The Effect of Intra-articular Hypertonic Dextrose Prolotherapy on Pain, Quality of Life, and Functional Outcomes Scores in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis.

Introduction Knee osteoarthritis is a common chronic condition leading to pain and debility. Prolotherapy is a safe and cost-effective treatment option. Our team conducted a case series to examine the effect of prolotherapy on functional measures and quality of life in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Methods Our case series included 15 total patients consisting of male and female patients aged 50-85 years old with a prior diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis and moderate pain. The patients completed baseline Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) and EuroQol-5 Dimension (EQ5D) surveys and received an ultrasound-guided intra-articular prolotherapy injection. The patients were then followed up by Telehealth at one-, two-, and three-month post-procedure. Results Data points for 15 patients were recorded over the duration of the three months. Results revealed significantly improved functional scores from the baseline period (M = 0.60) to the one-month (M = 0.43), two-month (M = 0.48), and three-month (M = 0.46), observed power = 0.99. Participants reported significantly lower pain scores between the baseline period (M = 0.60) compared to the one-month (M = 0.34), two-month (M = 0.35) and three-month (M = 0.39) periods. There was no statistical significance across time in participants' EQ5D scores. The repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed no statistically significant differences in participants scores between the baseline (M = 64.4), one-month (M = 68.93), two-month (M = 68.47), or three-month (M = 68.33), observed power = 0.31. There were no statistically significant differences in participants WOMAC stiffness scores between the baseline (M = 0.67), one-month (M = 0.46), two-month (M = 0.57), or three-month (M = 0.56) periods, observed power = 0.73. The results revealed no significant change in participants' EQ5D and WOMAC stiffness scores. The results support a statistically significant improvement in patients' self-reported functioning and pain scores between the baseline and one-month, two-month, and three-month periods. Discussion The significant improvement in function occurred between the baseline and one-month time periods and the pain reduction was sustained throughout the two-month and three-month periods. Our study supports prolotherapy as an effective treatment option to improve pain and function in knee osteoarthritis. The study could be repeated with a large sample size to further investigate the effects of prolotherapy on quality-of-life measures.

Improving Patient Access to Musculoskeletal Treatments and Medical Student Musculoskeletal Education via Free Clinic Services.

Introduction Homeless patients are at higher risk for musculoskeletal conditions but have limited access to treatments. Physical therapy (PT) and osteopathic manual therapy (OMT) are treatments for acute and chronic musculoskeletal conditions. Here, we outline establishing a free specialty clinic to provide PT and OMT to underserved patients. Methods At Eastern Virginia Medical School's Health Outreach Partnership of EVMS Students (HOPES) free clinic, we established a volunteer student, resident, and attending-led specialty clinic to provide exercise therapy, manual therapy, and injections to underserved patients. Results Student volunteering resulted in significant improvement in student confidence with musculoskeletal physical exam skills and their ability to diagnose musculoskeletal conditions. Patients of the clinic reported significant improvement in pain and mobility. Discussion This clinic is a novel activity that improves student musculoskeletal medical education and patient access to musculoskeletal condition treatments. Exposing students to PT and OMT services increased student awareness of the PT scope of practice, OMT's use as a component for patient treatment increased confidence in the appropriate applications of OMT for patient care. Implementing a free PT and OMT clinic at an established free clinic can improve musculoskeletal medical education and enhance patient care for underserved populations.

Using Chronic Care Management Visits to Reduce the Number of Frequent Emergency Department Visits: A Pilot Study.

Background Emergency department (ED) visits are increasing in number and cost and becoming a major way patients are interacting with the healthcare system. Patients who frequently visit the ED are deemed "super-utilizers" who visit for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to, multiple chronic medical illnesses, homelessness, and substance use disorder, but fail to have an established long-term treatment plan. Methodology We enrolled our hospital's top 50 super-utilizing patients into the Chronic Care Management Program. These patients received monthly telehealth visits to discuss concerns, chronic medical conditions, barriers to care, and support systems unique to each patient's living and social situation (i.e., social determinants of health). Telehealth visits also connected patients to community resources and helped them initiate advanced care services. Results The t-test investigating the frequency of avoidable visits pre- and post-intervention revealed a statistically significant decrease in the number of avoidable visits between the pre-intervention and post-intervention. Results also revealed a non-statistically significant difference in the cost of avoidable visits before and after the intervention. Conclusions The findings revealed a statistically significant decrease in patients' frequency of avoidable visits before and after the intervention.

Strike Out: A Case Report of Glioblastoma in a Collegiate Softball Player.

A 20-year-old female, right-hand-dominant Division I softball player, presented to her pre-participation exam endorsing numbness that started in her left thumb and had progressed to involve her entire hand and left medial elbow. She had no change in her physical health over the past year prior to presentation and denied injury illness or trauma to the left upper extremity or neck. She reported no change in her softball off-season training regimen or equipment. Exam exhibited decreased sensation in C6, C7, and C8 dermatomes and weakness in the C8 myotome. Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) displayed a right parietal lobe mass which biopsy confirmed as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). GBM, also known as glioblastoma or grade 4 astrocytoma is an aggressive form of cancer that can affect the brain and spinal cord. Despite being the most common malignant primary brain tumor in adults, current treatment is mostly palliative. Treatment for this student-athlete included surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. The selection of aggressive treatment including excision of the tumor was largely elected due to her age. She received chemotherapy with temozolomide in conjunction with radiation for a total of nine months. Following treatment, she worked with physical therapy to help improve her functional deficits, caused both by the tumor as well as the excision. Additionally, psychological and emotional support was provided to the patient during the course of the diagnosis and treatment of her athletics career-ending diagnosis. The same support services were also extended to the entirety of her teammates as well as her family members. This case outlines the diagnosis, treatment, and challenges of GBM in a Division I softball athlete including the challenges of providing emotional support for an athlete living away from home while being diagnosed with a life and athletics-career altering condition.

Telemedicine Evaluation of Hip Ailments.

Background During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, telemedicine has provided new means of patient care while still allowing for physical examination and history to be obtained. Hip ailments are a common musculoskeletal problem leading to limited function. Today, we lack a standardized telemedicine hip evaluation protocol. Aim The aim of this manuscript is to provide an efficient means of extracting relevant information while performing telemedicine examinations of the hip. Methods The authors have created a step-by-step evaluation guide for physicians to evaluate hip complaints, including inspection, palpation, range of motion, strength testing, functional assessment, gait analysis, and special testing, with images of each maneuver. Results  We have developed a table of evaluation questions and instructions and a glossary of images of each maneuver to facilitate hip examination via telemedicine. Conclusions This manuscript provides a structured template for performing a telehealth examination of hip ailments.

An Unexpected Finding in a Concussed Circus Acrobat.

Persistent post-concussive syndrome (PPCS) outlines a complex array of neurocognitive and psychological symptoms that persist in patients after a concussion. A 58-year-old female presented reporting recurrent loss of consciousness, and retrograde and anterograde amnesia following multiple concussions. She also endorsed persistent nausea, balance insufficiencies, hearing loss, and cognitive impairment. In addition, this patient had high-risk sexual behavior without prior testing for sexually transmitted infections. Given her clinical history, the differential included PPCS, complex post-traumatic stress disorder, Korsakoff syndrome, hypothyroidism, and sexually transmitted infection (STI)-related neurocognitive disorder. On exam, this patient had a positive Romberg sign, prominent resting tremoring of upper extremities, and pinpoint pupils unresponsive to light, with bilateral nystagmus. Syphilis testing was positive. The patient was treated with intramuscular benzathine penicillin with significant improvement in gait, balance, headaches, vision, and cognition three months after treatment. Although rare, neurocognitive disorders, including late-stage syphilis, should be considered in the differential diagnosis for PPCS.

Telemedicine Examination of the Knee.

Introduction The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in rapid healthcare system adaptations, including the acceptance of telemedicine in primary care. In the case of knee ailments, among the most common problems encountered in primary care, telemedicine provides a literal window to observe the patient performing functional activities. Despite its potential, there is a lack of standardized protocols for data collection. The purpose of this article is to provide a step-by-step protocol to aid in performing a telemedicine examination of the knee. Methods This article provides a step-by-step guide for a telehealth examination of the knee. Results A step-by-step examination of how to structure a telemedicine evaluation of the knee. A glossary of images of each maneuver has been included to demonstrate the components of the examination. Additionally, a table of questions and possible answers were included to help guide the provider through a knee examination. Conclusion This article provides a structured and efficient means of extracting clinically relevant information during telemedicine examinations of the knee.

Telehealth examination of the lumbar spine.

BACKGROUND: Telehealth evaluations of musculoskeletal conditions have increased due to the stay-at-home policies enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Back pain is one of the most common complaints in primary care. While telehealth may never supplant in-person evaluation of back pain, it is imperative in a changing world to learn to perform this evaluation via telephone or video. Virtual visits rely on history-taking and patient self-reported descriptions of pain elicited from self-palpation or specific movements while on the telephone with the clinician. Video examinations provide a unique way of evaluating the lower back compared to telephone because of the ability to visualize the actions of the patient. OBJECTIVE: To create an evaluation pathway for examination of the lumbar spine via telehealth. METHODS: Our group has created a step-by-step evaluation pathway to help physicians direct their patients through typical lumbar examination elements, including inspection, palpation, range of motion, and strength, special, and functional testing. RESULTS: We have developed a table of questions and instructions and a glossary of images of each maneuver to facilitate lumbar spine examination via telemedicine. CONCLUSIONS: This paper provides a guide for extracting clinically relevant information while performing telemedicine examinations of the lumbar spine.

From Dugout to the Mound: A Tale of Platelet-Rich Performance.

Ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) tears of the elbow are prevalent injuries among throwing athletes and are associated with excessive or repeated valgus forces at the elbow. We present the case of an 18-year-old male baseball pitcher with an 18-month history of progressive right elbow pain, notably worsened during his fastball pitching. Clinical assessment revealed tenderness with dynamic stressing of the right UCL. Imaging analyses, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and dynamic ultrasound, confirmed a high-grade partial tear of the UCL at its origin. Non-operative management was pursued, which included an ultrasound-guided platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection and intensive physical therapy. Follow-up evaluations at six and 12 weeks demonstrated a noteworthy improvement in subjective pain descriptions and structural healing of the UCL. After the patient completed a therapy and rehabilitation program, throwing activities at full strength were able to be resumed. This case underscores the potential efficacy of conservative approaches in handling UCL tears with the inclusion of PRP as a viable treatment option.

Effects of Athletic Trainer Direct Employment on the Management of Sports-Related Injuries in High School Athletes.

BACKGROUND: Hiring athletic trainers (ATs) in high schools has attracted rising interest as a potential way of improving adolescents' health by enhancing their safety and reducing their risk of injury. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine if there is a difference in the referral patterns, injury diagnoses, and injury treatments performed at a metropolitan high school when an AT is employed versus not employed by the school. DESIGN: This is a retrospective quantitative two-period study. SETTING: The study was conducted in the high school athletic department in Norfolk, Virginia, and the study population was high school athletes (age 14-18). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Changes in referral patterns, injury diagnoses, and injury treatments performed at a local high school when an AT is employed versus not employed by the school; specifically, we examined the number of and percent changes in yearly treatments, referrals, evaluations, and re-evaluations during the two periods. RESULTS: Our first t-test revealed a statistically significant increase in the number of reported injuries between 2011-2015 (M = 58.00, SD = 44.86) and 2016-2020 (M = 299.00, SD = 40.93, p = 0.006. The second t-test revealed a statistically significant increase in the number of referrals between 2011-2015 (M = 249.00, SD = 353.41) and 2016-2020 (M = 1188.00, SD = 158.21), p = 0.014. The third t-test revealed a statistically significant increase in the number of treatment items between 2011-2015 (M = 150.67, SD = 175.32) and 2016-2020 (M = 636.67, SD = 211.72), p = 0.01. CONCLUSIONS: The present study found an increased frequency of reported injuries, referrals, and treatment after ATs directly joined the staff of a large metropolitan high school. These findings suggest that direct employment of ATs is associated with greater recording of injuries and treatment of conditions. A reduction in referrals occurs with the presence of directly employed ATs, which could result in improved health for student-athletes, but this needs further study.

Chemometric discrimination of unfractionated plant extracts analyzed by electrospray mass spectrometry.

Metabolic fingerprints were obtained from unfractionated Pharbitis nil leaf sap samples by direct infusion into an electrospray ionization mass spectrometer. Analyses took less than 30 s per sample and yielded complex mass spectra. Various chemometric methods, including discriminant function analysis and the machine-learning methods of artificial neural networks and genetic programming, could discriminate the metabolic fingerprints of plants subjected to different photoperiod treatments. This rapid automated analytical procedure could find use in a variety of phytochemical applications requiring high sample throughput.

Genetic testing: the future of smoking cessation therapy?

In the UK, approximately one-third of the population currently smoke. It is estimated that up to 70% of these smokers want to stop smoking but smoking cessation rates currently only stand at 20-30%. In order to reduce the health burden associated with smoking in the short-term we need to increase cessation rates. This will stem from deeper understanding of the processes involved in nicotine addiction, targeted therapy and the development of new pharmacological cessation agents. This article is not intended to be an exhaustive examination of nicotine addiction but rather an overview of some of the genetic aspects and how we can go on to use this knowledge in order to develop a genetic test to aid smoking cessation.