Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Orthopedics for March 2012. 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.
Electrocorticographic Signals May Restore Arm Movement
THURSDAY, March 29 (HealthDay News) -- Electrocorticography (ECoG) signals from patients with chronic motor dysfunction represent motor information that may be useful for controlling prosthetic arms, according to a study published in the March issue of the Annals of Neurology.
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Long Arm Cast Best for Immobilizing Forearm
MONDAY, March 26 (HealthDay News) -- Use of a long arm cast provides the best restriction of forearm rotation, according to a study published in the March 7 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
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Thigh Fat Area, Muscle Density Linked to RA Indicators
FRIDAY, March 23 (HealthDay News) -- Thigh fat area and muscle density, but not muscle area, are indicators of disability and physical performance in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a study published online March 5 in Arthritis & Rheumatism.
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Health Care Team Members Key for Antimicrobial Stewardship
THURSDAY, March 22 (HealthDay News) -- Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) that use health care epidemiologists (HEs) and infection preventionists (IPs) have a crucial role to play in the effort to combat health care-associated infections (HAIs), including those caused by multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), according to the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America position paper published in the March issue of the American Journal of Infection Control.
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Survey Describes Docs' Online Professionalism Violations
TUESDAY, March 20 (HealthDay News) -- Most medical licensing authorities receive and act upon reports of physicians' online professionalism violations, according to a research letter published in the March 21 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Antimicrobial Stewardship Saves Millions of Dollars
TUESDAY, March 20 (HealthDay News) -- Antimicrobial stewardship programs save hospitals millions of dollars, according to a study published in the April issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
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Walking Speed Is a Marker for Knee Osteoarthritis
TUESDAY, March 20 (HealthDay News) -- Slower walking speed may be a marker for identifying those at risk for knee osteoarthritis (OA), according to a study published online March 5 in Arthritis Care & Research.
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Generic Boniva Approved for Osteoporosis
MONDAY, March 19 (HealthDay News) -- The first generic versions of the once-monthly osteoporosis drug Boniva (ibandronate) have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
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Majority of Children Overburdened by Backpacks
MONDAY, March 19 (HealthDay News) -- The majority of students carry backpacks weighing more than 10 percent of their body weight, and those carrying the heaviest backpacks are at increased risk of back pain, according to a study published online March 10 in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
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Hip Fracture Surgery Type Impacts Future Fracture Risk
FRIDAY, March 16 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with a primary proximal femoral fracture who undergo closed reduction and percutaneous pinning have a significantly increased risk of subsequent contralateral hip fracture compared with those who undergo arthroplasty, according to a study published in the March 7 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
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Most California Hospitals Implementing Infection Control
FRIDAY, March 16 (HealthDay News) -- Most California hospitals implement some policies to improve infection control for multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO), primarily methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), but few policies are associated with lower MDRO rates, according to a study published in the March issue of the American Journal of Infection Control.
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Poorer Health Literacy Linked to Increased Mortality
FRIDAY, March 16 (HealthDay News) -- A considerable proportion of older adults in England have medium or low health literacy, which is associated with increased mortality, according to a study published online March 15 in BMJ.
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Mutations in CIZ1 May Cause Adult-Onset Cervical Dystonia
THURSDAY, March 15 (HealthDay News) -- Mutations in CIZ1 may cause adult-onset primary cervical dystonia, according to a study published online Feb. 1 in the Annals of Neurology.
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Analgesic Use After Surgery Linked to Long-Term Use
THURSDAY, March 15 (HealthDay News) -- Older patients prescribed opioids or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for pain relief after short-stay surgery appear to be at increased risk for becoming long-term analgesic users, according to a study published in the March 12 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Personal Mobile Computers Improve Resident Efficiency
WEDNESDAY, March 14 (HealthDay News) -- The use of personal mobile computers (Apple iPads) by internal medicine residents improves efficiency, according to a research letter published in the March 12 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Higher Spending by Hospitals Improves Outcomes
TUESDAY, March 13 (HealthDay News) -- Hospitals that are part of the universal health care system in Canada that spend more on inpatient care have lower rates of deaths and hospital readmissions, according to a study published in the March 14 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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U.S. Mortality Rates Dropped 60 Percent From 1935 to 2010
TUESDAY, March 13 (HealthDay News) -- From 1935 to 2010, the death rate in the United States decreased considerably, although the single-year improvements in mortality were often small, according to a March data brief issued by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
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Poor Survival of Metal-on-Metal Total Hip Replacement
TUESDAY, March 13 (HealthDay News) -- For total hip replacement (THR), metal-on-metal stemmed articulations have poor survival rates compared with alternatives, such as metal-on-polyethylene and ceramic-on-ceramic, according to a review published online March 13 in The Lancet.
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Flu Vaccine Up Among Medical Staff When They Believe It Works
FRIDAY, March 9 (HealthDay News) -- Hospital health care workers (HCWs) are more likely to receive the seasonal influenza vaccination if they believe it works and are committed to preventing this highly contagious virus, according to research published in the April issue of Occupational & Environmental Medicine.
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Race and Socioeconomic Status Linked to Chronic Pain
FRIDAY, March 9 (HealthDay News) -- Chronic pain is worse for black patients and for those living in a neighborhood with low socioeconomic status (SES), according to research published in the February issue of The Journal of Pain.
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Surrogates Tend to Misinterpret Poor Prognosis Information
FRIDAY, March 9 (HealthDay News) -- Surrogate decision makers for critically ill patients interpret prognostic statements expressing a low risk of death accurately, but interpret statements conveying poor prognosis optimistically, according to a study published in the March 6 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Tibial Trabecular Bone Texture Predicts OA Progression
THURSDAY, March 8 (HealthDay News) -- Changes in medial and lateral trabecular bone texture can predict joint space narrowing (JSN) and progression of knee osteoarthritis (OA), according to research published in the March issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.
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ENB-0040 Shows Promise for Hypophosphatasia in Children
THURSDAY, March 8 (HealthDay News) -- For infants and children with hypophosphatasia, treatment with ENB-0040, a bone-targeted, recombinant human tissue-nonspecific isozyme of alkaline phosphatase (TNSALP), is associated with healing of rickets and improved pulmonary and physical function, according to an open-label study published in the March 8 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Buprenorphine Maintenance Therapy Not Recommended
THURSDAY, March 8 (HealthDay News) -- Opioid substitution therapy with buprenorphine is not recommended for opioid-addicted health care professionals (HCPs), according to research published in the March issue of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
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Classification Criteria Help ID Polymyalgia Rheumatica
WEDNESDAY, March 7 (HealthDay News) -- Provisional classification criteria have been established to discriminate polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) from conditions which mimic PMR, according to a study published in the April issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.
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Financial Burden of Medical Care Affects One in Three
WEDNESDAY, March 7 (HealthDay News) -- In the first half of 2011, one in three individuals was in a family that experienced the financial burden of medical care in the United States, according to the results of the National Health Interview Survey published March 7 by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
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Double Gloving Prevents Exposure to Pathogens in OR
WEDNESDAY, March 7 (HealthDay News) -- Double gloving during surgery reduces the risk for transmission of bloodborne pathogens to medical personnel as well as minimizing the transfer of health care-associated infections to patients, according to a study published in the March issue of the AORN Journal.
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Vitamin D May Reduces Stress Fractures in Adolescent Girls
TUESDAY, March 6 (HealthDay News) -- High intake of vitamin D is associated with a reduced risk of stress fractures in adolescent girls, particularly for those who engage in high-impact activity, according to a study published online March 5 in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
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Incidence, Risk Factors ID'd for Proximal Junctional Kyphosis
THURSDAY, March 1 (HealthDay News) -- Pre-existing and perioperative factors may trigger proximal junctional kyphosis (PJK) in about 22 percent of patients with adult idiopathic scoliosis who undergo long instrumented spinal fusion surgery, according to a study published online Feb. 21 in Spine.
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