Journal of clinical epidemiology
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Review Comparative Study
Calculating kappas from adjusted data improved the comparability of the reliability of triage systems: a comparative study.
It is difficult to compare the reliability of triage systems with the kappa statistic. In this article, a method for comparing triage systems was developed and applied to previously conducted triage reliability studies. ⋯ When comparing triage systems with different numbers of categories, one should report both the normal and quadratically weighted kappa. Calculating normal kappas from previously conducted triage reliability studies revealed substantial theoretical differences in interrater reliability of triage systems than previously reported.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale was responsive and showed reasonable interpretability after a multidisciplinary treatment.
To investigate responsiveness and interpretability of the Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale. ⋯ This study proposes values for responsiveness and interpretability indicators for patients with chronic low back pain referred for multidisciplinary treatment. The baseline score and the way to cluster patients with regard to this score have to be taken into account while interpreting the score change after treatment.
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To evaluate the reporting quality of key methodological items of randomized control trials (RCTs) in 55 of the highest ranked journals. ⋯ Reporting of varied CONSORT items remains suboptimal. Registration in a trial registry was associated with improved reporting. Further efforts to enhance RCT registration could contribute to this improvement.
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The fall risk profile developed in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA) identifies community-dwelling elderly at high risk for recurrent falling. This study assessed the predictive validity of this profile in older persons seeking care after a fall. ⋯ The discriminative ability of the LASA fall risk profile was moderate. The predictive validity of the LASA fall risk profile to identify recurrent fallers is limited among older persons who consulted the emergency department or general practitioner after a fall.
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Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are essential when evaluating many new treatments in health care; yet, current measures have been limited by a lack of precision, standardization, and comparability of scores across studies and diseases. The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) provides item banks that offer the potential for efficient (minimizes item number without compromising reliability), flexible (enables optional use of interchangeable items), and precise (has minimal error in estimate) measurement of commonly studied PROs. We report results from the first large-scale testing of PROMIS items. ⋯ PROMIS item banks and their short forms provide evidence that they are reliable and precise measures of generic symptoms and functional reports comparable to legacy instruments. Further testing will continue to validate and test PROMIS items and banks in diverse clinical populations.