DATA SOURCE: Six major databases were searched from inception till June 2015: MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsychInfo, SPORTDiscus, and Cochrane Center Register of Controlled Trials.
STUDY APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS METHODS: Two reviewers independently rated methodological quality using the modified Downs and Black Scale and extracted and synthesized key findings (i.e., participant characteristics, study design, physical function and fitness outcomes, and adverse events).
RESULTS: Eight of 276 studies met the inclusion criteria, of which none showed high research quality. Four studies assessed physical function outcomes and 4 studies evaluated aerobic fitness as outcome measures. Significant improvements on these 2 outcomes were generally found. Other physical or fitness outcomes including body composition, muscular strength, and balance were rarely reported.
CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS OF KEY FINDINGS: There is weak evidence supporting aquatic exercise training to improve physical function and aerobic fitness among adults with spinal cord injury. Suggestions for future research include reporting details of exercise interventions, evaluating other physical or fitness outcomes, and improving methodological quality.
METHODS: Seventy-three consecutive patients who required antenatal corticosteroids for either preterm labour or prelabour caesarean section were recruited and given a standard course of 12mg dexamethasone phosphate, twelve hours apart. Venous blood samples were taken before administration, at six hours and 36 hours after the first dose of dexamethasone.
RESULTS: The total white count trend was 10.31±2.62 at baseline, 11.44±3.05 at six hours and 12.20±3.49 at 36 hours. Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio was 3.60±1.31, 8.73±3.63 and 3.24±1.49 respectively, reflecting relative neutrophilia and lymphopenia which normalised by 36 hours.
CONCLUSION: In contrast to previous studies, we found only a slight increment in total white cell count of about 10%. The marginal changes described in our study would not normally raise any clinical concern, although vigilance should be exercised if higher levels were observed.
METHODS: The Malay version was translated by two independent translators who were well versed in both languages. We carried out a cross-sectional study collecting data between June 2017 and March 2018 in the pre-operative Eye Clinic of Hospital Melaka with 224 respondents (mean age 66.8 years) and another 204 respondents (mean age 64.3 years) participating in the English version and Malay version of the Questionnaire respectively. Methods used to validate the standard questionnaire included the use of construct validity via factor analysis and the deployment of reliability test through assessment of internal consistency via Cronbach's alpha.
RESULTS: We observed both English and Bahasa Malaysia versions to have high reliability with Cronbach's alpha values of 0.90 and above in factors on difficulty with activities and responses to vision problems. Exploratory factor analysis performed revealed that the three-factor model fits the data well for the English version of the questionnaire - difficulty with activities (23.81 % of variance), responses to vision problem (22.22 % of variance) and general health and vision (14.68 % of variance). The Bahasa Malaysia version of the questionnaire produced three factors with two of the factors resembling the factors from the original version of the questionnaire - difficulty with activities (24.3 % of variance) and responses to vision problem (23.7 % of variance). Item response theory analysis revealed that these factors for both English and Bahasa Malaysia versions comprised of adequately fitted items.
CONCLUSION: The present study observed that both the English and Bahasa Malaysia versions of the NEI VFQ-25 have comparable construct validity to the original American version. With high validity and reliability, the tool shall be able to provide health care providers the assessment of impact due to cataract and other ophthalmic conditions on the vision-related quality of life of ophthalmic patients.