clinically suspected of having pulmonary embolism (PE). PATIENTS AND METHODS Sixty-three patients, presenting to the emergency department and departments of radiology and nuclear medicine of a large hospital, highly suspected...

PURPOSE Validated measures of asthma and eczema at the population level remain a challenge. Our aim was to ascertain if register-based information on asthma/eczema medication can function as a proxy for an asthma/eczema diagnosis and to validate register-based asthma diagnoses. METHODS Information was requested on all 0-45-year-old individuals with reported asthma/eczema medication and/or dia...