ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To elaborate the predicted values of hand strength in the adult population from the health care area of Teruel. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The population residing in the health care area of Teruel, aged > or = 20 years, with no physical disability precluding the performance of the different tests and voluntarily willing to participate. The subjects are weighed and measured barefoot, naked chest, and the body mass index is calculated. The hand strength is measured by means of a dynamometer with extended arms, parallel to the body and without support. The determinations are performed for both hands with a rest lasting few seconds between them and recording the highest value for each hand. Tables are elaborated for both genders, by age decades, with the corresponding percentiles for values of the right hand, left hand, and average values for each hand. RESULTS: A total of 2,270 cases were valid; 1,113 men, 1,157 women, with mean age of 62 and 55 years, respectively. The strength is higher at the right hand than in the left one, for both men and women, with average value of 27.5 kg (3-57) in men and 16.7 (1-44) in women. The highest values are found between ages 20 and 40 years, decreasing by 8% per decade. We found a relationship between mean strength and body mass index (r = 0.179, p = 0.0003 in men and r = -0.095, p = 0.001 in women). CONCLUSIONS: We elaborated tables of predicted values that will allow assessing the nutritional status of our population from a functional perspective and detecting its deviation. Strength is progressively lost from 50 years and on. There is a relationship between hand strength and nutritional status assessed by body mass index.
Subject(s)
Hand Strength , Nutritional Status , Adult , Age Factors , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Body Mass Index , Female , Functional Laterality , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Muscle Strength Dynamometer , Sex Factors , SpainSubject(s)
Antipsychotic Agents/adverse effects , Electroconvulsive Therapy , Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome/diagnosis , Risperidone/adverse effects , Schizophrenia/drug therapy , Administration, Oral , Adolescent , Antipsychotic Agents/administration & dosage , Clozapine/administration & dosage , Clozapine/adverse effects , Combined Modality Therapy , Humans , Injections, Intramuscular , Male , Methotrimeprazine/administration & dosage , Methotrimeprazine/adverse effects , Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome/therapy , Recurrence , Risperidone/administration & dosageABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Cummings et al, 1987, hypothesized that Alzheimer dementia type (ADT) patients would present poorer performances than vascular dementia (VD) patients on the neuropsychological tests that mainly involve cortical neurological structures, and that VD would perform worse on tests that mainly involve subcortical structures. The main purpose of the research was to identify a cognitive impairment pattern that discriminates the type of dementia in the initial stages. METHOD: Two groups of patients, one affected by mild ADT (n = 30) and the other by multi-infarct dementia (VD, n = 30) were given a neuropsychological battery. The battery was composed by Temporal Orientation (Benton et al.); Vocabulary, Similarities, Digits, Coding and Kohs (WAIS) of Wechsler; the Colour-Form Test of Weigh; the Trail Making Test (A and B) (Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery); Tapping (McQuarrie); Logical Memory, Visual Memory and Paired Association (Wechsler Memory Scale) of Wechsler; Delayed Memory (Russell). The two groups were similar in age and socio-cultural features. The z-score and its statistical significance on the Mann-Whitney test were made and we performed an exploratory discriminant analysis to the classification. RESULTS: In general, results were poorer in the ADT group. But we detected no significant differences in the tests, although some test (Immediate Visual Memory and Kohs' Blocks) almost reached significance. The discriminant analysis reached a classification of the 67% of the subjects into the ADT group and the 70% of the subjects into the VD group. CONCLUSIONS: In the initial stages of dementia it is difficult to differentiate between a cortical pattern of cognitive impairment in ADT and a subcortical pattern in VD, a distinction that the other researchers have reported. When complex tests were used the performance depended on the coordination of multiple related systems. These findings are in agreement with the holistic models of higher mental functions.
Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease/diagnosis , Cognition Disorders/diagnosis , Dementia, Vascular/diagnosis , Aged , Data Interpretation, Statistical , Diagnosis, Differential , Female , Humans , Male , Neuropsychological Tests , Trail Making Test , Wechsler ScalesABSTRACT
The diagnosis of intrabronchial solid foreign body is recorded less often in adults than in children and becomes increasingly difficult to make as time passes after aspiration. Three cases of intrabronchial foreign body in adults with no history of loss of consciousness are reported. Clinical and radiological features are discussed, with special mention of the diagnostic role of computed tomography, a technique that has not often been mentioned in the literature on foreign body aspiration, but that is more sensitive and specific than the simple X-ray. In patients with symptoms inconsistent with X-ray images, computed tomography can be a useful, noninvasive technique for guiding diagnosis and assessing the need for bronchoscopy.
