These results proved that the drug SM is safe and not toxic.”
“Study Design. A systematic review of Health Related-Quality of Life Outcomes (HRQOL) in metastatic disease of the spine and content validation of a new Spine Oncology Study Group Outcomes Questionnaire (SOSGOQ).
Objective. To identify HRQOL questionnaires previously reported
for spinal metastases selleck and to validate the content of the new SOSGOQ based on the International Classification of Function and Disability (ICF).
Summary of Background Data. Literature on metastatic tumors of the spine and clinical outcomes is limited and generally of poor quality. The SOSG has developed a “”quality of life”" outcome tool specific for patients with metastatic of the spine. The ICF is a universal framework allowing content exploration, comparison, and validation of all questionnaires relating to HRQOL.
Methods. A systematic review identified 141 studies. Reported outcome tools were enumerated. The most commonly used (ESAS, Karnofsky Scale, and Oswestry Disability Index) and the SOSGOQ were linked to the ICF. Descriptive statistics examined the frequency and specificity of the ICF linkage. Linkage reliability Selleck Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Library was evaluated by interinvestigator percentage agreement.
Results. The SOSGOQ contains 56 concepts, with all 4 domains of the ICF represented. Four concepts could not be linked. There was 100% interobserver agreement (IOA) for total number of concepts
and for those “”not covered.”" Hundred percent of concepts had “”First and Second”" level linkage. Hundred percent IOA exists at both “”Component”" and “”First Level”" linkage. There was 96.1% IOA at “”Second Level”". Thirty-three concepts linked to Third Level with 96.9% IOA. Ten concepts linked at the Fourth Level with 100% IOA.
Conclusion. The SOSGOQ includes all domains relevant for measurement of function and disability and its
content validity is confirmed by linkage with the ICF. This new questionnaire has superior content capacity to measure disease burden of patients with metastatic disease selleckchem of the spine than any instruments previously identified in the literature.”
“Purpose: To compare, in a pilot study, acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging technology integrated into a conventional ultrasonography (US) system with both transient elastography (TE) and serologic fibrosis marker testing for the noninvasive assessment of liver fibrosis.
Materials and Methods: Informed consent was obtained from all subjects, and the local ethics committee approved the study. ARFI imaging involved the mechanical excitation of tissue with use of short-duration acoustic pulses to generate localized displacements in tissue. The displacements resulted in shearwave propagation, which was tracked by using US correlation-based methods and recorded in meters per second. Eighty-six patients with chronic viral hepatitis underwent TE, ARFI imaging, and serum fibrosis marker testing.