No abstract

Muscle strength (especially lower extremity) should be one of the factors that is assessed and treated in older adults at risk for falls. More clinical trials are needed to isolate whether muscle-strengthening exercises are effective in preventing falls.

The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and the standard error of measurement (SEM) are two reliability coefficients that are reported frequently. Both measures are related; however, they define distinctly different properties. The magnitude of the ICC defines a measure's ability to discriminate among subjects, and the SEM quantifies error in the same units as the original measurement. Most of the statistical methodology addressing reliability presented in the physical therapy literature (eg, point and interval estimations, sample size calculations) focuses on the ICC. Using actual elbow flexor make and break strength measurements, this article illustrates a method for estimating a confidence interval for the SEM, shows how an a priori specification of confidence interval width can be used to estimate sample size, and provides several approaches for comparing error variances (and square root of the error variance, or the SEM).

The data presented here indicate that the provision to patients with knee OA of viscosupplementation with hylan G-F 20 within an appropriate care treatment regimen provides benefits in the knee, overall health and health related quality of life at reduced levels of co-therapy and systemic adverse reactions.

Objective. To determine the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among osteoarthritis (OA) patients using populationbased administrative data from British Columbia, Canada. Methods. The medical history of a random sample of 600,000 individuals from 1991-2009 was analyzed. A total of 12,745 OA cases and up to 3 non-OA individuals matched by age, sex, and year of diagnosis were followed for CVD events. Cox proportional hazards and Poisson regression models were used to estimate the relative risks (RRs) of CVD, myocardial infarction, ischemic heart disease (IHD), congestive heart failure (CHF), and stroke after adjusting for available sociodemographic and medical factors. Results. OA was an independent predictor of CVD. The adjusted RRs were 1.15 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.04 -1.27), 1.26 (95% CI 1.13-1.42), and 1.17 (95% CI 1.07-1.26) among older men, younger women, and older women, respectively. Analyses were stratified by age and sex due to statistically significant interactions between OA and age and sex. RRs among older men, younger women, and older women were 1.33 (95% CI 1.11-1.62), 1.66 (95% CI 1.37-2.01), and 1.45 (95% CI 1.22-1.72) for IHD, respectively, and 1.25 (95% CI 1.02-1.54), 1.29 (95% CI 1.00 -1.68), and 1.20 (95% CI 1.03-1.39) for CHF, respectively. Compared to non-OA individuals, OA cases who underwent total joint replacements had a 26% increased risk of CVD. Conclusion. This prospective longitudinal study suggests that OA is associated with an increased risk of CVD. Older men and adult women with OA had a higher risk of CVD, particularly IHD and CHF. Further studies are needed to confirm these results and to elucidate the potential biologic mechanisms.

In contrast to other trials positive margin and reoperation rates were similar for RSL and WL. However, for RSL operative times were shorter, and the technique was preferred by surgeons, making it an acceptable method for localization.

No abstract

No abstract