Early Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Psycho-Oncological Support: A Latent Class Analysis.

Introduction: Research suggests a global shortfall of psycho-oncological assessment and care during the COVID-19 pandemic in addition to delayed diagnosis of cancer. The present study is the first to explore the effect of the pandemic on the provision of psycho-oncological care, stage of cancer at first diagnosis, and duration of hospitalizations.

Method: Retrospective latent class analysis of 4,639 electronic patient files with all types, treatment types, and stages of cancer, 370 of which were treated during the pandemic prior to availability of vaccinations.

An ominous cause of back pain: Vertebral Osteomyelitis.

The authors present the case of a patient seen for back pain in the emergency department, initially discharged home with a diagnosis of musculoskeletal pain. He returned a week later and was found to have vertebral osteomyelitis based on a thorough neurologic exam. A review of ominous causes of back pain, including the elusive nature of vertebral osteomyelitis/diskitis is discussed.

Avoidance of lower-limb amputation by surgical implantation of autologous stem cells.

A 69-year-old Caucasian man was referred to Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas with resting lower-extremity pain and a nonhealing sore above his right ankle (Rutherford chronic ischemia stage 5 of 6) after having failed multiple attempts at revascularization. He was enrolled in a clinical research trial using adult autologous stem cells for treatment of critical limb ischemia. Autologous stem cells from the patient's pelvic bone marrow were harvested, concentrated in the operating room, and reinjected into the lower leg along the vasculature below the level of complete occlusion of the popliteal artery and around the ulcer.

Effects of an experiential learning program on the clinical reasoning and critical thinking skills of occupational therapy students.

This study examined the effects of participation in a 1-week, experiential, hands-on learning program on the critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills of occupational therapy students. A quasi-experimental, nonrandomized pre- and post-test design was used with a sample of 25 students. The students had completed three semesters of didactic lecture coursework in a master's level OT educational program prior to participation in a hands-on therapy program for children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy.