Quantifying Pain Location and Intensity with Multimodal Pain Body Diagrams.

To quantify an individual's subjective pain severity, standardized pain rating scales such as the numeric rating scale (NRS), visual analog scale (VAS), or McGill pain questionnaire (MPQ) are commonly used to assess pain on a numerical scale. However, these scales are often biased and fail to capture the complexity of pain experiences. In contrast, clinical practice often requires patients to report areas of pain by drawing on a body diagram, which is an effective but qualitative tool.

Practice Patterns in Perioperative Nonopioid Analgesic Administration by Anesthesiologists in a Veterans Affairs Hospital.

Objective: Although multimodal analgesia (MMA) is recommended for perioperative pain management, previous studies have found substantial variability in its utilization. To better understand the factors that influence anesthesiologists' choices, we assessed the associations between patient or surgical characteristics and number of nonopioid analgesic modes received intraoperatively across a variety of surgeries in a university-affiliated Veteran Affairs hospital.

Methods: We included elective inpatient surgeries (orthopedic, thoracic, spine, abdominal, and pelvic procedures) that used at least one nonopioid analgesic within a one-year period.

Thirty-day unplanned postoperative inpatient and emergency department visits following thoracotomy.

Background: Unplanned visits to the emergency department (ED) and inpatient setting are expensive and associated with poor outcomes in thoracic surgery. We assessed 30-d postoperative ED visits and inpatient readmissions following thoracotomy, a high morbidity procedure.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed inpatient and ED administrative data from California, Florida, and New York, 2010-2011.

Emergency Department Visits Following Elective Total Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery: Identifying Gaps in Continuity of Care.

Background: Major joint replacement surgical procedures are common, elective procedures with a care episode that includes both inpatient readmissions and postoperative emergency department (ED) visits. Inpatient readmissions are well studied; however, to our knowledge, little is known about ED visits following these procedures. We sought to characterize 30-day ED visits following a major joint replacement surgical procedure.

Effect of Medicare's Nonpayment Policy on Surgical Site Infections Following Orthopedic Procedures.

OBJECTIVE Orthopedic procedures are an important focus in efforts to reduce surgical site infections (SSIs). In 2008, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) stopped reimbursements for additional charges associated with serious hospital-acquired conditions, including SSI following certain orthopedic procedures. We aimed to evaluate the CMS policy's effect on rates of targeted orthopedic SSIs among the Medicare population.

Analyzing treatment aggressiveness and identifying high-risk patients in diabetic foot ulcer return to care.

Rates of diabetes and its associated comorbidities have been increasing in the United States, with diabetic foot ulcer treatment representing a large cost to the patient and healthcare system. These ulcers often result in multiple hospital admissions. This study examined readmissions following inpatient care for a diabetic foot ulcer and identified modifiable factors associated with all-cause 30-day readmissions to the inpatient or emergency department (ED) setting.

The Extracellular and Cytoplasmic Domains of Syndecan Cooperate Postsynaptically to Promote Synapse Growth at the Drosophila Neuromuscular Junction.

The heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG) Syndecan (Sdc) is a crucial regulator of synapse development and growth in both vertebrates and invertebrates. In Drosophila, Sdc binds via its extracellular heparan sulfate (HS) sidechains to the receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase LAR to promote the morphological growth of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). To date, however, little else is known about the molecular mechanisms by which Sdc functions to promote synapse growth.