Background: Passive training of specific locomotor muscle groups by means of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) might be better tolerated than whole body exercise in patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It was hypothesised that this novel strategy would be particularly effective in improving functional impairment and the consequent disability which characterises patients with end stage COPD. Methods: Fifteen patients with advanced COPD (nine men) were randomly assigned to either a home based 6 week quadriceps femoris NMES training programme (group 1, n=9, FEV 1 =38.0 (9.6)% of predicted) or a 6 week control period before receiving NMES (group 2, n=6, FEV 1 =39.5 (13.3)% of predicted). Knee extensor strength and endurance, whole body exercise capacity, and health related quality of life (Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire, CRDQ) were assessed. Results: All patients were able to complete the NMES training programme successfully, even in the presence of exacerbations (n=4). Training was associated with significant improvements in muscle function, maximal and endurance exercise tolerance, and the dyspnoea domain of the CRDQ (p<0.05). Improvements in muscle performance and exercise capacity after NMES correlated well with a reduction in perception of leg effort corrected for exercise intensity (p<0.01). Conclusions: For severely disabled COPD patients with incapacitating dyspnoea, short term electrical stimulation of selected lower limb muscles involved in ambulation can improve muscle strength and endurance, whole body exercise tolerance, and breathlessness during activities of daily living.

BackgroundThe objective of this study was to examine the impact of co-occurring social and emotional difficulties on missed school days and healthcare utilization among children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).MethodsData were from the 2007 U.S. National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and were based on parental proxy responses to questions in the Sample Child Core, which includes questions on demographics, health, healthcare treatment, and social and emotional status as measured by questions about depression, anxiety, and phobias, as well as items from the brief version of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Logistic regression was used to assess the association between co-occurring social and emotional difficulties with missed school days and healthcare utilization, adjusting for demographics.ResultsOf the 5896 children aged 6–17 years in the 2007 NHIS, 432 (7.3%) had ADHD, based on parental report. Children with ADHD and comorbid depression, anxiety, or phobias had significantly greater odds of experiencing > 2 weeks of missed school days, ≥ 6 visits to a healthcare provider (HCP), and ≥ 2 visits to the ER, compared with ADHD children without those comorbidities (OR range: 2.1 to 10.4). Significantly greater odds of missed school days, HCP visits, and ER visits were also experienced by children with ADHD who were worried, unhappy/depressed, or having emotional difficulties as assessed by the SDQ, compared with ADHD children without those difficulties (OR range: 2.2 to 4.4).ConclusionsIn children with ADHD, the presence of social and emotional problems resulted in greater odds of missed school days and healthcare utilization. These findings should be viewed in light of the limited nature of the parent-report measures used to assess social and emotional problems.

The endurance shuttle walk test (ESWT) is frequently used as an outcome measure for pulmonary rehabilitation (PR). The minimal important difference (MID) for the ESWT after a course of rehabilitation has not been conclusively confirmed in the literature. The aim was to establish the MID for the ESWT following the 6-week PR programme in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Following the completion of the 6-week PR programme, data from 531 participants were included in the analysis to estimate the MID for the ESWT using both anchor-based and distribution-based methods. Mean age (standard deviation (SD)) was 69.4 (9.1) years, 303 male, FEV1/FVC 0.51 (0.16). The baseline incremental shuttle walk test (ISWT) was 217.7 (SD 139.8) metres and ESWT 195.8 (SD 118.8) seconds, which increased to 279.6 (SD 149.5) metres and 537.4 (SD 378.3) seconds, respectively, following PR. The mean change was 61.8 (95% confidence interval (CI) 56.0–67.5) metres for the ISWT and 342.0 (95% CI 312.4–371.6) seconds for the ESWT. The distribution method (0.5 × SD) yielded an MID of 173.7 seconds, the global rating of change scale method yielded a value of 279.2 (95% CI 244.9–313.5) seconds for those rating themselves as ‘slightly improved’ and the ROC method 207 seconds. There was no agreement between the approaches employed. However, we propose that the MID for the ESWT in COPD following a 6-week PR programme is between 174 and 279 seconds.

BackgroundWith a decline of infant mortality rates, neonatal mortality rates are striking high in development countries particularly sub Saharan Africa. The toolkit for high quality neonatal services describes the principle of patient satisfaction, which we translate as mother’s involvement in neonatal care and so better outcomes. The aim of the study was to assess mothers’ experiences, perception and satisfaction of neonatal care in the hospitals of Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania.MethodsA cross sectional study using qualitative and quantitative approaches in 112 semi structured interviews from 14 health facilities. Open ended questions for detection of illness, care given to the baby and time spent by the health worker for care and treatment were studied. Probing of the responses was used to extract and describe findings by a mix of in-depth interview skills. Closed ended questions for the quantitative variables were used to quantify findings for statistical use. Narratives from open ended questions were coded by colours in excel sheet and themes were manually counted.Results80 mothers were interviewed from 13 peripheral facilities and 32 mothers were interviewed at a zonal referral hospital of Kilimanjaro region. 59 mothers (73.8%) in the peripheral hospitals of the region noted neonatal problems and they assisted for attaining diagnosis after a showing a concern for a request for further investigations. 11 mothers (13.8%) were able to identify the baby’s diagnosis directly without any assistance, followed by 7 mothers (8.7%) who were told by a relative, and 3 mothers (3.7%) who were told of the problem by the doctor that their babies needed medical attention. 24 times mothers in the peripheral hospitals reported bad language like “I don’t have time to listen to you every day and every time.” 77 mothers in the periphery (90.6%) were not satisfied with the amount of time spent by the doctors in seeing their babies.ConclusionMothers of the neonates play great roles in identifying the illness of the newborn. Mother’s awareness of what might be needed during neonatal support strategies to improve neonatal care in both health facilities and the communities.