High rates of malnutrition in older adults receiving different levels of health care in Lleida, Catalonia: an assessment of contributory factors.

The aim of this study was to define the factors associated with the presence or risk of malnutrition in older adults (>65 years of age) attending health care centers in Lleida, Catalonia, using a cross-sectional study approach. Nutritional parameters assessed included the Mini Nutritional Assessment Scale, sociodemographic and psychosocial factors, functional and cognitive status, swallowing and oral problems, texture and route of administration of the diet, changes in dietary intake, and presence of digestive disorders. A total of 398 individuals (184 men) with an average age of 77 years were included in the assessment.

Recording diffusion responses from contralateral intercostal muscles after stimulus-triggered electromyography: refining a tool for the assessment of thoracic pedicle screw placement in an experimental porcine model.

Study Design: A new stimulus-triggered electromyography (EMG) test for detecting stimulus diffusion to contralateral intercostal muscles during thoracic pedicle screw placement was assessed in a porcine model.

Objective: To determine if electromyographic thresholds in the intercostal muscles of both sides of the thorax could discriminate thoracic pedicle screw malpositions with and without neural contact at different aspects of the spinal cord and nerve roots.

Summary Of Background Data: There is controversy about the value of triggered EMG stimulation for aiding precise insertion of thoracic pedicle screws.