American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitation
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Am J Phys Med Rehabil · Sep 1995
ReviewStrong quasi-experimental designs for research on the effectiveness of rehabilitation.
Medical rehabilitation needs better understanding of the effectiveness of its treatments and of patient characteristics most responsive to alternative intervention strategies. The goal of this paper is to improve understanding of research design in medical rehabilitation. ⋯ Pre-experimental research, including qualitative, descriptive, and predictive studies, should not be confused with experimental research designs. More frequent use of randomized experimental and strong quasi-experimental designs can provide knowledge that will augment the effectiveness of rehabilitation practice.
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A cross-sectional study on the correlates of elderly disability was conducted in Taiwan. A total of 400 subjects was randomly selected according to Barthel Index scores from among 2600 subjects, which was a sample of a previous community-based health survey of elderly aged 65 or over. ⋯ This suggests that prevention and treatment of chronic diseases should be pursued further and that further assessment of cognitive-mental status in the elderly is warranted. In addition, males were more disabled than females in a physical-functional aspect, which may be the consequence of the traditional Chinese cultural effect.
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Am J Phys Med Rehabil · Sep 1995
Case ReportsNeurologic recovery and functional improvement after vecuronium-induced quadriparesis.
Vecuronium bromide (Norcuron, Organon, Inc., West Orange, NJ) is a common neuromuscular blocking agent used to facilitate mechanical ventilation. Cases have been reported in which prolonged use of vecuronium resulted in severe motor neuropathy, with or without myopathy. However, the time course of recovery, the functional prognosis, and the use of inpatient rehabilitation is not well-established. ⋯ Significant improvement was noted during an average of 3 to 4 wk in a comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation program, documented by the improvement in total motor Functional Independence Measure scores for patient 1 (from 15 to 71) and for patient 2 (from 65 to 84). In addition, the distal compound motor amplitudes showed a 4-fold increase for the ulnar, a 7-fold increase for the median, an 11-fold increase for the peroneal, and a 3-fold increase for the tibial nerves on follow-up nerve conduction studies correlating with neurologic recovery. In summary, even when patients present with quadriparesis, the recovery after vecuronium toxicity appears to be favorable.