Studies in health technology and informatics
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2002
The significance of correlation of radiographic variables and MOS short-form health survey for clinical decision in symptomatic low back pain patients.
To assess any correlation between SF-36 scores and several lateral roentgenographic variables of the lumbar spine, both in low back pain patients and asymptomatic volunteers. The clinical relevance of the method proposed in this study to make a surgical strategy on the basis of distinct lateral roentgenographic parameters and conversely was assessed by independent radiologists and physicians. ⋯ SF-36 scores were correlated with distinct lateral roentgenographic variables of the lowermost lumbar spine (L4-S1) in low back patients, and of the whole lumbar spine in asymptomatic individuals. Clinical decision should not be taken on the basis of radiological evidence of pathology because clinical decision seems to be more accurate when is taken on the basis of combined SF-36 and roentgenographic data. However, clinical examination is mandatory to SF-36 questionnaire and radiographic analysis.
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2002
Study of the rib cage deformity in children with 10 degrees-20 degrees of Cobb angle late onset idiopathic scoliosis, using rib-vertebra angles--aetiologic implications.
The aim of the study is to compare the rib-vertebra angles (RVAs) between children with 10 degrees - 20 degrees of Cobb angle late onset idiopathic scoliosis (LOIS) and non-scoliotic children. ⋯ It has been reported that RVAs is an expression of the resultant muscle forces, which act on each rib. It was also suggested that RVA asymmetries by weakening the spinal rotation-defending system are aetiological for idiopathic scoliosis, (Burwell et al 1992). This study shows that scoliotic children with small curves have underdeveloped thoracic cage compared to nonscoliotic counterparts. The differences are more apparent in the scoliotic children with thoracic curves. It is suggested that the differences of the RVAs between right and left side in this group are an expression of asymmetric muscle forces acting on the thoracic cage. It is concluded that asymmetric muscle forces participate in the pathogenesis of idiopathic scoliosis on the thoracic cage, which deforms early.
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2002
The incidence of idiopathic scoliosis in Greece--analyais of domestic school screening programs.
The aim of the study is the documentation of the national incidence of idiopathic scoliosis (IS) based on the School Screening programs performed at the various geographical departments of the country, and the estimation of the probable number of children who will need to be conservatively or surgically treated. ⋯ From data of 1998 national census, the population of children aged 8 to 14 years old was approximately 751000. With the above -mentioned datum and with a national mean scoliosis incidence of 2.9%, (Cobb angle > or = 10 degrees), 21781 children will be found with scoliosis. 980 will need conservative treatment using a brace while 41 children will need surgical treatment.
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2002
Performance evaluation of artificial intelligence classifiers for the medical domain.
The application of artificial intelligence systems is still not widespread in the medical field, however there is an increasing necessity for these to handle the surfeit of information available. One drawback to their implementation is the lack of criteria or guidelines for the evaluation of these systems. ⋯ This paper shows evidence that the most prevalent form of intelligent system, neural networks, is generally not being evaluated rigorously regarding classification precision. A taxonomy of the types of evaluation tests that can be carried out, to gauge inherent performance of the outputs of intelligent systems has been assembled, and the results of this presented in a clear and concise form, which should be applicable to all intelligent classifiers for medicine.
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Emergency healthcare delivery involves a variety of activities performed from the time of a call to the ambulance service till the time of patient's disposal from the emergency department of a hospital. Workflow systems have recently received considerable attention in the healthcare field since they overcome organizational structures and support collaboration and coordination requirements by automatically routing relevant information where and when needed. In particular, healthcare workflow systems implemented over the Web can form the basis for a collaborative environment by bringing together healthcare professionals who are geographically dispersed and, hence, creating virtual healthcare workgroups organized around patient care. In this paper, a web-based workflow system is presented that was developed to support emergency healthcare processes and to provide an infrastructure for the integration of pre-hospital and in-hospital emergency healthcare.