Laboratory test results are increasingly available to health consumers. Almost all test results are accompanied by a reference range to aid in interpretation. This study asked 25 non-healthcare providers to explain the term reference range. The descriptions highlighted four principal themes: health consumers were unsure about their understanding of the term reference range; they equated a reference range with a normal range; few had some degree of awareness of the limitations of reference ranges; and few had limited awareness of the difference between a reference range and clinical cutoff. Further efforts should be made to educate health consumers on the utility and limitations of reference ranges. When providing results to health consumers, laboratories should consider including other means of contextualizing test results in order to support their understanding of potential clinical significance.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/SHTI240599 | DOI Listing |
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
January 2025
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States.
Background: The association between skeletal muscle and adipose tissue (body composition) and early response using positron emission tomography (PET) in pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) remains unstudied.
Methods: Patients enrolled on Children's Oncology Group studies AHOD0031 (intermediate-risk HL) and AHOD0831 (high-risk HL) with digital abdominal computed tomography (CT) scans at diagnosis and PET scans after 2 cycles (PET2) were included. Two consecutive slices at the third lumbar vertebra were identified and skeletal muscle index (SMI, in cm2/m2) and total adipose tissue index (TATI, in cm2/m2) were calculated using sliceOmatic (Magog, Canada) and height at diagnosis.
J Chem Phys
January 2025
Lehrstuhl für Theoretische Chemie, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Egerlandstr. 3, D-91058 Erlangen, Germany.
Methods based on density-functional theory usually treat open-shell atoms and molecules within the spin-unrestricted Kohn-Sham (KS) formalism, which breaks symmetries in real and spin space. Symmetry breaking is possible because the KS Hamiltonian operator does not need to exhibit the full symmetry of the physical Hamiltonian operator, but only the symmetry of the spin density, which is generally lower. Symmetry breaking leads to spin contamination and prevents a proper classification of the KS wave function with respect to the symmetries of the physical electron system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Am Heart Assoc
January 2025
Department of Emergency Medicine Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea Seoul South Korea.
Background: Coronary angiography (CAG) and targeted temperature management (TTM) may improve clinical outcomes after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. This study aimed to assess whether the intervention effects differed according to timing and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) performance.
Methods And Results: Adult patients with presumed cardiac cause who underwent CAG and TTM within 24 hours following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest were included from the Korean nationwide out-of-hospital cardiac arrest registry.
JCEM Case Rep
January 2025
Section of Endocrinology and Investigative Medicine, Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, Imperial College, London W12 ONN, UK.
We report a 31-year-old man with diarrhea and tachycardia. Diagnostic workup confirmed raised free thyroid hormones with unsuppressed thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). Laboratory assay and medication interference were excluded.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOrthop J Sports Med
January 2025
Department of Orthopaedics, Balgrist University Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Background: Tibiofemoral rotation is an emerging parameter, especially in assessing patellofemoral instability. However, reference values in the literature are inconsistent regarding the used imaging modality and do not consider the effect of knee flexion during image acquisition.
Purpose: To analyze the differences in tibiofemoral rotation measurements between computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
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