scholarly journals Outcome prediction with a social cognitive battery: a multicenter longitudinal study

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Brunet-Gouet ◽  
Capucine Decaix-Tisserand ◽  
Mathieu Urbach ◽  
Nadine Bazin ◽  
Bruno Aouizerate ◽  
...  

AbstractThe interest in social cognition in schizophrenia is justified by the relationship between deficits in these skills and negative functional outcomes. Although assessment batteries have already been described, there is no consensus about which measures are useful in predicting patient functioning or quality of life (QoL). We investigated a set of five measures of recognition of facial emotions, theory of mind (ToM), and empathy in a cohort of 143 patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder at inclusion and, amongst whom 79 were reassessed 1 year later. The distribution was satisfactory for the TREF (Facial Emotion Recognition Task), V-SIR (Versailles-Situational Intention Reading), and QCAE (Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy). Internal consistency was satisfactory for the TREF, V-SIR, V-Comics (Versailles Intention Attribution Task), and QCAE. Sensitivity to change was acceptable for the TREF. The TREF and V-SIR showed a cross-sectional relationship with functioning beyond the clinical symptoms of schizophrenia but not beyond neurocognition. Moreover, the TREF and V-SIR at inclusion could not predict functioning one year later, whereas most neurocognitive and clinical dimensions at inclusion could. Finally, only affective QCAE showed a significant cross-sectional, but not longitudinal, association with QoL. In conclusion, the TREF had satisfactory psychometric properties and showed a cross-sectional, but not longitudinal, association with objective outcome measures, thus appearing to be reliable in clinical practice and research. The V-SIR also showed promising psychometric properties, despite a possible weakness to detect change. However, these measures should be interpreted within the context of the good predictive power of the neurocognitive and clinical status on the outcome.

Author(s):  
Tommaso Cai ◽  
Luca Gallelli ◽  
Erika Cione ◽  
Gianpaolo Perletti ◽  
Francesco Ciarleglio ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose To evaluate the efficacy of Lactobacillus paracasei CNCM I-1572 (L. casei DG®) in both prevention of symptomatic recurrences and improvement of quality of life in patients with chronic bacterial prostatitis (CBP). Methods Patients with CBP attending a single Urological Institution were enrolled in this phase IV study. At enrollment, all patients were treated with antibiotics in agreement with EAU guidelines and then were treated with L. casei DG® (2 capsules/day for 3 months). Clinical and microbiological analyses were carried out before (enrollment, T0) and 6 months (T2) after the treatment. Both safety and adherence to the treatment were evaluated 3 months (T1) after the enrollment. NIH Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (CPSI), International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and Quality of Well-Being (QoL) questionnaires were used. The outcome measures were the rate of symptomatic recurrence, changes in questionnaire symptom scores and the reduction of antibiotic use. Results Eighty-four patients were included. At T2, 61 patients (72.6%) reported a clinical improvement of symptoms with a return to their clinical status before symptoms. A time dependent improvement in clinical symptoms with significant changes in NIH-CPSI, IPSS and QoL (mean difference T2 vs T0: 16.5 ± 3.58; − 11.0 ± 4.32; + 0.3 ± 0.09; p < 0.001), was reported. We recorded that L. casei DG® treatment induced a statistically significant decrease in both (p < 0.001) symptomatic recurrence [1.9/3 months vs 0.5/3 months] and antibiotic use [− 7938 UDD]. No clinically relevant adverse effects were reported. Conclusions L. casei DG® prevents symptomatic recurrences and improves the quality of life in patients with CBP, reducing the antibiotic use.


2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 341-356
Author(s):  
Octavia Căpățînă ◽  
◽  
Cristina Pojoga ◽  
Bogdan Savu ◽  
Mihaela Fadgyas-Stănculete ◽  
...  

Background: In order to pursue recovery, Quality of life (QoL) and general functioning in patients with schizophrenia are milestones that need to be addressed in the treatment of the disease. The major aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between QoL, functionality and symptoms, and clinical characteristics of the disease, and to identify whether the two domains of negative symptoms, avolition/apathy and diminished expression, are predictive factors for the quality of life and functionality in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. In the present cross-sectional study, 87 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia completed a thorough battery of instruments evaluating: clinical symptoms, stigma, QoL, functionality, socio-demographic and clinical variables. Multiple regression analyses were performed to test the significance of predictor variables for QoL and functionality. Multiple regression analyses revealed that internalized stigma, depression, and excitement were significant predictors for the variability of QoL, and experiential deficit and cognitive symptoms were significant predictors of the variability of functioning. In patients with schizophrenia, functioning and quality of life are two related but different constructs. Even though they are strongly associated, they have different predictive factors. The clinical implication of these results is that both of these constructs should be assessed and that the strategies for improving them should be different.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Miika Hyvönen ◽  
Arttu Jaakkola ◽  
Tarja Tanner ◽  
Jari Päkkilä ◽  
Antti Kämppi ◽  
...  

Objectives. Bitewing radiographs are mainly used to confirm clinical findings in caries diagnostics. The objective here was to investigate the quality of bitewing radiographs after short brush-up training and additional findings besides caries in a low-caries population. Methods. The material of this cross-sectional study comprised 377 pairs of bitewing radiographs of 19- to 20-year-olds taken by dentists. Radiography was considered indicated if one dentinal caries lesion was present on clinical examination. A senior oral radiologist evaluated quality and diagnosed the findings afterwards unaware of clinical status. The association between variables was analysed using cross tabulation and chi-squared testing. Results. Almost half of the images were of compromised quality (44.1%). Dentinal caries lesions were detected in 82.3% and enamel lesions in 73.5% of the subjects. On average, the subjects had 1.7 (SD 0.52) dentinal lesions. Fillings were found in 81.8%, fractures/cracks in 11.7%, and attrition in 7.4% of the subjects. Signs of excessive bite force were recorded in 19.4%, whereas marginal bone loss was detected in 6.4%. No significant correlation was detected between fractures, attrition, and excessive bite forces. Conclusions. Effort must be taken to ensure high quality of bitewing radiographs. In addition to caries detection, bitewing radiographs offer additional value, such as detecting excessive bite forces, tooth wear, and marginal bone loss among young adults.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 246
Author(s):  
Lilis Masyfufah ◽  
Erwin Astha Triyono

Background: The success of individual antiretroviral drug (ARV) treatment in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) was determined by conducting a routine evaluation of the patients’ Cluster of Differentiation 4 (CD4) count. The indicators used to measure the success of the HIV and AIDS treatment were mortality, mobility, and quality of life (QoL). Purpose: The purpose of this research was to analyze the relationship between clinical status (smoking status, duration of ARV therapy, the CD4 count, and body mass index [BMI]) and the QoL of patients with HIV and AIDS who were stable during treatment. Methods: This type of research was quantitative analytical research with a cross-sectional design. This research was conducted at Dr. Soetomo Hospital, Surabaya, from September to November 2017. The study population was patients with HIV and AIDS in Dr. Soetomo Hospital, Surabaya. The research sample was taken by purposive sampling with the inclusion criteria being patients with HIV and AIDS who had been treated for ≥6 months with adherence ≥95% and who came directly to the hospital. Results: The majority of respondents were female (53.36%), junior/senior high school graduates (66.67%), married (62.22%), non-smoking (75.56%), had undergone ARV therapy for ±10 years (77.78%), and had a QoL in the adequate category (62.22%). The basic clinical status with a significant relationship with the respondents’ QoL were the CD4 count (p = 0.00) and BMI (p = 0.00). Conclusion: There was a relationship of the CD4 count and BMI with the QoL of the patients with HIV and AIDS.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Vicuña Serrano ◽  
Gerardo Beltran Serrano ◽  
Iraci L. S. Torres ◽  
Roberta Rossi Graudner ◽  
Wolnei Caumo

Abstract Background To assess the psychometric properties, including internal consistency, construct validity, criterion validity, criterion-group validity, and responsiveness, the Reviewed McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire (MQOL-R), into Brazilian Portuguese-(BrP). Also, to analyze the relationship of the BrP-MQOL-R with the scores on the Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) and on the Numerical Pain Scale (NPS 0–10). Methods The BrP-MQOL-R was administered to a sample of 146 adults (men = 78). A team of experts translated the MQOL-R according to international guidelines. Convergent validity and Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed. Results The BrP-MQOL-R Cronbach’s alpha was 0.85. CFA supported the original four-factor structure, with the following revised model fit-indices: PCLOSE = 0.131, Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) rho 2 = 0.918, incremental fit index (IFI) delta 2 = 0.936. The convergence validity is supported by a significant correlation between BrP-MQOL-R total scores and their subscales with KPS and with the single item related to the quality of life. And by a converse correlation with the pain scores in the NPS (0–10). Receiver operator characteristics (ROC) analysis showed subjects with KPS equal to or lower than 30% could be discriminated from those with scores on KPS higher than 30% by an area under the curve (AUC) = 0.71, sensitivity = 97%, and specificity = 92%). Conclusion The BrP-MQOL-R proves to be a reliable instrument for assessing the quality of life (QOL) in palliative care (PC), with primary evidence of validity. BrP-MQOL-R presented adequate discriminate properties to identify distinct conditions that impact the QOL in PC.


Author(s):  
Cristina Saro ◽  
Daniel Ceballos ◽  
Fernando Muñoz ◽  
Cristóbal de la Coba ◽  
María Dolores Aguilar ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nelbe Nesi Santana ◽  
Célia Regina Moutinho de Miranda Chaves ◽  
Christine Pereira Gonçalves ◽  
Saint Clair dos Santos Gomes Junior

ABSTRACT Objective: To verify the association between quality of life, functional capacity and clinical and nutritional status in children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis (CF). Methods: Cross-sectional study, including patients from eight to 18 years old with CF. Quality of life, functional capacity, nutritional status and clinical status were evaluated with the Cystic Fibrosis Questionnaire; the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) and manual gripping force (MGF); the height percentiles for age and body mass index for age and respiratory function test, respectively. Pearson and Spearman correlation tests and logistic regression were used to analyze the data. Results: A total of 45 patients, 13.4±0.5 years old, 60% female, 60% colonized by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 57.8% with at least one F508del mutation participated in the study. When assessing the perception of quality of life, the weight domain reached the lowest values, and the digestive domain, the highest. In the pulmonary function test, the forced expiratory volume of the first second was 77.3±3.3% and the 6MWT and MGF presented values within the normal range. There was an association between quality of life and functional capacity, nutritional status and clinical status of CF patients. Conclusions: The study participants had good clinical conditions and satisfactory values of functional capacity and quality of life. The findings reinforce that the assessment of quality of life may be important for clinical practice in the management of treatment.


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