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Background: Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders are shown to have poor periodontal health and dental hygiene habits. Extensive research has revealed that parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently encounter heightened levels of stress, despair, and anxiety in comparison to parents of neurotypical children. The aim was to understand the relationship between the dental hygiene of children with ASD and the stress generated in their parents. Methods: A scoping review was carried out to identify any gaps or research opportunities for clinical practice concerning oral care and stress levels in parents in the PubMed, Medline, ScienceDirect, and Scopus databases. Results: A total of 139 articles were reviewed. Of these, only 10 met the selection criteria for inclusion. Our results reveal a lack of studies presenting evidence on the topic of poor dental hygiene in children with ASD and high stress levels in their parents. Discussion: There is ample evidence that children with ASD have poor dental hygiene, as well as higher levels of stress in their parents. However, little or no evidence links these two variables. Future studies should focus on this link, which could have practical implications for improving dental care for children with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In recent years, there has been a growing use of technological advancements to enhance the rehabilitation of individuals who have suffered from cerebrovascular accidents. Virtual reality rehabilitation programs enable patients to engage in a customized therapy program while interacting with a computer-generated environment. Therefore, our goal was to investigate the effectiveness of virtual reality in occupational therapy for people's rehabilitation after a cerebrovascular accident. Methods: We systematically searched databases (Pubmed/Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, and Science Direct) for randomized controlled trials published within the last 10 years. Studies involving adult stroke survivors undergoing virtual reality-based interventions aimed at improving upper-extremity motor function were included. The quality assessment followed PRISMA guidelines, with the risk of bias assessed using the Cochrane tool (version 6.4) and methodological quality evaluated using GRADEpro. Results: We selected sixteen studies that met the main criteria for the implementation of virtual reality technology. The interventions described in the articles focused mainly on the upper extremities and their fine motor skills. Conclusions: When used in conventional treatments to improve people's motor and cognitive functions after a cerebrovascular accident, virtual reality emerges as a beneficial tool. Additionally, virtual reality encourages adherence to the interventional process of rehabilitation through occupational therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and the β-thalassemia trait (BTT) are two main causes of hypochromic–microcytic anemia worldwide. Researchers have described many red blood cell (RBC) indices as screening tests for presumptive differentiation, based on differences observed in complete blood count (CBC) data for each condition. There are few BTT reports in Chile, and neither laboratories nor clinical staff have widely used these indices. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of 29 RBC indices in 182 patients (51 BTT and 131 IDA) and compare CBC results in both groups. Methods: A retrospective search was carried out in the Laboratory Information System between January 2021 and February 2024 to collect results from CBC, and 29 RBC indices were calculated for each patient. Then, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, Youden's index, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and diagnostic accuracy were calculated using MedCalc©. Results: The Green and King, Wongprachum, and Keikhaei indices showed the best discriminatory power with Youden index values of 0.923, 0.908, and 0.896, respectively, and significant differences were observed in all CBC parameters between BTT and IDA patients (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The Green and King, Wongprachum, and Keikhaei indices showed the best performance; therefore, they can be used as screening for the differential diagnosis between BTT and IDA in order to improve diagnosis given the important therapeutic and epidemiological implications. In this way, clinical laboratories could have a main role in the investigation of these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]