Articles: function.
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Prosthet Orthot Int · Oct 2016
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyComparison of the efficacy of a neutral wrist splint and a wrist splint incorporating a lumbrical unit for the treatment of patients with carpal tunnel syndrome.
Different types of splints have been used as a conservative intervention to improve symptoms in patients with Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Although a number of studies have been undertaken to compare different splints, information and understanding of the influence of these interventions are lacking. ⋯ A wrist splint with a metacarpophalangeal unit may be an appropriate conservative treatment in the rehabilitation of patients with mild-to-moderate carpal tunnel syndrome.
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With recent research trying to explore the pathophysiologic mechanisms behind vasospasm, newer pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments are being targeted at various pathways involved. This review is aimed at understanding the mechanisms and current and future therapies available to treat vasospasm. ⋯ Endovascular therapy has shown consistent benefit in relieving vasospasm. An aggressive combination therapy through various routes seems to be the most useful approach to reduce the complications of vasospasm.
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Back schools are interventions that comprise exercise and education components. We aimed to systematically review the randomized controlled trial evidence on back schools for the treatment of chronic low back pain. By searching MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Central as well as bibliographies, we identified 31 studies for inclusion in our systematic review and 5 of these for inclusion in meta-analyses. ⋯ No meta-analysis was feasible for the comparison of back schools vs other active treatments. Adverse events were poorly reported so that no reliable conclusions regarding the safety of back schools can be drawn, although some limited reassurance in this regard may be derived from the fact that few adverse events and no serious adverse events were reported in the back school groups in the studies that did report on safety. Overall, the evidence base for the use of back schools to treat chronic low back pain is weak; in nearly a half-century since back schools were first trialled, no unequivocal evidence of benefit has emerged.
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This analysis evaluated whether osteoarthritis patients achieving the greatest pain control and lowest pain states also have the greatest improvement in functioning and quality of life. ⋯ Good pain improvements in osteoarthritis with a valid pain instrument are a proxy for good improvements in both function and quality of life. Therefore proper osteoarthritis pain assessment can lead to efficient evaluations in the clinic.
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Crystalloid solutions are used to restore intravascular volume in septic patients, but each solution has limitations. The authors compared the effects of three crystalloid solutions on hemodynamics, organ function, microcirculation, and survival in a sepsis model. ⋯ In this abdominal sepsis model, resuscitation with NS was associated with hyperchloremic acidosis, greater hemodynamic instability, a more altered microcirculation, and more severe organ dysfunction than with balanced fluids. Survival time was shorter than in the LR group.