Perioperative Antidepressant Use is Associated with Symptomatic Pseudarthrosis after Lumbar Fusion.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort.

Objective: To explore the relationship between symptomatic pseudoarthrosis requiring revision after lumbar fusion and antidepressant use.

Summary Of Background Data: Approximately 25% of patients undergoing spine surgery are taking antidepressants.

Stoma Complications.

Stoma-related complications are among the most common sources of perioperative morbidity in colorectal surgery. Complications can occur intraoperatively, in the immediate postoperative period, or even months to years after stoma creation. Although some will require urgent surgical intervention, most are treated nonoperatively with a combination of education, appliance adjustment, and behavioral intervention.

Over 89% of Patients Return to Work After Undergoing Arthroscopic or Open Latarjet Procedure for Anterior Shoulder Instability: A Systematic Review.

Purpose: To better define the rate of return to work in patients undergoing Latarjet surgery for anterior shoulder instability.

Methods: A systematic review was performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. PubMed, Cochrane Center Register of Controlled Trials, and Scopus were queried in October 2023 with the following keywords: ((latarjet) OR (anterior shoulder instability)) AND ((work) or (compensation)).

Ultraviolet radiation thin film dosimetry: A review of properties and applications.

Spectroradiometry, radiometry, and dosimetry are employed for the measurement of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) irradiance and non-ionizing exposure. Different types of UVR dosimeter have been developed for measuring personal and environmental UVR exposures since film dosimetry was pioneered in the 1970s. An important type of dosimeter is the thin film variant, which contains materials that undergo changes in optical absorbance when exposed to UVR.

Comparative Outcomes of Surgical and Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: A Meta-Analysis and Parametric Extrapolation of Clinical Trials.

Introduction: We aimed to pool randomized clinical trials (RCTs) comparing surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) with transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and extrapolate pooled time-to-event data to compare long-term outcomes.

Methods: An electronic database search was performed for RCTs comparing SAVR with TAVR. The most current longest follow-up data for each RCT were included.

Nonoperative Management for Rectal Cancer.

The treatment paradigm for rectal cancer has been shifting toward de-escalated approaches to preserve patient quality of life. Historically, the standard treatment in the United States for locally advanced rectal cancer has standardly comprised preoperative chemoradiotherapy coupled with total mesorectal excision. Recent data challenge this "one-size-fits-all" strategy, supporting the possibility of omitting surgery for certain patients who achieve a clinical complete response to neoadjuvant therapy.

Racial and ethnic disparities in access to total neoadjuvant therapy for rectal cancer.

Background: Total neoadjuvant therapy has revolutionized the treatment of locally advanced rectal cancer and quickly become the new standard of care. Whether patients from all racial and ethnic groups have had equal access to these potential benefits, however, remains unknown.

Methods: We identified all adults diagnosed with locally advanced rectal cancer in California who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiation from 2010 to 2020 using the California Cancer Registry.

Disparities in Access, Quality, and Clinical Outcome for Latino Californians with Colon Cancer.

Objective: To compare access, quality, and clinical outcomes between Latino and non-Latino White Californians with colon cancer.

Summary Background Data: Racial and ethnic disparities in cancer care remain understudied, particularly among patients who identify as Latino. Exploring potential mechanisms, including differential utilization of high-volume hospitals, is an essential first step to designing evidence-based policy solutions.

Methylprednisolone taper is an effective addition to multimodal pain regimens after total shoulder arthroplasty: results of a randomized controlled trial: 2022 Neer Award winner.

Background: Perioperative corticosteroids have shown potential as nonopioid analgesic adjuncts for various orthopedic pathologies, but there is a lack of research on their use in the postoperative setting after total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA). The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of a methylprednisolone taper on a multimodal pain regimen after TSA.

Methods: This study was a randomized controlled trial (clinicaltrials.

Multisensory subtypes of aphantasia: Mental imagery as supramodal perception in reverse.

Cognitive neuroscience research on mental imagery has largely focused on the visual imagery modality in unimodal task contexts. Recent studies have uncovered striking individual differences in visual imagery capacity, with some individuals reporting a subjective absence of conscious visual imagery ability altogether ("aphantasia"). However, naturalistic mental imagery is often multi-sensory, and preliminary findings suggest that many individuals with aphantasia also report a subjective lack of mental imagery in other sensory domains (such as auditory or olfactory imagery).

The impact of prior authorization review on orthopaedic subspecialty care: a prospective multicenter analysis.

Background: Prior authorization review (PAR), in the United States, is a process that was initially intended to focus on hospital admissions and costly high-acuity care. Over time, payors have broadened the scope of PAR to include imaging studies, prescriptions, and routine treatment. The potential detrimental effect of PAR on health care has recently been brought into the limelight, but its impact on orthopedic subspecialty care remains unclear.

Preoperative Depression Is Associated With Increased Complications Following Distal Radius Fracture Surgery.

Background: Depression is a known risk factor for inferior outcomes after orthopedic procedures, but its specific relationship with distal radius fractures remains unknown. This study investigates the relationship between preoperative diagnosed depression and common postoperative complications occurring within the first year after open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) for distal radius fractures.

Methods: This retrospective study used Truven MarketScan database and the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes to identify distal radius fracture patients who underwent ORIF in the United States between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2019.

Inferring local molecular dynamics from the global actin network structure: A case study of 2D synthetic branching actin networks.

Cells rely on their cytoskeleton for key processes including division and directed motility. Actin filaments are a primary constituent of the cytoskeleton. Although actin filaments can create a variety of network architectures linked to distinct cell functions, the microscale molecular interactions that give rise to these macroscale structures are not well understood.

Efficient parameter generation for constrained models using MCMC.

Mathematical models of complex systems rely on parameter values to produce a desired behavior. As mathematical and computational models increase in complexity, it becomes correspondingly difficult to find parameter values that satisfy system constraints. We propose a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) approach for the problem of constrained model parameter generation by designing a Markov chain that efficiently explores a model's parameter space.

Using Data Tools and Systems to Drive Change in Early Childhood Education for Disadvantaged Children in South Africa.

In line with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.2, South Africa's National Development Plan commits to providing high-quality early childhood education to all children by 2030 to drive improved child outcomes. Prior to 2016, South Africa lacked reliable, locally standardised, valid, and cross-culturally fair assessment tools for measuring preschool quality and child outcomes, suitable for use at scale within a resource-constrained context.

Cubital Tunnel Syndrome: Does a Consensus Exist for Diagnosis?

Purpose: Cubital tunnel syndrome (CuTS) is the second most common compressive neuropathy of the upper extremity. We aimed to determine a consensus among experts using the Delphi method for clinical criteria that could be validated further for the diagnosis of CuTS.

Methods: The Delphi method was used for establishing a consensus among a group of expert panelists, comprising 12 hand and upper-extremity surgeons, who ranked the diagnostic clinical importance of 55 items related to CuTS on a scale from 1 (least important) to 10 (most important).

Scalable Gromov-Wasserstein Based Comparison of Biological Time Series.

A time series is an extremely abundant data type arising in many areas of scientific research, including the biological sciences. Any method that compares time series data relies on a pairwise distance between trajectories, and the choice of distance measure determines the accuracy and speed of the time series comparison. This paper introduces an optimal transport type distance for comparing time series trajectories that are allowed to lie in spaces of different dimensions and/or with differing numbers of points possibly unequally spaced along each trajectory.

Does Rectoanal Intussusception Limit Improvements in Clinical Outcome and Quality of Life After Sacral Nerve Stimulation for Fecal Incontinence?

Background: Sacral nerve stimulation is a treatment option for severe, medically refractory fecal incontinence, although its use in patients with anatomic abnormalities remains controversial.

Objective: This study aimed to determine whether patients with rectoanal intussusception achieve similar benefits from device implantation to patients without rectoanal intussusception.

Design: Retrospective review of a prospectively maintained database.

A generative adversarial model of intrusive imagery in the human brain.

The mechanisms underlying the subjective experiences of mental disorders remain poorly understood. This is partly due to long-standing over-emphasis on behavioral and physiological symptoms and a de-emphasis of the patient's subjective experiences when searching for treatments. Here, we provide a new perspective on the subjective experience of mental disorders based on findings in neuroscience and artificial intelligence (AI).

Using AI and computer vision to analyze technical proficiency in robotic surgery.

Background: Intraoperative skills assessment is time-consuming and subjective; an efficient and objective computer vision-based approach for feedback is desired. In this work, we aim to design and validate an interpretable automated method to evaluate technical proficiency using colorectal robotic surgery videos with artificial intelligence.

Methods: 92 curated clips of peritoneal closure were characterized by both board-certified surgeons and a computer vision AI algorithm to compare the measures of surgical skill.