The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of hospitalized patients tested for Clostridium difficile and determine the correlation between pretest probability for C. difficile infection (CDI) and assay results. Patients with testing ordered for C. difficile were enrolled and assigned a high, medium, or low pretest probability of CDI based on clinical e...

The aim of this pilot study was to analyze the effect of a strength training program on indicators of trait and state anxiety in patients with ischemic stroke. The subjects were divided into two groups: experimental group (EG) consisting of 11 subjects aged 51.7 ± 8.0 years and a control group (CG) with 13 subjects aged 52.5 ± 7.7 years. EG underwent 12 weeks of strength training, with a freque...

The pretest-posttest study is commonplace in numerous applications. Typically, subjects are randomized to two treatments, and response is measured at baseline, prior to intervention with the randomized treatment (pretest), and at prespecified follow-up time (posttest). Interest focuses on the effect of treatments on the change between mean baseline and follow-up response. Missing posttest respo...

This study evaluates the efficacy of politzeration on eustachian tube dysfunction following airplane travel using an automated, hand-held device that controls the volume velocity of air flow. Fourteen adults with eustachian tube dysfunction following airplane travel comprised the experimental group. They received politzeration over a period of 6 weeks on a twice-a-week basis. Fourteen adults wi...

CONTEXT Female sexual pain and dysfunction. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effectiveness of a new site-specific, manual soft-tissue therapy in increasing orgasm and reducing dyspareunia (painful intercourse) in women with histories indicating abdominopelvic adhesion formation. DESIGN AND INTERVENTION A total of 29 new patients presenting with infertility or abdominopelvic pain-related problems, ...

BACKGROUND Research reveals that explicit reading strategies instruction and engaging students in interaction about texts promote students' reading comprehension ability. The present intervention study combines both aspects. AIMS The study examines the educational benefits of explicit reading strategies instruction, followed by practice in (a) teacher-led whole-class activities (STRAT), (b) r...

AIMS To determine if computed tomographic pulmonary angiography (CTPA) was overemployed in the evaluation of hospitalized patients with suspected acute pulmonary embolism (PE). METHODS Data were gathered retrospectively on hospitalized patients (n=185) who had CTPA for suspected PE between June and August 2009 at our institution. RESULTS CTPA was done in 185 hospitalized patients to diagnos...

BACKGROUND The standard diagnostic approach in patients with suspected deep vein thrombosis is to repeat the compression ultrasonography after 1 week in all patients with an initial normal result. We hypothesized that a normal finding of a D-dimer assay safely obviates the need for repeated ultrasonography. In addition, we evaluated the potential value of a pretest probability assessment for th...

INTRODUCTION The current study aimed at investigating the existence of the cross state-dependent learning between morphine and scopolamine (SCO) in mice by passive avoidance method, pointing to the role of CA1 area. METHODS The effects of pre-training SCO (0.75, 1.5, and 3 μg, Intra-CA1), or morphine (1, 3, and 6 mg/kg, intraperitoneal (i.p.) was evaluated on the retrieval of passive avoidanc...