Characteristics of persistent postural perceptual dizziness patients in a multidisciplinary dizziness clinic

BACKGROUND: Persistent Postural Perceptual Dizziness (PPPD) is a newly defined condition which was added to the International Classification of Vestibular Disorders in 2017. Little is known about its impact on patients. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to analyze the symptomology, epidemiology and impact of PPPD on patients. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was done to identify patients who attended the Multidisciplinary Dizziness Clinic (MDC) and were diagnosed with PPPD. Responses to demographic questions, health-related quality of life surveys and several well-validated questionnaires commonly used to assess dizziness severity were analyzed. RESULTS: One hundred patients were diagnosed with PPPD between March 2017 and January 2019, of which 80%(80/100) were females. The average Dizziness Handicap Index score was 60.3±19.0. Responses to the Patient Health Questionnaire classified 53 patients (53/99;53.5%) as moderately to severely depressed. Sixty-four patients (64/100;64.0%) were minimally or mildly anxious according to the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale. The average Vertigo Symptom Scale score was 24.1/60. The average Situational Vertigo Questionnaire score was 2.00. Forty-nine (49/100;49.0%) patients had migraine symptoms according to the Migraine Screen Questionnaire. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, patients with PPPD display important handicap and an elevated risk of depression, anxiety and migraines.

The prevalence of migraine in Argentina: A reappraisal

Background Argentina has one of the largest territories in the world, which spreads over a lengthy latitudinal span. Its population is mainly composed of a mixture of South American natives and the descendants of numerous waves of European immigrants. Results from a previous study suggested that the prevalence of migraine in Argentina is the lowest in the region. Here we aimed to reassess the prevalence of migraine in Argentina applying a more sensitive and specific screening tool. Methods We conducted a random computer assisted telephonic interview (n= 2500) using the Migraine Screen Questionnaire to evaluate the prevalence of migraine and some of its features among Argentinian adults. Results The overall prevalence of migraine was 9.5% (14% in females and 5% in males). Estimated migraine prevalence rates ranged between 6.3% and 12% across different regions. The approximated prevalence of high frequency and chronic migraine were 1.9% and 1.5% of the total population respectively. Consumption of analgesics on 10 or more days per month was reported by 18% of migraine sufferers (≈1.7% of the population). Conclusions The prevalence of migraine in Argentina is higher than previously reported. Prevalence rates vary extensively across the territory. Specifically evaluating the determinants of these variations might be a promising avenue of research.

Ocena satysfakcji rodziców z leczenia ludzkim rekombinowanym hormonem wzrostu dzieci z somatotropinową niedoczynnością przysadki

Introduction. Short stature is a term for a child's height below two standard deviations from the norms adopted for sex and age. In Poland, treatment with recombinant growth hormone of somatotropin hypopituitarism is reimbursed under the National Health Fund drug programs. Administration of growth hormone in the form of daily injections is cumbersome and requires the in-volvement of the whole family in the treatment process. The multidirectional action of GH improves the quality of life of small patients. Aim. The aim of the study is to analyze parents' satisfaction with growth hor-mone treatment in children with somatotropin hypopituitarism. Materiał and methods. The study involved 69 parents of children with so-matotropin hypopituitarism treated with growth hormone at the Department of Pediatrics, Endocrinology, Diabetology and Pediatric Neurology at the Chil-dren"s Hospital in Torun. The research used the own questionnaire and KID-SCREEN questionnaire for parents. Results. Parents of children with somatotropin hypopituitarism are satisfied with the treatment with recombinant growth hormone and evaluate the treat-ment positively. During growth hormone therapy, they highly estimate the quality of their children’s lives. There is a correlation between parents' as-sessment of growth hormone therapy and the change in their children's quality of life. Conclusions. Satisfaction with treatment recombinant growth hormone de-pends on the duration of treatment, achieved growth results and the child's age.

Usability of the Turkish Translation of the Dutch Talking Touch Screen Questionnaire for Physical Therapy Patients With a Turkish Background: Qualitative Study

Background The Turkish translation of the Dutch Talking Touch Screen Questionnaire (TTSQ) has been developed to help physical therapy patients with a Turkish background in the Netherlands to autonomously elucidate their health problems and impairments and set treatment goals, regardless of their level of health literacy. Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the usability of the Turkish TTSQ for physical therapy patients with a Turkish background with diverse levels of health literacy and experience in using mobile technology. Methods The qualitative Three-Step Test-Interview method was carried out to gain insight into the usability of the Turkish TTSQ. A total of 10 physical therapy patients participated. The interview data were analyzed using a thematic content analysis approach aimed at determining the accuracy and completeness with which participants completed the questionnaire (effectiveness), the time it took participants to complete the questionnaire (efficiency), and the extent to which the participants were satisfied with the ease of use of the questionnaire (satisfaction). The problems encountered by the participants in this study were given a severity rating, which was used to provide a rough estimate of the need for additional usability improvements. Results No participant in this study was able to complete the questionnaire without encountering at least one usability problem. A total of 17 different kinds of problems were found. On the basis of their severity score, 3 problems that should be addressed during future development of the tool were “Not using the navigation function of the photo gallery in Question 4 causing the participant to not see all presented response items;” “Touching the text underneath a photo in Question 4 to select an activity instead of touching the photo itself, causing the activity not to be selected;” and “Pushing too hard or tapping too softly on the touch screen causing the touch screen to not respond.” The data on efficiency within this study were not valid and are, therefore, not reported in this study. No participant was completely satisfied or dissatisfied with the overall ease of use of the Turkish TTSQ. Two participants with no prior experience of using tablet computers felt that, regardless of what kinds of improvement might be made, it would just be too difficult for them to learn to work with the device. Conclusions As with the Dutch TTSQ, the Turkish TTSQ needs improvement before it can be released. The results of this study confirm the conclusion of the Dutch TTSQ study that participants with low levels of education and little experience in using mobile technology are less able to operate the TTSQ effectively. Using a Dutch speaking interviewer and Turkish interpreter has had a negative effect on data collection in this study.

QoE of cross-modally mapped Mulsemedia: an assessment using eye gaze and heart rate

A great deal of research effort has been put in exploring crossmodal correspondences in the field of cognitive science which refer to the systematic associations frequently made between different sensory modalities (e.g. high pitch is matched with angular shapes). However, the possibilities cross-modality opens in the digital world have been relatively unexplored. Therefore, we consider that studying the plasticity and the effects of crossmodal correspondences in a mulsemedia setup can bring novel insights about improving the human-computer dialogue and experience. Mulsemedia refers to the combination of three or more senses to create immersive experiences. In our experiments, users were shown six video clips associated with certain visual features based on color, brightness, and shape. We examined if the pairing with crossmodal matching sound and the corresponding auto-generated haptic effect, and smell would lead to an enhanced user QoE. For this, we used an eye-tracking device as well as a heart rate monitor wristband to capture users’ eye gaze and heart rate whilst they were experiencing mulsemedia. After each video clip, we asked the users to complete an on-screen questionnaire with a set of questions related to smell, sound and haptic effects targeting their enjoyment and perception of the experiment. Accordingly, the eye gaze and heart rate results showed significant influence of the cross-modally mapped multisensorial effects on the users’ QoE. Our results highlight that when the olfactory content is crossmodally congruent with the visual content, the visual attention of the users seems shifted towards the correspondent visual feature. Crosmodally matched media is also shown to result in an enhanced QoE compared to a video only condition.

Usability of the Turkish Translation of the Dutch Talking Touch Screen Questionnaire for Physical Therapy Patients With a Turkish Background: Qualitative Study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND The Turkish translation of the Dutch Talking Touch Screen Questionnaire (TTSQ) has been developed to help physical therapy patients with a Turkish background in the Netherlands to autonomously elucidate their health problems and impairments and set treatment goals, regardless of their level of health literacy. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to evaluate the usability of the Turkish TTSQ for physical therapy patients with a Turkish background with diverse levels of health literacy and experience in using mobile technology. METHODS The qualitative Three-Step Test-Interview method was carried out to gain insight into the usability of the Turkish TTSQ. A total of 10 physical therapy patients participated. The interview data were analyzed using a thematic content analysis approach aimed at determining the accuracy and completeness with which participants completed the questionnaire (effectiveness), the time it took participants to complete the questionnaire (efficiency), and the extent to which the participants were satisfied with the ease of use of the questionnaire (satisfaction). The problems encountered by the participants in this study were given a severity rating, which was used to provide a rough estimate of the need for additional usability improvements. RESULTS No participant in this study was able to complete the questionnaire without encountering at least one usability problem. A total of 17 different kinds of problems were found. On the basis of their severity score, 3 problems that should be addressed during future development of the tool were “Not using the navigation function of the photo gallery in Question 4 causing the participant to not see all presented response items;” “Touching the text underneath a photo in Question 4 to select an activity instead of touching the photo itself, causing the activity not to be selected;” and “Pushing too hard or tapping too softly on the touch screen causing the touch screen to not respond.” The data on efficiency within this study were not valid and are, therefore, not reported in this study. No participant was completely satisfied or dissatisfied with the overall ease of use of the Turkish TTSQ. Two participants with no prior experience of using tablet computers felt that, regardless of what kinds of improvement might be made, it would just be too difficult for them to learn to work with the device. CONCLUSIONS As with the Dutch TTSQ, the Turkish TTSQ needs improvement before it can be released. The results of this study confirm the conclusion of the Dutch TTSQ study that participants with low levels of education and little experience in using mobile technology are less able to operate the TTSQ effectively. Using a Dutch speaking interviewer and Turkish interpreter has had a negative effect on data collection in this study.