A Nation-Wide Survey of High School Baseball Coaches' Perceptions Indicates their Arm Care Programs Play a Role in Injury Prevention.

BACKGROUND: Arm care programs consisting of upper extremity strengthening and stretching have been recommended for injury prevention for pitchers of all ages. There has been no investigation into high school baseball coaches' usage and perceptions of arm care programs to mitigate physical impairments associated with injuries in baseball players. HYPOTHESIS/PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the current usage of arm care programs by high school baseball coaches. The primary objective was to determine if coaches use group-based or individualized arm care programs. The secondary objective sought to determine if the use of arm care programs is influenced by coaches' age, education, and experience level. Finally, this study explored the potential barriers to arm care implementation and high school baseball coaches' current awareness and beliefs of injury prevention. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive cross-sectional survey. METHODS: A 29-item online survey was emailed to 18,500 high school baseball coaches throughout the United States. Data were collected for three months, and the response rate was 3.7%. RESULTS: A total of 87.3% (n=571/654) of responding coaches use arm care programs with their players. Of coaches performing arm care, only 18.5% of 571 individualize their arm care exercises based on specific player needs. However, older and more experienced coaches are more likely to individualize their programs. Among the 12.7% (n=83/654) of coaches who do not use arm care programs, the two most commonly cited reasons for not implementing arm care were lack of observed benefit (41%) and insufficient staff (31%). Although 42% of 654 coaches recognized reduced shoulder mobility as a major contributor to injury, risk factors such as throwing with a fatigued arm, previous injury history, and throwing > 8 months per year were not consistently identified as primary risk factors. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that the majority high school baseball coaches implement group-based arm care exercise programs to prevent injury. Lack of confidence in the effectiveness and staffing limitations were major barriers to implementation of arm care programming. However, the responding coaches exhibited inconsistent risk factor awareness and dated injury prevention beliefs. Therefore, better educational collaboration between rehabilitation professionals and high school coaches regarding injury risk factors and preventative strategies is warranted. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 3.

Urinary NT-proBNP levels and echocardiographic parameters for patent ductus arteriosus.

OBJECTIVE: Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is common in preterm infants and is associated with significant morbidities. B type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is synthesized in the ventricles secondary to volume overload and excreted as urinary N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP). STUDY DESIGN: We report an observational prospective study of 64 preterm infants with birth weight ⩽1000 g. Echocardiographic parameters were obtained from clinical echocardiograms performed in the first week of life. Urinary NT-proBNP/creatinine ratios (pg mg-1) were measured on the same day of the echocardiograms. RESULTS: Infants with medium to large PDA (n=39) had significantly higher NT-proBNP/creatinine levels compared with infants with small PDA (n=10) (median (IQ range): 2333 (792-6166) vs 714 (271-1632) pg mg-1, P=0.01) and compared with infants with no PDA (n=15) (2333 (792-6166) vs 390 (134-1085) pg mg-1, P=0.0003). Urinary NT-proBNP/creatinine ratios were significantly lower post treatment if PDA closed (n=17), P=0.001 or if PDA became smaller after treatment (n=9), P=0.004. Urinary NT-proBNP/creatinine levels correlated with ductal diameter (P⩽0.0001), but not with LA/Ao ratio (P=0.69) or blood flow velocity through the ductus (P=0.06). CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that there is a positive correlation between ductal diameter and urinary NT-proBNP in preterm infants.

Oncologic doses of zoledronic acid induce site specific suppression of bone modelling in rice rats.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the effect of zoledronic acid (ZOL) on cortical bone modelling and healing of extraction sockets in the jaw bones of a rodent model. We hypothesized ZOL suppresses both the bone formation in the modelling mode in the jaw bones and alters the extraction site healing. MATERIAL & METHODS: Rice rats were administered saline solution and two dose regimens of ZOL: 0.1 mg/kg, twice a week, for 4 weeks (n=17, saline=8 & ZOL=9) and a higher dose of 0.4 mg/kg, weekly, for 9 weeks (n=30, saline=15 & ZOL=15). Two pairs of fluorochrome bone labels were administered. Extraction of maxillary teeth was performed in maxilla. Mineral apposition rate, mineralizing surface and bone formation rate (BFR) were quantified on periodontal (PDL), alveolar and basal bone surfaces, and in the trabecular bone of proximal tibia. Bone volume (BV) was evaluated at extraction sockets. Multivariate Gaussian models were used to account for repeated measurements, and analyzes were conducted in SAS V9.3. RESULTS: ZOL suppressed bone modelling (BFR/BS) at the PDL surfaces in the mandible (P<.05), but its effect was not significant at the periosteal surfaces of both jaws. BV for the healing sockets of ZOL treated animals was not significantly different (P=.07) compared to the saline group. ZOL suppressive effect was higher in the tibia compared to the jaws. CONCLUSION: ZOL severely suppresses coupled remodelling in the tibia, and the suppression of bone formation in the modelling mode in the jaws demonstrates the site specific effects of ZOL in rice rats.

Analysis of the factors that influence the Finnegan Neonatal Abstinence Scoring System.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate factors that can influence the Finnegan Neonatal Abstinence Score (FNAS). STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of 367 patients admitted to two level IV neonatal intensive care units. Linear mixed effects models were developed to evaluate daily census, time of the day, and day of the week as fixed effect predictors. The degree of influence that nurses had on FNAS variability was also estimated. RESULTS: Bivariate analyses showed that daily census and the time of day have significant influence on the FNAS in institution 1, with minimal clinical significance. The proportion of variation in the FNAS attributable to differences in nurses was of 9.8% and 5.1% for institutions 1 and 2, respectively (P<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The minimal influences of extraneous factors on the FNAS support the clinical utility of the scoring system in the assessment and management of infants with Neonatal Abstinence Score.