Research in physical medicine and rehabilitation. I. How to ask the question

A predictable pattern in research efforts is seen in 28 academic centers in physical medicine and rehabilitation. They consist of at least one technician and one small research room (220 square feet), with an additional small room (280 square feet), and 1/4 technician for every MD or PhD in the department (r = 0.72). Persons who are not active researchers with external funding must first define the research question in order to develop fundable research proposals. Clinical research is a process that starts from the clinical situation, leads to formulation and answering of the question, and eventually results in integration back into clinical practice. There are many reasons for posing a clinical research question and each results in a different type of question. Asking the right question is the most important part of research, as how the problem is stated determines what data is to be collected, the analysis to be done, and what kind of conclusions can be drawn. A strong research study addresses questions that are clearly spelled out and leads to conclusions that are within the limits of the experimental design and the availability, reliability, and validity of the data. Complex design and analysis do not make a study better if the question itself is not well formulated. It is not as important to know how to answer the question as it is to know how to ask the question. If the initial question is incomplete or incorrect, the rest of the research is at best irrelevant.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

氯沙坦减少高血压患者终点事件的研究(LIFE STUDY)

标　　题　应用ＡＴⅡ受体拮抗剂抗高血压治疗作　　者　ＫｊｅｌｄｓｅｎＳＥ,ＯｍｖｉｋＰ.　　参考文献　ＴｉｄｓｓｋｒＮｏｒＬａｅｇｅｆｏｒｅｎ,1996,116:504～507研究疾病　高血压病。目　　的　评估氯沙坦对心血管死亡率及非致死性心肌梗死和非脑卒中发生率的影响,同时评估该药对充血性心力衰竭或心绞痛所致的总死亡率和住院率的影响,以及长期应用氯沙坦对发生新诊断糖尿病的影响。设　　计　随机、三盲、对照研究。病人资料　8300例年龄55～80岁、收缩压在160～200ｍｍＨｇ、舒张压在95～115ｍｍＨｇ的高血压患者,ＥＣＧ上有左室…     

Knee injuries: high-resolution MR imaging

Recent technologic advances have made high-resolution magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the knee a clinical reality. Ten healthy volunteers and 30 patients with suspected knee injuries were imaged using receive-only surface coils and two-dimensional multisection or three-dimensional selective acquisition techniques. Arthroscopic and/or surgical correlation was available in 15 patients. Tears of the cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament, and meniscus are illustrated. Nonorthogonal views of the anterior cruciate ligament are useful for demonstrating both femoral and tibial attachments in the same section. The posterior cruciate ligament is usually well seen on sagittal views. T2-weighted images are helpful for demonstrating collateral ligament tears and meniscal tears when joint effusion is present. Thin sections (1-5 mm) are necessary to define many meniscal and cruciate tears. High-resolution, thin-section MR imaging can be used to diagnose soft-tissue injuries of the knee and has the potential to become a major imaging method in the evaluation of knee injuries.