Complications and Health Care Resource Utilization Associated with Systemic Corticosteroids in Children and Adolescents with Persistent Asthma.

Background: Limited comparative data are available on the impact of systemic corticosteroid (SCS) use in children and adolescents.

Objective: To determine if asthmatic children and adolescents treated with SCS have a higher likelihood of developing complications versus those not receiving SCS and to examine health care resource utilization (HCRU) in this population.

Methods: A retrospective study of data from children and adolescents with persistent asthma retrieved from the MarketScan database, a large US health claims data set, for the period 2000 to 2017 was performed.

Diagnosis clinical criteria of sport related concussion: Toward an operational criteria definition in France.

Objective: An expert working group was set up at the initiative of the French Ministry of Sports with the objective of harmonising the management of sport related concussion (SRC) in France, starting with its definition and diagnosis criteria.

Results: Definition: A clinical definition in 4 points have been established as follows: Concussion is a brain injury: 1) caused by a direct or indirect transmission of kinetic energy to the head; 2) resulting in an immediate and transient dysfunction of the brain characterised by at least one of the following disorders: a) Loss of consciousness, b) loss of memory, c) altered mental status, d) neurological signs; 3) possibly followed by one or more functional complaints (concussion syndrome); 4) the signs and symptoms are not explained by another cause. Diagnosis criteria: In the context of the direct or indirect transmission of kinetic energy to the head, the diagnosis of concussion may be asserted if at least one of the following signs or symptoms, observed or reported, is present within the first 24hours and not explained by another cause: 1) loss of consciousness; 2) convulsions, tonic posturing; 3) ataxia; 4) visual trouble; 5) neurological deficit; 6) confusion; 7) disorientation; 8) unusual behaviour; 9) amnesia; 10) headaches; 11) dizziness; 12) fatigue, low energy; 13) feeling slowed down, drowsiness; 14) nausea; 15) sensitivity to light/noise; 16) not feeling right, in a fog; 17) difficulty concentrating.

Burden of Nasal Polyps in the United States.

Objective: To investigate the clinical and health care burden of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) in the United States.

Study Design: Retrospective, cross-sectional design with analyses of patient visits from 2 databases.

Setting: National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS, 2012-2016) and State Ambulatory Surgery and Services Databases (SASD, 2012-2015) in available states.

Retrospective Study on the Association of Biomarkers With Real-world Outcomes of Omalizumab-treated Patients With Allergic Asthma.

Purpose: Biomarkers, including blood eosinophils (EoS) and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), may affect omalizumab outcomes in allergic asthma, but evidence in the literature remains mixed. This study assessed omalizumab outcomes in real-world patients with allergic asthma stratified by pretreatment biomarker levels.

Methods: Patients with allergic asthma aged ≥12 years initiated on omalizumab with ≥12 months of data after index were identified in the Allergy Partners electronic medical records (2007-2018).

Long-term omalizumab outcomes in chronic idiopathic urticaria: a real-world study.

Although clinical trials documented omalizumab's efficacy in U.S. patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU), the real-world evidence on its long-term effectiveness is lacking.

Impact of allergies on health-related quality of life in patients with asthma.

To estimate the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and health utilities among asthma patients with and without comorbid allergies in a managed care population. This was a retrospective analysis of patient survey responses and pharmacy claims from the Observational Study of Asthma Control and Outcomes (OSACO). Patients ≥12 years-old with persistent asthma received four identical surveys between April-2011 and December-2012.

Healthcare resource utilization, expenditures, and productivity in patients with asthma with and without allergies.

To compare healthcare resource utilization (HCRU), healthcare expenditures, and work productivity and activity impairment within a general asthma population with persistent asthma and evidence of allergy (PA-EA) and persistent asthma with no evidence of allergy (PA-NEA). We conducted a retrospective analysis of survey responses and claims from the Observational Study of Asthma Control and Outcomes (OSACO) study. Eligible patients with persistent asthma aged ≥12 years were sent four surveys over 15 months.

Medication use and indicators of poor asthma control in patients with and without allergies.

Approximately two-thirds of people with asthma have some evidence of allergy; their condition differs from nonallergic asthma in terms of predominant symptoms and clinical outcomes. To compare asthma control and medication use among patients with persistent asthma with evidence of allergy (PA-EA) and patients with persistent asthma with no evidence of allergy (PA-NEA). A retrospective analysis of survey responses and medication claims data from the Observational Study of Asthma Control and Outcomes study, a prospective survey linked to retrospective claims-based analysis of patients ages ≥ 12 years with persistent asthma in a U.

High-Force Versus Low-Force Lumbar Traction in Acute Lumbar Sciatica Due to Disc Herniation: A Preliminary Randomized Trial.

Objective: This study compared the effects of high-force versus low-force lumbar traction in the treatment of acute lumbar sciatica secondary to disc herniation.

Methods: A randomized double blind trial was performed, and 17 subjects with acute lumbar sciatica secondary to disc herniation were assigned to high-force traction at 50% body weight (BW; LT50, n = 8) or low force traction at 10% BW (LT10, n = 9) for 10 sessions in 2 weeks. Radicular pain (visual analogue scale [VAS]), lumbo-pelvic-hip complex motion (finger-to-toe test), lumbar-spine mobility (Schöber-Macrae test), nerve root compression (straight-leg-raising test), disability (EIFEL score), drug consumption, and overall evaluation of each patient were measured at days 0, 7, 1, 4, and 28.

Comparative assessment of knee extensor and flexor muscle strength measured using a hand-held vs. isokinetic dynamometer.

[Purpose] To compare measurements of knee extensor and flexor muscle strength performed using a hand-held dynamometer and an isokinetic dynamometer in apparently healthy subjects. [Subjects and Methods] Thirty adult volunteers underwent knee muscle strength evaluation using an isokinetic or a hand-held dynamometer. [Results] Strong positive correlations were found between the 2 methods, with correlation coefficients r ranging from 0.

Use of botulinum toxin type A in symptomatic accessory soleus muscle: first five cases.

Symptomatic accessory soleus muscle (ASM) can cause exercise-induced leg pain due to local nerve/vascular compression, muscle spasm, or local compartment syndrome. As intramuscular injections of botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) can reduce muscle tone and mass, we investigated whether local BTX-A injections relieve the pain associated with symptomatic ASM. We describe five patients presenting peri/retromalleolar exertional pain and a contractile muscle mass in the painful region.

Botulinum toxin as a treatment for functional popliteal artery entrapment syndrome.

Purpose: Functional popliteal artery entrapment syndrome is responsible for exercise-induced muscle leg pain. This syndrome is caused, in most of the cases, by the excessive size of the gastrocnemius muscles. Currently, its treatment is based only on surgery with variable results.

The value of nerve blocks in the diagnoses and treatment of complex regional pain syndrome type 1: a series of 14 cases.

Objectives: Complex regional pain syndrome type 1 (CRPS-1) can progress to joint stiffness, which may be related to pain and/or capsule-ligament contracture. In this context, it is difficult to distinguish the respective causative roles of pain and contractures. Nerve blocks (NBs) can be used to determine the aetiology of joint stiffness.

Intramuscular pressure before and after botulinum toxin in chronic exertional compartment syndrome of the leg: a preliminary study.

Background: Botulinum toxin A (BoNT-A) is used in the treatment of muscle hypertrophy but has never been used in chronic exertional compartment syndrome (CECS). The objective diagnostic criterion in this condition is an abnormally elevated intramuscular pressure (IMP) in the compartment. In this study, the IMP was measured 1 minute (P1) and 5 minutes (P5) after the exercise was stopped before and after BoNT-A injection.

Anterior cruciate ligament tear during the menstrual cycle in female recreational skiers.

Introduction: Women run a 4-8-fold greater risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear than men, and especially during the pre-ovulation stage of their cycle. The main study objective was to describe the distribution of ACL lesions according to menstrual cycle in a large population of female recreational skiers.

Materials And Methods: A prospective study was conducted during the 2010-11 ski season on women sustaining ACL tear during skiing.

Total knee arthroplasty in severe haemophilic patients under continuous infusion of clotting factors.

Purpose: Haemophilic arthropathy is painful, invalidating and destructive. Authors report a prospective study of total knee arthroplasties in patients with severe haemophilia under continuous infusion of clotting factors. The purpose is to evaluate the benefits of continuous infusion of clotting factors regarding long-term functional improvement and radio-clinical results.

Muscle oxygenation and intramuscular pressure related to posture and load in back muscles.

Background Context: There is little information about the simultaneous changes of intramuscular pressure (IMP) and oxygen saturation (StO(2)) of the paraspinal muscle under various conditions of posture and load.

Purpose: To measure simultaneously and compare IMP and StO(2) across a range of static trunk postures commonly observed during normal work tasks.

Study Design: A prospective study using a repeated-measure design in clinical setting.

[Secondary screening for osteoporosis in patients admitted for hip fracture to a rehabilitation center. Results of a survey].

Goals: To determine prevalence, risk factors and treatment of osteoporosis in patients with hip fracture observed in a rehabilitation ward.

Background: Hip fractures are associated with up to 20% excess mortality in the first year after fracture and cause functional disability in most survivors. Despite available risk indices and physician information, osteoporosis is still underdiagnosed and undertreated.

[The accessory soleus muscle: a report of 21 cases and a review of the literature].

Purpose Of The Study: Well known to anatomy specialists, the accessory soleus muscle was first demonstrated to be involved in painful syndromes in 1965 (Dunn). This supranumerary muscle situated in front of the calcaneum can be taken for a soft tissue tumor. The purpose of this work was to report a series of 21 patients with an accessory soleus muscle and to present the characteristic features, diagnostic methods, and treatment indications and modalities.

[Neurogenic muscle hypertrophy: imaging features in three cases and review of the literature].

Objective: To review the literature on well-documented cases of neurogenic muscle hypertrophy in order to define significant features of this disease.

Patients And Methods: The PUBMED and SCIENCE DIRECT web-sites were used to conduct an inventory of all reported cases of this disease. We entered the key-words "hypertrophy", "muscle" and "neurogenic", and found 48 articles, describing 129 cases.

Sciatica, disk herniation, and neuroborreliosis. A report of four cases.

We report four cases of sciatica in patients with same-level disk herniation confirmed by computed tomography and a final diagnosis of acute radiculitis caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, with a favorable response to ceftriaxone therapy. The neurological manifestations of Lyme disease are protean, and a potential contribution of concomitant disk disease to sciatica can lead to diagnostic wanderings. Disk lesions and infectious conditions that can cause sciatica are discussed.