When each device is compared incrementally , BioMonitor 2-AF dominates Reveal LINQ and Confirm RX .
BACKGROUND Cryptogenic stroke is a stroke for which no cause is identified after st and ard diagnostic tests .
Long-term implantable cardiac monitors may be better at diagnosing atrial fibrillation and provide an opportunity to reduce the risk of stroke recurrence with anticoagulants .
OBJECTIVES The objectives were to assess the diagnostic test accuracy , clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of three implantable monitors [ BioMonitor 2-AF ™ ( Biotronik SE & Co. KG , Berlin , Germany ) , Confirm Rx ™ ( Abbott Laboratories , Lake Bluff , IL , USA ) and Reveal LINQ ™ ( Medtronic plc , Minneapolis , MN , USA ) ] in patients who have had a cryptogenic stroke and for whom no atrial fibrillation is detected after 24 hours of external electrocardiographic monitoring .
Are the modified “simple questions” a valid and reliable measure of health related quality of life after stroke?
OBJECTIVES Two “ simple questions ” were developed as a minimalist measurement tool to assess outcome in large trials and epidemiological studies after stroke . A previous study of their validity had disclosed ambiguities in their wording . In this study , the clarity , validity , and reliability of a modified version of these simple questions were examined . The relation between patients ' responses to these questions and two widely used generic measures of health related quality of life were also studied . METHODS A hospital based stroke register cohort of 152 patients , who were all visited at home by a study nurse , was used to study validity . A cohort of 1753 patients derived from the International Stroke Trial was used to study the relation with measures of quality of life . The sensitivity , specificity , and accuracy with which responses to each question predicted the patients ' outcome measured using st and ard instruments was assessed . The distribution of scores for the EuroQol and SF-36 was examined for patients classified as dependent , independent , and fully recovered by the combined use of the modified simple questions . RESULTS The modified “ dependency ” question had excellent sensitivity ( > 85 % ) , specificity ( > 79 % ) , and accuracy ( > 82 % ) for identifying dependency after stroke . The “ problems ” question had good sensitivity ( 65–88 % ) and moderate specificity ( 36–72 % ) for the detection of problems in a broad range of domains . The combined use of the modified dependency and problems questions provided a valid , simple , and reliable overall indicator of health related quality of life after stroke . CONCLUSIONS The modified simple questions have excellent face validity and good measurement properties for the assessment of outcome after stroke . They are particularly well suited for large epidemiological studies and r and omised trials
When each device is compared incrementally , BioMonitor 2-AF dominates Reveal LINQ and Confirm RX .
BACKGROUND Cryptogenic stroke is a stroke for which no cause is identified after st and ard diagnostic tests .
Long-term implantable cardiac monitors may be better at diagnosing atrial fibrillation and provide an opportunity to reduce the risk of stroke recurrence with anticoagulants .
OBJECTIVES The objectives were to assess the diagnostic test accuracy , clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of three implantable monitors [ BioMonitor 2-AF ™ ( Biotronik SE & Co. KG , Berlin , Germany ) , Confirm Rx ™ ( Abbott Laboratories , Lake Bluff , IL , USA ) and Reveal LINQ ™ ( Medtronic plc , Minneapolis , MN , USA ) ] in patients who have had a cryptogenic stroke and for whom no atrial fibrillation is detected after 24 hours of external electrocardiographic monitoring .