Horner's syndrome in patients admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit: epidemiology, diagnosis and clinical practice.

Horner's syndrome appears when the three-neuron sympathetic pathway is interrupted anywhere from the posterior-lateral nuclei of the hypothalamus through the spinal cord to the eye. In children, Horner's syndrome can be either congenital or acquired, but overall it is a rare finding. There are several causes of Horner's syndrome, some of iatrogenic. Although uncommon in the paediatric population, prompt recognition of the syndrome and immediate treatment may prevent permanent damage to the neuronal pathway. Awareness of the risk of developing iatrogenic Horner's syndrome and early detection of signs are recommended to minimise future disability.

Evidence-based medicine: assessment of knowledge of basic epidemiological and research methods among medical doctors.

BACKGROUND: An understanding of statistical methods and basic epidemiology are crucial for the practice of modern medicine. AIMS: To assess (1) the knowledge of basic methods of conducting research and data analysis among residents and practicing doctors and (2) the effect of country of medical school graduation, professional status, medical article reading and writing experience on the level of this knowledge. METHODS: Data were collected by means of a supervised self-administered questionnaire, which was distributed among doctors at Soroka Medical Center, Beer-Sheva, Israel. The questionnaire included 10 multiple-choice questions on basic epidemiology and statistics, and respondent demographical data. RESULTS: Of the 260 eligible doctors, 219 (84.2%) returned completed questionnaires. Of the 219 doctors, 50% graduated more than 8.5 years ago, 39.7% were specialists and the remaining were residents. The most frequent specialty was internal medicine (37.4%). Israel was the most frequent country of graduation (45.7%), followed by the former Soviet Union (Eastern medical education; 38.4%). The median total score of knowledge was 4 of 10 questions (interquartile range 2-6). A higher score was associated with a Western medical education, being a specialist, shorter elapsed time since graduation, higher number of publications and self-reported reading of "methods" and "discussion" sections in scientific articles. CONCLUSION: This study found a low level of knowledge of basic principles of research methods and data analysis among doctors, and this knowledge considerably differed by country of medical school graduation.