Articles: function.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Morning Versus Evening Bright Light Treatment at Home to Improve Function and Pain Sensitivity for Women with Fibromyalgia: A Pilot Study.
To test the feasibility, acceptability, and effects of a home-based morning versus evening bright light treatment on function and pain sensitivity in women with fibromyalgia. ⋯ Bright light treatment appears to be a feasible and acceptable adjunctive treatment to women with fibromyalgia. Those who undergo morning light treatment may show improvements in function and pain sensitivity. Advances in circadian timing may be one mechanism by which morning light improves pain sensitivity. Findings can inform the design of a randomized controlled trial.
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Establishment of cutpoints for classifying mild, moderate and severe pain is commonly based on single rating of worst or average pain. However, single pain measure may serve as a brief and partial surrogate for composite pain ratings. This study aimed to base composite pain ratings to establish optimal cutpoint that maximized the difference of pain interference on daily function and compare its utility with those based on single worst and average pain. ⋯ The results suggest that using optimal cutpoint for composite pain may be useful to classify clinically important groups in patients with chronic pain and that average pain may be an alternative choice if a single item is used. WHAT DOES THIS STUDY ADD?: Using composite pain, optimal classification for mild, moderate and severe pain exhibited better discriminant ability than using single worst/average pain. The difficulty hierarchy of the least, worst, average and current pain helps to screen people with irregular responses.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Systemic biomarkers of collagen and elastin turnover are associated with clinically relevant outcomes in COPD.
Extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling of the lung tissue releases protein fragments into the blood, where they may be detected as serologic surrogate markers of disease activity in COPD. Our goal was to assess the association of ECM turnover with severity and outcome of COPD. ⋯ Serum biomarkers of ECM turnover were significantly associated with disease severity and clinically relevant outcomes in patients with COPD.
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Observational Study
Racial differences in health-related quality of life and functional ability in patients with gout.
To compare the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and the functional ability by race in patients with gout. ⋯ African Americans with gout have significantly worse HRQOL compared with Caucasians. Further research is necessary in the form of studies targeted at African Americans on how best to improve these outcomes.
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Minerva anestesiologica · Jan 2017
ReviewThe link between anesthesiology and neurology: a mindful cooperation to improve brain protection.
Preventing neurological injury is mandatory during the perioperative period of any kind of surgery and in the care of critically ill patients in the intensive care unit. During daily practice, both anesthesiologists and neurologists focus on brain protection as an integral part of systemic homeostasis maintenance. This article highlights the intriguing overlap between anesthesiology and neurology in clinical practice along with its potential implications for outcome. ⋯ Clinical vigilance and the use of shared monitoring and diagnostic technology could allow early recognition and treatment of cerebral dysfunction occurring in the perioperative period or in the critical care setting, thus reducing morbidity and mortality. In order to improve patient safety and outcome, neurologists and anesthesiologists should more closely and successfully collaborate, using shared monitoring tools and integrating traditional areas of expertise. Daily activity, education, research and training programs in anesthesia and neurology could benefit from a stronger relationship with each other.