Characterization of standard work tools for intrathecal baclofen therapy.

Purpose: Intrathecal baclofen (ITB) has been an effective therapy since the 1980s, with widely reported revision, infection, and complication rates. Publications targeting surgical workflow have resulted in decreased infection and revision rates, but a standard workflow for the entire pathway has not been described. To present, define, and test standard work tools for patients receiving ITB to promote uniformity and standard of care in the field.

Effect of discontinuing TNFalpha antagonist therapy in patients with remission of rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the time to relapse after tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) antagonist discontinuation in patients with remission of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Among 304 patients taking TNFalpha antagonist therapy for RA, 21 achieved a remission and were taken off the TNFalpha antagonist. Remission was defined as DAS28<2.

Clinical follow-up of 50 patients treated by percutaneous lumbar discectomy.

A series of 50 patients presenting with lumbar discogenic disease, and treated by percutaneous discectomy using the Dekompressor system (Stryker, Kalamazoo, MI, USA), were followed for more than 6 months, by analyzing the evolution of the painful symptomatology with the visual analog scale (VAS) system. All patients had been under treatment with analgesic or anti-inflammatory agents. The intensity of the pain was measured 2, 7, 30, and 180 days after the percutaneous discectomy.

[Vacuum assisted closure for the treatment of sternal wound infections -- rapid infection control and bridging to reconstructive surgery].

Vacuum Assisted Closure (V.A.C.