Is aortic pulsatile distention in young healthy volunteers asymmetric : analysis with ECG-gated MRI?
Aortic pulsatile distention in young healthy volunteers is asymmetric, with up to 41% radius change in the descending aorta. This study offers a frame of reference for dynamic imaging studies in patients with aortic pathology and provides a valuable non-invasive tool for future research into aortic distention, development and localization of vascular pathology.
Repeating the administration of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale in a clinical setting increases its score and diagnostic accuracy and correlation with SDB variables, without changing the psychometric properties of the scale. This experiment indicates the clinical usefulness of repeating the ESS. The scale can be repeated at a negligible cost, before dismissing individual patients on the basis of a low ESS score, discontinuing a potentially lifesaving diagnostic and therapeutic process.