There was evidence of convergent and construct validity of Physiotherapy Evidence Database quality scale for physiotherapy trials

ObjectiveTo evaluate the convergent and construct validity of the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale used to rate the methodological quality of randomized trials in physiotherapy.Study Design and SettingPEDro total scores and individual-item scores were extracted from 9,456 physiotherapy trials indexed on PEDro. Convergent validity was tested by comparing PEDro total scores with three other quality scales. Construct validity was tested by regressing the PEDro score and individual-item scores with the Institute for Scientific Information Web of Knowledge impact factors (IF) and SCImago journal rankings (SJR) for the journals in which the trials were published.ResultsTesting of convergent validity revealed correlations with the other quality scales ranging from 0.31 to 0.69. The PEDro total score was weakly but significantly associated with IF and SJR (P < 0.0001). Eight of the 10 individual scale items that contribute to the PEDro total score were significantly associated with IF.ConclusionThis study provides preliminary evidence of the convergent and construct validity of the PEDro total score and the construct validity of eight individual scale items.     

Discrete Choice Modeling for the Quantification of Health States: The Case of the EQ-5D

ObjectivesProbabilistic models have been developed to establish the relative merit of subjective phenomena by means of specific judgmental tasks involving discrete choices (DCs). The attractiveness of these DC models is that they are embedded in a strong theoretical measurement framework and are based on relatively simple judgmental tasks. The aim of our study was to determine whether the values derived from a DC experiment are comparable to those obtained using other valuation techniques, in particular the time trade-off (TTO).MethodsTwo hundred nine students completed several tasks in which we collected DC, rank, visual analog scale, and TTO responses. DC data were also collected in a general population sample (N = 444). The DC experiment was designed using a Bayesian approach, and involved 60 choices between two health states and a comparison of all health states to being dead. The DC data were analyzed using a conditional logit and a rank-ordered logit model, relying, respectively, on TTO values and the value for being dead to anchor the DC-derived values to the 0 to 1 quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) scale.ResultsAlthough modeled DC data broadly replicated the pattern found in TTO responses, the DC consistently produced higher values. The two methods for anchoring DC-derived values on the QALY scale produced similar results.ConclusionsOn the basis of the high level of comparability between DC-derived values and TTO values, future valuation studies based on a combination of these two techniques may be considered. The results further suggest that DC can potentially be used as a substitute for TTO.     

Right of access to the assisted human reproduction: bioethics discussions

The objective of this study is to evaluate how is configured the right of access to the assisted human reproduction service (AHRS). It was developed through documentary research in official sources of the Brazilian Federal Government. From the criteria of the analysis of content were analyzed: 1 government directive and 6 projects of law, divided in 3 thematic areas (access to what?; access to whom?; and conditions and criteria of access), revealing nucleus of meaning that had been explored in this research. This revealed that the right of access in official documents is exclusive, and morally induced by a professional category and its arbitrariness. The joint of these nucleus of meaning with the everyday bioethics was of extreme relevance to deal with the different kinds of family that are being legitimated through these proposals of regulation, as well as the ethical questions intrinsic to the formulation of these texts, which remit us to the idea of traditional family, model not hegemonic anymore in our society, and social and legally surpassed by new familiar conceptions that also demand visibility and legitimacy from the State. The study intends to be one more possibility of reflection about the questions that involve the right of access to the AHRS from the everyday bioethics issues.     

Violence exposures by school children in Brazil: results from the National Adolescent School-based Health Survey (PeNSE)

This article presents the main results of the National Adolescent School-based Health Survey (PeNSE). A questionnaire was applied to a sample of 60,973 students of the 9th year of Junior high school in public and private schools of the Brazilian state capitals and the Federal District, between March and June 2009. The prevalence and confidence interval of 95% (CI 95%) of the violence situations involving adolescents were analyzed. The following situations were identified: lack of safety on the way home-school (6.4%; CI95%: 6.1%-6.8%) and at school (5.5%; CI95%: 5.2%-5.8%); involving fights with physical aggression (12.9%; CI95%: 12.4%-13.4%), with knife (6.1%; CI95%: 5.7%-6.4%) or fire arm (4.0%; CI95%: 3.7%-4.3%); physical aggression by family member (9.5%; CI95%: 9.1%-9.9%). Violence situations were more prevalent among male students. There were great variations among the cities studied. Adolescents are exposed to different violence manifestations in the institutions that supposedly must assure their protection and healthy development: school and the home. These results aim to support health promotion measures and prevention of these risk factors.     

Mitochondrial DNA alterations in the progression of gastric carcinomas: Unexplored issues and future research needs

Gastric cancer is the second most frequent cause of cancer death worldwide.Patients infected with Helicobacter pylori(H.pylori)are at increased risk of gastric cancer.H.pylori induces genomic instability in both nuclear and mitochondrial(mt)DNA of gastric epithelial cells.Changes in mt DNA represent an early event during gastric tumorigenesis,and thus may serve as potential biomarkers for early detection and prognosis in gastric carcinoma.This review article summarizes the mt DNA mutations that have been reported in gastric carcinomas and their precancerous conditions.Unexplored research topics,such as the role of mt DNA alterations in an alternative pathway of gastric carcinogenesis,are identified and directions for future research are suggested.     

EAACI/ENDA Position Paper: Diagnosis and management of hypersensitivity reactions to non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in children and adolescents

Non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly used in the pediatric population as antipyretics/analgesics and anti‐inflammatory medications. Hypersensitivity (HS) reactions to NSAID in this age group, while similar to adults, have unique diagnostic and management issues. Although slowly accumulating, published data in this age group are still relatively rare and lacking a unifying consensus. This work is a summary of current knowledge and consensus recommendations utilizing both published data and expert opinion from the European Network of Drug Allergy (ENDA) and the Drug Hypersensitivity interest group in the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI). This position paper summarizes diagnostic and management guidelines for children and adolescents with NSAIDs hypersensitivity.     

Comparison of the detectability of UBOs in Neurofibromatosis Type I patients with proton density-weighted and FLAIR sequences in 3T MRI

Objective

In NF 1 patients, significant numbers of so-called unidentified bright objects (UBOs) can be found. The aim of the study was to investigate whether the detectability of UBOs increases at 3T by comparing Proton density-weighted images (PDw) with fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) sequences.