Articles: diagnosis.
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
How well does CAPTURE™ Translate? An Exploratory Analysis of a COPD Case-Finding Method for Spanish-Speaking Patients.
This study tested the properties of a Spanish translation of CAPTURE (COPD Assessment in Primary Care To Identify Undiagnosed Respiratory Disease and Exacerbation Risk) with selective use of peak expiratory flow (PEF). ⋯ CAPTURE-S with selective use of PEF seems to be useful for identifying Spanish-speaking patients in need of diagnostic evaluation for clinically significant COPD who may benefit from initiation of COPD treatment.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
A novel electronic algorithm using host biomarker point-of-care tests for the management of febrile illnesses in Tanzanian children (e-POCT): A randomized, controlled non-inferiority trial.
The management of childhood infections remains inadequate in resource-limited countries, resulting in high mortality and irrational use of antimicrobials. Current disease management tools, such as the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) algorithm, rely solely on clinical signs and have not made use of available point-of-care tests (POCTs) that can help to identify children with severe infections and children in need of antibiotic treatment. e-POCT is a novel electronic algorithm based on current evidence; it guides clinicians through the entire consultation and recommends treatment based on a few clinical signs and POCT results, some performed in all patients (malaria rapid diagnostic test, hemoglobin, oximeter) and others in selected subgroups only (C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, glucometer). The objective of this trial was to determine whether the clinical outcome of febrile children managed by the e-POCT tool was non-inferior to that of febrile children managed by a validated electronic algorithm derived from IMCI (ALMANACH), while reducing the proportion with antibiotic prescription. ⋯ e-POCT, an innovative electronic algorithm using host biomarker POCTs, including C-reactive protein and procalcitonin, has the potential to improve the clinical outcome of children with febrile illnesses while reducing antibiotic use through improved identification of children with severe infections, and better targeting of children in need of antibiotic prescription.
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J Clin Monit Comput · Oct 2017
Multicenter StudyNon-invasive diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension from lung Doppler signal: a proof of concept study.
Transthoracic Parametric Doppler (TPD) is a novel ultrasound technique recently developed for the investigation of pulmonary blood vessels. Lung Doppler Signals (LDS) recorded from TPD provide information regarding the functional mechanical characteristics of pulmonary blood vessels. We aimed to define the specific profile of LDS generated from TPD imaging in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH), and to evaluate the diagnostic performance of LDS to detect PH using right heart catheterization (RHC) as gold standard reference. ⋯ Detection rate of PH increased progressively with the level of mean pulmonary artery pressure. LDS recorded by TPD display a specific profile in PH and appears to be a promising and reliable tool for PH diagnosis. Further studies are required to confirm the clinical usefulness of LDS.
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Multicenter Study
Visual and auditory cortical evoked potentials in interictal episodic migraine: An audit on 624 patients from three centres.
Background Many studies report a habituation deficit of visual evoked potentials (VEP) and/or increased intensity dependence of auditory evoked cortical potentials (IDAP) in episodic migraine patients between attacks. These findings have a pathophysiological interest, but their diagnostic utility is not known. Aims To perform an audit on a large database of interictal VEP and IDAP recordings in episodic migraine patients and evaluate their diagnostic accuracy. ⋯ Conclusions In this large database, VEP habituation is significantly reduced and IDAP increased in episodic migraine patients between attacks. Taken alone, neither VEP nor IDAP has sufficient diagnostic accuracy. However, when both tests are performed in the same patient, an abnormality of at least one of them is highly predictive of interictal episodic migraine.
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Multicenter Study
En bloc resection versus intralesional surgery in the treatment of giant cell tumor of the spine.
Multicenter, ambispective observational study. ⋯ 3.