The Critical Incident History Questionnaire indexes cumulative exposure to traumatic incidents in police by examining incident frequency and rated severity. In over 700 officers, event severity was negatively correlated (r(s) = -.61) with frequency of exposure. Cumulative exposure indices that varied emphasis on frequency and severity-using both nomothetic and idiographic methods-all showed sat...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) to verify whether this instrument is a valid tool to measure fatigue in obese patients, and to examine the prevalence of fatigue in obese patients. METHODS Before and after a three-week residential multidisciplinary integrated weight reduction program, 220 patients were asked to fil...

BACKGROUND Post-stroke fatigue (PSF) is a common complaint among stroke survivors and has significant impacts on recovery and quality of life. Limited tools that measure fatigue have been validated in stroke. AIM The purpose of this study was to determine the psychometric properties of Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) in patients with stroke. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING Teaching hos...

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between severity of maxillofacial injuries determined by trauma scoring systems and its economic burden to patients in terms of cost and duration of hospitalization. MATERIALS AND METHODS Following ethical approval a retrospective chart review was undertaken at Meenakshi Ammal Dental College and Hospital to identify patien...

AIMS Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) is widely available in China; but, high rates of illicit opiate use and dropout are problematic. The aim of this study was to test whether cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in conjunction with MMT can improve treatment retention and reduce opiate use. METHOD A total of 240 opiate-dependent patients in community-based MMT clinics were randomly assign...

BACKGROUND Fatigue is a common symptom in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). It has significant negative effects on the quality of life of patients with the condition. There are few therapeutic modalities for fatigue, which are also usually not sufficiently effective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture on this common symptom of patients with MS. METHODS In t...

BACKGROUND Fatigue is one of the most debilitating symptoms in multiple sclerosis (MS) considerably interfering with patients' daily functioning. Both researchers and clinicians need psychometrically robust methods to evaluate fatigue in MS. OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was (i) to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Finnish version of the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) and (ii...

BACKGROUND Securing high-quality mortality statistics requires systematic evaluation of all trauma deaths. We examined the proportion of trauma patients dying within 30 days from causes not related to the injury and the impact of exclusion of patients dead on arrival on 30-day trauma mortality. We also defined the demographics, injury characteristics, cause of death and time to death in patient...

OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to determine the rate of preventable mortality and inappropriate care in cases of traumatic death occurring in a rural state. DESIGN This is a retrospective case review. MATERIALS AND METHODS Deaths attributed to mechanical trauma throughout the state and occurring between October 1, 1990 and September 30, 1991 were examined. All cases meeting inclusion ...

BACKGROUND In Afghanistan, Médecins Sans Frontières provided specialised trauma care in Kunduz Trauma Centre (KTC), including physiotherapy. In this study, we describe the development of an adapted functional score for patient outcome monitoring, and document the rehabilitation care provided and patient outcomes in relation to this functional score. METHODS A descriptive cohort study was done...