Objective Assess the Five Times Sit-to-Stand Test safety and clinimetric properties in older patients hospitalized in an intensive care unit. Methods Test safety was assessed according to the incidence of adverse events and through hemodynamic and respiratory data. Additionally, reliability properties were investigated using the intraclass correlation coefficients, standard error of measurement, standard error percentage change, Altman-Bland plot and a survival agreement plot. Results The overall suitability of the Five Times Sit-to-Stand Test was found to be low, with 29.8% meeting the inclusion criteria. Only 44% of the hospitalized patients who met the inclusion criteria performed the test, with no need for discontinuation in any patient. Heart rate (79.7 ± 10.2bpm/86.6 ± 9.7bpm; p = 0.001) and systolic blood pressure (118 ± 21.4mmHg/129 ± 21.5mmHg; p = 0.031) were the only variables that presented a significant statistical increase, with no evidence of exacerbated response to the test. Additionally, no adverse events were reported from participating and both test-retest and interrater reliability were high (intraclass correlation coefficient ≥ 0.99). Conclusion The Five Times Sit-to-Stand Test was proven to be safe and to have excellent reliability. Its clinical use, however, may be restricted to high-functioning older adults in hospital settings.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Surgery and radiotherapy (RT) may induce upper limb (UP) pain, functional disorder and daily life activities impairment. This study aimed at evaluating and comparing superficial sensitivity (SS) on the dermatome corresponding to the intercostobrachial sensory nerve (ICBN), pain and disability of UL ipsilateral to surgery before and after adjuvant RT. METHOD: Twenty females submitted to surgery including axillary lymphadenectomy (AL) were evaluated before and immediately after adjuvant RT (25-30 sessions). The following tools were used to evaluate SS, pain and disability: esthesiometry, McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ), Pain Rating Index and shoulder disability (SPADI). Two measures were obtained from MPQ: number of words chosen (NWC) and pain rating index (PRI). Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test for paired samples was used for intragroup comparison, considering significant p < 0.05. RESULTS: There has been significant SS decrease after RT by increased esthesiometer pressure from 1.9 ± 0.2 to 2.8 ± 0.2 (p = 0.004) indicating hypoesthesia. There has been no difference in contralateral UL. NWC and PRI scores have significantly increased (p = 0.005 and p = 0.006) after RT. There has been significant total SPADI score increase after RT (p = 0.0001), with increased disability from 24.6 ± 5.7 to 39.2 ± 5.7 (p = 0.001) and pain from 26.3 ± 6.4 to 48.4 ± 7.1 (p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Hypoesthesia was identified in the ICBN pathway, in addition to UL pain and disability after adjuvant RT.

O presente estudo comparou a função pulmonar e a fadiga de mulheres antes e após a radioterapia (RT) adjuvante para tratamento do câncer de mama, e correlacionou a função pulmonar com a dose de radiação e fadiga. Foi conduzido um estudo observacional longitudinal envolvendo 20 mulheres. A função pulmonar foi avaliada pela espirometria (ClementClarke®) e manovacuometria (GlobalMed®, modelo MVD 300), e a fadiga pelo Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Fatigue (FACT-F). Todas as avaliações foram realizadas antes da primeira sessão e uma semana após o término da RT adjuvante. Para a análise estatística foram utilizados os testes Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test e correlação de Spearman, adotando-se nível de significância p<0,05. Na espirometria, encontrou-se redução significativa da capacidade vital forçada (23,52%), do volume expiratório forçado no primeiro segundo (26,23%) e do pico de fluxo expiratório (10,12%) (p=0,001). As pressões expiratórias e inspiratórias máximas também diminuíram significativamente (25,45 e 32,92%, respectivamente). Observou-se diminuição significativa do bem-estar físico e do bem-estar funcional, e um aumento significativo da fadiga no FACT-F (p=0,001). Não foram observadas correlações entre as variáveis da função pulmonar com a dose de radiação e fadiga. Em curto prazo, a RT promoveu redução na função pulmonar, mas a mesma permaneceu próxima à normalidade para a amostra estudada. Observou-se aumento significativo da fadiga e diminuição dos escores dos domínios bem-estar físico e funcional.