Background: Advances in mobile technology mean vets are now commonly presented with videos of paroxysmal events by clients, but the consistency of the interpretation of these videos has not been investigated. The objective of this study was to investigate the level of agreement between vets (both neurology specialists and non-specialists) on the description and classification of videos depicting paroxysmal events, without knowing any results of diagnostic workup. An online questionnaire study was conducted, where participants watched 100 videos of dogs and cats exhibiting paroxysmal events and answered questions regarding: epileptic seizure presence (yes/no), seizure type, consciousness status, and the presence of motor, autonomic and neurobehavioural signs. Agreement statistics (percentage agreement and kappa) calculated for each variable, with prevalence indices calculated to aid their interpretation.
Results: Only a fair level of agreement (κ = 0.40) was found for epileptic seizure presence. Overall agreement of seizure type was moderate (κ = 0.44), with primary generalised seizures showing the highest level of agreement (κ = 0.60), and focal the lowest (κ =0.31). Fair agreement was found for consciousness status and the presence of autonomic signs (κ = 0.21-0.40), but poor agreement for neurobehavioral signs (κ = 0.16). Agreement for motor signs ranged from poor (κ = ≤ 0.20) to moderate (κ = 0.41-0.60). Differences between specialists and non-specialists were identified.
Conclusions: The relatively low levels of agreement described here highlight the need for further discussions between neurology experts regarding classifying and describing epileptic seizures, and additional training of non-specialists to facilitate accurate diagnosis. There is a need for diagnostic tools (e.g. electroencephalogram) able to differentiate between epileptic and non-epileptic paroxysms.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12917-015-0356-2 | DOI Listing |
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Hamburger Zentrum für Kinder- und Jugendrheumatologie, am Schön Klinik Hamburg Eilbek, Hamburg, Germany.
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Center for Global Mental Health Equity, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
Task-sharing approaches that train non-specialist providers (NSPs), people without specialized clinical training, are increasingly utilized to address the global mental health treatment gap. This review consolidates findings from peer reviewed articles on the impact of task-sharing mental health interventions on NSPs at the individual, family and community level. Studies that highlighted facilitators, barriers and recommendations for improving the experiences of NSPs were also included in the review.
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January 2025
Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina, Hospital das Clinicas HC-FMUSP, Instituto de Ortopedia e Traumatologia, Departamento de Ortopedia, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
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Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA.
Solenogastres is a group of mollusks with evolutionary and ecological importance. Nevertheless, their diversity is underestimated and knowledge about the distribution of the approximately 300 formally described species is limited. Factors that contribute to this include their small size and frequent misidentification by non-specialists.
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January 2025
Earth and Space Sciences (ESS) Group, Institute of Environmental Sciences, University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM), Avda. Carlos III s/n, 45071, Toledo, Spain.
Climate classification systems (CCSs) are emerging as essential tools in climate change science for mitigation and adaptation. However, their limitations are often misunderstood by non-specialists. This situation is especially acute when the CCSs are derived from Global Climate Model outputs (GCMs).
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