Journal of evaluation in clinical practice
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Comparative Study
A Comparison of Patient Self-Reported Fatigue in the FRAIL Scale With a Validated Fatigue Measure.
The FRAIL scale is a self-administered tool used to screen for frailty in clinical, community and long-term nursing settings. Patient's self-reporting of fatigue in the FRAIL scale may raise concerns of subjectivity and accuracy in frailty assessment. ⋯ Patient-reported fatigue largely reflects validated measure of fatigue. Physicians should therefore be encouraged to use the FRAIL scale to assess frailty.
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To apply the Ottawa Model of Research Use to translate the Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Vascular Catheter-Associated Bloodstream Infections. ⋯ Through this clinical change, a perfect prevention and control system has been established, and the level of knowledge, belief, and behavior of medical staff in preventing CLABSI has been improved, while the incidence of CLABSI has been reduced.
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The development of clinical practice guidelines (CPG) has evolved into a rigorous and complex process. There is a need for training of CPG developers including methodologists, panel members and patient representatives. This study explored the educational needs and experiences of CPG developers, with specific attention to the patient perspective and economic considerations. ⋯ This study underscores the importance of tailored CPG development training programmes addressing the specific competencies required for the different roles in CPG development. Thereby, recognising a holistic approach encompassing both content- and process-related aspects. Addressing economic considerations and the patient perspective in training will contribute to CPGs that support a patient-centred and sustainable healthcare system.
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Chewing is a fundamental motor activity, but there is no specific assessment tool in Italian for paediatric rehabilitation. The Karaduman Chewing Performance Scale (KCPS) is a performance-based assessment tool that allow to classify chewing performance in childhood. ⋯ Despite limited sample in reliability analysis and the need of exploring the relationship with chewing abilities and severity of diseases, the KCPS was found a reliable and valid tool for determining the level of chewing performance in paediatric population. Now Italian clinicians can use it with more confidence in their clinical practice and research.
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Zero-event counts are common in clinical studies, particularly when assessing rare adverse events. These occurrences can result from low event rates, short follow-up periods, and small sample sizes. When both intervention and control groups report zero events in a clinical trial, the study is referred to as a double-zero-event study, which presents methodological challenges for evidence synthesis. There has been ongoing debate about whether these studies should be excluded from evidence synthesis, as traditional two-stage meta-analysis methods may not estimate an effect size for them. Recent research suggests that these studies may still contain valuable clinical and statistical information. ⋯ We advocate for retaining double-zero-event studies in meta-analyses and emphasise the importance of carefully considering their role in FI assessments. Including these studies ensures a more accurate evaluation of the robustness of clinical results in evidence synthesis.