Beware of the Film Findings!: Low Back Pain Patients and Healthy Volunteers Have A Similar X-Ray Appearance.

Low back pain (LBP) affects 20 to 30% of the United States general population, making it the fifth most common reason for all physician visits in the U.S. The resultant financial burden on the U.

Lumbar drainage for the treatment of severe bacterial meningitis.

Objective: To assess the safety and effectiveness of lumbar drains as adjuvant therapy in severe bacterial meningitis, and compare it to standard treatment.

Design: A retrospective cohort study of all patients above the age of 18 years with bacterial meningitis and altered mental status admitted to the Montreal Neurological Hospital Intensive Care Unit from January 2000 to December 2010.

Patients: Thirty-seven patients were identified using clinical and cerebrospinal fluid criteria.

Lumbar spinal stenosis: treatment options for an aging population.

The fastest growing age group in the United States is the 45 and older population. Due to the nature of the aging lumbar spine, a significant majority of this population will experience low back pain (LBP) and symptoms associated with lumbar spinal stenosis. Accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment is required if this particular aging group of our population is to maintain an active and productive life into their later years.

Jaw bite force measurement device.

We describe a cost-effective device that uses an off-the-shelf force transducer to measure patient bite force as a diagnostic aid in determining dental implant size, number of implants, and prosthetic design for restoring partial edentulism. The main advantages of the device are its accuracy, simplicity, modularity, ease of manufacturing, and low cost.