The influence of Kinesio taping on muscle fatigue in individuals with low back pain: A randomised controlled trial

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of different taping techniques on back muscle fatigue in people with low back pain. METHODS: Sixty women with chronic non-specific low back pain were randomly assigned to four groups with 15 in each; control (CG), Kinesio Taping (KT) with tension (KTT), KT no tension (KTNT) and Micropore® (MP), which were applied over the erector spinae muscles. The median frequency (MF) fatigue slopes of the longissimus muscle and sustained contraction time during a trunk fatigue test (Ito test), and pain using the numerical pain rating scale (NPRS) were collected at three time points: pre-treatment, three and ten days after intervention at a university laboratory. RESULTS: Significant differences were seen in the MF slopes between groups (p=0.01, η2=0.20), with the KTT showing a mean difference (MD=0.31, p=0.04) and KTNT (MD= 0.28, p=0.04) compared with CG. Significant reductions in NPRS were seen between time points (p<0.001, η2=0.28), with a reduction between pre and 3 days (MD=1.87, p<0.001), and pre and 10 days (MD=1.38, p<0.001), with KTT and KTNT both showing clinically important changes. CONCLUSION: KT, with or without tension, has a tendency to reduce back muscle fatigue and reduce pain in individuals with chronic non-specific low back pain

Kinesio Taping reduces pain and improves disability in Low Back Pain patients: a randomised controlled trial

Objectives: Investigate the effects of Kinesio Taping® (KT) on chronic nonspecific low back pain (LBP) Design: Randomised controlled trial with intention-to-treat analysis. Setting: University laboratory. Participants: One hundred eight women with chronic nonspecific LBP underwent an evaluation pre, three and ten days after intervention. Interventions: After randomization, participants were assigned in four groups: KT with tension group (KTT) applied Kinesio Taping® with tension in the region of the erector spinae muscles; KT no tension group (KTNT) applied Kinesio Taping® with no tension at the same region; Micropore® group (MP) applied Micropore® tape on the erector spinae muscles; and Control group (CG) did not receive any intervention. Main outcome measures: The primary outcome was pain sensation, measured by numerical pain rating scale. Secondary outcomes were: disability, trunk range of motion, strength and electromyographic amplitude, measured by Roland Morris Disability questionnaire, inclinometry, dynamometry and electromyography, respectively. Results: Pain relief was observed for KTT group (mean difference=1,963; CI 95%=0,501 - 3,425; p=0,003) and KTNT group (mean diference=1,926; CI 95%=0,464 - 3,388; p=0,004) compared to control group at 3 days after application of the tape. For disability there was difference between control group and KTT group at 3 (mean difference=3,481; CI 95%=0,825 – 6,138; p=0,004) and 10 days (mean difference=3,185; CI 95%=0,395 - 5,975; p=0,016). For all the others variables, there was no differences between group. Conclusion: KT with or without tension reduces pain 3 days after its application. Additionally, when applied with tension it improves disability after 3 and 10 days in LBP patients

Attributable mortality due to nosocomial sepsis in Brazilian hospitals: a case–control study

Abstract Background Nosocomial sepsis is a major healthcare issue, but there are few data on estimates of its attributable mortality. We aimed to estimate attributable mortality fraction (AF) due to nosocomial sepsis. Methods Matched 1:1 case–control study in 37 hospitals in Brazil. Hospitalized patients in participating hospitals were included. Cases were hospital non-survivors and controls were hospital survivors, which were matched by admission type and date of discharge. Exposure was defined as occurrence of nosocomial sepsis, defined as antibiotic prescription plus presence of organ dysfunction attributed to sepsis without an alternative reason for organ failure; alternative definitions were explored. Main outcome measurement was nosocomial sepsis-attributable fractions, estimated using inversed-weight probabilities methods using generalized mixed model considering time-dependency of sepsis occurrence. Results 3588 patients from 37 hospitals were included. Mean age was 63 years and 48.8% were female at birth. 470 sepsis episodes occurred in 388 patients (311 in cases and 77 in control group), with pneumonia being the most common source of infection (44.3%). Average AF for sepsis mortality was 0.076 (95% CI 0.068–0.084) for medical admissions; 0.043 (95% CI 0.032–0.055) for elective surgical admissions; and 0.036 (95% CI 0.017–0.055) for emergency surgeries. In a time-dependent analysis, AF for sepsis rose linearly for medical admissions, reaching close to 0.12 on day 28; AF plateaued earlier for other admission types (0.04 for elective surgery and 0.07 for urgent surgery). Alternative sepsis definitions yield different estimates. Conclusion The impact of nosocomial sepsis on outcome is more pronounced in medical admissions and tends to increase over time. The results, however, are sensitive to sepsis definitions

NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics

Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non-detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data

NEOTROPICAL ALIEN MAMMALS: a data set of occurrence and abundance of alien mammals in the Neotropics

Biological invasion is one of the main threats to native biodiversity. For a species to become invasive, it must be voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into a nonnative habitat. Mammals were among first taxa to be introduced worldwide for game, meat, and labor, yet the number of species introduced in the Neotropics remains unknown. In this data set, we make available occurrence and abundance data on mammal species that (1) transposed a geographical barrier and (2) were voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into the Neotropics. Our data set is composed of 73,738 historical and current georeferenced records on alien mammal species of which around 96% correspond to occurrence data on 77 species belonging to eight orders and 26 families. Data cover 26 continental countries in the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico and its frontier regions (southern Florida and coastal-central Florida in the southeast United States) to Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay, and the 13 countries of Caribbean islands. Our data set also includes neotropical species (e.g., Callithrix sp., Myocastor coypus, Nasua nasua) considered alien in particular areas of Neotropics. The most numerous species in terms of records are from Bos sp. (n = 37,782), Sus scrofa (n = 6,730), and Canis familiaris (n = 10,084); 17 species were represented by only one record (e.g., Syncerus caffer, Cervus timorensis, Cervus unicolor, Canis latrans). Primates have the highest number of species in the data set (n = 20 species), partly because of uncertainties regarding taxonomic identification of the genera Callithrix, which includes the species Callithrix aurita, Callithrix flaviceps, Callithrix geoffroyi, Callithrix jacchus, Callithrix kuhlii, Callithrix penicillata, and their hybrids. This unique data set will be a valuable source of information on invasion risk assessments, biodiversity redistribution and conservation-related research. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using the data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us on how they are using the data