ABSTRACT
We analyzed 4,352 participant- and staff-collected respiratory specimens from 2,796 subjects in the Oregon Child Absenteeism due to Respiratory Disease Study. Trained staff collected oropharyngeal specimens from school-aged children with acute respiratory illness while household participants of all ages collected their own midturbinate nasal specimens in year one and anterior nasal specimens in year two. Human ribonuclease P levels were measured using RT-PCR for all staff- and participant-collected specimens to determine adequacy, defined as Cycle threshold less than 38. Overall, staff- and participant-collected specimens were 99.9% and 96.4% adequate, respectively. Participant-collected midturbinate specimens were 95.2% adequate in year one, increasing to 97.2% in year two with anterior nasal collection. The mean human ribonuclease P Cycle threshold for participant-collected specimens was 31.18 in year one and 28.48 in year two. The results from this study suggest that community-based participant collection of respiratory specimens is comparable to staff-collected oropharyngeal specimens, is feasible, and may be optimal with anterior nasal collection.
Subject(s)
Nasal Cavity/enzymology , Oropharynx/enzymology , Ribonuclease P/genetics , Ribonuclease P/isolation & purification , Specimen Handling/methods , Adolescent , Adult , Child , Child, Preschool , Community Health Services , Female , Humans , Influenza, Human/diagnosis , Influenza, Human/virology , Male , Middle Aged , Nasal Cavity/virology , Oropharynx/virology , Patient Participation/methods , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , Specimen Handling/instrumentation , Wisconsin , Young AdultABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Low-income people are disproportionately affected by chronic back and neck pain. Yoga may be an effective therapy. AIMS: This feasibility pilot study evaluated an individualized yoga plan for the treatment of chronic spinal pain. RESULTS: Individuals showed a mean change of -2.4 from pre/post 10-cm pain scale recordings (P = 0.028, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.390--4.477) and a mean increase of 0.26 on the EQ-5D-3L (P = 0.029, 95% CI: 0.04-0.47). The intervention was well-received. CONCLUSIONS: An individually tailored yoga program was acceptable to these participants. Pain and quality of life scores appeared to improve.
