Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Orthopedics for April 2013. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
Risk Factors ID'd for Scoliosis Surgery Complications
TUESDAY, April 30 (HealthDay News) -- Increases in the upper thoracic scoliotic curve, thoracic kyphosis, and number of rod-lengthening procedures are risk factors for postoperative complications associated with growing-rod (GR) surgery for early-onset scoliosis (EOS), according to a study published in the April 15 issue of Spine.
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Renewed Efforts From AAFP to Repeal OTC Provision in ACA
TUESDAY, April 30 (HealthDay News) -- Members of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and other medical associations are urging further consideration of Section 9003 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) that requires holders of tax-preferred health care accounts to obtain a physician's prescription to use funds from those accounts to pay for over-the-counter (OTC) medications. The concerns have been laid out in a letter to the chair and the ranking member of the House Committee on Ways and Means.
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FDA Announces New Network to Focus Exclusively on Patients
MONDAY, April 29 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced the launch of a new interactive tool for educating patients, their advocates, and consumers about the processes involved in medication development.
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Medical Interns Spending Less Time With Patients
FRIDAY, April 26 (HealthDay News) -- Medical interns are spending less time with patients and more time at a computer since new rules limiting total work hours were instituted in 2011, according to a study published online April 18 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
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Standard Criteria Needed for Spinal Stenosis Diagnosis
FRIDAY, April 26 (HealthDay News) -- There is a need for a consensus on criteria to define and classify lumbar spinal stenosis, according to a review published in the April 15 issue of Spine.
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Saturday Marks Sixth Annual Rx Drug Take-Back Day
FRIDAY, April 26 (HealthDay News) -- United States residents across the nation will have an opportunity to safely and anonymously unload expired, unwanted prescription medications on Saturday, April 27, during the sixth annual National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.
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One-Third of Female Marathon Runners Report Breast Pain
FRIDAY, April 26 (HealthDay News) -- Approximately one-third of female marathon runners report mastalgia, according to a study published online April 19 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
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Post-Fracture Targeting Boosts Osteoporosis Management
FRIDAY, April 26 (HealthDay News) -- A mail-based intervention targeting patients with recent frailty fractures and their physicians is a more cost-effective means of osteoporosis management than usual care, according to a simulation-based study published online April 17 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
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Physicians Less Empathetic in Talking to Heavy Patients
THURSDAY, April 25 (HealthDay News) -- Primary care physicians (PCPs) are less likely to bond with overweight and obese patients, according to research published online March 20 in Obesity.
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Analgesics in Endurance Events Can Have Serious Adverse Effects
THURSDAY, April 25 (HealthDay News) -- Analgesic use before endurance sports can cause serious medical events, according to a study published online April 19 in BMJ Open.
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Diagnostic Errors Are the Leading Type of Malpractice Claim
WEDNESDAY, April 24 (HealthDay News) -- In the past 25 years, diagnostic errors have been the leading type of malpractice claim and account for the highest proportion of total payments, according to a study published online April 22 in BMJ Quality & Safety.
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Outcomes No Worse With Home Call for Surgical Interns
MONDAY, April 22 (HealthDay News) -- For surgical interns, being on call from home is not associated with increased rates of postoperative morbidity or mortality, according to a study published in the April issue of JAMA Surgery.
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More Than Two-Thirds of Surgeons Are 'Employed'
FRIDAY, April 19 (HealthDay News) -- There is a substantial shift in practice environment occurring among surgeons in the United States, with more surgeons becoming employees, according to a study published in the April issue of JAMA Surgery.
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Patient Satisfaction Poor Indicator of Quality Surgical Care
FRIDAY, April 19 (HealthDay News) -- For surgical patients, satisfaction is not associated with performance on process measures or on overall hospital safety culture scores, according to a study published in the April issue of JAMA Surgery.
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Patient-Centered Decision Making Ups Health Outcomes
FRIDAY, April 19 (HealthDay News) -- Patient-centered decision making (PCDM) is associated with improved health care outcomes, according to a study published in the April 16 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Ultrasound Model IDs Residual Joint Inflammation in RA
THURSDAY, April 18 (HealthDay News) -- A model including ultrasound (US) assessment of the wrist, metacarpophalangeal (MCP), ankle, and metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joints is highly sensitive for detecting B-mode and Doppler joint inflammation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a study published in the April issue of Arthritis Care & Research.
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Guidelines Issued Relating to Online Medical Professionalism
THURSDAY, April 18 (HealthDay News) -- Physicians should be aware of the benefits on online media and should recognize the implications for patient confidentiality and public perception, according to a position paper published in the April 16 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Family-Centered Teaching Rounds Good for Patients, Students
THURSDAY, April 18 (HealthDay News) -- Teaching and conducting rounds in the presence of patients and their families can be beneficial for patients and learners, according to research published online April 15 in Pediatrics.
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Relative Proportion of MRSA Increasing in S. aureus Isolates
THURSDAY, April 18 (HealthDay News) -- The relative proportion of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is increasing in S. aureus isolates, and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, according to a study published in the April issue of JAMA Dermatology.
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Community Benefit Spending Varies for Tax-Exempt Hospitals
WEDNESDAY, April 17 (HealthDay News) -- There is considerable variation in the level of community benefit expenditure by tax-exempt hospitals, according to a study published in the April 18 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Presenting Fee Data to Docs Cuts Number of Tests Ordered
WEDNESDAY, April 17 (HealthDay News) -- Presenting fee data to providers at the time of laboratory test orders is associated with a small reduction in the number of tests ordered, according to a study published online April 15 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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Review Addresses Need for 'Sharps' Injury Prevention Efforts
TUESDAY, April 9 (HealthDay News) -- Injuries caused by needles and other sharp instruments are a major occupational hazard for health care providers, particularly surgeons, with significant health risks and cost impact, and there is a need for enhanced preventive efforts, according to a special article published in the April issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
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Re-Op Rates ID'd for Herniated Intervertebral Disc Disease
MONDAY, April 15 (HealthDay News) -- For patients undergoing surgery for lumbar herniated intervertebral disc disease, reoperation rates reach 13.4 percent after five years, with more than half of reoperations occurring in the first year, according to a study published in the April 1 issue of Spine.
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Surgeons Reach Radiation Limits With 291 PELDs Per Year
FRIDAY, April 12 (HealthDay News) -- Surgeons performing minimally invasive transforaminal percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD), involving fluoroscopy, are exposed to the maximum allowable radiation dose after 291 procedures performed without protective shielding, according to a study published in the April 1 issue of Spine.
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Surgeons Support Nonphysician Screens for Low Back Pain
FRIDAY, April 12 (HealthDay News) -- Most spine surgeons are interested in a nonphysician clinician (NPC) model of care for screening of low back or low back-related leg pain for patients referred for a surgical assessment, according to a study published in the April 1 issue of Spine.
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Speech Details Practices to Improve U.S. Health Systems
THURSDAY, April 11 (HealthDay News) -- There are specific steps health care providers and policymakers should take to create high-quality, patient-centered care at lower costs, according to remarks made in an April 9 speech to the National Press Club.
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Readmission Rates ID'd After Spine Stenosis Decompression
THURSDAY, April 11 (HealthDay News) -- For patients undergoing lumbar spine stenosis decompression surgery with or without fusion, the one-year readmission rate is 9.7 or 7.2 percent, respectively, according to a study published in the April 1 issue of Spine.
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Mobility Shoe Improves Knee Loading in Osteoarthritis
THURSDAY, April 11 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with knee osteoarthritis, use of flat, flexible footwear (mobility shoes) for six months is associated with significant improvements in knee adduction moment (KAM), according to a study published online April 10 in Arthritis & Rheumatism.
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Fusion Doesn't Up Reoperation Risk With Spinal Stenosis
THURSDAY, April 11 (HealthDay News) -- For patients undergoing surgical treatment of spinal stenosis, lumbar fusion and instrumentation do not increase the rate of reoperation at index or adjacent levels compared with nonfusion techniques, according to a study published in the April 1 issue of Spine.
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Polymorphism in Estrogen Receptor α Linked to Back Pain
WEDNESDAY, April 10 (HealthDay News) -- For women with degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS), polymorphisms in the estrogen receptor α (ERα) are associated with back pain intensity, according to a study published in the April issue of the Journal of Spinal Disorders and Techniques.
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Review Supports Fusion for Disc-Related Chronic Low Back Pain
WEDNESDAY, April 10 (HealthDay News) -- Clinical outcomes are positive for patients with chronic low back pain due to degenerative disc disease who undergo lumbar fusion, according to a review published in the April 1 issue of Spine.
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Spinal Adjustment Relieves Symptoms Better Than NSAIDs
MONDAY, April 8 (HealthDay News) -- Spinal manipulation is significantly superior to anti-inflammatory drugs for the treatment of acute, nonspecific low back pain (LBP), according to a study published in the April issue of Spine.
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Acupuncture Reduces Pain of Chronic Low Back Discomfort
MONDAY, April 8 (HealthDay News) -- Individualized acupuncture treatment reduces some negative symptoms of chronic low back pain (cLBP) better than sham treatment, according to a study published in the April issue of Spine.
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Former College Athletes Don't Have Increased Depression Risk
MONDAY, April 8 (HealthDay News) -- Former college athletes seem not to have an increased risk for depression, according to a study published online March 25 in Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach.
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Lumbar Disc Herniation Surgery Is Effective for Octogenarians
MONDAY, April 8 (HealthDay News) -- For octogenarian patients with lumbar disc herniation, unilateral laminectomy and discectomy seems safe and effective, according to a study published in the April issue of the Journal of Spinal Disorders & and Techniques.
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Degeneration Doesn't Progress to Discs Adjacent to Burst Fracture
FRIDAY April 5 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with traumatic burst fractures of the thoracolumbar spine who are treated with pedicle screw fixation and direct end-plate restoration, adjacent intervertebral discs do not routinely progress to severe degeneration at 12 to 18 months post-injury, according to a study published in the March issue of The Spine Journal.
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Bone Density Can Improve in Spine, Femur Post-Spine Surgery
WEDNESDAY, April 3 (HealthDay News) -- Following successful lumbar spine surgery, the bone mineral density (BMD) of the vertebral body and femoral neck can increase but appears to related to post-operative walking ability, according to a study published in the March 15 issue of Spine.
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Diabetes Affects Improvements After Lumbar Spine Surgery
TUESDAY, April 2 (HealthDay News) --Patients with diabetes who have longstanding diabetes, poor glycemic control, and use insulin had suboptimal improvements in clinical outcomes after lumbar spine surgery, according to research published March 15 in Spine.
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Motor Control Exercises Successful in Curbing Back Pain
MONDAY, April 1 (HealthDay News) -- Motor control exercises (MCE) are better at reducing pain and disability than other treatments for chronic low back pain (LBP), according to a review published in the March 15 issue of Spine.
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Most Partners of U.S. Docs Satisfied in Their Relationships
MONDAY, April 1 (HealthDay News) -- Most spouses/partners of U.S. physicians report being satisfied with their relationships, with satisfaction linked to time spent together each day, according to research published in the March issue of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
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