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Specific Questionnaire (specific + questionnaire)
Selected AbstractsAppropriateness of therapy for fistulizing Crohn's disease: findings from a national inflammatory bowel disease cohortALIMENTARY PHARMACOLOGY & THERAPEUTICS, Issue 8 2010V. Pittet Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2010; 32: 1007,1016 Summary Background, About 30,50% of patients with Crohn's disease (CD) develop fistulae, implying significant disease burden and complicated clinical management. Aim, To assess appropriate use of therapy for fistulizing CD patients enrolled in the Swiss Inflammatory Bowel Disease Cohort using criteria developed by the European Panel on the Appropriateness of Crohn's disease Therapy. Methods, Specific questionnaires were used to gather information on disease and its management. We assessed appropriateness of therapy at enrolment for adult CD patients with one or several fistulae. Results, Two hundred and eighty-eight CD patients had fistulizing disease, of which 80% had complex fistulae and 32% currently had active draining fistulae. Mean age (s.d.) at diagnosis was 27 years (11), 51% males. Of the patients, 78% were judged as having globally an appropriate therapy, which was more often given for complex fistulae (87%) than for simple fistulae (67%). Antibiotics, azathioprine/MP, methotrexate and conservative surgery were almost always appropriate. Anti-tumor necrosis factor , was considered globally appropriate (91%), although most often with an uncertain indication. The 5ASA compounds, steroids and aggressive surgery were most often inappropriate (84%, 58% and 86% respectively). Conclusions, Formal appropriateness criteria for CD therapy were applied to a national cohort of IBD patients. For more than three-quarters of the patients with fistulizing CD, therapy was globally appropriate. [source] Sexual dysfunction in dermatological diseasesJOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY & VENEREOLOGY, Issue 9 2009AT Ermertcan Abstract Decrease or loss of sexual function in many chronic diseases has recently attracted significant attention owing to its impact on quality of life. Generic and disease-specific quality-of-life questionnaires measure changes in work, school, social life and emotional status regarding the disease and its treatment. Specific questionnaires have been designed to evaluate changes in sexuality and sexual function. Sexual dysfunction, especially female sexual dysfunction, in different diseases became a popular and important health concern in recent years. There are a lot of studies about sexual dysfunction in the areas of other specialities of medicine, but there are only a few studies in dermatological diseases. In this paper, sexual dysfunction and the studies performed about this subject in dermatology will be reviewed. Conflict of Interest None declared. [source] Prevalence of oral trauma in children with bilateral cleftsDENTAL TRAUMATOLOGY, Issue 1 2005Juliana Yassue Barbosa Da Silva Abstract,,, The main object of this study is to analyze the prevalence of oral trauma in subjects with complete bilateral clefts, with anterior projection of the premaxilla. A total of 106 children aging 6 months to 9 years were analyzed. The caretakers answered a specific questionnaire, in order to report the presence or absence of trauma to the soft and/or hard tissues of the child's mouth. Whenever there was a history of trauma, the patients were submitted to clinical examination. The prevalence of oral trauma was 53%, being 91% of soft tissue lesions, 8.9% of avulsion, 7% of luxation and 1.8% of intrusion. For the males, the prevalence was 56% and for the females it was 47%, with no statistical significance. Regarding the following aspects:period of time spent with the parents and at school, and presence or absence of siblings, no statistical difference could be found. Among the traumatized individuals, 80% aged less than 3 years by the moment of the trauma, 89% suffered the trauma at home, 75% presented lesions in the soft tissue at the premaxilla, 16% in the maxillary incisors, and 8.9% presented lesions in both structures. It was noticed that 45% of the permanent incisors that succeeded the traumatized deciduous teeth presented alterations, being 48% of structure and 52% of structure and position. The prevalence of trauma in this sample was superior to that observed in the literature, without any positive associations between the evaluated aspects. These results suggest that the projection of the premaxilla brings about a higher risk of oral trauma around this area. [source] How Children and Parents Evaluate the Headache Centre's InterventionHEADACHE, Issue 2 2009Anna Ferrari MD Background., While adult headache patients' satisfaction with treatments has been widely investigated, less attention has been paid to children and adolescent headache patients' opinions and their parents' views. Objective., The aim of our follow-up survey was to analyze the outcomes of the Headache Centre's intervention and the evolution of headache according to patients until the age of 16 and their parents. Methods., We studied all outpatients suffering from episodic primary headache according to International Classification of Headache Disorders 2nd edition criteria, seen for the first time in 2005-2006 at the Headache Centre of the University Hospital of Modena (Italy), and at least one of their parents. The duration of the follow-up ranged from 1 to 3 years. For the purpose of the study, a specific questionnaire was created and administered by a telephone interview. Results., We enrolled 84 patients (38 females, 45%; 46 males, 55%; mean age ± SD: 12.9 ± 2.9 years) with primary headache: migraine without aura 66%, episodic tension-type headache 23%, migraine with aura 11%. At the follow-up, 70% of the patients reported that headache had improved; frequency had decreased significantly more than severity (P = .000, Fisher's exact test), both in those who had followed a prophylactic treatment and in those who had not. A high percentage of the children and parents could precisely indicate trigger factors for headache: especially excessive worrying and studying. The patients reporting an improvement attributed it to pharmacological prophylactic treatment, but also to other factors: first of all, better school results and more happiness than before. Seventy-seven percent of the parents thought that the Headache Centre's intervention had helped them to better understand and manage their children's headache. Conclusions., Children's and adolescents' headache has in most cases a favorable prognosis; the Headache Centre's intervention is considered effective by most parents. We must increase and focus therapeutic efforts addressed to the few patients with worsening headaches in spite of treatment, since these children's/adolescents' headache also is at risk to progress in the adult age. [source] Waiting list management: priority criteria or first-in first-out?JOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 4 2009A case for total joint replacement Abstract Background, Total joint replacements are interventions with large waiting times from indication to the surgery management. These patients can be managed in two ways; first-in first-out or through a priority tool. The aim of this study was to compare real time on waiting list (TWL) with a priority criteria score, developed by our team, in patients awaiting joint replacement due to osteoarthritis. Methods, Consecutive patients placed on waiting list were eligible. Patients fulfilled a questionnaire which included items of our priority tool and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) specific questionnaire. Other priority items were extracted from the clinical history. The priority tool gives a score from 0 to 100 points, and three categories (urgent, preferent and ordinary). We studied the differences among categories and TWL by means of one-way analysis of variance. Correlational analysis was used to evaluate association among priority score and TWL and WOMAC baseline and gains at 6 months with priority score and TWL. Results, We have studied 684 patients. Women represented 62% of sample. The mean age was 70 years. There were not association between the categories of priority score and TWL (P = 0.12). The rho correlation coefficient between TWL and priority score was ,0.11. Among baseline WOMAC scores and priority score, the rho coefficients were 0.79, 0.7 and 0.52 with function, pain and stiffness dimensions, respectively. There were differences in the mean scores of WOMAC dimensions according to the three priority categories (P < 0.001) but no with TWL categories. Data of gains in both health-related quality of life dimensions at 6 months were similar, with differences according to priority categories but no regarding TWL. Conclusions, The results of the study support the necessity of implementing a prioritization system instead of the actual system if we want to manage the waiting list for joint replacement with clinical equity. [source] Effect of melasma on quality of life in a sample of women living in southern BrazilJOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY & VENEREOLOGY, Issue 6 2008FM Freitag Abstract Background Melasma can cause a significant effect on individual emotional well-being. Melasma Quality of Life Scale (MELASQoL) is a specific questionnaire elaborated to assess the burden of melasma on patient's quality of life. Objective To evaluate the clinical aspects, severity and the influence of melasma on daily living of a sample of Brazilian women. Methods Cross-sectional study that enrolled 85 women with melasma older than 15 years of age. Trained investigators asked 55 questions to collect epidemiological and clinical data. The disease severity was clinically assessed using Melasma Area and Severity Index (MASI). Patients answered the Portuguese version of 10-item MELASQoL scale without coaching. Results The mean ± SD age was 41.1 ± 6.8 years, and the mean ± SD of MELASQoL score was 37.5 ± 15.2 (median, 35). Patients with previous psychiatric diagnosis had significantly higher MELASQoL scores (mean, 42.8; SD, 13.6) than patients without this antecedent (mean, 35.4; SD, 15.4; P < 0.05). Patients with less than 8 years of school attendance also had significantly higher MELASQoL score (mean, 44; SD, 16.9) than more graduated ones (mean, 34.4; SD, 13.5; P < 0.05). The mean ± SD MASI was 10.6 ± 6.6 (median, 10.2). There was no correlation between MASI and MELASQoL. Conclusions This study confirms that MELASQoL-BP is easy to administer, adds important information about the impact of melasma on South American women's life and, finally, contributes to building evidence on the validity, reliability and cultural adaptation of the Portuguese language MELASQoL version. [source] Development of a disease specific questionnaire to supplement a generic tool for QoL in colorectal cancerPSYCHO-ONCOLOGY, Issue 7 2003J. Davidson-Homewood The need for disease-specific quality of life measures is highlighted in the literature. The psychometric properties of a supplementary disease-specific quality of life questionnaire developed for use with a generic Quality of Life tool in colorectal cancer patients are explored. Originally developed and tested in a German sample, the English translation was tested on a cohort of UK colorectal cancer patients. Relevance and acceptability was previously established in Germany. A rigorous factor analysis ascertained the underlying structure of two factors with a number of single items that were retained as clinically important symptom indicators. In considering validity, four conditions were assessed: Reliability using Cronbach's alpha; Construct validity by comparing patient subgroups; Clinical Validity, by testing the hypothesis that some patient subgroups experience worse quality of life; Construct Reliability using second order factor analysis with the EORTC QOLQ-C30 scales, confirming that the factors retained provide an excellent measure of physical discomfort and a good measure of physical well being. Two other such questionnaires were developed in parallel with this one and reported in the literature (FACT-C and QOLQ-CR38). However, this questionnaire provides a useful alternative tool for use in clinical trials of colorectal cancer treatments alongside a core QoL questionnaire especially when brevity is an important consideration. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Long-Term Results of Provox ActiValve, Solving the Problem of Frequent Candida- and "Underpressure"-Related Voice Prosthesis ReplacementsTHE LARYNGOSCOPE, Issue 2 2008Jessica Soolsma MSc Abstract Objectives: To assess the long-term results of the Provox ActiValve, a prosthesis for voice rehabilitation after total laryngectomy that was designed to lessen the need for frequent replacements caused by Candida and "underpressure." Patients and Methods: Retrospective assessment of device lifetime, indications for replacement, voice quality, and maintenance issues, measured by a structured trial specific questionnaire, in a cohort of 42 laryngectomized patients, experiencing a short Provox2 device lifetime (median, 21 days). Results: The median device lifetime of Provox ActiValve, replaced for leakage through the device and those still in situ at the date of data collection (N = 32), was 337 days (mean 376 days): a statistically significant 16-fold increase compared to the Provox2 prosthesis (P < .001). In 10 patients, replacement was fistula-related (median after 86 days): esophageal pouch (N = 4), fistula granulation (N = 3), extrusion of the device (N = 2), and periprosthetic leakage (N = 1). Eighty-six percent of the patients used a special lubricant to diminish "stickiness" of the valve. Provox ActiValve was preferred by 90% of the patients who completed the trial-specific questionnaire. Conclusions: For patients requiring frequent device-related replacements, Provox ActiValve, also long-term, provides a true solution and thereby is a valuable addition to prosthetic voice rehabilitation. [source] Genital heat stress in men of barren couples: a prospective evaluation by means of a questionnaireANDROLOGIA, Issue 6 2002A. Jung Summary. Exposure to genital heat stress among men of barren couples was evaluated in a prospective study. Five hundred and forty-two consecutive patients referred for andrological examination were asked to complete a specific questionnaire at their first visit. For 449 patients who answered all questions, the individual score values could be calculated by scoring each answer with points. Patients with ,idiopathic' oligoasthenoteratozoospermia had significantly higher score values when compared with men showing normozoospermia (P < 0.01), ,symptomatic' oligoasthenoteratozoospermia as a result of defined andrological disorders (P < 0.01), cryptozoospermia (P < 0.01) or other pathological semen profiles (P < 0.05). These data support the hypothesis that patients with ,idiopathic' oligoasthenoteratozoospermia are more exposed to genital heat stress than normozoospermic men. Moreover, in patients with a varicocele impairment semen quality was associated with significantly higher score values compared with the subgroup of men with normal semen profiles (P < 0.05). In contrast, the score values did not significantly differ between equivalent subgroups of men with a history of a retractile testis. Our observations indicate that the questionnaire used in the present study allows an integrative assessment of genital heat stress, which is superior to single factor analysis. Notably, the group of men with ,idiopathic' oligoasthenoteratozoospermia showed the highest mean score values for 10 of the 18 questions compared with the other groups. Prolonged sitting in a vehicle represented the only single factor with significantly different score values in patients with ,idiopathic' oligoasthenoteratozoospermia and those with normozoospermia (P < 0.05). [source] Enuresis and urinary incontinence in children and adolescents with spinal muscular atrophyBJU INTERNATIONAL, Issue 4 2001A. Von Gontard Objective To assess the rate and type of urinary incontinence in a large sample of children and adolescents with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a genetic disorder characterized by loss of motor function caused by anterior horn degeneration. Patients, subjects and methods The study included 96 severely incapacitated patients with SMA (aged 6.0,18.11 years) who were examined in detail, including a structured interview (Kinder-DIPS), the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) and a specific questionnaire for urinary incontinence. They were compared with two control groups of unaffected siblings and normal children. Results In all, 29% of the patients were wet at night and/or during the day; mostly younger children with SMA types I and II only were affected. The results of the interview were more reliable than the CBCL. The specific questionnaire revealed a variety of possible functional and neurogenic forms of wetting, including nocturnal enuresis, voiding postponement, dysfunctional voiding, stress, symptomatic (urinary tract infections, UTIs) and neurogenic incontinence. Many patients were constipated, soiled or had UTIs. The rate of behavioural problems was twice as high (32%) as normal (15%; CBCL). Conclusion Children with SMA have a high rate of urinary incontinence which is often overlooked, and not diagnosed and treated adequately. These problems should be addressed routinely by paediatricians in children referred to paediatric urological specialists. [source] Chronic rhinosinusitis and nasal polyps: the role of generic and specific questionnaires on assessing its impact on patient's quality of lifeALLERGY, Issue 10 2008I. Alobid Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) including nasal polyps is a chronic inflammatory disease of the nasal and paranasal sinus mucosa that, despite differing hypotheses of its cause, remains poorly understood. Primary symptoms are nasal blockage, loss of smell, rhinorrhea, and facial pain or pressure. Chronic rhinosinusitis causes significant physical symptoms, has a negative impact on quality of life (QoL), and can substantially impair daily functioning. A global evaluation of patients must include, together with nasal symptoms, nasal endoscopy, and CT scan, the measurement of QoL. To assess QoL in CRS, specific and generic questionnaires may be used. Chronic rhinosinusitis has a considerable impact on a patient's QoL but comorbidities, such as asthma and atopy, have an accumulative negative effect. Both medical and surgical treatments lead to a similar improvement on the QoL of CRS and nasal polyp patients. [source] Quality of life in allergic rhinitisCLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL ALLERGY REVIEWS, Issue 3 2006G. Passalacqua Summary Quality of life (QoL)or, better, health-related quality of life, is now recognized as a crucial aspect in assessing the impact of a given disease on the general well-being of patients. This fact was ascertained in the last 10 years also for respiratory allergy (asthma and rhinitis). In particular, it was shown that allergic rhinitis (AR), although not life threatening, profoundly affects many aspects of everyday life. In this regard, a number of specific questionnaires (instruments) have been developed and validated to assess the quality of life in adults, adolescents and children. Although the concept of QoL is easy to understand, the development and validation process of questionnaires is quite complex and time consuming. The literature provided strong evidence of the effects of AR and its treatments on QoL, but also evidenced some controversial points, including the weak correlation of QoL with objective parameters. It has therefore become clear that QoL questionnaires measure aspects of the disease that partially differ from the routinely evaluated parameters and that quality of life should integrate, not replace, the objective measurements. In the near future, ,sharper' instruments are expected to be developed for the evaluation of quality of life and of the effects of treatments in AR. [source] | ||||||||||