The Utility of Routine Radiographic Monitoring in Pediatric Osteoarticular Infections.

Background: Pediatric musculoskeletal (MSK) infections broadly include isolated osteomyelitis (OM), septic arthritis (SA), and combined infections (OM+SA). These diagnoses are often monitored with serum inflammatory markers and serial radiographs to monitor treatment response and development of negative sequelae, despite limited data supporting these practices. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the utility of obtaining serial radiographic follow-up for pediatric osteoarticular infections.

α-Defensin Accuracy to Diagnose Periprosthetic Joint Infection-Best Available Test?

Background: The purpose of this study was to test the accuracy of a single synovial fluid biomarker, α-defensin, in diagnosing periprosthetic joint infection in revision total hip and revision total knee arthroplasty.

Methods: A total of 102 patients comprising 116 revision total hip arthroplasty and revision total knee arthroplasty procedures performed between May 2013 and March 2014 were prospectively evaluated. Cases were categorized as infected or notinfected using Musculoskeletal Infection Society criteria.

The α1 adrenoceptor antagonist prazosin enhances sleep continuity in fear-conditioned Wistar-Kyoto rats.

Fragmentation of rapid eye movement sleep (REMS) is well described in individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and likely has significant functional consequences. Fear-conditioned rodents may offer an attractive model of the changes in sleep that characterize PTSD. Following fear conditioning (FC), Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats, a strain known to be particularly stress-sensitive, have increased REMS fragmentation that can be quantified as a shift in the distribution of REMS episodes towards the more frequent occurrence of sequential REMS (inter-REMS episode interval≤3 min) vs.