Effect of Increased Lumbar Lordosis on Lumbar Multifidus and Longissimus Thoracis Activation During Quadruped Exercise in Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain: An EMG Study.

The objective was to investigate the electromyographic activity of the lumbar multifidus (MF) muscle and longissimus thoracis muscle, along with their activity ratio (MF longissimus thoracis ratio), during quadruped stabilization exercise performed with neutral posture and with increased lumbar lordosis in patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP). A total of 23 patients with CLBP (12 females and 11 males) were recruited based on inclusion and exclusion criterion. Each patient performed 4 exercises in random order, with surface electromyography electrodes and an electrogoniometer attached. A cross-sectional study design was used to measure the amplitude of muscle activation (as a percentage of maximum voluntary contraction) in each patient across the 2 muscles (MF and longissimus thoracis) during quadruped stabilization exercise with neutral posture and with increased lumbar lordosis. A 2-way analysis of variance was conducted, which demonstrated a statistically significant increase in the recruitment of MF with increased lumbar lordosis in patients with CLBP during quadruped exercise. An increase of 9.7% and 16.9% maximum voluntary contraction in MF electromyographic activity was observed in lumbar lordosis posture during the quadruped leg raise and quadruped leg-arm raise exercise, respectively (P < .01), when compared to the neutral posture. The increased recruitment of MF with lumbar lordosis in the quadruped position has strong implications in the assessment and management of patients with CLBP.

Discrimination of Germline EGFR T790M Mutations in Plasma Cell-Free DNA Allows Study of Prevalence Across 31,414 Cancer Patients.

Purpose: Plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA) analysis is increasingly used clinically for cancer genotyping, but may lead to incidental identification of germline-risk alleles. We studied EGFR T790M mutations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) toward the aim of discriminating germline and cancer-derived variants within cfDNA.Experimental Design: Patients with EGFR-mutant NSCLC, some with known germline EGFR T790M, underwent plasma genotyping. Separately, deidentified genomic data and buffy coat specimens from a clinical plasma next-generation sequencing (NGS) laboratory were reviewed and tested.Results: In patients with germline T790M mutations, the T790M allelic fraction (AF) in cfDNA approximates 50%, higher than that of EGFR driver mutations. Review of plasma NGS results reveals three groups of variants: a low-AF tumor group, a heterozygous group (∼50% AF), and a homozygous group (∼100% AF). As the EGFR driver mutation AF increases, the distribution of the heterozygous group changes, suggesting increased copy number variation from increased tumor content. Excluding cases with high copy number variation, mutations can be differentiated into somatic variants and incidentally identified germline variants. We then developed a bioinformatic algorithm to distinguish germline and somatic mutations; blinded validation in 21 cases confirmed a 100% positive predictive value for predicting germline T790M. Querying a database of 31,414 patients with plasma NGS, we identified 48 with germline T790M, 43 with nonsquamous NSCLC (P < 0.0001).Conclusions: With appropriate bioinformatics, plasma genotyping can accurately predict the presence of incidentally detected germline risk alleles. This finding in patients indicates a need for genetic counseling and confirmatory germline testing. Clin Cancer Res; 23(23); 7351-9. ©2017 AACR.

Specialist advice for primary care: an evaluation of a gastroenterology email advice service.

Communication between primary and secondary care -physicians is often unreliable and one sided in the form of clinic letters. Alternatively, general practitioners (GPs) may have difficulty contacting an on-call specialist via outdated hospital paging services. At Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, a gastroenterology email advice line was set up to promote dialogue and potentially help GPs deal with issues within their practices. The service has been evaluated both objectively through analysis of enquiries and subjectively through a -survey of GPs' views. Analysis showed a very high level of satisfaction among users of the service. There is also good evidence to suggest that the service has helped to streamline patient management and led to the avoidance of some outpatient appointments.

Optimizing Communication and Adherence to Iron Chelation Therapy From Diagnosis to Treatment in Patients With Myelodysplastic Syndromes.

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), a heterogeneous group of blood diseases, are usually diagnosed in older individuals, with a median age at diagnosis of more than 70 years. Anemia is a common symptom in patients with MDS and may require frequent red blood cell transfusions, which can lead to iron overload. Iron chelation therapy is recommended to decrease iron concentrations in tissue and minimize organ dysfunction. However, the currently available iron chelation therapies are associated with side effects, financial constraints, and dosing issues, which may affect patient adherence. Moreover, many patients with MDS lack an understanding of the disease and their prognosis and treatments. This review can be used in the advanced practice setting to discuss the importance of communicating with patients about MDS from the time of diagnosis and will explore strategies to enhance adherence to iron chelation therapy. An individualized approach that weighs the risks and benefits of treatment for older patients with MDS will allow advanced practitioners to set expectations while developing adherence strategies to optimize outcomes. This approach provides a platform for advanced practitioners to communicate with patients to ensure they understand the natural history of MDS, their individual prognoses, and the goals of both active treatment and supportive care.

The importance of hematologic, cytogenetic, and molecular testing and mutational analysis in chronic myeloid leukemia.

The introduction of BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) for treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) has made it possible for this cancer to be controlled in many patients for long periods with chronic medication and regular monitoring of disease status. Hematologic and cytogenetic testing, molecular monitoring, and BCR-ABL1 mutational analysis have become integral to the routine management of CML. The information that each type of test provides is essential to confirm a diagnosis, determine the disease stage, assess response to treatment, and monitor for signals of disease progression—all of which can be used to identify patients who might require further evaluation, closer follow-up, and additional intervention, and to guide clinical decisions. This review describes how each type of test is performed, the information it provides, and the clinical importance of such information. It also uses actual patient case studies to illustrate important points. The goal of this review is to provide health care providers, particularly nursing professionals, with a clear understanding of the method and purpose of each type of test required in the management of patients with CML.

Management of transfusion-related iron overload in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes.

Anemia is a common symptom for patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), a spectrum of hematopoietic malignancies characterized by ineffective hematopoiesis; 90% of these patients will become transfusion dependent (TD). Because of the closed nature of iron metabolism, the repeated input of packed red blood cells during transfusions inevitably leads to iron overload. Iron overload can cause iron-related toxicity as well as end-organ damage from iron deposition in tissues. Studies have shown that patients with MDS who are TD have shorter overall survival, shorter leukemia-free survival, and higher healthcare costs compared with patients who are not TD, suggesting that iron overload has a significant clinical and economic impact. Iron chelation therapy can bind and eliminate free iron from the body. Although studies in genetic anemias have shown improved clinical outcomes, clinical trials with patients with MDS are ongoing. Because iron chelation therapy can be toxic, the risks, benefits, and therapy-related costs must be weighed for each patient.

An unusual presentation of myxoid liposarcoma: a case report.

A 50 year old female had a myxoid liposarcoma of left thigh that was widely excised. After three years, she presented with a soft tissue mass in right hypochondriac region, which was diagnosed as myxoid liposarcoma on fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and was confirmed histologically.