Chest
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Pain and physical function are similar following axillary, muscle-sparing vs posterolateral thoracotomy.
We set out to determine whether there is a difference in postoperative pain and recovery after the patient undergoes the axillary muscle-sparing incision (ie, muscle-sparing thoracotomy [MT]) vs the modified posterolateral incision (ie, posterolateral thoracotomy [PT]). ⋯ When comparing patients who had undergone vertical, axillary, wholly MT to those who had undergone modified serratus muscle-sparing PT, postoperative differences in pain were not apparent. One should not anticipate reduced pain or more rapid overall recovery following MT, at least when epidural analgesia is used aggressively for perioperative pain control.
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Multicenter Study
Use of the pulmonary artery catheter is not associated with worse outcome in the ICU.
In critically ill patients, the impact of pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) use on outcome is debatable. We investigated the epidemiology of PAC use in European ICUs and its relation to outcome. ⋯ This observational study suggests that PAC use is not associated with increased mortality in this heterogeneous population.
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Multicenter Study
Development and validation of The Cystic Fibrosis Questionnaire in the United States: a health-related quality-of-life measure for cystic fibrosis.
The Cystic Fibrosis Questionnaire (CFQ) is a disease-specific instrument that measures health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for adolescents and adults with cystic fibrosis (CF) > or = 14 years, consisting of 44 items on 12 generic and disease-specific scales. Versions of the CFQ are also available for children with CF and their parents. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the CFQ in a national study at 18 CF centers in the United States. ⋯ The results demonstrated that the CFQ-teen/adult is a reliable and valid measure of HRQOL for individuals with CF. It may be utilized in clinical trials to assess the effects of new therapies, to document the progression of disease, and to inform clinical practice.