Fused deposition modeling (FDM), the most widely used additive manufacturing (AM) technology, is gaining considerable interest in the surgical sector for the production of single-use surgical devices that can be tailor-made according to... more
Fused deposition modeling (FDM), the most widely used additive manufacturing (AM) technology, is gaining considerable interest in the surgical sector for the production of single-use surgical devices that can be tailor-made according to specific requirements (e.g., type of patient surgery, specific shapes, etc.) due to its low cost, ease of access to materials (3D-printing filament), and the relatively low complexity. However, surgical 3D-printing parts should resist sterilization treatments without losing structural, mechanical, and dimensional accuracy. Thus, in this work, 3D-filaments based on poly(lactic acid) (PLA), poly(ethylene glycol-co-1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol terephthalate) (PETG), and a modified PETG material (CPE) were used to produce 3D-printed parts and further subjected to moist heat (MH) and dry heat (DH) sterilization processes as affordable and widely used sterilization processes in the medical field. The effect of MH and DH was evaluated by performing a complete ...
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La fístula traqueoesofágica es una patología infrecuente que en general se asocia con patología tumoral esofágica y algunas veces con tumores primarios de vía aérea, que implican pobre sobrevida y mal pronóstico a corto plazo. El... more
La fístula traqueoesofágica es una patología infrecuente que en general se asocia con patología tumoral esofágica y algunas veces con tumores primarios de vía aérea, que implican pobre sobrevida y mal pronóstico a corto plazo. El tratamiento requiere un enfoque multidisciplinario, se considera la colocación de endoprótesis como manejo de primera línea para alivio de síntomas y mejoría de calidad de vida. El artículo reporta el caso de un paciente con carcinoma escamocelular de tercio medio del esófago inoperable, con colocación exitosa de doble stent esofágico y traqueal.
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Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a technique based on overlapping layers of a material (eg, plastic, clay, and metal). The widespread implementation of 3D printers has resulted in a notable increase in use. Fields such as construction,... more
Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a technique based on overlapping layers of a material (eg, plastic, clay, and metal). The widespread implementation of 3D printers has resulted in a notable increase in use. Fields such as construction, engineering, and medicine benefit from this technique. The use of 3D printed scale models permits better surgical planning and results. The models were created based on CT images of seven patients (age range, 5 to 61 years) with different pathologies who were candidates for surgery. Surgical time decreased as a result of detailed surgical planning with printed models. This technique also was associated with a decrease in bleeding, a reduction in the amount of anesthesia required, and greater precision. In some patients, a change in surgical strategy was noted, thus allowing for a reduction in the number of surgeries and the aggressiveness of surgery. Finally, the preoperative practice (virtual and physical osteotomies using cutting tools) that was p...
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New research into physical activity suggests that it is no longer sufficient just to meet minimum levels recommended by health guidelines in order to reduce cardiovascular risk. Both physical inactivity and sedentary behavior have their... more
New research into physical activity suggests that it is no longer sufficient just to meet minimum levels recommended by health guidelines in order to reduce cardiovascular risk. Both physical inactivity and sedentary behavior have their own health hazards and need to be addressed separately, in order to explore their different deleterious mechanisms. The aim of this review was to define and to characterize both concepts, and their relationship with major non-communicable chronic diseases. A PubMed database search was undertaken, using the following key words: physical activity, physical inactivity, sedentarism, sedentary behavior, and non-communicable chronic disease. This literature review provides an updated view on physical inactivity and sedentary behavior, and reevaluates their prevalence and association with major non-communicable chronic disease.
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Objectives This study of primarily Latino caregivers and Latino child welfare-involved children had the following aims: (1) explore the return appointment adherence patterns at a pediatric medical clinic; and (2) determine the... more
Objectives This study of primarily Latino caregivers and Latino child welfare-involved children had the following aims: (1) explore the return appointment adherence patterns at a pediatric medical clinic; and (2) determine the relationship of adherence to return appointments and caregiver, child, and clinic variables. Methods The sample consisted of caregivers of child welfare-involved children who were asked to make a pediatric outpatient clinic return appointment (N = 87). Predictors included caregiver demographics, child medical diagnoses and age, and clinic/convenience factors including distance from the clinic to caregiver's home, days until the return appointment, reminder telephone call, Latino provider, and additional specialty appointment. Predictors were examined using χ(2) and t tests of significance. Results Thirty-nine percent of all caregivers were nonadherent in returning for pediatric appointments. When return appointments were scheduled longer after the initial ...
Research Interests: Pediatrics, Family Medicine, Child Welfare, Medicine, Los Angeles, and 15 moreHumans, Child, Female, Male, Patient Compliance, Caregivers, Maternal child health, Middle Aged, Adult, Telephone, Surveys and Questionnaires, Specialty, Delivery of Health Care, Medical and Health Sciences, and Reminder systems
To determine if adequacy of randomisation and allocation concealment is associated with changes in effect sizes (ES) when comparing physical therapy (PT) trials with and without these methodological characteristics. Meta-epidemiological... more
To determine if adequacy of randomisation and allocation concealment is associated with changes in effect sizes (ES) when comparing physical therapy (PT) trials with and without these methodological characteristics. Meta-epidemiological study. A random sample of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) included in meta-analyses in the PT discipline were identified. Data extraction including assessments of random sequence generation and allocation concealment was conducted independently by two reviewers. To determine the association between sequence generation, and allocation concealment and ES, a two-level analysis was conducted using a meta-meta-analytic approach. association between random sequence generation and allocation concealment and ES in PT trials. 393 trials included in 43 meta-analyses, analysing 44 622 patients contributed to this study. Adequate random sequence generation and appropriate allocation concealment were accomplished in only 39.7% and 11.5% of PT trials, respecti...
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Research Interests: Decision Making, Research Design, Psychometrics, Evidence Based Practice, Treatment Outcome, and 12 moreMedicine, Systematic Reviews, Humans, Psychological Intervention, Meta Analysis, Systematic review, Randomized Controlled Trial, Research Report, Bias (Epidemiology), Delphi Technique, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, and guidelines as topic
Research Interests: Research Design, Medicine, Multidisciplinary, Physical Therapy, Humans, and 10 moreMedline, Meta Analysis, PLoS one, Systematic review, Randomized Controlled Trial, Reproducibility of Results, Medicine and Health Sciences, Bias (Epidemiology), Review Literature As Topic, and Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
Research Interests: Adolescent, Medicine, Physical Therapy, Humans, Female, and 15 moreMale, Neck Pain, Electromyography, Physical, Clinical Sciences, Middle Aged, Questionnaires, Adult, Analysis of Variance, Research Reports, Neck Muscles, Cross sectional Study, Cross Sectional Studies, Exercise Test, and Disability Evaluation
BackgroundInterferential current (IFC) is a common electrotherapeutic modality used to treat pain. Although IFC is widely used, the available information regarding its clinical efficacy is debatable.PurposeThe aim of this systematic... more
BackgroundInterferential current (IFC) is a common electrotherapeutic modality used to treat pain. Although IFC is widely used, the available information regarding its clinical efficacy is debatable.PurposeThe aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to analyze the available information regarding the efficacy of IFC in the management of musculoskeletal pain.Data SourcesRandomized controlled trials were obtained through a computerized search of bibliographic databases (ie, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PEDro, Scopus, and Web of Science) from 1950 to February 8, 2010.Data ExtractionTwo independent reviewers screened the abstracts found in the databases. Methodological quality was assessed using a compilation of items included in different scales related to rehabilitation research. The mean difference, with 95% confidence interval, was used to quantify the pooled effect. A chi-square test for heterogeneity was performed.Data SynthesisA total of 2,235 articles we...
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Background and PurposeThe methodological quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is commonly evaluated in order to assess the risk of biased estimates of treatment effects. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify... more
Background and PurposeThe methodological quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is commonly evaluated in order to assess the risk of biased estimates of treatment effects. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify scales used to evaluate the methodological quality of RCTs in health care research and summarize the content, construction, development, and psychometric properties of these scales.MethodsExtensive electronic database searches, along with a manual search, were performed.ResultsOne hundred five relevant studies were identified. They accounted for 21 scales and their modifications. The majority of scales had not been rigorously developed or tested for validity and reliability. The Jadad Scale presented the best validity and reliability evidence; however, its validity for physical therapy trials has not been supported.Discussion and ConclusionMany scales are used to evaluate the methodological quality of RCTs, but most of these scales have not been adequat...
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Research Interests: Biomechanics, Manual Therapy, Medicine, Clinical Practice, Humans, and 15 moreClinical research, Effect size, Female, Male, Confidence intervals, Electromyography, Cervical Vertebrae, Clinical Sciences, Aged, Middle Aged, Adult, Clinical Significance, Cross sectional Study, Cross Sectional Studies, and Exercise Test
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There is debate on how the methodological quality of clinical trials should be assessed. We compared trials of physical therapy (PT) judged to be of adequate quality based on summary scores from the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro)... more
There is debate on how the methodological quality of clinical trials should be assessed. We compared trials of physical therapy (PT) judged to be of adequate quality based on summary scores from the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale with trials judged to be of adequate quality by Cochrane Risk of Bias criteria. Meta-epidemiological study within Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Meta-analyses of PT trials were identified in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. For each trial PeDro and Cochrane assessments were extracted from the PeDro and Cochrane databases. Adequate quality was defined as adequate generation of random sequence, concealment of allocation, and blinding of outcome assessors (Cochrane criteria) or as trials with a PEDro summary score ≥5 or ≥6 points. We combined trials of adequate quality using random-effects meta-analysis. Forty-one Cochrane reviews and 353 PT trials were included. All meta-analyses included trials with PEDro scores ≥5, 37 (9...