Objectives: Sensory dissociation (SEDI), the discrepancy between perception and actual size or shape of a painful body part, is a frequently observed finding in patients with chronic low back pain. However, the current methods of evaluating SEDI have several limitations, such as a qualitative nature and weak evidence supporting their reliability. In the current study, the reliability of two versions (manual and verbal) of a novel test, a two-point estimation task (TPE), was investigated.
Methods: To perform the manual version of the task, patients estimated the distance between two tactile stimuli delivered to their back using callipers, whereas in the verbal version they verbally reported the estimated distance.
Results: The manual version of TPE showed greater interexaminer reliability than the verbal version, and the mean of the two repeated measurements was sufficient for reaching excellent reliability for the pain-free (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.91, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.77-0.97) and painful (ICC = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.65-0.94) sides. Intra-examiner reliability was moderate to excellent (ICC = 0.66-0.96) for the manual version performed at the pain-free and painful sides. Distribution, duration, and intensity of pain significantly predicted SEDI and accounted for 42% of the total variance (corrected R2 = 0.42, P < 0.01).
Conclusions: TPE showed higher reliability coefficients compared with tools previously suggested in the literature and can therefore be used clinically and experimentally by one or more examiners. Further research is required to investigate the validity of this new test.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/pm/pny220 | DOI Listing |
Eur Spine J
January 2025
Department of Neurosurgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333ZA, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Purpose: Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is a frequently occurring condition defined by narrowing of the spinal or nerve root canal due to degenerative changes. Physicians use MRI scans to determine the severity of stenosis, occasionally complementing it with X-ray or CT scans during the diagnostic work-up. However, manual grading of stenosis is time-consuming and induces inter-reader variability as a standardized grading system is lacking.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Anus Rectum Colon
January 2025
Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
Objectives: This study explored the clinical utility of CT radiomics-driven machine learning as a predictive marker for chemotherapy response in colorectal liver metastasis (CRLM) patients.
Methods: We included 150 CRLM patients who underwent first-line doublet chemotherapy, dividing them into a training cohort (n=112) and a test cohort (n=38). We manually delineated three-dimensional tumor volumes, selecting the largest liver metastasis for measurement, using pretreatment portal-phase CT images and extracted 107 radiomics features.
Cien Saude Colet
January 2025
Departamento de Nutrição e Saúde, Universidade Federal de Viçosa. Viçosa MG Brasil.
This article describes the construction and validation of an instruction manual geared toward nutritional care (NC) for people with severe obesity in the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS). In the production of this instruction manual, a broad literature review was conducted for the identification and discussion of topics to be treated. The content and appearance validity were conducted according to the Delphi technique and to focus groups, respectively, with evaluators who were nutritionists and practitioners, from different regions of Brazil.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe primary aim of this descriptive cross-sectional study was to examine the relationship between ocular motility and motor skills in school-age children. Participants included 142 schoolchildren (mean age: 7.08 ± 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Public Health
January 2025
Department of Pharmacy, Personalized Drug Therapy Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences and Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
Objective: To optimize the construction of pharmaceutical services in medical institutions, advance the development of clinical pharmacy as a discipline, enhance the level of clinical pharmacy services, systematically implement and evaluate clinical pharmacy practices, and improve patient therapeutic outcomes, we have developed the Practice Guidelines for the Value Evaluation of Clinical Pharmacy Services (Version 2).
Methods: This guideline was designed following the World Health Organization (WHO) Guideline Development Manual. The Delphi method was employed to identify clinical questions.
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