Hand dexterity in children: administration and normative values of the functional dexterity test.

Purpose: To document normative values from the Functional Dexterity Test (FTD) for typically developing children and to optimize test administration and interpretation.

Methods: A total of 175 typically developing children aged 3 to 17 years participated in the study. Children completed the 16-peg FDT with both hands, and elapsed time was recorded in seconds.

Peg Restrained Intrinsic Muscle Evaluator (PRIME): development, reliability, and normative values of a device to quantify intrinsic hand muscle strength in children.

Purpose: There is a need for objective measures of pediatric intrinsic hand muscle strength as the current standard, the manual muscle test, lacks sensitivity to clinically important changes in muscle strength. We report the development, reliability, and normative values of the Peg Restrained Intrinsic Muscle Evaluator (PRIME), a device that quantifies intrinsic hand muscle strength.

Methods: Typically developing children, ages 4 to 16 years (n = 119), established normative values of intrinsic strength for thumb palmar abduction, thumb opposition, and index and small finger abduction.

Post-exercise palpation of pulse rates: its applicability to habitual exercisers.

Despite the increased popularity of heart rate (HR) monitors, endurance-trained adults as well as habitual exercisers often use pulse rate palpation to periodically monitor exercise intensity. However, due to the rapid recovery of HR following exercise bouts, post-exercise palpation of pulse rates may underestimate exercise HR. To test this hypothesis, we studied 20 young physically active adults performing two sets of exercise for 5 min at 70% and 85% of maximal HR on the treadmill; one with carotid and another with radial pulse count.

The effects of age and comorbidity on treatment and outcomes in women with endometrial cancer.

Background: Although the incidence of endometrial cancer increases with age, the effect of patient age on treatment selection and outcomes is unclear. In addition, although aging is associated with increased prevalence of comorbid conditions, the extent to which comorbidities influence endometrial cancer management is not well documented.

Methods: This population-based analysis evaluates the effect of age and comorbidity on endometrial cancer treatment and outcome in a cohort of 401 patients referred to the Vancouver Island Centre, British Columbia Cancer Agency from 1989 to 1996.