Negative pressure wound therapy with intermittent irrigation for treatment of post-traumatic giant abscess: A case report.

Introduction: Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT), also called vacuum-assisted closure, is an adjunctive therapy used to manage open wounds that apply subatmospheric pressure to the wound surface. The therapeutic effects of NPWT are exerted by stabilizing the wound environment, increasing blood flow, and macro-deformation of wounds that initiate granulation tissue formation.

Case Presentation: We present a case of a 28-year-old Caucasian male who developed a giant non-resolving hepatic abscess secondary to a gunshot wound (GSW) to the upper right abdomen.

Accuracy of Internet-Based Patient Self-Report of Postdischarge Health Care Utilization and Complications Following Orthopedic Procedures: Observational Cohort Study.

Background: The accuracy of patient self-report of health care utilization and complications has yet to be determined. If patients are accurate and engaged self-reporters, collecting this information in a manner that is temporally proximate to the health care utilization events themselves may prove valuable to health care organizations undertaking quality improvement initiatives for which such data are often unavailable.

Objective: The objective of this study was to measure the accuracy of patient self-report of health care utilization and complications in the 90 days following orthopedic procedures using an automated digital patient engagement platform.

Effectiveness of an Automated Digital Remote Guidance and Telemonitoring Platform on Costs, Readmissions, and Complications After Hip and Knee Arthroplasties.

Background: The impact of a new class of automated digital patient engagement (DPE) platforms on potentially avoidable costs, hospital admissions, and complications after discharge following hip and knee arthroplasties has not been established.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter observational cohort study comparing claims data for potentially avoidable costs, hospital admissions, and complications for 90 days after discharge following hip and knee arthroplasties at 10 practice sites in CA and NV. One hundred eighty-six patients, enrolled between 2014 and 2016 on an automated DPE platform receiving guidance and remote monitoring perioperatively, were compared with 372 patients who underwent the same procedures from the same physicians within 3 years immediately preceding platform implementation.

Early Trends Among Seven Recommendations From the Choosing Wisely Campaign.

Importance: The Choosing Wisely campaign consists of more than 70 lists produced by specialty societies of medical practices or procedures of minimal clinical benefit to patients in most situations, with recommendations regarding judicious use.

Objective: To quantify the frequency and trends of some of the earliest Choosing Wisely recommendations using nationwide commercial health plan population-level data.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Retrospective analysis of claims data for members of Anthem-affiliated commercial health plans.

Impression trifecta: three tools and tips for better impressions.

This article will cover three current techniques and tools available for taking dental impressions. The 5th Hand lip and check retractor to capture the fold, Dam-it post dam membrane to prevent gagging and the Occlusal Sweep to force impression material onto the occlusal surfaces of the teeth. All three together ensure accurate perfect impressions.

Surgical management of complications after hearing aid fitting.

Objectives: Standard procedures for hearing aid fitting performed in accordance with established guidelines are well tolerated, safe, and effective. In this article, we present unusual complications after hearing aid fitting that required surgical management.

Methods: Four otologists at a major university center with a combined 65 years of experience performed a retrospective analysis of their surgical practice.

Prevalence and patterns of concomitant use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and other antidepressants in a high-cost polypharmacy cohort.

Background: Concomitant antidepressant therapy for patients who do not respond to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may be appropriate under close medical supervision. However, little is known about the prevalence or patterns of concurrent antidepressant therapy in a typical large health maintenance organization.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of concomitant SSRI-antidepressant therapy and to assess the relationship between concomitant SSRI therapy, patient demographic characteristics, and the use of multiple prescribers and pharmacies.