SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “interpretive description”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 721 records · Page 40Linked to original sources

PubMed2001

[Computerized electrocardiography system of Porto. I -- General description and experience with its use].

After a brief review of computer assisted ECG interpretation techniques, a microcomputer-based system for off-line ECG (Frank) analysis and interpretation developed at the University of Porto is presented. The program is menu-structured and includes report correction and editing facilities. Clinical data can be stored along with the ECG in the individual patient file. More than 500 characteristics are extracted from the ECG signal by the measurement section of the program. The diagnostic section uses Boolean-tree logic. The diagnostic threshold values and interpretation statements are kept in an independent file and can be changed at any moment by the user. Taking the cardiologist using the same logic and criteria as reference standard, an evaluation of the diagnostic efficiency of the system was performed in 509 reports from pediatric and adult patients: 7% of the reports needed corrections and 113 (3.7%) out of 3070 diagnostic statements produced had to be changed. Output options include the clinical data, more or less extensive listings of the wave measurements, X, Y and Z and polar plots and the 12-lead (derived) ECG, besides the interpretation report itself.

Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted↗

PubMed1992

An aid to image interpretation and differential diagnosis.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Proven case conference is a weekly 1-hour session designed to aid diagnostic radiology residents in their ability to interpret images and formulate differential diagnoses. This article provides a detailed description of the format of this conference and its use in evaluating resident performance. METHODS: The scores of all residents on the written portion of this conference over a 2-year period were compiled. Results were divided according to each residency class, and each resident was compared with the mean of his or her class and with previous performance. RESULTS: There was overall improvement of the group over the course of residency. All individual scores showed improvement during the 2-year period studied. CONCLUSION: Proven case conference is a simply performed, well-accepted aid to image interpretation and differential diagnosis. It affords residents an ongoing opportunity for practical learning and provides the residency program director with an objective tool for resident evaluation.

Diagnosis, Differential↗

PubMed1983

Inferential statistical methods for strengthening the interpretation of laboratory test results.

Laboratory test results for the diagnosis of psychiatric illness usually are reported descriptively despite the ready availability of appropriate inferential statistics. A test's sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic confidence are conditional probabilities. Confidence intervals may be calculated for these probabilities in any given study. Statistical tests for comparing the results of several studies use techniques for planned and posterior comparisons applied to contingency tables. These established statistical methods aid in the interpretation of laboratory test findings.

Depressive Disorder↗

PubMed2005

Conscious sedation and analgesia for oocyte retrieval during in vitro fertilisation procedures.

BACKGROUND: Various methods of sedation and analgesia have been used for pain relief during oocyte recovery in IVF/ICSI procedures. The choice of agents has also been influenced by quality of analgesia as well as by concern about possible detrimental effects on reproductive outcome. OBJECTIVES: To assess the efficacy of conscious sedation and analgesia versus alternative methods on pregnancy outcomes and pain relief in patients undergoing transvaginal oocyte retrieval. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Specialised Register of the Menstrual Disorders and Subfertility Group, The Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) , MEDLINE (1966 to present), EMBASE (1980 to present), CINAHL (1982 to present), the National Research Register, and Current Controlled Trials. There was no language restriction. All references in the identified trials and background papers were checked and authors contacted to identify relevant published and unpublished data. SELECTION CRITERIA: Only randomised controlled trials comparing conscious sedation and analgesia versus alternative methods for pain relief during oocyte recovery were included. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two reviewers independently scanned abstracts of the reports identified by electronic searching to identify relevant papers, extracted data and assessed trial quality. Interventions were classified and analysed under broad categories/strategies of pain relief comparing conscious sedation/analgesia with alternative methods and administration protocols. MAIN RESULTS: Our search strategy identified 390 potentially eligible reports and 12 papers met our inclusion criteria. There were no significant differences in clinical pregnancy rates per woman and patient satisfaction between the methods compared. Women's perception of pain showed conflicting results. Due to considerable heterogeneity, in terms of types and dosages of sedation or analgesia used, and tools used to assess the principal outcomes of pain and satisfaction, a meta-analysis of all the studies was not attempted. Of the three trials which compared the effect of conventional medical analgesia plus paracervical block versus electro-acupuncture plus paracervical block, there was no significant difference in clinical pregnancy rates per woman in the two groups (OR 1.01; 95% CI 0.73 to 1.4). For intra-operative pain score as measured by visual analogue scale (VAS), there was a significant difference (WMD -4.95; 95% CI -7.84 to -2.07), favouring conventional medical analgesia plus paracervical block . There was also a significant difference in intra-operative pain by VAS between patient-controlled sedation and physician-administered sedation (WMD 5.98; 95% CI 1.63 to 10.33), favouring physician -administered sedation. However, as different types and dosages of sedative and analgesic agents were used in these trials, these data should be interpreted with caution. For the rest of the trials, a descriptive summary of the outcomes was presented. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: There is insufficient evidence to determine the effect of different methods of pain relief when compared with conscious sedation and analgesia used during oocyte recovery. In this review, no one particular pain relief method or delivery system appeared to be better than the other. In future, greater consensus is needed to determine both the tools used to evaluate pain and the timing of pain evaluation during and after the procedure. Pain assessment using both subjective and objective measures may merit consideration. In addition, future trials should include intra- and post-operative adverse respiratory and cardiovascular events as outcomes.

Analgesia↗

PubMed1975

Correlative microscopy of enamel prism orientation.

Both mature and developing human enamel were studied by correlative light and electron microscopic techniques. Ordinary light microscopic observations of routinely prepared ground sections produced a totally inaccurate impression of enamel prism direction. In contrast, ground sections which were acid-etched and viewed with phase contrast optics, as well as thin (0.5 mum) sections, were in concert with further electron microscopic preparations. The appearance of longitudinally sectioned prisms as demonstrated on thick ground sections is often the result of structural interrelation between groups of obliquely sectioned prisms. The arrangement between enamel prism heads and tails is often such as to produce the light microscopic appearance of classical enamel cross striations. The production of such optical artifacts may be related to conflicting interpretations concerning enamel cross striations as well as light microscopic descriptions of the histopathology of enamel caries.

Amelogenesis↗

PubMed2005

The digits of the wing of birds are 1, 2, and 3. A review.

Fossil evidence documenting the evolutionary transition from theropod dinosaurs to birds indicates unambiguously that the digits of the wing of birds are digits 1, 2, and 3. However, some embryological evidence suggests that these digits are 2, 3, and 4. This apparent lack of correspondence has been described as the greatest challenge to the widely accepted theropod-bird link (Zhou 2004. Naturwissenschaften 91:455-471). Here we review the pertinent literature regarding the debate on the origin of birds and wing digital identity and the evidence in favor of a 1, 2, 3 identity of the wing digits. Recent molecular evidence shows that the expression of Hoxd12 and Hoxd13 in the developing wing supports the theropod-bird link. In the chicken foot and in the mouse hand and foot, digit 1 is the only digit to combine the expression of Hoxd13 with the absence of expression of Hoxd12. The same is observed in the anterior digit of the wing, suggesting it is a digit 1, as expected for a theropod. Nevertheless, Galis et al. (2005. J Exp Zool (Mol Dev Evol) in press), argue that Hoxd12 and Hoxd13 expression patterns in mutant limbs do not allow distinguishing the most anterior digit in the bird wing from digit 2. They also argue that constraints to the evolution of limb development support the 2, 3, 4 identity of the wing digits. However, the case put forward by Galis et al. is biased and flawed with regard to interpretation of mutant limbs, developmental mechanisms, stages observed, and the description of the evolutionary variation of limb development. Importantly, Galis et al. do not present evidence from wild-type limbs that counters the conclusions of Vargas and Fallon (2005. J Exp Zool (Mol Dev Evol) 304B(1):85-89), and fail to provide molecular evidence to specifically support the hypothesis that the wing digits are 2, 3, and 4. The expression of Hoxd12 and Hoxd13 in the developing wing is consistent with the hypothesis that birds are living dinosaurs; this view can lead to a greater understanding of the actual limits to the evolutionary variation of limb development.

Animals↗

PubMed1990

Use of interactive videodisc for teaching of pathology laboratory cases.

Images from a generic videodisc called the 'Slice of Life' were utilized to develop computer-assisted interactive videodisc instruction (IVI) units for supplemental independent review of the laboratory cases studied in the general pathology course for year 1 medical students. Four units based on laboratory cases (two on 'inflammation' and two on 'neoplasia') were developed for a dual-screen Macintosh system. With this dual-screen system, specific picture frames from the videodisc could be retrieved on one screen while the other screen displayed the corresponding text. Each unit contained a number of case studies, each of which consisted of a clinical profile, gross picture and description of the tissue removed, sequential photomicrographs at successively higher magnifications from various fields of slides and their descriptions, comparison with the normal histology of the organ involved, interpretation of the observations and comments, final diagnosis, and a quiz at the end. Histopathological features were specifically emphasized. Evaluation of the units obtained from three consecutive classes of students indicated that these units were received as valuable supplemental tools for independent review of the laboratory cases.

Computer-Assisted Instruction↗

PubMed1995

Spatially specific deficits in processing graphemic representations in reading and writing.

We report the performance of two brain-damaged subjects, HB and ML, whose spelling performance is characterized by selective impairment in processing the side of words contralateral to their brain damage. A striking feature of these patients' performance was the fact that their spelling errors in all tasks--written naming, written and oral spelling, and delayed copy transcription--almost exclusively concerned the right half of words (in the case of HB) or the left half of words (in the case of ML), regardless of length of the target response. These patterns of performance are interpreted as indicating damage at the level of the grapheme description computed in all spelling tasks. We also discuss the additional observations that HB tended to complete words with nonrandom letter sequences in misspelling the final half of the word and that ML tended to preserve the initial letter of the word (in forward but not backward spelling) even when she made errors on other letters in the initial half of the word. Finally, the relationship between these spatially specific impairments of reading and writing and their relationship to spatially specific deficits in non-lexical tasks is reviewed.

Aged↗

PubMed1994

New insights into receptor theory, as provided by an artificial partial agonist made-to-measure.

In the present study a mixture of a full agonist (noradrenaline) and a full antagonist (yohimbine) was used to mimic the effects of a partial agonist (clonidine) on alpha 2-autoreceptor-mediated regulation of noradrenaline release in order to learn more about the shape of concentration-response curves in the absence and presence of spare receptors. The sigmoidal shape of the cloud of single experimental data points may be reflected by different curve fits based on either descriptive or mechanistic mathematical models. Only mechanistic models allow the interpretation of the relationship between occupancy of receptors and induced response. The experiments were performed in rat neocortex and in rabbit hippocampus tissue where electrical field stimulation with 4 pulses/100 Hz of slices prelabelled with [3H]noradrenaline elicited the release of noradrenaline. A receptor reserve was found in the rabbit hippocampus and quantified from the concentration-response curve of noradrenaline in this tissue using a mechanistic general response function, developed to reflect the condition of spare receptors. The mixture of noradrenaline and yohimbine, NA-Yoh, (three parts to one part), corrected by the different affinities to the alpha 2-autoreceptors, was designed to mirror the quantified proportion of 75% non-spare and 25% spare alpha 2-autoreceptors. In the spare receptor-free rat cortex NA-Yoh acted like a typical partial agonist, as clonidine, with nearly the same EC50 (= Kd in this case) as the full agonist noradrenaline, but with a maximum effect significantly lower than that of noradrenaline. In the rabbit hippocampus, however, the same maximum effect was obtained with NA-Yoh, noradrenaline and clonidine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

PubMed1994

Basic experimental studies on corpus cavernosum electromyography and smooth-muscle electromyography of the urinary bladder.

In contrast to the extensive work on in vitro experiments for elucidation of the electrical properties of smooth musculature, the acquisition of knowledge on electrical signal behaviour from smooth-muscle cells in an in vivo situation remains very limited and rare. Smooth-muscle electromyographic recording from the smooth musculature of the genitourinary tract, in particular from the penile cavernous bodies and the urinary bladder, has recently become one of the most interesting issues in both impotence research as well as neurophysiological assessment of the urinary bladder. However, the inadequate available data on corpus cavernosum and EMG recordings remains controversial due to the significant discrepancy between basic physiology of the smooth musculature, technical prerequisites and the expected clinical impact from the smooth-muscle EMG of genitourinary organs. This article is an attempt to describe the fundamentals of smooth-muscle EMG signal behaviour and the technical prerequisites for data acquisition and analysis of electrical activity from smooth-muscle cells of the cavernous bodies and urinary bladder. A description is given of the technical aspects, including methodology and interpretation of the recorded data, and also of the possible interference by artefacts (endogeneous and exogeneous) that might limit the clinical relevance of this encouraging method. The advantages, pitfalls and limitations of online analogous data registration and the possibility of computer-assisted smooth-muscle electrical activity recording and analysis are demonstrated by basic in vivo studies on cavernous bodies and also the detrusor muscle.

Animals↗

PubMed1990

Hemicerebellectomy and motor behaviour in rats. I. Development of motor function after neonatal lesion.

This study was undertaken to determine the effect of a neonatal hemicerebellectomy (HCb) on the motor development of rats and to determine whether various aspects of motor behaviour were affected to a similar degree. Postnatal development of postural reflexes, locomotion and dynamic postural adjustments was examined during the first four months of life in normal and in neonatal HCbed rats. The results indicate that classes of motor responses are controlled by cerebellar networks to clearly different extents. Emergence of quadruped stance, placing reactions and swimming development were unaffected by neonatal cerebellar lesion. Righting reflexes, cliff avoidance and geotaxic reactions, pivoting and crawling all showed a delayed development although the subsequent recovery was almost complete. The complex postural adjustments required in crossing a narrow path or in suspending on a wire remained permanently impaired. Finally, some behaviours developed normally and only subsequently became defective. This "growing into a deficit" was displayed by the progressively reduced hindlimb grasping and the development of a vestibular drop response with a directional bias. An impressive finding was the shifting of postural asymmetries from the lesion side to the contralateral one occurring around the third postnatal week. These data providing a description of the effect of HCb on motor development are interpreted as indicating a progressive involvement of the archi- and neo-cerebellar structures in the motor function of the rat.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Differentiation of normal and abnormal airway protection during swallowing using the penetration-aspiration scale.

Accidental loss of food or liquids into the airway while eating or drinking is perhaps the most clinically significant consequence of dysphagia. Although videofluoroscopic recording of swallowing is the current gold standard for identifying and determining remediation for aspiration, results are generally described in descriptive terms, thus limiting information and lending to errors of interpretation. We previously published an 8-point scale to quantitate selected aspects of penetration and aspiration conveying depth of airway invasion and whether or not material entering the airway is expelled (Rosenbek et al., 1996, Dysphagia 11:93-98). The present study defines the distribution of the Penetration-Aspiration Scale scores in healthy normal subjects of different genders and ages. The scale was also used with two groups of patients known to have significant dysphagia relative to stroke or head and neck cancer. Significant differences found among groups are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

From conception to the child.

An attempt to present all the data that account for the progressive transformation of a fertilized zygote into a child at birth is obviously a herculean work. In this review, I focus on four aspects of central nervous system development in which our understanding has considerably been enhanced during the last century. The first part concerns the phenomenon of neural induction, a process devoted to the acquisition of neural identity. It was classically considered that active molecules were secreted by the organizer (the dorsal lip of the blastopore in amphibians and the node in amniotes) and that these molecules induced the neural induction. Nowadays, the model is much more complex, based upon both positive and negative regulatory mechanisms. The positive inductor is BMP4, and this induces the epidermal induction. The organizer secretes negative signals that can bind BMP4 and prevent its action. The second part is devoted to the morphogenetic movements that allow formation of the neural tube. Classically, primary and secondary neurulations are opposed. It is now well established that the two modes of neurulation obey the same basic rules. The problem of segmentation of the central nervous system during embryogenesis could be easily studied for the rhombencephalon. This structure is formed by repetitive subunits called rhombomeres. Each rhombomere corresponds to a compartment separated from the others. In addition, each rhombomere expresses specific genes, and the invalidation of some of them leads to the absence of these rhombomeres. However, the situation is much more complex with regions specified very early during development and acting on adjacent regions to induce a specific pattern. The last part of my paper concerns the development of the cortex. During the last 50 years, all the classic concepts have been challenged. The fixed law of radial migration has been extensively discussed, and it is now admitted that other kinds of migration do take place during corticogenesis. These results force us to reconsider the interpretations of some cortical malformations. It seems reasonable to adopt descriptive terms for a malformative syndrome instead of terms based on putative mechanisms.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

PubMed1982

Ethnography of the menopause-related hot flash.

Research was conducted to learn how women of two ethnic groups in the United States experience and describe menopause-related hot flashes, their reports of associated events and activities, and the ways in which they cope with the occurrence of the flashes. The women's cognitive ordering of events was learned through ethnographic inquiry, using questions which were derived from respondent-generated topics. Descriptions and responses to this physiological event were similar, but interpretation differed. Middle-class Anglo American women spoke of the sensations negatively, but for Mexican American women, the menopausal hot flash had positive components of meaning.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The CT appearance of the giant left atrium.

The Giant Left Atrium (GLA) is a well-known, albeit rare, complication of mitral valve disease. Although traditionally diagnosed by chest X-ray or echocardiography (1, 2), when the left atrium achieves massive proportions, these modalities may be difficult to interpret or even misleading. We report, not only the first description of this entity using computer tomography (CT), but also one of the largest left atria described in the literature. We feel that CT may be reliable when making this diagnosis as well as useful in evaluation of those patients in whom the symptoms suggest some of the complications of this disease.

Cardiomegaly↗

PubMed1999

Developing a clinical competency examination in radiology: part I--test structure.

BACKGROUND: There is a need for radiology educational outcome measures that evaluate clinical competency. This is the first of two articles introducing a clinical competency examination in radiology. This first article describes the evolution and structure of the examination. The second article presents the results of two administrations of the examination and evaluates possible outcome predictors. OBJECTIVE: To develop a measure of clinical competency in radiology. DESIGN: Descriptive. METHODS: A test was developed to simulate the radiologic interpretive skills needed in clinical chiropractic practice. Students were timed as they responded to questions regarding the localization, categorization, management, and identification of pathologic conditions presented on plain film images of the spine and chest. Twenty-five radiographic cases were displayed at individual viewbox stations, and student responses to the 4 questions were compared with the consensus responses of 2 radiology instructors. RESULTS: Two versions of the test, using different cases, were given to the same ninth trimester class of 210 chiropractic students in a 10-trimester program. Of the 210 students, 116 (55.2%; 86 men and 30 women) took version 1 of the examination, and 1 month later 181 (86.2%: 138 men and 43 women) took version 2 of the examination. Student comments after each examination were favorable. CONCLUSION: The test structure uniquely provides information related to the student's ability to localize, categorize, manage, and identify pathologic conditions on imaging studies. At present the examination is instructor time intensive; further refinement is needed before wide implementation can occur.

Chiropractic↗

PubMed2001

The methodologic quality of clinical trials on regional anesthesia for cataract surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the methodologic quality of published randomized trials of regional anesthesia management strategies for cataract surgery. DESIGN: Literature review and analysis. METHOD: We performed a systematic search of the literature to identify all articles pertaining to regional anesthesia for cataract surgery on adults. Overall quality scores and scores for individual methodologic domains were based on the evaluations of two investigators experienced in methodologic research who independently reviewed all relevant articles using a quality abstraction form. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Study quality in each of five domains: representativeness, bias and confounding, intervention description, outcomes and follow-up, and statistical quality and interpretation. RESULTS: Eighty-two randomized clinical trials were identified with a mean overall quality score of 44%. The mean domain scores ranged from 37% for representativeness to 58% for outcomes and follow-up. Forty percent or fewer studies received the maximum score for reporting the setting, the population, and the start and end dates; describing the inclusion and exclusion criteria; adequately randomizing subjects; and adequately masking individuals participating in the study. Key outcomes were often inadequately reported, including the distribution of patient-reported pain scores and the mean surgical time. CONCLUSIONS: Greater attention to methodologic quality and detailed reporting of study results will improve the ability of readers to interpret the results of clinical trials assessing regional anesthesia for cataract surgery.

Adult↗

PubMed1986

Techniques for taking a behavioral history.

A thorough behavioral history is essential for adequate assessment of a given case. In reviewing the chief complaint, a description of what actually happened, rather than the owner's interpretation of what happened, is required. Other behavior problems, environment, rearing history, and training need to be reviewed. Sample question sets for some common problems are given.

Animals↗