Aim and objectives: The aim of this study was to audit the success of treatment outcomes following assessment and treatment planning of anxious patients referred for conscious sedation. The outcome of treatment has a marked effect on ratings of its acceptability. Treatments associated with positive outcomes appear to be more acceptable than those associated with poor outcomes. Design: A standar...

We aimed to develop a better understanding and method of rating the success or failure of low back surgery by studying 185 patients prospectively. Identical pre-operative and postoperative assessment by an independent observer included pain, disability, physical impairment, psychological distress and illness behaviour. Outcome was assessed by the patient, by the observer and by return to work. ...

Patient-reported outcome measurement has become accepted as an important component of comprehensive outcomes research. Researchers wishing to use a patient-reported measure must either develop their own questionnaire (called an instrument in the research literature) or choose from the myriad of instruments previously reported. This article summarizes how previously developed instruments are bes...

Hemodynamic monitoring is a tool of great value for the assessment of critically ill patients. It can not only detect and determine the source of hemodynamic instability, but also guide the choice of appropriate treatment and further evaluate its effectiveness. However, monitoring per se is not a therapeutic tool and its use in the absence of a well-defined objective, need not affect patient ou...

This article reviews the experience available to date on microcirculation assessment in cancer of the cervix including correlation studies of magnetic resonance (MR) microcirculatory parameters with histo-morphometric predictors and direct correlation with patient outcome. The data suggest that MR microcirculation parameters do not always correlate with histo-morphometric parameters, while ther...

BACKGROUND Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a serious chronic condition with a global impact. Symptoms of COPD include progressive dyspnea, breathlessness, cough, and sputum production, which have a considerable impact on the lives of patients. In addition to the human cost of living with COPD and the resulting death, COPD entails a huge economic burden on the Chinese population,...

BACKGROUND Previous studies have assessed the validity of the observational study design by comparing results of studies using this design to results from randomized controlled trials. The present study examined design features of observational studies that could have influenced these comparisons. METHODS To find at least 4 observational studies that evaluated the same treatment, we reviewed ...

Methods The JAMAR includes: Juvenile Arthritis Functionality Scale (JAFS) (0 = normal; 30 = worst), Pediatric Rheumatology Quality of Life (PRQL) questionnaire (0 = best; 30 = worst); visual analogue scales (0 = best; 10 = worst) for parent/patient rating of well-being (WB), pain (P), disease activity (DA); parent/patient assessment of morning stiffness, disease status, satisfaction about disea...

BACKGROUND Laser treatment of facial rhytides has evolved as a major modality of aesthetic surgery. Published results, while generally encouraging, feature highly diverse evaluation methods, which makes an evidence-based assessment of treatment efficacy and safety all but impossible. OBJECTIVE To compare the results of different instruments of measurement. PATIENTS/METHODS Twenty-eight pati...

Purpose To review and analyze the literature regarding removable vs fixed implant prosthetic treatment for complete edentulism in elderly people. Materials methods A narrative of published articles was conducted. Electronic manual searches were performed to identify studies comparing modalities edentulous patients and/or reporting on specific outcomes restorations patients. Results It is eviden...