Hospital variation in admissions for low back pain following an emergency department presentation: a retrospective study.

Background: One in 6 patients with low back pain (LBP) presenting to emergency departments (EDs) are subsequently admitted to hospital each year, making LBP the ninth most common reason for hospital admission in Australia. No studies have investigated and quantified the extent of clinical variation in hospital admission following an ED presentation for LBP.

Methods: We used routinely collected ED data from public hospitals within the state of New South Wales, Australia, to identify presentations of patients aged between 18 and 111 with a discharge diagnosis of LBP.

Feasibility of the A-STEP for the assessment of exercise capacity in people with cystic fibrosis.

Objectives: To evaluate feasibility of the Alfred Step Test Exercise Protocol (A-STEP) for the assessment of exercise capacity in adults and children with cystic fibrosis (CF); in adults to test whether demographics and/or lung function correlated with exercise capacity.

Methods: Adults and children with stable CF from two centres completed the A-STEP (a recently developed incremental maximal-effort step test). Feasibility was evaluated by: usefulness for exercise capacity assessment (measures of exercise capacity were: level reached, exercise-induced desaturation, and achievement of at least one maximal effort criteria); safety; operational factors; time to complete; floor and/or ceiling effects.

Protocol for a process evaluation: face-to-face physiotherapy compared with a supported home exercise programme for the management of musculoskeletal conditions: the REFORM trial.

Introduction: The REFORM (REhabilitation FOR Musculoskeletal conditions) trial is a non-inferiority randomised controlled trial (n=210) designed to determine whether a supported home exercise programme is as good or better than a course of face-to-face physiotherapy for the management of some musculoskeletal conditions. The trial is currently being conducted across Sydney government hospitals in Australia. This process evaluation will run alongside the REFORM trial.

Feasibility, Usability, and Implementation Context of an Internet-Based Pain Education and Exercise Program for Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: Pilot Trial of the ReabilitaDOR Program.

Background: Internet-based self-management programs and telerehabilitation initiatives have increased and have been extensively used for delivering health care in many areas. These programs overcome common barriers that patients face with traditional face-to-face health care, such as travel expenditures, lack of time, and high demand on the public health system. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this mode of web-based health care delivery had become more popular.

General practitioner experiences using a low back pain management booklet aiming to decrease non-indicated imaging for low back pain.

Background: Imaging is overused in the management of low back pain, resulting in overdiagnosis, increased healthcare utilisation, and increased costs. Few effective interventions to decrease inappropriate use have been developed and have typically not been developed using behaviour change theory. An intervention to reduce non-indicated imaging for low back pain was developed using behavioural change theory, incorporating a novel low back pain management booklet to facilitate patient education and reassurance.

Physiotherapists' attitudes, views, and beliefs about Choosing Wisely recommendations: A qualitative study.

Objective: Explore physiotherapists' attitudes, views, and beliefs towards the Australian Physiotherapy Association's (APA) Choosing Wisely recommendations.

Design: Qualitative interview study.

Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with physiotherapists who were registered to practise in Australia.

Effectiveness of clinical dashboards as audit and feedback or clinical decision support tools on medication use and test ordering: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

Background: Clinical dashboards used as audit and feedback (A&F) or clinical decision support systems (CDSS) are increasingly adopted in healthcare. However, their effectiveness in changing the behavior of clinicians or patients is still unclear. This systematic review aims to investigate the effectiveness of clinical dashboards used as CDSS or A&F tools (as a standalone intervention or part of a multifaceted intervention) in primary care or hospital settings on medication prescription/adherence and test ordering.

National Clinical Programme for Eating Disorders: a pragmatic review of a new national eating disorder service in Ireland.

Objective: The Health Service Executive National Clinical Programme for Eating Disorders (NCPED) launched a Model of Care for Eating Disorder Services in Ireland in 2018. Currently, one adult and two child and adolescent eating disorder services are operational out of a total of sixteen recommended. The three objectives of this paper are to describe the early (1) referral pattern, (2) level of service activity and (3) the level of service user satisfaction.

Paramedic care for back pain: A review of Australian and New Zealand clinical practice guidelines.

Background: Back pain is one of the most common reasons for a person to call an ambulance service, yet how ambulance services manage back pain has not been described.

Methods: Australian-state and New Zealand ambulance service jurisdiction websites were searched between 25th January to 3rd February 2022. Pain management guidelines were included where no specific back pain guideline was found.

Effect of diagnostic labelling on management intentions for non-specific low back pain: A randomized scenario-based experiment.

Background: Diagnostic labels may influence treatment intentions. We examined the effect of labelling low back pain (LBP) on beliefs about imaging, surgery, second opinion, seriousness, recovery, work, and physical activities.

Methods: Six-arm online randomized experiment with blinded participants with and without LBP.

The available evidence on the effectiveness of 10 common approaches to the management of non-specific low back pain: An evidence map.

Background And Objective: Low back pain is common and remains one of the leading causes of disability globally. This study aimed to develop an evidence map of the quantity of available evidence assessing approaches to manage low back pain, to identify potential redundancies or gaps in the synthesized data, and guide future research focus.

Databases And Data Treatment: MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL and CINAHL were searched to March 2022 for systematic reviews assessing the effectiveness of 10 guideline-recommended approaches to manage low back pain.

The relationships between school children's wellbeing, socio-economic disadvantage and after-school activities: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Lower socioeconomic status is associated with poorer wellbeing among children. Identifying how children participate in after-school activities and how after-school activities are associated with wellbeing may inform interventions to improve wellbeing among children from low socioeconomic backgrounds. This study explored whether children's after-school activities varied by socioeconomic status and examined the associations between after-school activities and wellbeing in low socioeconomic status children.

The impact of a patient decision aid on intention to undergo surgery for subacromial pain syndrome: An online randomised controlled trial.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of a patient decision aid for people considering shoulder surgery.

Methods: Participants with shoulder pain considering shoulder surgery (n = 425) were recruited online and randomised to (i) a decision aid outlining the benefits and harms of shoulder surgery and non-surgical options (then randomised to a side-by-side vs. top-and-bottom display of options); and (ii) general information about shoulder pain from the NHS.

Design, mechanical and degradation requirements of biodegradable metal mesh for pelvic floor reconstruction.

Pelvic organ prolapse is the herniation of surrounding tissue and organs into the vagina and/or rectum and is a result of the weakening of pelvic floor muscles, connective tissue, and fascia. It is widely accepted that 50% of women will develop prolapse, with the prevalence increasing with age, and up to 10-20% of those seek evaluation for their condition. Suture repairs of pelvic floor defects are associated with a high failure rate, and permanent meshes were introduced to reduce the recurrence rate.

Is levator ani avulsion a risk factor for prolapse recurrence? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction And Hypothesis: Levator ani muscle avulsion as a risk factor for prolapse recurrence is not well established. This systematic review was aimed at evaluating the correlation between levator ani avulsion and postoperative prolapse recurrence with meta-analysis, specifically, the risk of subjective or objective prolapse recurrence and reoperation.

Methods: The protocol was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (registration number CRD42021256675).

Adding Physical Activity Coaching and an Activity Monitor Was No More Effective Than Adding an Attention Control Intervention to Group Exercise for Patients With Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain (PAyBACK Trial): A Randomized Trial.

Objective: To investigate whether adding physical activity coaching and an activity monitor enhanced the effects of a group exercise program on pain intensity and disability for people with chronic nonspecific low back pain.

Design: Randomized controlled trial with concealed allocation, intention-to-treat analysis, and blinding of participants and assessors.

Methods: One hundred sixty participants with chronic nonspecific low back pain who were aged between 18 and 60 years and seeking care at an outpatient physiotherapy clinic participated.

Deciphering radiological stable disease to immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Background: 'Stable disease (SD)' as per RECIST is a common but ambiguous outcome in patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). This study aimed to characterize SD and identify the subset of patients with SD who are benefiting from treatment. Understanding SD would facilitate drug development and improve precision in correlative research.

Gamification in a Physical Activity App: What Gamification Features Are Being Used, by Whom, and Does It Make a Difference?

Gamification is purported to enhance engagement with health behavior apps, ultimately improving their effectiveness. This study aimed to examine (1) whether the inclusion of gamification features in a physical activity smartphone app was associated with improved app usage and goal adherence, describe (2) use of the gamification features, and (3) by whom, and determine (4) whether engagement was associated with increased physical activity. Data from community-dwelling adult participants (mean age 42.

Process intensification of element extraction using centrifugal contactors in the nuclear fuel cycle.

This review focuses on consolidating solvent extraction performed in the process intensification equipment known as Centrifugal Contactors (CCs), implemented in Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) reprocessing and radioactive waste processing. Recovery of valuable actinides is important from sustainability perspectives as it is a source of metals of technological interest from SNF, specifically the recovery of fissile and fertile material, and can also be employed in the processing of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). Solvent extraction (also referred to as liquid-liquid extraction, or aqueous separation), is employed in the separation of f-block elements and fission products in SNF.

Continued opioid use following an emergency department presentation for low back pain.

Objective: To investigate the proportion of patients with low back pain who receive an opioid analgesic prescription on hospital discharge, the proportion using opioid analgesics 4 weeks after discharge, and to identify predictors of continued opioid analgesic use at 4 weeks after an ED presentation in opioid-naïve patients.

Methods: An observational cohort study nested within a randomised controlled trial in four EDs in New South Wales, Australia. Participants were adults who presented to the ED with non-specific low back pain or low back pain with lower limb neurological signs and symptoms.

Complications and outcomes of posterior fossa decompression with duraplasty versus without duraplasty for pediatric patients with Chiari malformation type I and syringomyelia: a study from the Park-Reeves Syringomyelia Research Consortium.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine differences in complications and outcomes between posterior fossa decompression with duraplasty (PFDD) and without duraplasty (PFD) for the treatment of pediatric Chiari malformation type I (CM1) and syringomyelia (SM).

Methods: The authors used retrospective and prospective components of the Park-Reeves Syringomyelia Research Consortium database to identify pediatric patients with CM1-SM who received PFD or PFDD and had at least 1 year of follow-up data. Preoperative, treatment, and postoperative characteristics were recorded and compared between groups.

LINC00355 regulates p27 expression by binding to MENIN to induce proliferation in late-stage relapse breast cancer.

Late-stage relapse (LSR) in patients with breast cancer (BC) occurs more than five years and up to 10 years after initial treatment and has less than 30% 5-year relative survival rate. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in BC yet have not been studied in LSR BC. Here, we identify 1127 lncRNAs differentially expressed in LSR BC via transcriptome sequencing and analysis of 72 early-stage and 24 LSR BC patient tumors.