A Five Year Longitudinal Study of the Educational Environment in a Newly Integrated Medical Curriculum

Objectives: The College of Medicine at Gulf Medical University (GMU), Ajman, United Arab Emirates, was subjected to a curricular reform, which shifted the institution from a traditional curriculum to a hybrid, studentcentred, integrated curriculum. There are no previous studies analysing the consequences of such a curricular modification on the educational environment (EE). Therefore, this study aimed to analyse the EE of a pioneer cohort of the innovative curriculum over their five-year course of study. Methods: This prospective longitudinal study was conducted between September 2009 and September 2013 at the College of Medicine. The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure questionnaire was completed by a pioneer cohort of students at the start of each academic session for five consecutive years. The mean overall, subscale and individual statement scores were evaluated using the Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon-rank sum tests. Results: A total of 178 responses were collected (response rate: 90.4%). The mean overall score throughout the five years of study was 130/200. A significant difference in the scores (P <0.05) was observed as the students proceeded through the course. The overall and subscale scores were significantly higher in the first and final years of study. Analysis of the statements recognised the medical knowledge of the teachers’ and students’ awareness of empathy and social interactions as persistent strengths of the college over the entire course of study. A curricular overload, a want for support systems for stressed students, students’ waning interest levels and assessment strategies emerged as areas that warranted further attention. Conclusion: The pioneer cohort of the new curriculum rated their EE as positive throughout their five years of study at GMU. An examination of individual statements revealed the programme’s strengths and areas for improvement for the institution.Keywords: Curriculum; Environment; Longitudinal Study; Medical Students; Perception; Undergraduate Medical Education; United Arab Emirates.

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Patterns of bruising in preschool children—a longitudinal study

Archives of Disease in Childhood ◽

10.1136/archdischild-2014-307120 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 100 (5) ◽

pp. 426-431 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Alison M Kemp ◽

Frank Dunstan ◽

Diane Nuttall ◽

M Hamilton ◽

Peter Collins ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Longitudinal Study ◽

Preschool Children ◽

Social Deprivation ◽

Multilevel Modelling ◽

Bleeding Disorders ◽

Prospective Longitudinal Study ◽

The Mean ◽

Data Collections ◽

Prospective Longitudinal ◽

Over Time

IntroductionThis study aims to identify the prevalence and pattern of bruises in preschool children over time, and explore influential variablesMethodsProspective longitudinal study of children (<6 years) where bruises were recorded on a body chart, weekly for up to 12 weeks. The number and location of bruises were analysed according to development. Longitudinal analysis was performed using multilevel modelling.Results3523 bruises recorded from 2570 data collections from 328 children (mean age 19 months); 6.7% of 1010 collections from premobile children had at least one bruise (2.2% of babies who could not roll over and 9.8% in those who could), compared with 45.6% of 478 early mobile and 78.8% of 1082 walking child collections. The most common site affected in all groups was below the knees, followed by ‘facial T’ and head in premobile and early mobile. The ears, neck, buttocks, genitalia and hands were rarely bruised (<1% of all collections). None of gender, season or the level of social deprivation significantly influenced bruising patterns, although having a sibling increased the mean number of bruises. There was considerable variation in the number of bruises recorded between different children which increased with developmental stage and was greater than the variation between numbers of bruises in collections from the same child over time.ConclusionsThese data should help clinicians understand the patterns of ‘everyday bruising’ and recognise children who have an unusual numbers or distribution of bruises who may need assessment for physical abuse or bleeding disorders.

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Influence of fixed orthodontic treatment on the menstrual cycle of adult females: A prospective longitudinal study

The Angle Orthodontist ◽

10.2319/121814-922.1 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 86 (3) ◽

pp. 475-480 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Peipei Duan ◽

Wenwen Qu ◽

Shujuan Zou ◽

Yangxi Chen ◽

Hui Lan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Longitudinal Study ◽

Menstrual Cycle ◽

Orthodontic Treatment ◽

Adult Women ◽

Prospective Longitudinal Study ◽

Menstrual Cycles ◽

Adult Females ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Accompanying Symptoms ◽

Prospective Longitudinal

ABSTRACT Objective: To investigate the influence of fixed orthodontic treatment on the menstrual cycle, including menstrual cycle length (MCL) and duration of menstrual bleeding (DMB), in adult female patients. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective longitudinal study conducted in Chengdu, China. A total of 164 adult women with normal menstrual cycles were recruited in the study, with 79 patients undergoing orthodontic treatment and 85 serving as controls. Data of MCL, DMB, and accompanying symptoms were collected over six consecutive menstrual cycles in each participant. Student’s t test, Chi-square test, Moses extreme reaction test, and repeated measures analysis of variance were used for statistical analysis. Results: The MCL of the first menstrual cycle (T1) was significantly elongated by 2.1 ± 0.5 days compared with baseline (P = .003, 95% CI [−3.7, −0.5]). Variability of MCL of the orthodontic group at T1 was also significantly greater (range, 15–46 days) than that of the control group (range, 24–36 days) (P < .05). No significant difference in MCL was found in the subsequent five menstrual cycles (T2–T6) compared with baseline, and no significant differences in DMB or other accompanying symptoms were observed throughout the study. Conclusion: Fixed orthodontic treatment may influence the MCL of adult females in the first month after bonding, but showed no effect on DMB or subsequent MCL through the follow-ups.

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Microaneurysm Turnover in Mild Non-Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy is Associated with Progression and Development of Vision-Threatening Complications: A 5-Year Longitudinal Study

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm10102142 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (10) ◽

pp. 2142

Author(s):

Ana Rita Santos ◽

Luis Mendes ◽

Maria Helena Madeira ◽

Ines P. Marques ◽

Diana Tavares ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Diabetic Retinopathy ◽

Longitudinal Study ◽

Predictive Biomarker ◽

Fundus Photography ◽

Prospective Longitudinal Study ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Clinically Significant ◽

Prospective Longitudinal

Background: Analysis of retinal microaneurysm turnover (MAT) has been previously shown to contribute to the identification of eyes at risk of developing clinically significant complications associated with diabetic retinopathy (DR). We propose to further characterize MAT as a predictive biomarker of DR progression and development of vision-threatening complications. Methods: 212 individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D; ETDRS grades 20 and 35) were evaluated annually in a 5-year prospective, longitudinal study, by color fundus photography and optical coherence tomography. Endpoints were diabetic macular edema (DME) or proliferative retinopathy (PDR). MAT analysis included determination of MA formation and disappearance rates, automatically assessed using the RetMarkerDR®. Retinopathy severity progression was evaluated using step increases in ETDRS severity levels. Results: Of the 212 individuals, 172 completed the 5-year follow-up study or developed an endpoint (n = 27). MAT calculated at 1 year showed a significant difference between groups of endpoint developments (p = 0.018), particularly MA disappearance rate (p = 0.007). MAT also showed a significant difference between eyes with different ETDRS severity progression in the 5-year period (p = 0.035). Conclusions: MAT is an indicator of the development of DME and/or PDR as well as of DR severity progression in T2D individuals with mild retinopathy.

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Signal intensity in the dentate nucleus after cumulative dose of Gd-EOB-DTPA: First results of a prospective longitudinal study

Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation ◽

10.3233/ch-209219 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 76 (2) ◽

pp. 233-240

Author(s):

Katharina Michalik ◽

Lukas Beyer ◽

Florian Zeman ◽

Christina Wendl ◽

Janine Rennert ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Longitudinal Study ◽

Cumulative Dose ◽

Signal Intensity ◽

Dentate Nucleus ◽

Prospective Longitudinal Study ◽

Ionic Contrast ◽

First Results ◽

The Mean ◽

Linear Contrast ◽

Prospective Longitudinal

Gadolinium ethoxybenzyl-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA) is a hepatocyte-specific, linear ionic contrast agent for MRI. In comparison to other linear contrast agents Gd-EOB-DTPA is excreted equally through liver and kidneys. This prospective longitudinal study investigates the signal intensity (SI) in the dentate nucleus (DN) on unenhanced T1-weighted images after repetitive application of Gd-EOB-DTPA. 46 patients were included into the study and 107 MRI examinations were performed. Statistical analysis of 25 patients showed no significant correlation between cumulative dose of Gd-EOB-DTPA and SI change and between the DN/Pons ratiolast and the mean DN/Pons ratiofirst. Subgroup analysis however revealed a significant correlation for one out of two readers. Gd-EOB-DTPA deposition could not be proven in the framework of this study.

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Feto-maternal outcome among pregnant females in block Hazratbal of district Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir: a prospective longitudinal study

International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health ◽

10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20173675 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4 (9) ◽

pp. 3186 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Rouf Hussain Rather ◽

Umar Nazir ◽

Sheema Samreen ◽

Mohammad Saleem Itoo

Keyword(s):

Longitudinal Study ◽

Caesarean Section ◽

Physiological State ◽

Caesarean Section Rate ◽

Maternal Outcome ◽

Jammu And Kashmir ◽

Prospective Longitudinal Study ◽

Pregnant Females ◽

The Mean ◽

Prospective Longitudinal

Background: Pregnancy is a normal physiological state which a woman experiences at some point of her life. During pregnancy a woman may develop complications which pose a risk to both maternal and fetal health. Caesarean section is a surgical procedure in which incision is made through a mother’s abdomen and uterus to deliver one or more babies. The aim and objective of the study was to describe feto-maternal outcome among the study population in block Hazratbal, Srinagar.Methods: A community based longitudinal study was conducted in block Hazratbal (District Srinagar) for a period of 18 months. All the pregnant females attending the antenatal clinic at the subcenters and PHCs were included in the study and assessed for eligibility. The pregnant women enrolled in the study were examined again around 30 weeks, 37 weeks and once in postnatal period. Results: Only 2.6% were home deliveries. More than two-thirds (71.7%) of the study subjects delivered by LSCS and less than 2% of the study subjects delivered twins. Out of 391 children born 2 were born dead and 55.2% were of male gender. The mean gestational age at delivery was 38.56 weeks and the mean birth weight of neonates was 2.731 kg with only 4.9% LBW neonates. Conclusions: The percentage of institutional deliveries was good (97.4%) and the proportion of twins and male babies were within expected limits. The prevalence of LBW babies was only 4.9 against the national average of 28%. But the 71.7% caesarean section rate is too high and needs immediate attention by policy makers. Moreover both healthcare professional as well as general population need to be educated about the disadvantages of unnecessary caesarian sections.

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Use of Salivary Caffeine Tests to Assess the Inducer Effect of a Drug on Hepatic Metabolism

Annals of Pharmacotherapy ◽

10.1177/106002809603000705 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 30 (7-8) ◽

pp. 736-739 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Javier Soto ◽

Jose A Sacristan ◽

Maria J Alsar

Keyword(s):

Longitudinal Study ◽

Healthy Volunteers ◽

Time Course ◽

Hepatic Metabolism ◽

University Hospital ◽

Open Label ◽

Prospective Longitudinal Study ◽

The Mean ◽

Caffeine Clearance ◽

Prospective Longitudinal

OBJECTIVE: To validate the use of successive salivary caffeine tests in evaluating how long inducer drugs affect hepatic metabolism. The time course of the inducer effect of rifampin found in other studies using different methodologies was chosen as the time course of reference. DESIGN: Open-label, prospective, longitudinal study. SETTING: A university hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Five healthy volunteers. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Rifampin 600 mg/d was administered for 21 days. Anhydrous caffeine 300 mg was concurrently administered on each study day. Salivary caffeine tests were carried out on the following days: predose (baseline), and days 1, 5, 9, 13, and 17. Salivary tests were performed for up to 13 days after the last dose of rifampin (study days 21, 25, 29, and 33). RESULTS: The mean systemic caffeine clearance was increased for up to 17 days after the intake of rifampin, reaching the maximum inducer effect between days 5 and 9, and returning to previous values progressively during several days after rifampin was discontinued. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that successive salivary caffeine measurements could be a safe, reliable, noninvasive, and suitable test for exploring the time course of the inducer effect of drugs on hepatic metabolism activity.

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