The palmaris longus is harvested as a tendon graft in various surgical procedures. Several tests are used to assess the presence of palmaris longus tendon. In the present study, we attempted to assess the interobserver and intraobserver reliability of five of the most famous methods and also the examination of fifth superficial flexor function. Two observers, who had been trained on the tests and had practiced them, examined 105 volunteers on two separate occasions and in 1-month interval the results were recorded. The reliability of each method was assessed with Kappa measurement. Kappa ranged from 0.541 (moderate reliability) to 0.813 (almost complete agreement) for palmaris. The highest interobserver and intraobserver reliability and also the best agreement with other tests were of Schaeffer. The lowest kappa was for Thompson and the others have good to excellent reliability. Kappa for interobserver and intraobserver reliability for the fifth flexor were 0.415 and 0.500 (moderate reliability), respectively. The tests that were assessed have good reliability except for Thompson that has a moderate one. It seems that the standard test (Schaeffer) is the best method for the assessment of the absence or presence of palmaris longus. The method used for the evaluation of fifth superficial flexor variations assessment has a moderate interobserver and intraobserver reliability.
Methods* ; Physical Examination ; Tendons ; Transplants ; Volunteers

Non-contact vital sign detection technique provides an effective usage in health monitoring applications. A vital sign detector was designed based on microwave bio-radar technique. Using Doppler principle, continuous wave bioradar was designed for tiny body movement detection, short-time Fourier transform and interpolation algorithm were adopted for heart and respiration rate extraction, embedded system was used for system integration, real-time signal processing software was designed on it. Experiments were done by using simulation device and human body for research and performance evaluation. The result shows that the proposed prototype can be used for single target vital signs detection at the distance of 90 cm, and the heart rate result shows a 96% recognition rate.
Equipment Design ; Humans ; Physical Examination ; instrumentation ; methods ; Radar ; Vital Signs

Female ; Hospital Administration ; Humans ; Male ; Physical Examination ; methods

Cysts of the meniscus are rare lesion of the knee. They may present as a local tumor or mimic signs of an internal derangement of the knee. So it is difficult to diagnose and apt to overlook in physical examination. Also they almost always have combined pathology of the involved meniscus, such as, meniscal tear or discoid meniscus. The pathologic basis of the meniscal cyst is controversial, but rece 2. Most of the patients had tear of the involved meniscus, but the patients with discoid meniscus did not have gross tears or previous trauma history. nt works suggest the etiology is infiltration of joint fluid through micro and macro tears in the meniscus. In the past, complete excision of the meniscus as well as cyst was thought to be the treatment of choice to prevent recurrences. But nowadays, the trend is changed as preserving the involved meniscus, when no tear of the meniscus is found to prevent enevitable degenerative changes after total meniscectomy. We experienced 6 cases of meniscal cyst during recent 2 years and obtained following results. 1. Precise joint line evaluation is much more important in the diagnosis of the meniscal cyst before making special study. 2. Most of the patients had tears of the involved meniscus, but the patients with discoid meniscus did not have gross tears or previous trauma history. 3. When the cyst is located anteriorly in the joint line, it is prominent in flexed position of the knee; and when located posteriorly, prominent in extended position of the knee. 4. Excision of the cyst and reattachment of the meniscus were thought to be good method when the cyst was located in the parameinscal area without gross tear of the involved meniscus.
Diagnosis ; Humans ; Joints ; Knee ; Methods ; Pathology ; Physical Examination ; Recurrence ; Tears

This paper reviews relevant literatures at home and abroad. The cases of child sexual abuse are systematically discussed from the aspects of epidemiology and forensic examination, in order to develop and improve the inspection and appraisal thinking and ability of domestic forensic workers in such cases. The paper also briefly introduces the current situation and existing problems of dealing with child sexual abuse cases for case-handling units at base level in China, in order to provide help to the formulation, improvement and development of relevant standards and norms for child protection in China.
Child ; Child Abuse, Sexual/diagnosis* ; Child Protective Services ; China ; Forensic Medicine/methods* ; Humans ; Physical Examination/methods*

Abdomen ; physiology ; Humans ; Manikins ; Physical Examination ; methods ; Singapore ; Students, Medical ; Teaching ; methods

PURPOSE: Estimation of body fluid volume in hyponatremia is useful for diagnosis and therapeutic decision-making. Physical examination has been generally used to estimate body fluid volume, but it depends on the physician's abilities. Bioimpedance spectroscopy has been suggested to be a reliable method for the estimation of body fluid volume. Therefore, this study investigated whether bioimpedance spectroscopy could replace physical examination in hyponatremia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 30 patients with hyponatremia. At the time of the initial visit, body fluid volume was estimated simultaneously by both physical examination and bioimpedance spectroscopy. Estimation of body fluid status by clinical diagnosis was performed as well, which determined body fluid status corresponds with the most likely cause of hyponatremia (clinical body fluid estimation). RESULTS: The results of body fluid volume estimated by physical examination, bioimpedance spectroscopy, and clinical body fluid estimation showed that 9, 10, and 9 patients, respectively, were hypervolemic; 13, 15 and 16 patients, respectively, were euvolemic; and 8, 5, and 5 patients, respectively, were hypovolemic. Cohen's kappa analysis showed a significant agreement between physical examination and bioimpedance spectroscopy (kappa coefficient, 0.632, p<0.001). In addition, bioimpedance spectroscopy showed a higher level of agreement with clinical body fluid estimation than physical examination (kappa coefficient, 0.602 vs. 0.524). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that bioimpedance spectroscopy could replace physical examination for estimating body fluid status in hyponatremia. In addition, bioimpedance spectroscopy might correspond better with clinical diagnosis than physical examination in the estimation of body fluid status in hyponatremia.
Body Fluids* ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Hyponatremia* ; Hypovolemia ; Methods ; Physical Examination ; Spectrum Analysis*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Controversy remains regarding whether the age at which patients undergo adenoidectomy is increasing or decreasing. Thus, the aim of this study was to analyze patient age at adenoidectomy over the past 30 years. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: Retrospective analysis of adenoidectomy patients treated between 1984 and 2013 who were confirmed to have adenoid hypertrophy on physical examination and radiologic findings was performed. Patients were divided into three groups by decade, the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. The numbers of patients, mean/median age, maximum age, and sex ratio were analyzed for each group. RESULTS: A total of 2,450 patients were enrolled, including 466 cases in the 1980s, 946 in the 1990s, and 1,038 in the 2000s. The mean age of patients was 7.38 years in the 1980s, 8.16 in the 1990s, and 8.37 in the 2000s and has significantly increased since the 1990s (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The mean age of patients who underwent adenoidectomy has increased over the past 30 years. Therefore, adenoid hypertrophy needs to be considered in children of all ages who visit otorhinolaryngologic departments.
Adenoidectomy* ; Adenoids ; Child ; Humans ; Hypertrophy ; Methods ; Nasal Obstruction ; Physical Examination ; Retrospective Studies ; Sex Ratio

PURPOSE: The effectiveness of physical examination skills (PES) training is very rarely assessed using the "post-then-pre" approach. In this study, a retro-pre-questionnaire was used to study the effect of structured physical examination skills training (SPEST) imparted to second-year undergraduate medical students. METHODS: KIST Medical College (KISTMC) affiliated to Tribhuvan University Nepal admitted its first batch of MBBS students in November 2008. The university curriculum recommends the involvement of Medicine and Surgery Departments in PES training, but the methods for teaching and assessment are not well defined. KISTMC has made training more structured and involved the Medicine, Surgery, Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Orthopaedics, ENT, Ophthalmology, Paediatrics, and Family Medicine Departments. SPEST includes the teaching/learning of basic PES for 210 minutes once a week for 28 weeks. Self-assessment is done by using a retro-pre-questionnaire at the end of the last session of training, and these data are analysed using SPSS. RESULTS: Out of 100 students, 98 participated in the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE); 82 completed the retro-pre-questionnaire. Forty-six skills representing various systems were selected for inclusion in the retro-pre-questionnaire from among the many skills taught in different departments. The average perceived skills score (maximum score, 46x4=184) before training was 15.9 and increased to 116.5 after training. The increase was statistically significant upon the application of a paired t-test. CONCLUSION: The students perceived that their level of skills improved after the training. The retro-pre- instrument seems to be useful for assessing the learners' self-reported changes in PES after training if a large number of skills need to be assessed. However, it should be noted that although a retro-pre-questionnaire may reveal valuable information, it is not a substitute for an objective measure or gold standard.
Curriculum ; Humans ; Methods ; Nepal ; Obstetrics ; Ophthalmology ; Physical Examination* ; Self-Assessment ; Students, Medical

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome(OSAS) is characterized by repeated apnea, hypopnea, and micro-arousals during sleep. Among various treatment modalities of OSAS, continuous positive airway pressure(CPAP) treatment is the most effective and successful. The aim of this study was to compare efficacy and safety of newly developed Korean CPAP with standard CPAP in OSAS patients. MATERIALS AND METHOD: In total, 20 of 26 recruited OSAS patients completed the study. All subjects first used the standard CPAP for 4 weeks. After an at least 2 week wash-out period, the subjects used the newly developed CPAP for 4 weeks. Polysomnography, questionnaires associated with sleep, lipid profile, pulmonary function test, cardiac marker, and physical examinations were evaluated at baseline and were followed-up after each treatment. RESULTS: After treatment with the newly developed CPAP, the apnea-hypopnea index was decreased from 53.2/hr to 2.5/hr and was equivalent to that of the standard CPAP. Most of the changes in questionnaire scores, laboratory findings, and physical examinations after newly developed CPAP treatment were equivalent to those with standard CPAP. No serious adverse events were observed during the study. CONCLUSION: The efficacy and safety of a newly developed CPAP are equivalent to those of standard CPAP in OSAS patients.
Apnea ; Continuous Positive Airway Pressure* ; Humans ; Methods ; Physical Examination ; Polysomnography ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive*