Best-worst scaling

PURPOSE: To review required margins in ocular proton therapy (OPT) based on an uncertainty estimation and to compare them with widely used values. Further, uncertainties when using registered funduscopy images in the 3D model is investigated. METHODS: An uncertainty budget in planning and delivery was defined to determine required aperture and range margins. Setup uncertainties were considered for a cohort of treated patients and tested in a worst-case estimation...

BACKGROUND: Adapted boxing can help improve the physical functioning and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD). Whether these benefits persist longitudinally is unclear. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the impact of a community-based adapted boxing program on the physical functioning and HRQoL of individuals with PD over 1-1.5 years. METHODS: Twenty-six individuals with PD agreed to share their results on tests administered upon enrollment in the program (PRE) and ∼431 days later (POST)...

BACKGROUND: In the BEST-CLI trial (Best Endovascular Versus Best Surgical Therapy for Patients With Chronic Limb-Threatening Ischemia), a prespecified secondary objective was to assess the effects of revascularization strategy on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). METHODS: Patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia were randomized to surgical bypass (Bypass) or endovascular intervention (Endo) in 2 parallel trials. Cohort 1 included patients with single-segment great saphenous vein; cohort 2 included those lacking suitable single-segment great saphenous vein...

PURPOSE: Preoperative oral carbohydrate (CHO) is a rapid postoperative rehabilitation protocol that improves perioperative outcomes and is widely used in adult surgical patients. However, pregnant women are excluded because of the possibility of aspiration due to delayed gastric emptying. This meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of preoperative oral CHO in elective cesarean section. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library were searched from inception to July 2023...

BACKGROUND: Children with severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) are at risk for neurological sequelae impacting function. Clinicians are tasked with neuroprognostication to assist in decision-making. We describe a single-center study assessing clinicians' neuroprognostication accuracy. METHODS: Clinicians of various specialties caring for children with sTBI were asked to predict their patients' functioning three to six months postinjury. Clinicians were asked to participate in the study if their patient had survived but not returned to baseline between day 4 and 7 postinjury...

INTRODUCTION: Sternal fractures are rare, causing significant pain, respiratory compromise, and decreased upper extremity range of motion. Sternal fixation (SF) is a viable treatment option; however, there remains a paucity of literature demonstrating long-term benefits. This study examined long-term outcomes of SF, hypothesizing they have better long-term quality of life (QoL) than patients managed nonoperatively (NOM). METHODS: This was a survey study at our level 1 academic hospital...

Enhancing the arsenal of methods available to shape implementation strategies and bolster knowledge translation is imperative. Stated preference methods, including discrete choice experiments (DCE) and best-worst scaling (BWS), rooted in economics, emerge as robust, theory-driven tools for understanding and influencing the behaviors of both recipients and providers of innovation. This commentary outlines the wide-ranging application of stated preference methods across the implementation continuum, ushering in effective knowledge translation...

BACKGROUND: Detailed preoperative information is associated with superior outcomes. We aimed to describe the recovery pattern after decompression of central lumbar spinal stenosis (CLSS). METHODS: 50 patients aged 51-85 years who underwent decompression without fusion due to CLSS were followed from before to after surgery (post-op day 1, 7, and 14). Back and leg pain were evaluated using the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS; 0 = no pain 0, 10 = worst pain) and quality of life using the EuroQol-5D index (0 = death, 1 = best), and EQ-5D-visual analogue scale (VAS; 0 = worst, 100 = best)...

Questionnaires are ever present in survey research. In this study, we examined whether an indirect indicator of general cognitive ability could be developed based on response patterns in questionnaires. We drew on two established phenomena characterizing connections between cognitive ability and people's performance on basic cognitive tasks, and examined whether they apply to questionnaires responses. (1) The worst performance rule (WPR) states that people's worst performance on multiple sequential tasks is more indicative of their cognitive ability than their average or best performance...

BACKGROUND: Lumbar disc herniation is a common spinal disease that causes low back pain; surgery is required when conservative treatment is ineffective. There is a growing demand for minimally invasive surgery in younger patient populations due to their fear of significant damage and a long recovery period following standard open discectomy. The development history of minimally invasive surgery is relatively short, and no gold standard has been established. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to find, via a network meta-analysis, the best treatment for low back pain in younger patient populations...

BACKGROUND: Using virtual patients integrated in simulators expands students' training opportunities in healthcare. However, little is known about the usability perceived by students and the factors/determinants that predict the acceptance and use of clinical virtual simulation in nursing education. OBJECTIVES: To identify the factors/determinants that predict the acceptance and use of clinical virtual simulation in learning in nursing education. METHODS: Observational, cross-sectional, analytical study of the use of clinical virtual simulation in nursing to answer the research question: What factors/determinants predict the acceptance and use of a clinical virtual simulator in nursing education? We used a non-probabilistic sampling, more specifically a convenience sample of nursing degree students...

BACKGROUND: To investigate the influence of socioeconomic status (SES) and gender on the incidence and survival of patients with bladder cancer on a small scale within the city of Hamburg, Germany. METHODS: Patients documented in the Hamburg Cancer Registry aged ≥ 18 years with primary bladder carcinoma (ICD-10: C67, D09.0), diagnosed in the period 2004-2020 (follow-up until 31.12.2021), and residing in Hamburg were included. The patients were divided into three groups (low, intermediate, and high SES) based on the socioeconomic situation at the district level, defined by the proportion of unemployed individuals, social housing, benefit recipients according to law, etc...

BACKGROUND: More accurate prediction of distant metastases (DM) in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) would optimize individualized treatment and follow-up strategies. Multiple prediction models based on machine learning have been developed to assess the likelihood of developing DM. METHODS: Clinicopathological features of patients with CRC were obtained from the National Cancer Center (NCC, China) and the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database...

BACKGROUND: The impact of trauma team dynamics on outcomes in injured patients is not completely understood. We sought to evaluate the association between trauma team function, as measured by a modified Trauma Non-Technical Skills assessment, and cardiac arrest in hypotensive trauma patients. We hypothesized that better team function is associated with a decreased probability of developing cardiac arrest. METHODS: Trauma video review was used to collect data from resuscitations of adult hypotensive trauma patients at 19 centers...

BACKGROUND: Many KOA patients have not reached indications for surgery, thus we need to find effective non-surgical treatments. Acupuncture is thought to have the potential to modulate inflammation and cytokines in KOA through the immune system. However, the mechanisms have not been elucidated, and there is no network Meta-analysis of acupuncture on KOA animals. So we evaluate the effect and mechanism of acupuncture-related therapy in KOA animals. METHODS: A comprehensive search was conducted in multiple databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, CBM, CNKI, WanFang, and VIP Database to identify relevant animal studies focusing on acupuncture therapy for KOA...

We investigated associations of obesity and tobacco smoking with health-related quality of life (HRQoL), pain, fatigue, and functional impairment in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Furthermore, we explored whether there was an effect modification between these two factors. We included adult SLE patients from the Linköping University Hospital (n = 325) in the present cross-sectional analysis. We further included population-based controls and performed cardinality matching to balance age and sex distributions with cases (n = 224)...

BACKGROUND: Obesity exacerbates pain and functional limitation in persons with knee osteoarthritis (OA). In the Weight Loss and Exercise for Communities with Arthritis in North Carolina (WE-CAN) study, a community-based diet and exercise (D+E) intervention led to an additional 6kg weight loss and 20% greater pain relief in persons with knee OA and BMI>27 kg/m2 relative to a group-based health education (HE) intervention. We sought to determine the incremental cost-effectiveness of the Usual Care (UC), UC+HE, and UC+(D+E) programs, comparing each strategy to the 'next-best' strategy, ranked by increasing lifetime cost...

Purpose: Oral health care is a leading unmet health care need of children with special health care needs (CSHCNs). The purposes of this study were to: (1) compare the responses of parents (parents, caregivers) of children with versus without special health care needs (SHCNs) concerning their child's functioning, oral health-related knowledge, attitudes, and behavior; and (2) assess which information parents received/wanted to receive from dentists. Methods: A total of 122 parents of CSHCNs and 115 parents of children without SHCNs responded to the surveys...

BACKGROUND: This analysis provides details on baseline and changes in quality of life (QoL) and its components as measured by EQ-5D-5L questionnaire, as well as association with objective outcomes, applying high-intensity heart failure (HF) care in patients with acute HF. METHODS: In STRONG-HF trial (Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of Rapid Optimization, Helped by NT-proBNP Testing, of Heart Failure Therapies) patients with acute HF were randomized just before discharge to either usual care or a high-intensity care strategy of guideline-directed medical therapy up-titration...

BACKGROUND: Medication non-adherence is common among adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer and associated with poor health outcomes. AYAs with cancer endorse multiple barriers to adherence that differ across individuals, suggesting that tailoring intervention content to an AYA's specific barriers may have the potential to improve adherence. The purpose of this manuscript is to report on ORBIT-guided Phase I design efforts to create the first tailored adherence-promotion intervention for AYAs with cancer and the study protocol for the ongoing Phase II pilot feasibility trial...