Color Doppler used to detect kinking and intravascular lesions in the iliac arteries in endurance athletes with claudication

Objective: In endurance athletes, flow limitations in the iliac arteries are commonly ascribed to mechanically induced intravascular lesions (endofibrosis). We hypothesize that kinking of the vessels, occurring during exercise, can also cause such flow limitations. Conventional diagnostic tests fail to demonstrate such kinking. Methods: In the current study, the iliac arteries were examined in 50 endurance athletes suffering from flow limitations in the iliac arteries with color Doppler using provocative maneuvers of hip flexion, isometric psoas contraction and exercise. Five had both-sided complaints resulting in 55 symptomatic legs and 45 asymptomatic legs. Sixteen national level competitive cyclists served as control subjects resulting in 32 healthy reference legs. Results: The iliac arteries could be visualized accurately in 127/132 (96%) of the legs. The legs with insufficient image quality were not scored in the further analysis. In the external iliac artery, kinks were detected in 21/54 symptomatic legs (39%) compared to none in 28 reference legs. Intravascular lesions could be detected in 33/54 symptomatic legs (61%) compared to only 1/28 reference legs (4%). In the symptomatic legs Doppler measurements showed significantly higher peak systolic velocities in all test conditions compared to the reference legs (

Magnetic resonance angiography used to detect kinking in the iliac arteries in endurance athletes with claudication

In endurance athletes, leg complaints upon maximal exercise caused by flow limitations in the iliac arteries are frequently encountered. We theorize that functional kinking of the vessels, which occurs especially during hip flexion, may be a cause for such flow limitations. Conventional diagnostic tests cannot demonstrate such kinkings. Using gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography, a 3D dataset of the aorto-iliac arteries could be obtained with the hips flexed. An image processing procedure was developed using a new segmentation algorithm to be able to use standard surface rendering techniques to visualize the arteries with an improved 3D appearance. These techniques were applied in the current study in 42 endurance athletes with documented flow limitations in the iliac arteries. As a control group 16 national level competitive cyclists without flow limitations in the iliac arteries were studied. Forty-six affected legs were examined in 42 patients. In all patients and reference persons image quality was adequate and the segmentation algorithm could be applied. In 22 affected legs (48%) a kinking in the common iliac artery could be demonstrated, compared with one leg (3%) in the control group. In 13 affected legs (28%) a kinking in the external iliac artery could be demonstrated, compared with three legs (9%) in the control group. It can be concluded that flow limitations in the iliac arteries in endurance athletes are associated with kinkings in the common and/or the external iliac arteries. Magnetic resonance angiography with the hips flexed followed by this newly developed segmentation algorithm is effective to visualize and score these kinkings

Visual stimuli in intervention approaches for pre-schoolers diagnosed with phonological delay

Purpose: There is a need to develop letter knowledge assessment tools to characterise the letter knowledge in Portuguese pre-schoolers and to compare it with pre-schoolers from other countries, but there are no tools for this purpose in Portugal. The aim of this paper is to describe the development and validation procedures of the Prova de Avaliac¸ao de Compet ~ ^encias de Pr e-Literacia (PACPL), which assesses letter knowledge. Method: This study includes data that has been gathered in two phases: pilot and main study. In the pilot study, an expert panel of six speech and language pathologists analysed the instrument. Children (n ¼ 216) aged 5;0–7;11 participated in the main study that reports data related to the psychometric characteristics of the PACPL. Content validity, internal consistency, reliability and contributing factors to performance were examined statistically. Results: A modified Bland–Altman method revealed good agreement amongst evaluators. The main study showed that the PACPL has a very good internal consistency and high inter-rater (96.2% of agreement and a Cohen’s k value of 0.92) and intra-rater (95.6% of agreement and a Cohen’s k value of 0.91) agreement. Construct validity of the PCAPL was also assured (Cronbach’s a of 0.982). Significant differences were found between age groups with children increasing their letter knowledge with age. In addition, they were better at identifying than at producing both letter names and letter sounds. Conclusions: The PACPL is a valid and reliable instrument to assess letter knowledge in Portuguese children.publishe

Meta-analysis of individual-patient data from EVAR-1, DREAM, OVER and ACE trials comparing outcomes of endovascular or open repair for abdominal aortic aneurysm over 5 years.

BACKGROUND: The erosion of the early mortality advantage of elective endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) compared with open repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm remains without a satisfactory explanation. METHODS: An individual-patient data meta-analysis of four multicentre randomized trials of EVAR versus open repair was conducted to a prespecified analysis plan, reporting on mortality, aneurysm-related mortality and reintervention. RESULTS: The analysis included 2783 patients, with 14 245 person-years of follow-up (median 5·5 years). Early (0-6 months after randomization) mortality was lower in the EVAR groups (46 of 1393 versus 73 of 1390 deaths; pooled hazard ratio 0·61, 95 per cent c.i. 0·42 to 0·89; P = 0·010), primarily because 30-day operative mortality was lower in the EVAR groups (16 deaths versus 40 for open repair; pooled odds ratio 0·40, 95 per cent c.i. 0·22 to 0·74). Later (within 3 years) the survival curves converged, remaining converged to 8 years. Beyond 3 years, aneurysm-related mortality was significantly higher in the EVAR groups (19 deaths versus 3 for open repair; pooled hazard ratio 5·16, 1·49 to 17·89; P = 0·010). Patients with moderate renal dysfunction or previous coronary artery disease had no early survival advantage under EVAR. Those with peripheral artery disease had lower mortality under open repair (39 deaths versus 62 for EVAR; P = 0·022) in the period from 6 months to 4 years after randomization. CONCLUSION: The early survival advantage in the EVAR group, and its subsequent erosion, were confirmed. Over 5 years, patients of marginal fitness had no early survival advantage from EVAR compared with open repair. Aneurysm-related mortality and patients with low ankle : brachial pressure index contributed to the erosion of the early survival advantage for the EVAR group. Trial registration numbers: EVAR-1, ISRCTN55703451; DREAM (Dutch Randomized Endovascular Aneurysm Management), NCT00421330; ACE (Anévrysme de l'aorte abdominale, Chirurgie versus Endoprothèse), NCT00224718; OVER (Open Versus Endovascular Repair Trial for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms), NCT00094575