Automated measurement of transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) in 96-well transwells using ECIS TEER96: Single and multiple time point assessments.

Transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) is a widely used technique for quantifying the permeability of epithelial and endothelial cell layers. However, traditional methods of measuring TEER are limited to single timepoint measurements and can subject cells to an altered environment during the measurement. Here, we assessed the validity of TEER measurements by the ECIS TEER96 device, which is designed to take continuous TEER measurements of a cell culture system in a standard laboratory incubator.

Workman's compensation as exclusion criteria in rotator cuff repair literature - are we inadvertently excluding race?

Objective: Despite an equal willingness to participate in clinical trials, there is evidence that several minority populations are systematically under-represented in studies. One potential cause and frequently used exclusionary criterion in orthopedic trials is patients with active workman's compensation (WC) insurance claims. The purpose of this study is to determine demographic differences in patients undergoing arthroscopic rotator cuff repair with commercial and government insurance vs workers compensation claims.

Predictors of Prolonged Opioid Use After Lumbar Fusion and the Effects of Opioid Use on Patient-Reported Outcome Measures.

Study Design: Retrospective case series.

Objective: To determine risk factors associated with prolonged opioid use after lumbar fusion and to elucidate the effect of opioid use on patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) after surgery.

Methods: Patients who underwent 1-3 level lumbar decompression and fusion with at least one-year follow-up were identified.

Long-segment posterior cervical decompression and fusion: does caudal level affect revision rate?

Objective: Posterior cervical decompression and fusion (PCDF) is a commonly performed procedure to address cervical myelopathy. A significant number of these patients require revision surgery for adjacent-segment disease (ASD) or pseudarthrosis. Currently, there is no consensus among spine surgeons on the inclusion of proximal thoracic spine instrumentation.

Combined Anterior Osteophytectomy and Cricopharyngeal Myotomy for Treatment of DISH-Associated Dysphagia.

Study Design: Retrospective observational case series.

Objective: To assess the outcome of patients with diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) with dysphagia who underwent cricopharyngeal myotomy (CPM) in conjunction with anterior osteophytectomy (OP).

Methods: This is a retrospective observational study of 9 patients that received combined intervention by neurosurgeons and otolaryngologists.

Preoperative Opioid Use Increases the Cost of Care in Total Joint Arthroplasty.

Introduction: Predictors of financial costs related to total joint arthroplasty (TJA) have become increasingly important becuase payment methods have shifted from fee for service to bundled payments. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between preoperative opioid use and cost of care in primary TJA.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in Medicare patients who underwent elective unilateral primary total knee or hip arthroplasty between 2015 and 2018.

Tranexamic Acid Reduces the Rate of Periprosthetic Joint Infection After Aseptic Revision Arthroplasty.

Background: Revision total joint arthroplasty (TJA) has a higher rate of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) compared with primary TJA, possibly as the result of increased allogeneic blood transfusion. Tranexamic acid (TXA) is gaining popularity in revision TJA to minimize blood loss and the need for transfusion; however, its effect on PJI reduction has yet to be investigated. The hypothesis of this study was that the administration of TXA during revision arthroplasty is protective against subsequent PJI.

Association of Renal Clearance with Cerebral White Matter Vascular Disease in Hospitalized Veterans With and Without Delirium.

Objectives: To assess the relation between renal function and delirium and to assess and compare the relation between cerebral white matter lesion (WML) and renal function as estimated by three formulas for the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in older adult hospitalized veterans with and without delirium.

Methods: Commonly used formulas to assess renal function-the four-variable Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD), the six-variable MDRD, and the Cockcroft-Gault eGFR equations-were used to assess renal function in 100 older adult hospitalized veterans with delirium (delirium group) and 100 hospitalized veterans without delirium (nondelirium group) that were age, sex, and race matched. WML location and volumes were assessed using brain computed tomography imaging for each of the 200 veterans in the study.

The fate of positive intraoperative cultures following conversion total hip arthroplasty.

Introduction: The objectives of this study are to report the rates of positive intraoperative cultures obtained during conversion total hip arthroplasty (THA) according to index surgery, and to describe the natural history of treatment for a consecutive series of patients with unexpected positive intraoperative cultures during conversion THA.

Methods: We reviewed all patients at 2 institutions undergoing conversion THA from prior open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) of acetabular and hip fractures or hemiarthroplasty for displaced femoral neck fractures from 2011 to 2018. Intraoperative cultures were taken in 105 patients.

Veterans in substance abuse treatment program self-initiate box gardening as a stress reducing therapeutic modality.

Objectives: To assess the experiences of a veteran initiated horticultural therapy garden during their 28-day inpatient Substance Abuse Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (SARRTP).

Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC), Salem, Virginia, USA INTERVENTIONS: Group interviews with veterans from the last SARRTP classes and individual interviews with VAMC greenhouse staff in summer of 2016.

Beyond the Matrix: The Many Non-ECM Ligands for Integrins.

The traditional view of integrins portrays these highly conserved cell surface receptors as mediators of cellular attachment to the extracellular matrix (ECM), and to a lesser degree, as coordinators of leukocyte adhesion to the endothelium. These canonical activities are indispensable; however, there is also a wide variety of integrin functions mediated by non-ECM ligands that transcend the traditional roles of integrins. Some of these unorthodox roles involve cell-cell interactions and are engaged to support immune functions such as leukocyte transmigration, recognition of opsonization factors, and stimulation of neutrophil extracellular traps.

Cocaine Abuse, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Preexisting Brain Lesions as Risk Factors for Bupropion-Associated Psychosis.

Background And Objective: Bupropion is generally considered safe and is widely used both as a monotherapy and as an augmentation agent for the treatment of major depression. Concerns have been raised about bupropion's propensity to precipitate new psychosis and worsen existing psychotic symptoms, although the mechanism is poorly understood. Three cases are reported in which bupropion use was associated with psychosis.

Association of White Matter Lesions, Cerebral Atrophy, Intracranial Extravascular Calcifications, and Ventricular-Communicating Hydrocephalus with Delirium Among Veterans.

Objectives: The literature regarding the underlying neuropathogenesis of delirium on head computed tomography (CT) is limited. The aim of this research was to investigate, using case-control retrospective chart review, the association of white matter lesions (WML), cerebral atrophy, intracranial extravascular calcifications, and ventricular-communicating hydrocephalus in older adult military veterans with and without delirium hospitalized in a Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Methods: Head CT scans were examined for WML, atrophy, and intracranial extravascular calcifications globally in the cortex, subcortex (frontal, temporal, parietal, occipital lobes), basal ganglia (globus pallidus, caudate, putamen), and internal capsule, in addition to the presence of ventricular-communicating hydrocephalus.

Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Nightmares at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

The effectiveness of medications for PTSD in general has been well studied, but the effectiveness of medicatio.ns prescribed specifically for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) nightmares is less well known. This retrospective chart review examined the efficacy of various medications used in actual treatment of PTSD nightmares at one Veteran Affairs Hospital.

PTSD in Combat Veterans With Cognitive Decline.

Patients may exhibit posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms prior to the onset of dementia or uncover long quiescent symptoms of the disease, adding to the challenge of treating this population.

Horticultural therapy: a pilot study on modulating cortisol levels and indices of substance craving, posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and quality of life in veterans.

Context: Horticultural therapy (HT) is a subgroup of occupational therapy (OT). Both HT and OT have been successful as adjunctive treatment modalities in substance abuse treatment. Studies have indicated that gardening promotes neuroendocrine and affective restoration from stress.

Comparison of advance medical directive inquiry and documentation for hospital inpatients in three medical services: implications for policy changes.

Following the introduction of the Patient Self-Determination Act of 1990, the Veterans Health Administration developed its own advance medical directive (AMD) policy, which most recently states that documentation is mandatory for all hospital patients in all settings. The object of this study was to assess the effectiveness of AMD documentation at a local Veterans Affairs Medical Center. AMD documentation was compared among three inpatient services: surgery, medicine, and psychiatry.

Can improved intra- and inter-team communication reduce missed delirium?

To assess the prevalence and the team interaction in cases of missed delirium in acute care veterans coded as not having a diagnosis of delirium in admission or discharge notes. In this retrospective study, the records of 183 hospitalized veterans admitted to the emergency department (ED), medicine, surgery and psychiatry services and coded as not having a diagnosis of delirium were analyzed. Clinical notes of each case were examined using DSM IV TR criteria for delirium.

Case reports of neuroleptic malignant syndrome in context of quetiapine use.

A retrospective analysis was followed on 20 case reports covering the possible correlation between the atypical antipsychotic, quetiapine, and neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS), determined by the study of 7 different NMS criteria guidelines. A great majority (19) of the case studies did not meet the requirements of all 7 guidelines, frequently due to unreported information. Nor was quetiapine proven to be the sole cause of the possible NMS in the two age groups investigated.

What is the evidence to support the use of therapeutic gardens for the elderly?

Horticulture therapy employs plants and gardening activities in therapeutic and rehabilitation activities and could be utilized to improve the quality of life of the worldwide aging population, possibly reducing costs for long-term, assisted living and dementia unit residents. Preliminary studies have reported the benefits of horticultural therapy and garden settings in reduction of pain, improvement in attention, lessening of stress, modulation of agitation, lowering of as needed medications, antipsychotics and reduction of falls. This is especially relevant for both the United States and the Republic of Korea since aging is occurring at an unprecedented rate, with Korea experiencing some of the world's greatest increases in elderly populations.

Salem VAMC-U.S. Army Fort Bragg Warrior Transition Clinic telepsychiatry collaboration: 12-month operation clinical perspective.

Objective: To describe the clinical experience in the first Veterans Affairs (VA)-U.S. Army Warrior Transition Clinic (WTC) telepsychiatry operation (September 2008-August 2009).

Risperidone for post-traumatic combat nightmares: a report of four cases.

Objective: To report the response to low-dose risperidone in individuals with combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) combat nightmares.

Design: Case series.

Setting: Veterans Affairs Medical Center Mental Health Clinic and collaborative VA-U.

Bupropion-induced psychosis: folklore or a fact? A systematic review of the literature.

Objective: Bupropion is a substituted phenyl-ethylamine that is extensively utilized for the treatment of major depressive disorder and for smoking cessation. It is a reuptake inhibitor of dopamine and norepinephrine, and it also has some nicotinic antagonism. There are concerns that it may increase the risk of psychosis due to its dopaminergic effects.