Plos One
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Multicenter Study
Validation of the Perceived Stigmatization Questionnaire for Brazilian adult burn patients.
Currently, there is no questionnaire to assess perceived stigmatization among people with visible differences in Brazil. The Perceived Stigmatization Questionnaire (PSQ), developed in the United States, is a valid instrument to assess the perception of stigmatizing behaviours among burn survivors. The objective of this cross-sectional and multicentre study was to assess the factor structure, reliability and validity of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the PSQ in burn patients. ⋯ PSQ-R total scores were significantly lower for patients with visible scars (effect size = 0.51, p = 0.029). The PSQ-R showed reliability and validity comparable to the original version. However, the cross-cultural structure of the subscale "hostile behaviour" and sensitivity to change of the PSQ should be further evaluated.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The Val158Met polymorphism of the catechol-O-methyltransference gene is not associated with long-term treatment outcomes in carpal tunnel syndrome: A randomized clinical trial.
Randomized clinical trial. ⋯ The current clinical trial did not show an association between the Val158Met polymorphism and changes in pain and function outcomes after either surgery or physical therapy in women with CTS.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Body mass index may predict the response to ipilimumab in metastatic melanoma: An observational multi-centre study.
Immunotherapy is a well-established treatment option in patients with metastatic melanoma. However, biomarkers that can be used to predict a response in these patients have not yet been found, putting patients at risk of severe side effects. ⋯ The BMI correlated with the response to ipilimumab treatment in a cohort of metastatic melanoma patients.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Exclusive breastfeeding promotion and neuropsychological outcomes in 5-8 year old children from Uganda and Burkina Faso: Results from the PROMISE EBF cluster randomized trial.
The beneficial effects from exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) have been widely acknowledged. We assessed the effect of exclusive breastfeeding promotion by peer counsellors in Uganda and Burkina Faso, on cognitive abilities, social emotional development, school performance and linear growth among 5-8 years old children. ⋯ Peer promotion for exclusive breastfeeding in Burkina Faso and Uganda was not associated with differences at 5-8 years of age in a range of measures of child development: cognitive abilities, emotion-behaviour-social symptoms or linear growth. This study from sub Saharan Africa did not reconfirm findings elsewhere that have shown an association between exclusive breastfeeding and cognitive performance. This might be due to a number of methodological limitations inherent in the current study. For example since the majority of the children were breastfed, the benefits of the intervention could have been diluted. Other factors such as the mental and HIV status of the mothers (which were not assessed in the current study) could have affected our results. Hence regarding the effect of exclusive breastfeeding on measures of child neurocognitive development in sub Saharan Africa, the jury is still out.
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Comparative Study
Next generation viscoelasticity assays in cardiothoracic surgery: Feasibility of the TEG6s system.
Viscoelastic near-patient assays of global hemostasis have been found useful and cost-effective in perioperative settings. Shortcomings of current systems include substantial laboratory intensity, user-dependent reproducibility, relatively large sample volumes, sensitivity to ambient vibration and limited comparability between techniques and devices. The aim of this study was to assess feasibility of a new, resonance-based viscoelastic whole blood methodology (TEG6s) in cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and to compare the parameters this system produces with the ROTEM delta system and standard coagulation tests. ⋯ The TEG6s system, which is based on resonance viscoelastic methodology, appears to be feasible for POC hemostasis assessment in cardiac surgery. Its correlations with standard coagulation parameters are quite similar to those of ROTEM and there is good diagnostic accuracy for fibrinogen levels lower than 1.5 g/L. During full heparinization, TEG6s testing is limited to R measurement. Larger studies are needed to assess superiority over other POC systems.