Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation
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Arch Phys Med Rehabil · Oct 1998
Serial fiberoptic endoscopic swallowing evaluations in the management of patients with dysphagia.
To determine whether serial fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) can be used successfully and efficiently in deciding to change a patient's feeding status from nonoral (NPO) to oral (PO) with no adverse health outcome. ⋯ No subject who resumed an oral diet based on results of FEES developed an aspiration pneumonia. Serial FEES, therefore, enabled feeding status to be successful and efficiently changed from NPO to PO with no adverse health outcome. FEES was an efficient procedure with regard to appointment scheduling, transportation, patient issues, and personnel requirements.
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Arch Phys Med Rehabil · Oct 1998
Carpal tunnel syndrome in pregnancy: frequency, severity, and prognosis.
To determine the frequency, severity, prognosis, and patterns of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in pregnancy. ⋯ These results represent the frequency and patterns of clinically significant CTS in a large population of pregnant women. CTS severe enough to warrant treatment occurs infrequently in pregnancy and generally resolves spontaneously postpartum or responds to conservative treatment.
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Arch Phys Med Rehabil · Oct 1998
Benefits of home health care after inpatient rehabilitation for hip fracture: health service use by Medicare beneficiaries, 1987-1992.
To examine the added benefit of home health services for elderly patients with hip fracture discharged home after inpatient rehabilitation. ⋯ Studies of the relative effectiveness of post-acute services and postdischarge evaluations of inpatient rehabilitation should consider additional home care as a postacute service and examine optimal postacute treatment to minimize additional service use.
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Arch Phys Med Rehabil · Sep 1998
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialTranscutaneous electrical nerve stimulation: effect on peripheral nerve conduction, mechanical pain threshold, and tactile threshold in humans.
To investigate the effect of different transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) parameters on nerve conduction in the human superficial radial nerve and on peripheral mechanical pain threshold (MPT) and tactile threshold (TT), and to further the current knowledge of the neurophysiologic effects of TENS. ⋯ The findings from this study suggest that at least part of TENS-mediated hypoalgesia is a consequence of a direct peripheral effect of TENS, although a "central" effect may not be excluded.
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Arch Phys Med Rehabil · Sep 1998
Long-term survival of children and adolescents after traumatic brain injury.
To obtain information on long-term mortality risk and life expectancy after traumatic brain injury (TBI), to improve planning and for counseling patients and their families. In contrast to the literature for spinal cord injury and other disabilities, there have been few such reports for TBI. ⋯ The chief predictors of mortality were basic functional skills such as mobility and self-feeding. After the initial high-risk period, mortality risk for TBI was much lower than for similarly functioning persons with cerebral palsy (a comparison group), although after 10 years the two sets of mortality rates had largely converged. For high-functioning persons, life expectancies were only 3 to 5 years shorter than for the general population. By contrast, the remaining life expectancy for those without mobility 6 months after injury was only 15 years.