Reliability of clinical measurements of lumbar lordosis taken with a flexible rule.

The purpose of this study was to examine the intratester and intertester reliability of lumbar lordosis measurements taken with a flexible rule. Two physical therapists (Tester 1 and Tester 2) took measurements on 40 subjects without low back pain (LBP) and on 40 subjects with LBP. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were used to determine the degree of agreement between repeated measurements taken by the same therapist and between measurements taken by the two therapists. The ICC values for intratester reliability of Tester 1 were .84 for subjects without LBP and .94 for subjects with LBP. The ICC values of Tester 2 were .73 for subjects without LBP and .83 for subjects with LBP. Intertester reliability generally was poor, with ICC values of .41 for subjects without LBP and .50 for subjects with LBP. The results suggest that measurements of lumbar lordosis with a flexible rule may be reliable if taken by the same physical therapist. The degree of reliability, however, may vary from therapist to therapist. The intertester reliability of these measurements appears to be poor, but these conclusions must be interpreted carefully because of the limited number of therapists participating in this study.

Autoerotic asphyxial death following television broadcast.

How individuals who engage in autoerotic asphyxial activities first become aware of its purported erotic potential is debated. The case of an adult male who died from autoerotic asphyxiation shortly after watching a television show that discussed sexual asphyxiation is reported. A request is made that medical examiners and coroners report other accidental autoerotic deaths that are temporally associated with this television broadcast.

Implications of trombiculid mite bites: report of a case and submission of evidence in a murder trial.

Bites of Trombiculid mites implicated a suspect during a homicide investigation. Clinical documentation of the bites, correlation with entomological studies, and submission of evidence at trial are reported. Insects that have a discrete geographic distribution and leave bites of a characteristic nature may have important forensic science implications.