Caesarean delivery of a patient with truncus arteriosus

Truncus arteriosus Type IV is a rare congenital cardiac malformation characterized by agenesis of the pulmonary arteries. Pulmonary perfusion is ensured by bronchial arteries. One common arterial trunk arises from both ventricles and systemic pulmonary and coronary arteries originate from this common vessel. Survival is rare without surgical correction. We report a case of uncorrected truncus arteriosus Type IV in a 28-year-old primigravid woman who underwent caesarean section

Validity and reliability of the psychometric properties of the 12-item berg balance scale (BBS-12) in the italian population with hip or knee prosthesis. A cross sectional study

BACKGROUND: Among the various equilibrium quantification techniques, the evaluation scales still represent the most widespread and useful means to evaluate balance in the clinical field, thanks to the fact they are inexpensive and easy to use. The Berg Balance Scale (BBS) is the most frequently cited scale in the literature to detect balance disorders. The aim of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the 12-item Berg Balance Scale (BBS-12) in individuals who had undergone hip or knee replacement surgery. METHODS: Included participants were individually evaluated twice within 24 hours by the same rater. Two physiotherapists using various measurement instruments evaluated the participants using the BBS-12, the Tinetti balance assessment scale, the Short Falls Efficacy Scale–International (Short FES-I), and the 12-Item Short Form Survey (SF-12) RESULTS: There were 109 individuals included in this study. The BBS-12 showed an optimal internal consistency with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.923 and an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.99 for both the intrarater and interrater reliabilities. Comparisons of the BBS-12 with the gold standards showed that the BBS-12 was positively correlated with the Short FES-I, the Tinetti balance assessment scale, and the physical health portion of the SF-12. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated the validity and reliability of the BBS-12 in assessing balance in an Italian population for those with a hip or knee prosthesis. It is now possible to use the BBS-12 as a reliable assessment tool for this population

COMMERCIAL INFLUENCE AND GLOBAL NONGOVERNMENTAL PUBLIC ACTION IN HEALTH AND PHARMACEUTICAL POLICIES

Nongovernmental public action has been effective in influencing global agenda-setting in health and pharmaceutical policies, yet its record in influencing solutions to the problems identified has been notably more limited. While trade policies have been particularly resistant to change, more substantial changes are observable in global health policies and global health governance. However, some of the directions of change may not be conducive to the democratic accountability of global health governance, to the wise use of public resources, to health systems development, or to longer-term access to health care within developing countries. The authors argue that observed changes in global health policies can be understood as accommodating to corporate concerns and priorities. Furthermore, the changing global context and the commercialization of global public action itself pose sharp challenges to the exercise of influence by global nongovernmental public actors. Nongovernmental organizations not only face a major challenge in terms of the imbalance in power and resources between themselves and corporate interest groups when seeking to influence policymaking; they also face the problem of corporate influence on public action itself