Annotated Bibliography of Research in the Teaching of English

Twice a year, in the May and November issues, RTE publishes a selected bibliography of recent research in the teaching of English. Most of the studies appeared during the six-month period preceding the compilation of the bibliography (January through June 2000,for the present bibliography), but some studies that appeared earlier are occasionally included. The listing is selective; we make no attempt to include all research and research-related articles that appeared in the period under review Comments on the bibliography and suggestions about items for inclusion may be directed to the bibliography editors We encourage you to send your suggestions to [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected]. You may also submit comments or recommend publications through the Annotated Bibliography page of RTE\u27s Would Wide Web site at http://www.ncte.org/rte/

Prevalence and assessment of sleep-disordered breathing in patients with atrial fibrillation: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: In this study, we sought to estimate the prevalence of concomitant sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and to systematically evaluate how SDB is assessed in this population. Methods: We searched Medline, Embase and Cinahl databases through August 2020 for studies reporting on SDB in a minimum 100 patients with AF. For quantitative analysis, studies were required to have systematically assessed for SDB in consecutive AF patients. Pooled prevalence estimates were calculated with the use of the random effects model. Weighted mean differences and odds ratios were calculated when possible to assess the strength of association between baseline characteristics and SDB. Results: The search yielded 2758 records, of which 33 studies (n = 23,894 patients) met the inclusion criteria for qualitative synthesis and 13 studies (n = 2660 patients) met the meta-analysis criteria. The pooled SDB prevalence based on an SDB diagnosis cutoff of apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) ≥ 5/h was 78% (95% confidence interval [CI] 70%-86%; P < 0.001). For moderate-to-severe SDB (AHI ≥ 15/h), the pooled SDB prevalence was 40% (95% CI 32%-48%; P < 0.001). High degrees of heterogeneity were observed (I2 = 96% and 94%, respectively; P < 0.001). Sleep testing with the use of poly(somno)graphy or oximetry was the most common assessment tool used (in 22 studies, 66%) but inconsistent diagnostic thresholds were used. Conclusions: SDB is highly prevalent in patients with AF. Wide variation exists in the diagnostic tools and thresholds used to detect concomitant SDB in AF. Prospective systematic testing for SDB in unselected cohorts of AF patients may be required to define the true prevalence of SDB in this population.Kadhim Kadhim, Melissa E. Middeldorp, Adrian D. Elliott, Thomas Agbaedeng, Celine Gallagher, Varun Malik, Christopher X. Wong, R. Doug McEvoy, Jonathan M. Kalman, Dennis H. Lau, Dominik Linz, and Prashanthan Sander

The phenomenon of "QT stunning": the abnormal QT prolongation provoked by standing persists even as the heart rate returns to normal in patients with long QT syndrome.

Patients with long QT syndrome (LQTS) have inadequate shortening of the QT interval in response to the sudden heart rate accelerations provoked by standing-a phenomenon of diagnostic value. We now validate our original observations in a cohort twice as large. We also describe that this abnormal QT-interval response persists as the heart rate acceleration returns to baseline. To describe a novel observation, termed "QT stunning" and to validate previous observations regarding the "QT-stretching" phenomenon in patients with LQTS by using our recently described "standing test." The electrocardiograms of 108 patients with LQTS and 112 healthy subjects were recorded in the supine position. Subjects were then instructed to stand up quickly and remain standing for 5 minutes during continuous electrocardiographic recording. The corrected QT interval was measured at baseline (QTc(base)), when heart rate acceleration without appropriate QT-interval shortening leads to maximal QT stretching (QTc(stretch)) and upon return of heart rate to baseline (QTc(return)). QTc(stretch) lengthened significantly more in patients with LQTS (103 ± 80 ms vs 66 ± 40 ms in controls; P &lt;.001) and so did QTc(return) (28 ± 48 ms for patients with LQTS vs -3 ± 32 ms for controls; P &lt;.001). Using a sensitivity cutoff of 90%, the specificity for diagnosing LQTS was 74% for QTc(base), 84% for QTc(return), and 87% for QTc(stretch). The present study extends our previous findings on the abnormal response of the QT interval in response to standing in patients with LQTS. Our study also shows that this abnormal response persists even after the heart rate slows back to baseline