Validation of the VEINES-QOL quality of life instrument in venous leg ulcers: repeatability and validity study embedded in a randomised clinical trial.

Background: VEINES-QOL/Sym is a disease-specific quality of life instrument for use in venous diseases of the leg. Its relative scoring system precludes comparisons between studies. There were very few venous leg ulcer patients in the validation samples.

VenUS IV (Venous leg Ulcer Study IV) - compression hosiery compared with compression bandaging in the treatment of venous leg ulcers: a randomised controlled trial, mixed-treatment comparison and decision-analytic model.

Background: Compression is an effective and recommended treatment for venous leg ulcers. Although the four-layer bandage (4LB) is regarded as the gold standard compression system, it is recognised that the amount of compression delivered might be compromised by poor application technique. Also the bulky nature of the bandages might reduce ankle or leg mobility and make the wearing of shoes difficult.

Developing Interventions for Children's Exercise (DICE): a pilot evaluation of school-based exercise interventions for primary school children aged 7 to 8 years.

Background: Developing Interventions for Children's Exercise (DICE) is an initiative aimed at determining effective school-based exercise programs. To assess feasibility, we conducted a pilot study of exercise sessions which varied in duration and frequency.

Methods: Exercise interventions were delivered to Year 3 pupils (age 7-8 years; n = 73) in primary schools within Yorkshire, UK.

Funding source and the quality of reports of chronic wounds trials: 2004 to 2011.

Background: Critical commentaries suggest that wound care randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are often poorly reported with many methodological flaws. Furthermore, interventions in chronic wounds, rather than being drugs, are often medical devices for which there are no requirements for RCTs to bring products to market. RCTs in wounds trials therefore potentially represent a form of marketing.

Clinical and cost-effectiveness of compression hosiery versus compression bandages in treatment of venous leg ulcers (Venous leg Ulcer Study IV, VenUS IV): a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Drawbacks exist with the standard treatment (four-layer compression bandages) for venous leg ulcers. We have therefore compared the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of two-layer compression hosiery with the four-layer bandage for the treatment of such ulcers.

Methods: We undertook this pragmatic, open, randomised controlled trial with two parallel groups in 34 centres in England and Northern Ireland.

Diagnosis and treatment of failed back surgery syndrome in the UK: mapping of practice using a cross-sectional survey.

Background: Chronic back pain is a serious public health issue, associated with poor quality of life and disability. There is a specific group of chronic back pain sufferers whose pain persists despite their having undergone anatomically successful lumbosacral spine surgery. These patients are known as having failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) and are frequently seen in pain clinics.

Methods to assess cost-effectiveness and value of further research when data are sparse: negative-pressure wound therapy for severe pressure ulcers.

Health care resources are scarce, and decisions have to be made about how to allocate funds. Often, these decisions are based on sparse or imperfect evidence. One such example is negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT), which is a widely used treatment for severe pressure ulcers; however, there is currently no robust evidence that it is effective or cost-effective.

A pilot randomised controlled trial of negative pressure wound therapy to treat grade III/IV pressure ulcers [ISRCTN69032034].

Background: Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is widely promoted as a treatment for full thickness wounds; however, there is a lack of high-quality research evidence regarding its clinical and cost effectiveness. A trial of NPWT for the treatment of grade III/IV pressure ulcers would be worthwhile but premature without assessing whether such a trial is feasible. The aim of this pilot randomised controlled trial was to assess the feasibility of conducting a future full trial of NPWT for the treatment of grade III and IV pressure ulcers and to pilot all aspects of the trial.

A randomized trial of electronic reminders showed a reduction in the time to respond to postal questionnaires.

Objective: To assess the effect of electronic reminders (ERs) on response rate and time to response for the return of postal questionnaires.

Study Design And Setting: This open randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted at the University of York. Participants who were taking part in an established RCT and who provided an electronic mail address and/or mobile telephone number were eligible to take part in the study.

UK reference data for the Hologic QDR Discovery dual-energy x ray absorptiometry scanner in healthy children and young adults aged 6-17 years.

Background: The use and correct interpretation of bone densitometry measurements in paediatric patients relies on the availability of appropriate reference data. Ideally, such data should be matched for sex, chronological age, height, weight, pubertal development and ethnicity.

Aim: To provide UK-specific reference data for the Hologic QDR Discovery dual-energy x ray absorptiometry (DXA) scanners.

Disentangling the relation between television viewing and cognitive processes in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and comparison children.

Objectives: To develop causal hypotheses regarding the effects of television viewing on cognitive processes in children and to examine the proposition that deleterious effects of television may be stronger among children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Design: Longitudinal study involving 2 phases occurring 18 months apart.

Setting: University research facilities in Lexington.