Bmc Musculoskel Dis
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Bmc Musculoskel Dis · Aug 2007
Comparative StudyReproducibility of goniometric measurement of the knee in the in-hospital phase following total knee arthroplasty.
The objective of the present study was to assess interobserver reproducibility (in terms of reliability and agreement) of active and passive measurements of knee RoM using a long arm goniometer, performed by trained physical therapists in a clinical setting in total knee arthroplasty patients, within the first four days after surgery. ⋯ Interobserver agreement for flexion as well as extension was only fair. When two different observers assess the same patients in the acute phase after total knee arthroplasty using a long arm goniometer, differences in RoM of less than eight degrees cannot be distinguished from measurement error. Reliability was found to be acceptable for comparison on group level, but poor for individual comparisons over time.
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Bmc Musculoskel Dis · Aug 2007
Comparative StudyCyclo-oxygenase-2 selective inhibitors and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: balancing gastrointestinal and cardiovascular risk.
Differences between gastrointestinal and cardiovascular effects of traditional NSAID or cyclooxygenase-2 selective inhibitor (coxib) are affected by drug, dose, duration, outcome definition, and patient gastrointestinal and cardiovascular risk factors. We calculated the absolute risk for each effect. ⋯ Calculating annualised event rates for gastrointestinal and cardiovascular harm shows that while complicated gastrointestinal events occur more frequently with NSAIDs than coxibs, serious cardiovascular events occur at approximately equal rates. For each coxib, the reduction in complicated upper gastrointestinal events was numerically greater than any increase in APTC events.