RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Accelerated rehabilitation pathway (ARP) decrease patients' hospital length of stay (LOS). A lack of evidence exists on physiotherapy management and outcome as part of ARP in South Africa (SA). Our study will aim to determine whether early mobilisation and increased frequency of physiotherapy treatments for participants after hip or knee arthroplasty surgery on post-operative day 0 (POD 0) affect outcome. METHODS/DESIGN: A quantitative prospective cohort study incorporating ARP on (n = 60) non-randomised elective hip and knee arthroplasty participants will be compared with a more conservatively managed historical control group (n = 60). The physiotherapy protocol includes early mobilisation and exercises 1-3 h post-operatively on POD 0 and a second mobilisation and exercise session, 1-2 h later. Outcomes measures are as follows: hours for LOS, the WOMAC measured pre-operatively, 6 weeks and 3 months post-operatively, 30-day readmission for safety and cost comparison between the prospective and historical cohorts. Descriptive statistics will be undertaken. A paired t-test will be used to analyse each of the outcome measures across the time periods if data are normally distributed. Length of stay, WOMAC score and cost data will be compared between the groups, using a Mann-Whitney U test. The occurrence of adverse events will be compared between the groups using Pearson's chi-square tests. The confidence interval will be set at 95% and p = 0.05 will be considered statistically significant. DISCUSSION: Globally, ARP's are successfully implemented to manage patients presenting with hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA). Research investigating physiotherapy protocols in an ARP is lacking in the literature. CONCLUSION: Achieving the same-day discharge after hip and knee arthroplasty surgeries may help elective surgery backlogs and waiting lists in a more cost-effective manner. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: The same day discharge after arthroplasty may be a cost-effective management option in the future. PROTOCOL IDENTIFICATION: Pan African Clinical Trial Registry, PACTR202103637993156.
RESUMO
Fungal infections caused by the ancient lineage Mucorales are emerging and increasingly reported in humans. Comprehensive surveys on promising attributes from a multitude of possible virulence factors are limited and so far, focused on Mucor and Rhizopus. This study addresses a systematic approach to monitor phagocytosis after physical and enzymatic modification of the outer spore wall of Lichtheimia corymbifera, one of the major causative agents of mucormycosis. Episporic modifications were performed and their consequences on phagocytosis, intracellular survival and virulence by murine alveolar macrophages and in an invertebrate infection model were elucidated. While depletion of lipids did not affect the phagocytosis of both strains, delipidation led to attenuation of LCA strain but appears to be dispensable for infection with LCV strain in the settings used in this study. Combined glucano-proteolytic treatment was necessary to achieve a significant decrease of virulence of the LCV strain in Galleria mellonella during maintenance of the full potential for spore germination as shown by a novel automated germination assay. Proteolytic and glucanolytic treatments largely increased phagocytosis compared to alive resting and swollen spores. Whilst resting spores barely (1-2%) fuse to lysosomes after invagination in to phagosomes, spore trypsinization led to a 10-fold increase of phagolysosomal fusion as measured by intracellular acidification. This is the first report of a polyphasic measurement of the consequences of episporic modification of a mucormycotic pathogen in spore germination, spore surface ultrastructure, phagocytosis, stimulation of Toll-like receptors (TLRs), phagolysosomal fusion and intracellular acidification, apoptosis, generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and virulence.