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Own Evaluation (own + evaluation)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Medical Sciences75%

Selected Abstracts

Early case conferences shorten length of stay in children admitted to hospital with suspected child abuse

JOURNAL OF PAEDIATRICS AND CHILD HEALTH, Issue 9-10 2005
J Anne S Smith
Objective: To compare the outcomes of two models for the management of children admitted to hospital with suspected child abuse: routine early case conferencing versus standard evaluation. Methods: Between March 2001 and February 2002 professionals from the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria Police and Child Protection services collaborated on a randomized controlled study involving children admitted to hospital with suspected child abuse. The intervention group (n = 13) received a case conference within 24 h of the child's admission to hospital. The control group (n = 12) were managed according to standard procedures whereby each organization conducted their own evaluation (and a case conference might or might not have been held). Patients were followed for 3 months with data collected from all three professional groups. Results: The process of evaluation, the eventual diagnosis of child abuse and the confidence with which professionals made this diagnosis was not significantly different between the groups. Case conferences were judged to be useful regardless of their timing. Mean length of stay in the intervention group was significantly less than in controls (42.4 h vs 99.7 h, P = 0.01). Conclusion: Early case conferences appear to shorten the period of time children spend in hospital when child abuse is suspected. This has significant implications for reducing costs for all organizations involved in the evaluation of suspected child abuse. [source]

Health-related quality of life in multiple system atrophy

MOVEMENT DISORDERS, Issue 6 2006
Anette Schrag MD
Abstract Although multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a neurodegenerative disorder leading to progressive disability and decreased life expectancy, little is known about patients' own evaluation of their illness and factors associated with poor health-related quality of life (Hr-QoL). We, therefore, assessed Hr-QoL and its determinants in MSA. The following scales were applied to 115 patients in the European MSA-Study Group (EMSA-SG) Natural History Study: Medical Outcome Study Short Form (SF-36), EQ-5D, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Mini-Mental state examination (MMSE), Unified MSA Rating Scale (UMSARS), Hoehn & Yahr (H&Y) Parkinson's disease staging scale, Composite Autonomic Symptom Scale (COMPASS), and Parkinson's Disease Sleep Scale (PDSS). Forty-six percent of patients had moderate to severe depression (BDI , 17); Hr-QoL scores on the SF-36 and EQ-5D were significantly impaired. Pain, the only domain with similar scores in MSA and published PD patients, was reported more frequently in patients with MSA-P (predominantly parkinsonian motor subtype) than MSA-C (predominantly cerebellar motor subtype; 76% vs. 50%; P = 0.005). Hr-QoL scores correlated most strongly with UMSARS motor, COMPASS, and BDI scores but not with MMSE scores, age at onset, or disease duration. The COMPASS and UMSARS activities of daily living scores were moderate-to-strong predictors for the SF-36 physical summary score and the BDI and UMSARS motor scores for the SF-36 mental summary score. This report is the first study to show that Hr-QoL is significantly impaired in MSA. Although not all possible factors related to impaired Hr-QoL in MSA could be assessed, autonomic dysfunction, motor impairment, and depression were most closely associated with poor Hr-QoL, and therapeutic management, therefore, should concentrate upon these aspects of the disease. © 2006 Movement Disorder Society [source]

IPL technology: A review

LASERS IN SURGERY AND MEDICINE, Issue 2 2003
Christian Raulin MD
Abstract Background and Objectives Intense pulsed light (IPL) systems are high-intensity light sources, which emit polychromatic light. Unlike laser systems, these flashlamps work with noncoherent light in a broad wavelength spectrum of 515,1,200 nm. These properties allow for great variability in selecting individual treatment parameters and adapting to different types of skin types and indications. The purpose of this article was to critically review international medical publications of the many indication in which IPL technology can be used, including our own evaluations and experiences. Study Design/Materials and Methods The range of therapeutic uses for high-intensity flashlamps was reviewed, ranging from benign cavernous hemangiomas, benign venous malformations, essential telangiectasias, leg telangiectasias, poikiloderma of Civatte, and port-wine stains to pigmented lesions, cosmetically undesired hypertrichosis, and facial rhydids. The relative benefits and risks were discussed in detail and compared with other laser systems. Results Because of the wide spectrum of potential combinations of wavelengths, pulse durations, pulse frequency, and fluences, a great deal of experience is required when using IPL technology. Proper patient selection and critical diagnostics serve to keep the adverse effects of the treatment to a minimum. Conclusions The distinctive technical conditions involved combine to make IPL technology an alternative and auxiliary treatment option to existing laser systems and conventional therapies. Lasers Surg. Med. 32:78,87, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Narrative analysis as a strategy for understanding interview talk in geographic research

AREA, Issue 1 2005
Janine L Wiles
Narrative analysis produces strategies to inform the conduct, interpretation and presentation of interview talk, and encourages and enables researchers to take account of research participants' own evaluations. We suggest this to be a useful method for geographers because it focuses on how people talk about and evaluate places, experiences and situations, as well as what they say. With an example from health geography, we show how it allows for interactive texts, thus providing a tool for geographers doing qualitative research to connect intimate details of experience to broader social and spatial relations. [source]