What factors are associated with perceived disease onset in patients with hip and knee osteoarthritis?

Introduction: Newly symptomatic osteoarthritis (OA) is often misinterpreted as new pathology or injury, which is associated with pain intensity and incapability.

Methods: Adult patients with hip and knee OA completed measures of catastrophic thinking, depression, capability, symptom duration, and perceived injury.

Results: Symptom duration was associated with OA grade and symptoms of depression.

Improving Healthcare Value: Effectiveness of a Program to Reduce Laboratory Testing for Non-Critically-Ill Patients With COVID-19.

Avoiding routine, repetitive inpatient laboratory testing is a Choosing Wisely recommendation, with benefits that may be even more pronounced in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic, considering the need to limit unnecessary exposure, use of personal protective equipment, and laboratory resources. However, the COVID-19 pandemic presented a unique challenge: how to efficiently develop and standardize care for a disease process that had yet to be fully characterized. This article describes the development of a local committee to critically review evidence-based practices, reach consensus, and guide practice patterns, with the aim of delivering high-value care.

Superimposed linear atopic dermatitis treated with dupilumab.

Common polygenic skin disorders, such as atopic dermatitis, may rarely present in a segmental or linear distribution due to cutaneous mosaicism. Only seven cases of superimposed linear atopic dermatitis have been reported to date. Here, we present a child with severe superimposed linear atopic dermatitis and highlight the first successful use of dupilumab in its treatment.

Elderly woman with a bleb leak.

Purpose: To describe a unique incidence of inadvertent filtering bleb creation after intravitreal injections.

Observations: An 84-year-old woman with a history of wet age-related macular degeneration requiring intravitreal injections presented with a Seidel-positive conjunctival cyst. The cyst was in an area where she had received multiple injections and was suspected to be an inadvertent filtering bleb secondary to a full-thickness scleral hole created by these injections.

Hospital Buprenorphine Program for Opioid Use Disorder Is Associated With Increased Inpatient and Outpatient Addiction Treatment.

Despite evidence that medications for patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) reduce mortality and improve engagement in outpatient addiction treatment, these life-saving medications are underutilized in the hospital setting. This study reports the outcomes of the B-Team (Buprenorphine-Team), a hospitalist-led interprofessional program created to identify hospitalized patients with OUD, initiate buprenorphine in the inpatient setting, and provide bridge prescription and access to outpatient treatment programs. During the first 2 years of the program, the B-Team administered buprenorphine therapy to 132 patients in the inpatient setting; 110 (83%) of these patients were bridged to an outpatient program.

Variation in Treatment for Trapeziometacarpal Arthrosis.

Background: Treatment recommendations for trapeziometacarpal (TMC) arthrosis are highly variable from surgeon to surgeon. This study addressed the influence of viewing radiographs on a decision to offer surgery for TMC arthrosis.

Methods: In an online survey, 92 hand surgeons viewed clinical scenarios and were asked if they would offer surgery to 30 patients with TMC arthrosis.

Variation in perioperative opioid use after total joint arthroplasty.

Objective: We studied variation in perioperative opioid use after total joint arthroplasty with respect to patient and procedure characteristics in order to inform initiatives to optimize pain relief.

Methods: We recorded perioperative opioid consumption for a cohort of total joint arthroplasty patients to identify factors underlying variation in perioperative opioid use.

Results: Younger patient age, tobacco use, greater symptoms of depression, private insurance, and knee arthroplasty were associated with increased opioid consumption.

An exploration of perceived neonatal nurse practitioner authority in a restricted practice setting.

Background: Perceptions of autonomy in practice affect Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP) job satisfaction, retention, and motivation to pursue NNP roles. However, Novice to Expert theory describes the processes for transitioning to nurse practitioner roles are not in relationship with NNP practice autonomy.

Purpose: Relationships between Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) practice authority, state restrictions, APRN volume, and health care access exist.

State-level Google search volumes for neck and shoulder pain correlate with psychosocial and behavioral health indicators.

Background: There is growing interest in passively-generated online search data for health sciences research, but limited use to address musculoskeletal illness.

Questions/purposes: (1) To determine geographic and seasonal patterns in Google queries for shoulder, knee, hip, and neck pain across the United States, and (2) to quantify the state-level correlation of the volume of online symptom searches with rates of various population health indicators.

Methods: Using Google trends, we identified queries for shoulder, knee, hip, and neck pain in every state of the United States during 2018.

A multicenter investigation of the hemodynamic effects of induction agents for trauma rapid sequence intubation.

Background: Several options exist for induction agents during rapid sequence intubation (RSI) in trauma patients, including etomidate, ketamine, and propofol. These drugs have reported variable hemodynamic effects (hypotension with propofol and sympathomimetic effects with ketamine) that could affect trauma resuscitations. The purpose of this study was to compare the hemodynamic effects of these three induction agents during emergency department RSI in adult trauma.