The Harris hip score: comparison of patient self-report with surgeon assessment.

Outcome evaluations are of primary concern in contemporary medical practice. Questionnaires are being used increasingly to provide input data for such outcomes evaluation. This study comprised 50 primary total hip arthroplasties in 36 patients who had undergone the procedure at least 12 months before enrollment. Each patient completed a self-report Harris Hip Score (HHS) 30 days before a formal evaluation by an independent orthopaedic surgeon that included a HHS. Comparison was made between the completed responses to the individual items on the self-report HHS and surgeon-assessed HHS. Concordance of item response and kappa statistic were calculated. Overall the self-report and surgeon-assessed HHS showed excellent concordance. The results of this study support the use of the HHS as a self-report instrument.

19F magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy of a fluorinated neuroleptic ligand: in vivo and in vitro studies.

The bulk biodistribution of a trifluorinated neuroleptic (fluphenazine) was studied using 19F magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Fifteen male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected with fluphenazine (120 mg/kg) and scanned in a G.E. CSI 2.0 tesla MRI system. The rats were killed following scanning and the brains were removed. The excised brains were then scanned using 1H and 19F MR techniques. The fluorinated neuroleptic was imaged at the injection site, spectroscopically detected in vivo in the head, and spectroscopically localized in the whole brain. These data suggest that in vivo 19F MRI of fluorinated agents is possible and could have clinical and research applications to the neurosciences.