Background: many clinicians and researchers in Brazil consider the Neurological Developmental Exam (NDE), a valid and reliable assessment for Brazilian school-aged children. However, since its inception, several tests have emerged that, according to some researchers, provide more in-depth evaluation of motor ability and go beyond the detection of general motor status (soft neurological signs).
Objectives: to highlight the limitations of the NDE as a motor skill assessment for first graders.
Methods: thirty-five children were compared on seven selected items of the NDE, seven of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test (BOT), and seven of the Visual-Motor Integration test (VMI). Participants received a "pass" or "fail" score for each item, as prescribed by the respective test manual.
Results: chi-square and ANOVA results indicated that the vast majority of children (74%) passed the NDE items, whereas values for the other tests were 29% (BOT) and 20% (VMI). Analysis of specific categories (e.g. visual, fine, and gross motor coordination) revealed a similar outcome.
Conclusions: our data suggest that while the NDE may be a valid and reliable test for the detection of general motor status, its use as a diagnostic/remedial tool for identifying motor ability is questionable. One of our recommendations is the consideration of a revised NDE in light of the current needs of clinicians and researchers.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s1413-35552010005000024 | DOI Listing |
BMC Med Ethics
January 2025
Ethics and Work Research Unit, Institute of Advanced Studies (EPHE), Paris, France.
Aim: To carry out a detailed study of existing positions in the French public of the acceptability of refusing treatment because of alleged futility, and to try to link these to people's age, gender, and religious practice.
Method: 248 lay participants living in southern France were presented with 16 brief vignettes depicting a cancer patient at the end of life who asks his doctor to administer a new cancer treatment he has heard about. Considering that this treatment is futile in the patient's case, the doctor refuses to prescribe it.
BMC Health Serv Res
January 2025
Australian Centre for Health Services Innovation and Centre for Healthcare Transformation, School of Public Health and Social Work, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Background: Unwarranted clinical variation presents a major challenge in contemporary healthcare, indicating potential inequalities and inefficiencies, and unrealised potential for better outcomes. Despite an increasing focus on unwarranted clinical variation, and consideration of efforts to address this challenge, evidence-based strategies which achieve this are limited. Audit and feedback of healthcare processes (process auditing) and clinician engagement are important tools which may help to reduce unwarranted clinical variation, however their application in maternity care is yet to be thoroughly explored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur Arch Otorhinolaryngol
January 2025
Faculty of Applied Sciences, Department of Accounting and Financial Management, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Turkey.
Purpose: Vestibular neuritis (VN) is a common cause of vertigo with significant impact on patients' quality of life. This study aimed to analyze global research trends in VN using bibliometric methods to identify key themes, influential authors, institutions, and countries contributing to the field.
Methods: We conducted a comprehensive search of the Web of Science Core Collection database for publications related to VN from 1980 to 2024.
Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol
January 2025
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, IRCCS Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Istituti Fisioterapici Ospitalieri (IFO), Via Elio Chianesi 53, 00144, Rome, Italy.
Objectives: we evaluated the hypothesis that level of ctHPVDNA on the first postoperative day (POD-1); and at 15 days (POD-15) could be associated with the need for adjuvant therapy and the presence of recurrence.
Materials And Methods: this is a prospective observational study on biomarkers, focusing on the longitudinal monitoring of ctHPVDNA in a cohort of HPV-OPSCC patients undergoing TORS. Blood samples were collected according to the following schema: (1) pretreatment; (2) on first postoperative day (POD 1); and (3) at 15 days (POD 15).
Br J Cancer
January 2025
Department of Visceral, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) exhibits a high frequency of neural invasion (NI). Schwann cells (SCs) have been shown to be reprogrammed to facilitate cancer cell migration and invasion into nerves. Since extracellular vesicles (EVs) affect the tumour microenvironment and promote metastasis, the present study analysed the involvement of EVs from pancreatic cancer cells and their microenvironment in altering SC phenotype as part of the early events in the process of NI.
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