Screening for Deep Vein Thrombosis in Persons With COVID-19 Upon Admission to an Inpatient Rehabilitation Hospital.

Objective: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of deep venous thrombosis detected by duplex screening and risk factors associated with deep venous thrombosis in patients with COVID-19 upon admission to an inpatient rehabilitation hospital.

Design: This is a retrospective review.

Setting: The setting is three freestanding inpatient rehabilitation hospitals operating as one system.

Long-Term Acute Care Hospitals Extend ICU Capacity for COVID-19 Response and Recovery.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented novel challenges for the entire health-care continuum, requiring transformative changes to hospital and post-acute care, including clinical, administrative, and physical modifications to current standards of operations. Innovative use and adaptation of long-term acute care hospitals (LTACHs) can safely and effectively care for patients during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A framework for the rapid changes, including increasing collaboration with external health-care organizations, creating new methods for enhanced communication, and modifying processes focused on patient safety and clinical outcomes, is described for a network of 94 LTACHs.

Screening Testing for SARS-CoV-2 upon Admission to Rehabilitation Hospitals in a High COVID-19 Prevalence Community.

Background: While planning for the care of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients during the pandemic crisis has dominated the focus of leaders of inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs), patients with injuries/illnesses unrelated to COVID-19 continue to need inpatient rehabilitation admission. To maintain a safe environment for all patients and staff, we established an admission screening plan of testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to determine the presence of asymptomatic patients who were infected with the virus upon admission.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of patients who test positive for SARS-CoV-2 but were presumed to be COVID-19 negative at the time of admission to IRF in New Jersey.

Optimizing laboratory test utilization in long-term acute care hospitals.

Laboratory tests can be considered inappropriate if overused or when repeated, unnecessary "routine" testing occurs. For chronically critically ill patients treated in long-term acute care hospitals (LTACHs), inappropriate testing may result in unnecessary blood draws that could potentially harm patients or increase infections. A quality improvement initiative was designed to increase physician awareness of their patterns of lab utilization in the LTACH environment.

Low-grade elastic compression regimen for venous leg ulcers--an effective compromise for patients requiring daily dressing changes.

Venous leg ulcers (VLUs) affect millions of patients worldwide and are a tremendous financial burden on our health care system. The hallmark of venous disease of the lower extremities is venous hypertension, and compression is the current mainstay of treatment. However, many patients are non-compliant, partly because of the complexity of the dressings and the difficulties with application and removal.

Ultrasound evaluation of arthroscopic full-thickness supraspinatus rotator cuff repair: single-row versus double-row suture bridge (transosseous equivalent) fixation. Results of a prospective, randomized study.

Background: The purpose of this study was to compare the structural outcomes of a single-row rotator cuff repair and double-row suture bridge fixation after arthroscopic repair of a full-thickness supraspinatus rotator cuff tear.

Material And Methods: We evaluated with diagnostic ultrasound a consecutive series of ninety shoulders in ninety patients with full-thickness supraspinatus tears at an average of 10 months (range, 6-12) after operation. A single surgeon at a single hospital performed the repairs.

Wound edge biopsy sites in chronic wounds heal rapidly and do not result in delayed overall healing of the wounds.

Wound biopsies are an essential diagnostic component in the management of chronic wounds. First, the possibility of malignancy or infection in the wound often requires sampling of the wound edge and its bed. Secondly, several practice guidelines recommend biopsying wounds that have not responded to treatment after 2-6 weeks.

Is there a role for consolidative stereotactic body radiation therapy following first-line systemic therapy for metastatic lung cancer? A patterns-of-failure analysis.

Introduction: The pattern of failure (POF) after first-line systemic therapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is unknown. We evaluate the POF in this setting to estimate the potential value of consolidative stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT).

Materials And Methods: The records of consecutive NSCLC patients presenting to the University of Colorado, Denver (UCD) between January 2005 and June 2008 were reviewed.

The arthroscopic square knot: fiction or fact?

The square knot is the gold standard for open surgical knot tying. One criticism of arthroscopic shoulder surgery is that arthroscopic knots are not as secure as square knots tied during traditional open surgery. In this brief technical note, we describe a simple technique for tying arthroscopic square knots that the senior members of our group have been using in clinical practice for several years with successful results.

Completeness in the reporting of dermatologic adverse drug reactions associated with monoclonal antibody epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors in phase II and III colorectal cancer clinical trials.

The epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors cetuximab and panitumumab have demonstrated activity against colorectal cancer (CRC), with decreased systemic toxicities compared with cytotoxic chemotherapy. However, most patients experience dermatologic adverse drug reactions (dADRs). Our study examines completeness of reporting of dADRs to cetuximab and panitumumab in clinical trials for CRC.

Glenoid component insertion in total shoulder arthroplasty: comparison of three techniques for drying the glenoid before cementation.

This prospective randomized study compared the immediate postoperative periglenoid radiolucencies among 3 glenoid-drying techniques used in total shoulder arthroplasty. Seventy-one consecutive patients with primary osteoarthritis underwent total shoulder arthroplasty by use of 1 prosthetic system with convex-back, keeled, polyethylene glenoid components; the same modern, instrumented pressurization technique was used to cement all glenoids. Of the shoulders, 21 had glenoid implants cemented after bony preparation with thrombin-soaked gel foam, 24 after compressed gas lavage, and 26 after saline solution lavage with sponge drying.

The arthroscopic square knot: a biomechanical comparison with open and arthroscopic knots.

Purpose: To compare the loop and knot security of arthroscopic square knots with other arthroscopic and open knots with the use of 2 commonly used suture types.

Methods: Five knot configurations were tested 12 times each. The arthroscopic square knot was compared with the open square knot, arthroscopic and open half hitches with alternating posts, and the Duncan loop.

Involvement of glutamate in ischemic neurodegeneration in isolated retina.

Retinal ischemia, a major cause of visual loss, is believed to result from overexcitation of glutamate receptors. However, under euglycemic and normoxic conditions, exogenously applied glutamate is not neurotoxic in the retina. Under such conditions, exogenous glutamate typically causes glia swelling and requires very high concentrations to produce neurotoxicity.

Glutamate transporters and retinal excitotoxicity.

Glutamate appears to play a major role in several degenerative retinal disorders. However, exogenous glutamate is only weakly toxic to the retina when glutamate transporters on Müller glial cells are operational. In an ex vivo rat retinal preparation, we previously found that exogenous glutamate causes Müller cell swelling but does not trigger excitotoxic neurodegeneration unless very high concentrations that overwhelm the capacity of glutamate transporters are administered.

Asthma screening of high school athletes: identifying the undiagnosed and poorly controlled.

Background: It is believed that there are many high school-age athletes who have undiagnosed asthma or exercise-induced asthma (EIA). The screening of these athletes for EIA will allow them to be identified and treated.

Objectives: 1) To obtain reliable peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) measurements and administer questionnaires to high school-age athletes to evaluate their asthma risk.

Arthroscopic treatment of multidirectional glenohumeral instability: 2- to 5-year follow-up.

PURPOSE: We present the results of a prospective study evaluating arthroscopic technique in repairing multidirectional glenohumeral instability. Type of Study: Case series. METHODS: The 47 patient study group consisted of 26 men and 21 women.

Arthroscopic treatment of bidirectional glenohumeral instability: two- to five-year follow-up.

This investigation presents the results of arthroscopic repair of bidirectional (inferior with either an anterior or a posterior component) glenohumeral instability in 54 patients with 2-year minimum follow-up. The study group consisted of 43 males and 11 females. The average age at the time of operation was 32 years (range, 15-55 years); the average interval from operation to final evaluation was 34 months (range, 26-63 months).

Arthroscopic treatment of anterior-inferior glenohumeral instability. Two to five-year follow-up.

Background: Previous studies on arthroscopic treatment of anterior-inferior glenohumeral instability have focused on the repair of lesions of the anterior-inferior aspect of the labrum (Bankart lesions) and have demonstrated failure rates of as high as 50 percent. The current investigation supports the concept that anterior-inferior instability is associated with multiple lesions and that success rates can be increased by treating all of the lesions at the time of the operation. We present the results of arthroscopic treatment of anterior-inferior gleno-humeral instability after a minimum duration of followup of two years.

Arthroscopic biceps tenodesis: operative technique.

Biceps tenodesis is indicated for partial biceps tendon tears or biceps tendon subluxation. We present our technique for arthroscopic biceps tenodesis.

Caring for people with developmental disabilities: survey of nurses about their education and experience.

Over 500 nurses in New Jersey responded to a survey on education and training in the area of developmental disabilities. Respondents provided information on their work experience, experience with patients who have developmental disabilities, and opportunities for continuing medical education. Results showed that although many nurses thought educational activities related to developmental disabilities were important, only about 10% said that they received "a lot" of training.

Comparison of rat retinal fixation techniques: chemical fixation and microwave irradiation.

In histological studies using retinas, eyes are commonly fixed with aldehyde derivatives administered by immersion or perfusion. However, the histology of rat retinas chemically fixed as a whole eye is typically inferior to the histology of retinas that are immediately fixed after acute dissection from the rest of the eye. Chemical fixation without dissection often results in neuronal swelling resembling excitotoxic damage induced by ischemia because the retina is protected by the sclera and is thus poorly accessible to immersion or perfusion fixation techniques.