PASI vs PO-PASI: Patient-Oriented PASI (PO-PASI) is comparable to clinician score PASI.

This comparative observational study aimed to validate an online Patient-oriented Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PO-PASI) by comparing it against the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), of 97 adult participants with chronic plaque psoriasis. Pearson's correlation coefficient of 0.866 (P-value = 0.

Exploring implementation of an electronic referral management system and enhanced primary care service for oral surgery: perspectives of patients, providers and practitioners.

Background: A specialist primary care oral surgery service combined with an electronic referral management and triage system was developed in response to concerns raised around overburdened secondary care services in the UK. Whilst the system has the potential to manage conflicting demand for oral surgery services against an objective need, the new pathway represents a number of challenges to existing working practices and could compromise the sustainability of existing hospital services. The aim of this research was to carry out a qualitative exploration of implementation of a new intervention to gain insight into how these challenges have manifested and been addressed.

Implementing and evaluating a primary care service for oral surgery: a case study.

Background: A primary care oral surgery service was commissioned alongside an electronic referral management system in England, in response to rising demand for Oral Surgery services in secondary care. It is important to ensure that standards of quality and safety are similar to those in existing secondary care services, and that the new service is acceptable to stakeholders. The aim of this study is therefore to conduct an in depth case study to explore safety, quality, acceptability and implementation of the new service.

Parenting and Digital Media.

Understanding the family dynamic surrounding media use is crucial to our understanding of media effects, policy development, and the targeting of individuals and families for interventions to benefit child health and development. The Families, Parenting, and Media Workgroup reviewed the relevant research from the past few decades. We find that child characteristics, the parent-child relationship, parental mediation practices, and parents' own use of media all can influence children's media use, their attitudes regarding media, and the effects of media on children.

Help for overseas nurses unable to obtain supervised placements.

Nurses from outside the European Economic Area looking to work in the UK will no longer have to complete supervised practice placements (News August 6).

Using care profiles to commission end-of-life services.

Aim: In early 2010, Liverpool Primary Care Trust (PCT) undertook a project to establish whether a care profiles methodology could be used to commission end-of-life (EoL) services. The Department of Health (DH) originally used them for a variety of services in the 1990s. The project sought to adapt the original care profiles structure for commissioning purposes, and produce a series of care profiles that would cover the full EoL care pathway.

Recovery of coordinated gait: randomized controlled stroke trial of functional electrical stimulation (FES) versus no FES, with weight-supported treadmill and over-ground training.

Background: No single intervention restores the coordinated components of gait after stroke.

Objective: The authors tested the multimodal Gait Training Protocol, with or without functional electrical stimulation (FES), to improve volitional walking (without FES) in patients with persistent (>6 months) dyscoordinated gait.

Methods: A total of 53 subjects were stratified and randomly allocated to either FES with intramuscular (IM) electrodes (FES-IM) or No-FES.

Risk assessment and treatment of venous thromboembolism.

This article argues that the number of deaths caused by venous thromboembolism (VTE) can be reduced if all patients in emergency departments are assessed to identify those who are most at risk of developing VTE. Such patients can be given the appropriate anticoagulant prophylaxis and educated on the importance of preventing VTE.

Venous thromboprophylaxis: reducing needlestick injury.

This article discusses needlestick injuries in relation to the prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in the healthcare setting. The article explores the use of oral anticoagulants for the prevention of VTE. The introduction of oral prophylaxis for VTE following orthopaedic surgery may help to optimise post-operative patient outcomes, as well as reduce the number of sharps-related accidents.

Feasibility of a new application of noninvasive Brain Computer Interface (BCI): a case study of training for recovery of volitional motor control after stroke.

Background/purpose: A large proportion of individuals with stroke have persistent deficits for which current interventions have not restored normal motor behavior. Noninvasive brain computer interfaces (BCIs) have potential advantages for restoration of function. There are also potential advantages for combining BCI with functional electrical stimulation (FES).

Feasibility of combining gait robot and multichannel functional electrical stimulation with intramuscular electrodes.

After stroke rehabilitation, many survivors of stroke exhibit persistent gait deficits. In previous work, we demonstrated significant gains in gait kinematics for survivors of chronic stroke using multichannel functional electrical stimulation with intramuscular electrodes (FES-IM). For this study, we tested the feasibility of combining FES-IM and gait robot technologies for treating persistent gait deficits after stroke.

Response to upper-limb robotics and functional neuromuscular stimulation following stroke.

Twelve moderately to severely involved chronic stroke survivors (>12 mo) were randomized to one of two treatments: robotics and motor learning (ROB-ML) or functional neuromuscular stimulation and motor learning (FNS-ML). Treatment was 5 h/d, 5 d/wk for 12 wk. ROB-ML group had 1.

A randomized controlled trial of functional neuromuscular stimulation in chronic stroke subjects.

Background And Purpose: Conventional therapies fail to restore normal gait to many patients after stroke. The study purpose was to test response to coordination exercise, overground gait training, and weight-supported treadmill training, both with and without functional neuromuscular stimulation (FNS) using intramuscular (IM) electrodes (FNS-IM).

Methods: In a randomized controlled trial, 32 subjects (>1 year after stroke) were assigned to 1 of 2 groups: FNS-IM or No-FNS.

Response of sagittal plane gait kinematics to weight-supported treadmill training and functional neuromuscular stimulation following stroke.

After stroke, persistent gait deficits cause debilitating falls and poor functional mobility. Gait restoration can preclude these outcomes. Sixteen subjects (>12 months poststroke) were randomized to two gait training groups.