Introduction Questionnaires are used commonly to assess functional outcome and satisfaction in surgical patients. Although these have in the past been administered through written forms, there is increasing interest in the use of new technology to improve the efficiency of collection. The aim of this study was to assess the availability of internet access for a group of orthopaedic patients and the acceptability of online survey completion. Methods A total of 497 patients attending orthopaedic outpatient clinics were surveyed to assess access to the internet and their preferred means for completing follow-up questionnaires. Results Overall, 358 patients (72%) reported having internet access. Lack of access was associated with socioeconomic deprivation and older age. Multivariable regression confirmed increased age and greater deprivation to be independently associated with lack of internet access. Out of the total group, 198 (40%) indicated a preference for assessment of outcomes via email and the internet. Conclusions Internet access was not universal among the patients in our orthopaedic clinic. Reliance on internet collection of PROMs may introduce bias by not including results from patients in older age groups and those from the more deprived socioeconomic groups.
This study aimed to quantify the break shot characteristics and identify their significance in predicting the game outcomes in 9-ball tournaments. The break shots of 275 frames (241 men’s, 34 women’s) of professional tournaments were analyzed from two aspects: (1) cue ball position, represented by the distance between the cue ball and the table center, and (2) ball distribution, indicated by the standard deviation of Voronoi cell areas determined from all remaining balls on the table. Spearman correlation and binary logistic regression were utilized to identify associations and to predict the frame outcomes, respectively. Results showed that the more balls falling into the pockets during the break, the more clustered the remaining balls (rs = 0.232, p < 0.001). The closer the cue ball ending toward the table center, the more balls potted in the visit immediately after the break (rs = −0.144, p = 0.027). Neither cue ball position nor ball distribution could predict table clearance or winning of a frame. In conclusion, pocketing more balls during the break is associated with more clustered balls remaining on the table. Parking the cue ball near the table center after the break can facilitate potting more balls immediately after.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.