Clinics
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Randomized Controlled Trial
One-year treatment follow-up of plantar fasciitis: radial shockwaves vs. conventional physiotherapy.
To compare radial shockwave treatment with conventional physiotherapy for plantar fasciitis after 12 months of follow-up. ⋯ Shockwave treatment was not more effective than conventional physiotherapy treatment 12 months after the end of the treatment.
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Azoospermia due to obstructive and non-obstructive mechanisms is a common manifestation of male infertility accounting for 10-15% of such cases. Known genetic factors are responsible for approximately 1/3 of cases of azoospermia. ⋯ In the present review, we examine the current genetic information associated with azoospermia based on results from search engines, such as PUBMED, OVID, SCIENCE DIRECT and SCOPUS. We also present a critical appraisal of use of genetic testing in this subset of infertile patients.
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Obstructive azoospermia is a relatively common male infertility condition. The main etiologies of obstructive azoospermia include congenital, surgical-derived, traumatic and post-infectious cases. ⋯ This process requires several considerations and decisions to be made, including the cause and duration of obstruction, which sperm retrieval technique to use, and whether to use fresh or frozen-thawed sperm. We present a review of obstructive azoospermia and assisted reproduction techniques, highlighting the most relevant aspects of the decision-making process for use in clinical practice.
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We compared pregnancy outcomes following intracytoplasmic sperm injection for the treatment of male infertility according to the type of azoospermia. First, we analyzed our data from 370 couples who underwent intracytoplasmic sperm injection using sperm from men with obstructive azoospermia and nonobstructive azoospermia, and the outcomes were compared to a group of 465 non-azoospermic infertile males. Then, we performed a systematic review of the published data on pregnancy and neonatal outcomes of children born after sperm injection using sperm from men with obstructive and nonobstructive azoospermia. ⋯ Most of these studies were not designed to detect differences in live birth rates and had lower power to detect differences in less frequent outcomes, and the reporting of neonatal outcomes was unusual. The included studies reported either a decrease or no difference in pregnancy outcomes with intracytoplasmic sperm injection in cases of nonobstructive azoospermia and obstructive azoospermia. In general, no major differences were noted in short-term neonatal outcomes and congenital malformation rates between children from fathers with nonobstructive azoospermia and obstructive azoospermia.
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Comparative Study
Is SAPS 3 better than APACHE II at predicting mortality in critically ill transplant patients?
This study compared the accuracy of the Simplified Acute Physiology Score 3 with that of Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II at predicting hospital mortality in patients from a transplant intensive care unit. ⋯ The low predictive accuracy of the Simplified Acute Physiology Score 3 and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II scores does not warrant the use of these scores in critically ill transplant patients.