Methods: A literature search was carried out through Scopus, Science Direct, Google Scholar, PubMed, and EBSCOhost databases based on specific search terms. Each article was appraised based on title, abstract, and full text. The selected articles were critically appraised, and relevant information to support the validity of MMI in various educational settings was synthesized. This paper followed the PRISMA guideline to ensure consistency in reporting systematic review results.
Results: A majority of the studies were from Canada, with 41.54%, followed by the United Kingdom (25.39%), the United States (13.85%), and Australia (9.23%). The rest (9.24%) were from Germany, Ireland, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Pakistan, Taiwan, and Malaysia. Moreover, most MMI stations ranged from seven to 12 with a duration of 10 min per station (including a 2-min gap between stations).
Conclusion: The results suggest that the content, response process, and internal structure of MMI were well supported by evidence; however, the relation and consequences of MMI to important outcome variables were inconsistently supported. The evidence shows that MMI is a non-biased, practical, feasible, reliable, and content-valid admission tool. However, further research on its impact on non-cognitive outcomes is required.
Methods: A retrospective analysis of 73 cases with IC PC and Anterior choroidal aneurysms performed at a Fujita Health University, Banbuntane Hotokukai Hospital, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan from 2014 to 2018 have been studied and emphasis is made on the demography and ischemic complications.
Results: A total of 73 patients with IC PC and anterior choroidal aneurysms were studied, out of which 57 patient had a true IC PC aneurysm, 14 patients had aneurysms involving the anterior choroidal artery and only 2 patients had aneurysms which involved both the IC PC and the anterior choroidal arteries. None of the patients had a permanent Anterior Choroidal Artery syndrome, whereas only 2 out of the 73 patients had postoperative complications in the form of transient hemiparesis.
Conclusion: Ischemic complications following surgical clipping of IC PC and anterior choroidal aneurysms can be minimised by meticulous micro dissection to identify the anterior choroidal artery thus preserving the patency of the same.
METHODS: A cross-sectional observational study was performed on healthy and glaucoma subjects, on whom two sets of OCTA images of optic disc and macula were acquired using both AngioVue (Optovue, USA) and Swept Source (Topcon, Japan) OCTA devices during one visit. A novel in-house software was used to calculate the vessel densities. Diagnostic accuracy of the machines in differentiating healthy versus glaucomatous eyes was determined using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) and test-retest repeatability of the machines was also evaluated.
RESULTS: A total of 80 healthy and 38 glaucomatous eyes were evaluated. Glaucomatous eyes had reduced mean vessel density compared to healthy controls in all segmented layers of the optic disc and macula using AngioVue (p ≤ 0.001). However, glaucomatous eyes had higher mean vessel density on optic disc scans using Swept Source, with lack of statistically significant difference between healthy and glaucomatous eyes. The AUROC showed better diagnostic accuracy of AngioVue (0.761-1.000) compared to Swept Source (0.113-0.644). The test-retest reliability indices were generally better using AngioVue than Swept Source.
CONCLUSIONS: AngioVue showed better diagnostic capability and test-retest reliability compared to Swept Source. Further studies need to be undertaken to evaluate if there is any significant difference between the various machines in diagnosing and monitoring glaucoma.
METHODS: The OASES-A-J was administered to 200 adults who stutter in Japan. All respondents also evaluated their own speech (SA scale), satisfaction of their own speech (SS scale) and the Japanese translation version of the Modified Erickson Communication Attitude scale (S-24). The test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the OASES-A-J were assessed. To examine the concurrent validity of the questionnaire, Pearson correlation was conducted between the OASES-A-J Impact score and the S-24 scale, SA scale and SS scale. In addition, Pearson correlation among the impact scores of each section and total were calculated to examine the construct validity.
RESULTS: The OASES-A-J showed a good test-retest reliability (r=0.81-0.95) and high internal consistency (α>0.80). Concurrent validity was moderate to high (0.55-0.75). Construct validity was confirmed by the relation between internal consistency in each section and correlation among sections' impact scores. Japanese adults showed higher negative impact for 'General Information', 'Reactions to Stuttering' and 'Quality of Life' sections.
CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the OASES-A-J is a reliable and valid instrument to measure the impact of stuttering on Japanese adults who stutter. The OASES-A-J could be used as a clinical tool in Japanese stuttering field.
METHODS: This was a retrospective, non-interventional, cohort study using data from a Japanese medical claims database. Patients with glaucoma aged ≥20 years with a first drug claim for glaucoma treatment between 01 July 2005 and 30 October 2014 and with data for > 6 months before and after this first prescription were included. The primary endpoint was duration of drug persistence among glaucoma patients with and without the use of fixed combination drugs in the year following initiation of second-line combination treatment.
RESULTS: Of 1403 patients included in the analysis, 364 (25.94%) received fixed combination drugs and 1039 (74.06%) received unfixed combination drugs as second-line treatment. Baseline characteristics were generally comparable between the groups. A total of 39.01% of patients on fixed combination drugs, compared with 41.67% of patients on unfixed combination drugs, persisted on their glaucoma drugs 12 months post second-index date. Median persistence durations for the fixed combination drugs and unfixed combination drugs groups were 6 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 5-8) and 7 months (95% CI 6-9), respectively. Patients who received prostaglandin analogs (PGAs) were the most persistent with their treatment (n = 99, 12.84%). Patients diagnosed with primary open-angle glaucoma were less likely to experience treatment modification (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.800, 95% CI 0.649-0.986, P = 0.036), while those diagnosed with secondary glaucoma were more likely to experience treatment modification (HR: 1.678, 95% CI 1.231-2.288, P = 0.001) compared with glaucoma suspects.
CONCLUSIONS: In this retrospective claims database study, the persistence rate of second-line glaucoma combination treatment was low, with no difference in persistence between glaucoma patients receiving unfixed combination drugs compared with fixed combination drugs. Patients on PGA showed greater persistence rates compared with other treatments.
METHODS: We performed a regression discontinuity design study. A total of 46 975 adults with ≥1 cardiovascular risk factor in 2015 were included in the study. A two-stage evaluation process (stage 1: waist circumference ≥85 cm for men or ≥90 cm for women and ≥1 cardiovascular risk factor; stage 2: body mass index (BMI)≥25 kg/m2 and ≥2 cardiovascular risk factors) was applied. Changes in obesity, cardiovascular outcomes, and health care utilisation were evaluated in a one-year follow-up in the fiscal year 2016.
RESULTS: Participants who received lifestyle guidance intervention based on the waist circumference had a statistically significant reduction in obesity outcomes (Δ weight: -0.30 kg, 95% CI = -0.46 to -0.11; Δ waist circumference: -0.26 cm, 95% CI = -0.53 to -0.02; Δ BMI = -0.09 kg/m2, 95% CI = -0.17 to -0.04) but not in other cardiovascular risk factors and health care utilisation. Analyses based on BMI and results according to demographic subgroups did not reveal significant findings.
CONCLUSIONS: The provision of this intervention had a limited effect on health improvement and a decrease in health care costs, health care visits, and length of stay. A more intensive intervention delivery could potentially improve the efficacy of this intervention programme.