Publications by authors named "W Scott McDonald"

Objectives: Concussion is a common injury in rugby union ('rugby') and yet its diagnosis is reliant on clinical judgment. Oculomotor testing could provide an objective measure to assist with concussion diagnosis. NeuroFlex® evaluates oculomotor function using a virtual-reality headset.

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Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a highly prevalent psychiatric disorder that can become chronic and debilitating when left untreated. The most commonly recommended first-line treatments for PTSD among adults are individual trauma-focused psychotherapies. Other evidence-based treatments include specific antidepressant medications and non-trauma-focused psychotherapies.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to assess how tourniquet use during intramedullary tibial nailing affects clinical outcomes at a Level I Trauma Center, covering 194 patients over five years.
  • No significant differences were noted in key outcome measures—such as narcotic use, operating room time, or blood loss—between patients who did and didn’t use a tourniquet.
  • Significant differences were observed between patients with isolated tibial fractures and those with polytrauma, particularly in postoperative morphine use, length of hospital stay, and estimated blood loss.
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Article Synopsis
  • Concussions in contact sports pose significant challenges in prevention, detection, and management for athletes, medical professionals, and sporting organizations.
  • Recent technological advancements have led to the creation of a comprehensive database by researchers and clinicians from the Australasian National Rugby League to analyze head impacts and track clinical outcomes.
  • This protocol aims to enhance understanding of concussions in rugby through detailed data collection, informing injury prevention strategies and improving overall player safety.
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Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of major depressive disorder (MDD) have recently achieved extremely large sample sizes and yielded substantial numbers of genome-wide significant loci. Because of the approach to ascertainment and assessment in many of these studies, some of these loci appear to be associated with dysphoria rather than with MDD, potentially decreasing the clinical relevance of the findings. An alternative approach to MDD GWAS is to focus on the most severe forms of MDD, with the hope that this will enrich for loci of larger effect, rendering their identification plausible, and providing potentially more clinically actionable findings.

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