scholarly journals Knee ultrasound from research to real practice: a systematic literature review of adult knee ultrasound assessment feasibility studies.

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 457
Author(s):  
Alexandra Peltea ◽  
Florian Berghea ◽  
Tania Gudu ◽  
Ruxandra Ionescu

Objective: To identify and analyse existing data regarding knee ultrasound (US) feasibility in clinical practice. Material and methods: A systematic literature review was performed using the terms: (“knee”) AND (“ultrasound” OR “ultrasonography”) AND (“feasibility” OR “pilot” OR “proof of concept”). Feasibility studies regarding knee US or US aided maneuver involving knee joint, published during 2005-2015, were selected and evaluated against a complex framework constructed around mandatory key areas for feasibility studies: acceptability, demand, implementation, practicality, adaptation, integration and expansion. Results: One hundred and fifty-nine publications were identified, of which 9 were included in the final analysis: 6 dealt with the development and implementation of novel US scores, while the rest focused on implementing MSUS in clinical practice, evaluating the usefulness of articular cartilage US assessment and the feasibility of sonography for intra-articular knee injections, respectively. Six studies quantified feasibility as time spent for the evaluation, with only two addressing areassuch as acceptability, implementation and practicality, although none of these systematically assessed all feasibility domains. Conclusion: Knee US feasibility is still poorly addressed; the time required for US assessment is the main area addressed. This information gap should be properly addressed in future works, in order to ensure the right place for this technique. 

Hernia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Ramspott ◽  
T. Jäger ◽  
M. Lechner ◽  
P. Schredl ◽  
A. Gabersek ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose Bochdalek hernia is a congenital diaphragmatic hernia. The incidence in adults is estimated around 0.17%. Right-sided hernias are much more seldom than left-sided ones because of faster closure of the right pleuroperitoneal canal and the protective effect of the liver. Due to its rarity, there have been no large prospective or retrospective studies following great need for evidence-based diagnostics and treatment strategies. In this systematic review, we evaluated the current evidence of diagnostics, treatment, and follow-up of adult right-sided Bochdalek hernias. Methods According to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines a systematic literature review was conducted in PubMed and Cochrane library from 2004 to January 2021. The literature search included all studies with non-traumatic right-sided Bochdalek hernias. Literature on left- or both-sided, pregnancy-associated, pediatric, and other types of hernias were explicitly excluded. Quality assessment of the included studies was performed. Results Database search identified 401 records. After eligibility screening 41 studies describing 44 cases of right-sided non-traumatic Bochdalek hernias in adulthood were included for final analysis. Based upon the systematic literature review, the current diagnostic, therapeutic, and follow-up management pathway for this rare surgical emergency is presented. Conclusion This systematic review underlined that most studies investigating management of adult non-traumatic right-sided Bochdalek hernias are of moderate to low methodological quality. Hernias tend to occur more frequently in middle-aged and older women presenting with abdominal pain and dyspnea. A rapid and accurate diagnosis following surgical repair and regular follow-up is mandatory. High-quality studies focusing on the management of this rare entity are urgently needed.


Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 244
Author(s):  
Ana Maria Bueno ◽  
Antonio Augusto de Paula Xavier ◽  
Evandro Eduardo Broday

The thermal environment is one of the main factors that influence thermal comfort and, consequently, the productivity of occupants inside buildings. Throughout the years, research has described the connection between thermal comfort and productivity. Mathematical models have been established in the attempt to predict changes in productivity according to thermal variations in the environment. Some of these models have failed for a number of reasons, including the understanding of the effect that several environment variables have had on performance. From this context, a systematic literature review was carried out with the aim of verifying the connection between thermal comfort and productivity and the combinations of different thermal and personal factors that can have an effect on productivity. A hundred and twenty-eight articles were found which show a connection between productivity and some thermal comfort variables. By means of specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, 60 articles were selected for a final analysis. The main conclusions found in this study were: (i) the vast majority of research uses subjective measures and/or a combination of methods to evaluate productivity; (ii) performance/productivity can be attained within an ampler temperature range; (iii) few studies present ways of calculating productivity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. s120-s120
Author(s):  
Alexandre Marra ◽  
Mireia Puig-Asensio ◽  
Eli Perencevich

Background: Improving the use of antibiotics across the care continuum will be necessary as we strive to protect our patients from antimicrobial resistance. One potential target for antimicrobial stewardship is during end-of-life care of patients with advanced dementia. We aimed to perform a systematic literature review measuring the burden of antibiotic use during end-of-life care in patients with dementia. Methods: We searched PubMed, CINAHL, and Embase through July 2019 for studies with the following inclusion criteria in the initial analysis: (1) end-of-life patients (ie, dementia, cancer, organ failure, frailty or multi-morbidity); (2) antibiotic use in the end-of-life care; with the final analysis restricted to (3) patients with advanced dementia. Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies were included. Results: Of the 93 full-text articles, 17 studies (18.3%) met the selection criteria for further analysis. Most of the included studies were retrospective (n = 8) or prospective (n = 8) cohort studies. These studies in combination included 2,501 patients with advanced dementia. Also, 5 studies (698 patients, [27.9%]) were restricted to patients with Alzheimer’s disease. In 5 studies in which data were available, fewer than one-quarter of patients (19.9%, 498) with advanced dementia were referred to palliative care. In 12 studies >50% of patients received antibiotics during the end-of-life period. Also, 15 studies did not report the duration of antimicrobial therapy. Only 2 studies reported the antimicrobial consumption in days of therapy per 1,000 resident days. Only 6 studies studied whether the use of antibiotics was associated with beneficial outcomes (survival or comfort), and none of them evaluated potential adverse effects associated with antibiotic use. Conclusions: There are significant gaps in the literature surrounding antimicrobial use at the end of life in patients with advanced dementia. Future studies are needed to evaluate the benefits and harms of using antibiotics for patients during end-of-life care in this patient population.Acknowledgement. We thank Jennifer Deberg from Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, University of Iowa Libraries on the search methods.Disclosures: NoneFunding: None


Author(s):  
Armando Barbosa ◽  
Ig Ibert Bittencourt ◽  
Sean Wolfgand Matsui Siqueira ◽  
Rafael de Amorim Silva ◽  
Ivo Calado

To reduce the complexity intrinsic to LD manipulation, software tools are used to publish or consume data associated to LD activities. However, few developers have a broad understanding of how software tools may be used in publication or consumption of Linked Data. The goal of this work is to investigate the use of software tools in Linked Data publication and consumption processes. More specifically, understanding how these software tools are related to process of publication or consumption of LD. In order to meet their goal, the authors conducted a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) to identify the studies on the use of software tools in these processes. The SLR gathered 6473 studies, of which only 80 studies remained for final analysis (1.25% of the original sample). The highlights of the study are: (1) initial steps of the publication process are fairly supported by the software tools; (2) Non-RDF serialization is fairly supported in publication and consumptions process by the software tools; and (3) there are non-supported steps in consumption and publication processes by the tools.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Arthur Leandro Guerra Pires ◽  
Paulo Rotella Junior ◽  
Sandra Naomi Morioka ◽  
Luiz Célio Souza Rocha ◽  
Ivan Bolis

Offshore wind energy has been identified as one of the most promising and increasingly attractive sources of energy. This technology offers a long-term power-generation source, less environmental impact, and fewer physical restrictions. However, given the complexity of this technology, economic feasibility studies are essential. Thus, this study aims to identify the main trends and criteria or the methods used in the economic feasibility studies of offshore wind energy, providing a review of the state of the art in this literature. For this, a Systematic Literature Review was carried out. The article shows the growing interest in offshore wind power generation and highlights how recently the interest in the studies that assess the technical–economic feasibility of this source has grown; it presents the main milestones of the topic. Based on a structured literature review, this article identifies the main trends in this topic: (i) wind farms, (ii) risk, (iii) floating offshore wind farms, (iv) decommissioning and repowering, (v) net present value, (vi) life cycle cost, and (vii) multi-criteria decision-making; it provides a broad view of the methodological possibilities and specificities for investors and researchers interested in conducting studies on the economic feasibility of offshore wind generation. In addition, finally, a research agenda is proposed.


Author(s):  
Elizabeth McCourt ◽  
Judith Singleton ◽  
Vivienne Tippett ◽  
Lisa Nissen

Abstract Objectives In the aftermath of a disaster, the services provided by pharmacists are essential to ensure the continued health and well-being of the local population. To continue pharmacy services, it is critical that pharmacists are prepared for disasters. A systematic literature review was conducted to explore pharmacists’ and pharmacy students’ preparedness for disasters and the factors that affect preparedness. Methods This review was conducted in April 2020 through electronic databases CINAHL, MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, Scopus and PsycINFO, and two disaster journals. Search terms such as ‘pharmacist*’, ‘disaster*’ and ‘prepared*’ were used. The search yielded an initial 1781 titles. Articles were included if they measured pharmacists or pharmacy students’ disaster preparedness. After screening and quality appraisal by two researchers, four articles were included in final analysis and review. Data were extracted using a data collection tool formulated by the researchers. Meta-analysis was not possible; instead, results were compared across key areas including preparedness ratings and factors that influenced preparedness. Key findings Three articles focused on pharmacy students’ preparedness for disasters, and one on registered pharmacists’ preparedness. Preparedness across both groups was poor to moderate with <18% of registered pharmacists found to be prepared to respond to a disaster. Factors that potentially influenced preparedness included disaster competency, disaster interventions and demographic factors. Conclusion For pharmacists, the lack of research around their preparedness speaks volumes about their current involvement and expectations within disaster management. Without a prepared pharmacy workforce and pharmacy involvement in disaster management, critical skill and service gaps in disasters may negatively impact patients.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuuli Jylhä ◽  
Hilde Remøy ◽  
Monique Arkesteijn

PurposeAs corporations change their way of working, the importance of corporate real estate (CRE) management has increased. Hence, there is a need to structure the existing knowledge and to identify the latest developments in CRE research. This paper aims to identify the major developments and changed paradigms in CRE research in 2005-2015.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review is conducted, including papers from seven journals. In three sequential scans, papers were identified for the final analysis, keeping 99 of 1,667 papers.FindingsBased on nine identified developments, two paradigm shifts were found. The shift from cost minimisation to value delivery was identified. Besides solving current problems, value delivery aims to capture the future value and prevent future problems. The second paradigm shift is from buildings to people. Before the shift, buildings refer to value delivery as a transaction, while the shift to people highlights the aim to provide value-in-use.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper focusses on corporate offices, excluding retail, health care, education, publicly owned facilities, etc. This research is limited to CRE research. Therefore, the results are applicable to CRE research but do not cover the developments in practice.Practical implicationsFor practitioners, this paper offers a possibility to develop their RE strategies by reflecting their current practices with the identified developments and paradigms in the CRE literature. This paper suggests to conduct a similar research in practice to compare the underlying paradigms.Originality/valueThis paper is based on a systematic literature study, and summarises developments in CRE research over the past 10 years.


2007 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 537-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan-Joost Rethans ◽  
Simone Gorter ◽  
Lonneke Bokken ◽  
Linda Morrison

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