No abstract

Incentive spirometry and DBEX appear to be more effective than no physical therapy intervention in the prevention of postoperative pulmonary complications. There is no evidence to support a significant difference between any of the three modalities. [Thomas JA, McIntosh JM. Are incentive spirometry, intermittent positive pressure breathing, and deep breathing exercises effective in the prevention of postoperative pulmonary complications after upper abdominal surgery? a systematic overview and meta-analysis.

The primary purpose of this study was to collect data on the loss of color vision as a function of age. The Lanthony New Color Test (NCT), which measures acquired losses of color vision in the dimensions of hue, saturation, and brightness, was used to compile data on 68 subjects. The minimum number of subjects were 10 per decade from age 30 to 90 years. An age gradient of selective loss of discrimination of saturation beginning at age 50 was demonstrated, with rapid change noted after age 60. Similar findings were seen for hue but were not evident for brightness. By age 70, a neutral zone emerged at blue/purple, Munsell chroma level 2. The instrument was shown to be reliable and valid in comparison to the Farnsworth Dichotomous Panel D.15. It is seen that this information will provide a basis for planning safer, more functional environments for elderly people.

The purpose of this study was to determine the interrepetition and interoccasion generalizability of grip strength measurements in patients with the diagnosis of proximal extensor carpi radialis brevis tendinitis. Thirty-five consecutive patients (mean age = 44.5 +/- 8.6 years; mean duration of symptoms = 3.9 +/- 3.5 months) fulfilling the eligibility criteria participated in the study. Measurements of pain-free grip strength and maximum grip strength for the involved limb and maximum grip strength for the uninvolved limb were taken on two test dates within seven days of each other. We calculated the variation between measurements within a test session and the variation from one session to the next using generalizability coefficients based on the mean of the six measurements. The coefficients for interrepetition, interoccasion, and overall generalizability were .99, .97, and .96, respectively. The clinical implication of these findings is that the overall generalizability can best be enhanced by averaging grip strength measurements recorded from multiple test sessions rather than by increasing the number of repetitions during a single test session.