Objective The evaluation of voice quality is a major component of voice assessment. The aim of the present study was to develop a new multivariate acoustic model for the evaluation of breathiness. Method Concatenated voice samples of continuous speech and the sustained vowel [a:] from 970 subjects …

Preoperative functional status is a risk factor for developing postoperative complications (POC) in major abdominal and thoracic surgery, but this has hardly been evaluated in esophageal cancer patients undergoing esophagectomy. The aim of this prospective cohort study was to determine if preoperative …

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Higher interdialytic weight gain (IDWG) is associated with higher predialysis blood pressure and increased mortality. IDWG is also increasingly being recognized as an indicator of nutritional status. We studied in detail the associations of various patient factors and nutritional parameters …

BACKGROUND: Cervical dystonia (CD) is characterized by involuntary muscle contractions causing abnormal postures and/or twisting movements of the head and neck. These motor symptoms can have a major impact on disability. Treatment with botulinum toxin injections aims to reduce motor symptoms, and therefore …

BACKGROUND: In critically ill patients, muscle loss is associated with adverse outcomes. Raw bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) parameters (eg, phase angle [PA] and impedance ratio [IR]) have received attention as potential markers of muscularity, nutrition status, and clinical outcomes. Our objective …

Introduction Childhood-onset epilepsy during the years of transition to adulthood may affect normal social, physical, and mental development, frequently leading to psychosocial and health-related problems in the long term. Objective This study aimed to describe the main characteristics of patients in …

Abstract Background: Currently, health care and medical decision-making at the end of life for older people are often insufficiently patient-centred. In this trial we study the effects of Advance Care Planning (ACP), a formalised process of timely communication about care preferences at the end of life, …

In medical education, student distress is known to hamper learning and professional development. To address this problem, recent studies aimed at helping students cope with stressful situations. Undergraduate students in clinical practice frequently use experiences of surrounding peers to estimate their …

PURPOSE: To determine the impact of late radiation-induced toxicity on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among patients with prostate cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study sample was composed of 227 patients, treated with external beam radiotherapy. Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events …

Objective guidelines recommend that external cephalic version (ECV) should be offered to all women with a fetus in breech presentation at term. However, only 50–60% of the women receive an ECV attempt. We explored the determinants (barriers and facilitators) affecting the uptake of the guidelines among …