Use of social media in urology: data from the American Urological Association (AUA).

OBJECTIVE: To characterise the use of social media among members of the American Urological Association (AUA), as the use of social media in medicine has greatly expanded in recent years. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: In December 2012 to January 2013, the AUA e-mailed a survey with 34 questions on social media use to 2000 randomly selected urologists and 2047 resident/fellow members. Additional data was collected from Symplur analytics on social media use surrounding the AUA Annual Meeting in May 2013. RESULTS: In all, 382 (9.4%) surveys were completed, indicating 74% of responders had an online social media account. The most commonly used social media platforms were Facebook (93%), followed in descending order by LinkedIn (46%), Twitter (36%) and Google+ (26%). Being aged <40 years was an important predictor of social media use (83% vs 56%), with greater uptake among residents/fellows compared with attendings (86% vs 66%). Only 28% of respondents used social media partly or entirely for professional purposes. During the 2013 AUA Annual Meeting, there were >5000 tweets from >600 distinct contributors. CONCLUSION: As of early 2013, among respondents to an e-mail survey, most urologists and urology trainees used some form of social media, and its use in urology conferences has greatly expanded.

Increasing Social Media Use in Urology: 2017 American Urological Association Survey.

The use of social media is growing rapidly in health care. The purpose of this study was to provide updated data on utilization of social media in urology. A survey was emailed to 19 840 American Urological Association (AUA) members in September 2017, and responses were compared to our previous survey in 2013. Overall, 74% of 1731 respondents have a social media account. Facebook and YouTube were the platforms most commonly used. However, use of Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest significantly increased. Among social media users, 33% agreed that it has impacted their practice, and one-third have followed a medical conference remotely. At the 2018 AUA meeting (#AUA18), there were 18,863 tweets from 3887 contributors, which achieved 73,878 million impressions, a significant increase since 2013. More than half of users were not familiar with professional guidelines on social media. The most common reasons for non-use were not seeing any value and not wanting invasion of privacy. In conclusion, social media use has increased substantially in urology, providing opportunities for global conference participation and influencing clinical practice for a substantial proportion of users. Professional standards for online conduct should be integrated into medical education as use of social media continues to increase. PATIENT SUMMARY: The use of social media in urology has increased over time. Although Facebook and YouTube are the platforms most commonly used, use of Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest has significantly increased over time. Use of social media at medical conferences has increased over time, and a substantial proportion of urologists reported that social media influenced their clinical practice.

[Early active motion management of volar plate disruption of the proximal interphalangeal joint after finger hyperextension injury: extension block splinting versus buddy taping]. / Frühfunktionelles Management bei Hyperextensionstraumata des proximalen Interphalangealgelenkes mit Läsion der palmaren Platte: Extensionsblock versus Achterschlaufe.

Background Volar plate disruption of the proximal interphalangeal joint (PIP) is a common hand injury following finger hyperextension. At our institution, patients presenting with disruptions of the palmar plate (Eaton and Littler types I and II) before 2011 were treated with extension block splinting (group A). Since 2011, all patients with Eaton and Littler types I and II have received buddy taping (group B). The aim of this retrospective study was to compare the respective treatment outcomes. Patients and Methods In this retrospective study, we analysed the data of 44 patients visiting our department with volar plate disruption (Eaton and Littler types I and II) from 2009 to 2012. In group A, 23 patients were treated with custom-made extension block splinting in 10 ° flexion, compared with 21 patients treated with buddy taping in group B. Both groups received dorsal night splinting in 10 ° flexion. Results No statistically significant differences between the two groups were found in regard to treatment duration (p = 0,981), amount of required treatment sessions (p = 0,271), total active motion (TAM) (p = 0,693) and extension deficit (p = 0,404) in the PIP joint at the end of treatment, time until hand therapy was started (p = 0,285) or the Eaton und Littler diagnosis (p = 0,241). In the extension block group (group A), 10 out of 23 (44 %) patients after a median of 9 (4-10) weeks of treatment had an excellent result, 11 (48 %) had a good result, and 2 (8 %) patients had a poor result with a median 90 ° (85-100 °) TAM in the PIP joint and no extension deficit. In group A, all patients received a median of 4 (3-6) treatment sessions. Of those treated with buddy taping (group B), 14 out of 21 (66 %) patients at a median of 6 (4-13) weeks had an excellent result, 6 (29 %) had a good result, and 1 (5 %) patient had a poor result with a median TAM of 95 ° (82,5-100 °) and no extension deficit. In this group, patients received a total of 4 (3-5) treatment sessions. The type of treatment had no significant influence on the Benke and Stableforth outcome (χ2 = 2,385, df = 3, p = 0,304). No patient developed palmar joint instability. Conclusion No treatment option proved to be superior. We consider buddy taping to be faster, easier and more flexible to use.

Updated Survey of Social Media Use by Members of the American Urological Association.

INTRODUCTION: We performed a more detailed, updated analysis of social media use by AUA members. Specifically we sought to characterize the frequency of and reason for using different social media platforms as well as barriers to social media use. METHODS: From November to December 2013 we sent a 21-item survey on social media use to 16,376 AUA members with a valid email address. A total of 1,114 members (6.8%) completed the survey. Responses were tallied and statistical analysis was performed to evaluate use patterns based on demographic characteristics. RESULTS: Overall 71% of AUA members who responded to the survey currently had a social media account. The most popular social media platform was Facebook® (89% of respondents), followed by LinkedIn® (59%), YouTube™ (54%), Twitter® (48%) and Google+™ (35%). All platforms except LinkedIn were used primarily for personal reasons. Fewer than a third of respondents had viewed an AUA social media site and 35% of physician respondents participated in a physician-only social media community. Among respondents who did not use social media the most common reasons were no perception of added value and privacy concerns. CONCLUSIONS: Although most AUA respondents are involved in social media, they primarily use social media for personal reasons. There remains significant potential for growth and education on the usefulness of social media for urologists in the professional setting.

Self-reported sleep quality and fatigue correlates with actigraphy in midlife women with fibromyalgia.

BACKGROUND: Limited data are available on the relationship between self-reported sleep quality, fatigue, and behavioral sleep patterns in women with fibromyalgia (FM). OBJECTIVES: To compare self-reported sleep quality, fatigue, and behavioral sleep indicators obtained by actigraphy between women with FM and sedentary women without pain, and to examine relationships among these variables. METHODS: Twenty-three women with FM (M = 47.3, +/- 6.7 years) and 22 control women (M = 43.5, +/- 8.2 years) wore an actigraph on the nondominant wrist for 3 consecutive days at home. Each day women reported bedtimes, rise times, and ratings of sleep quality and fatigue in a diary. Self-reported sleep quality, fatigue, and indicators of sleep quality obtained from actigraphy (e.g., total sleep time, sleep efficiency, sleep latency, wake after sleep onset, and fragmentation index) were averaged. The Mann Whitney U test was used to assess group differences. Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to evaluate relationships between sleep quality and fatigue, and among sleep quality, fatigue, and actigraphy sleep indicators. RESULTS: Women with FM reported poorer sleep quality and more fatigue compared to controls (both p <.001). Actigraphy sleep indicators were not different between groups. In women with FM but not in controls, self-reported sleep quality was directly related to actigraphy indicators of total sleep time (r =.635, p <.01) and inversely related to sleep fragmentation (r = -.46, p <.05). Fatigue in women with FM was directly related to actigraphy indicators of wake after sleep onset (r =.57, p <.01), and inversely related to sleep efficiency (r = -.545, p <.01). DISCUSSION: Self-reported sleep quality and fatigue are associated with behavioral indicators of sleep quality at home in women with FM. Actigraphy is a useful objective measure of improved sleep outcomes in intervention studies.