Publications by authors named "J Roger Brothers"

Purpose: AIM-Back is an embedded pragmatic clinical trial (ePCT) with cluster randomization designed to increase access and compare the effectiveness of two different non-pharmacological care pathways for low back pain (LBP) delivered within the Veteran Administration Health Care System (VAHCS). This manuscript describes baseline characteristics of AIM-Back participants as well as the representativeness of those referred to the AIM-Back program by sex, age, race, and ethnicity, relative to Veterans with low back pain at participating clinics.

Participants: To be eligible for AIM-Back, Veterans were referred to the randomized pathway at their clinic by trained primary care providers (Referral cohort).

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Article Synopsis
  • The obesity epidemic has increased the need for metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) among adolescents, but there's limited data on the effectiveness of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols for improving outcomes.
  • A comprehensive ERAS pathway was implemented for adolescents undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG), focusing on pre-operative carbohydrate loading, pain management, and early mobilization; various outcome measures were tracked.
  • Results showed that the post-ERAS group had significant improvements in time to oral intake, lower usage of rescue anti-emetics, and shorter hospital stays compared to the pre-ERAS group, while overall opioid use and post-operative pain levels remained unaffected.
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Objectives: To determine the long-term outcomes among a cohort of patients with Kawasaki disease (KD) and a history of giant coronary artery aneurysms (CAAs) at a single US center.

Study Design: Medical records for all patients with KD and giant CAAs at a pediatric academic institution were reviewed. Primary outcomes included major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and normalization of CA luminal diameter, using Kaplan-Meier analyses.

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Background: Although anomalous aortic origin of a coronary artery (AAOCA) is associated with risk of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), there is a spectrum of disease, with the appropriate management for many remaining unclear. Increasing data warrant review for an updated perspective on management.

Methods: A panel of congenital cardiac surgeons, cardiologists, and imaging practitioners reviewed the current literature related to AAOCA and its management.

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Background: Homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by severely elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels due to profoundly defective LDL receptor (LDLR) function. Given that severely elevated LDL-C starts in utero, atherosclerosis often presents during childhood or adolescence, creating a largely unmet need for aggressive LDLR-independent lipid-lowering therapies in young patients with HoFH. Here we present the first evaluation of the efficacy and safety of evinacumab, a novel LDLR-independent lipid-lowering therapy, in pediatric patients with HoFH from parts A and B of a 3-part study.

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