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Current News
September 1, 2010
Today's Top Story
1. NASS releases guideline on cervical radiculopathy.
Other News
2. Radiation therapy prophylaxis not helpful for heterotopic ossification around the elbow.
3. HHS approves two organizations to certify EMR systems for meaningful use.
4. Few hospitals have transitioned to EMR systems; even fewer meet meaningful use criteria.
5. Spry1 protein levels may affect osteoporotic bone loss.
6. Bone hormone affects risk of death in heart failure patients.
7. Call for volunteers: Liaison to the Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement.
Today's Top Story
1. NASS releases guideline on cervical radiculopathy.
The North American Spine Society (NASS) has released a new Evidence-Based Clinical Guideline regarding the diagnosis and treatment of cervical radiculopathy from degenerative disorders. The new guideline has been developed to serve as an educational tool to assist practitioners, and provides a definition and explanation of the natural history of the condition, along with outlines for reasonable evaluation and treatment options. Read more...
Read the guideline (PDF)…
Other News
2. Radiation therapy prophylaxis not helpful for heterotopic ossification around the elbow.
According to a study in the September 1 issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery—American, a single dose of radiation therapy (700cGy) administered within 72 hours of surgery to treat elbow trauma was not helpful as a prophylaxis against heterotopic ossification and might play a role in increasing the rate of nonunion. The prospective, randomized study was conducted at three centers and involved 48 patients with intra-articular distal humeral fractures or fracture-dislocation of the elbow with proximal radial and/or ulnar fractures. Patients were randomized to receive either single fraction radiation therapy (treatment group) or nothing (control group). The study was terminated prior to completion because of an unacceptably high number of adverse events in the treatment group: 8 of the 21 patients experienced a nonunion compared to just 1 of 24 patients in the control group (p=0.007). The prevalence of heterotopic ossification was not affected. Read more...
Read the complete study...
3. HHS approves two organizations to certify EMR systems for meaningful use.
Modern Healthcare reports that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has named two organizations as qualified to test and certify electronic medical record (EMR) systems under the meaningful use criteria required by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Under the Act, to be eligible for federal health information technology subsidies, healthcare providers must use certified EMRs in a meaningful manner. The two organizations that were initially approved far are the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (Chicago), and the Drummond Group (Austin, Texas). Read more...(registration required)
4. Few hospitals have transitioned to EMR systems; even fewer meet meaningful use criteria.
According to a survey published online in the journal Health Affairs, only about 11.9 percent of U.S. hospitals had adopted even basic EMR systems by 2009—up from 8.7 percent in 2008. In addition, only 2 percent of U.S. hospitals reported having EMR systems that would allow them to meet the federal government’s meaningful use criteria. Small, public, and rural hospitals were less likely to have transitioned to such systems than larger, private, and urban institutions. The authors state that the survey findings suggest that the transition to EMR systems will likely be gradual. Read more...
Read the abstract…
5. Spry1 protein levels may affect osteoporotic bone loss.
A study published in the September issue of The FASEB Journal examines links between the development of bone mass and body fat, and the Spry1 protein. The authors used two groups of transgenic mice. Mice in the first group lacked the so-called "Sprouty" gene in fat and bone progenitor cells; mice in the second group had high levels of expressed Spry1 proteins in the same cell types. Mice in the first group increased body fat and lost bone mass compared to normal mice, while mice in the second group were leaner, with increased bone mass. Increasing the amount of Spry1 in the first group of mice reversed bone loss. Read more...
Read the abstract…
6. Bone hormone affects risk of death in heart failure patients.
High levels of the bone hormone osteoprotegerin (OPG) increase the risk of death for heart failure patients, according to data released by the European Society of Cardiology. The research team measured OPG levels in blood samples from 1,229 patients with chronic heart failure, and found that, at average follow-up of 3.9 years, patients with the highest 1/3 levels of OPG were twice as likely to die during follow-up than the patients with the lowest 1/3 levels of OPG. Mouse studies have previously associated low levels of OPG with osteoporosis and blood vessel calcification; research on humans has linked high levels of OPG with adverse outcomes after myocardial infarction. Read more...
Your AAOS
7. Call for volunteers: Liaison to the Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement.
September 20 is the last day to submit your application to serve as AAOS liaison to the American Medical Association-convened Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement (PCPI). The PCPI was created to enhance quality of care and patient safety by taking the lead in the development, testing, and maintenance of evidence-based clinical performance measures and measurement resources for physicians. The consortium comprises more than 170 national medical specialty societies, state medical societies, the American Board of Medical Specialties and member boards, Council of Medical Specialty Societies, health care professional organizations, federal agencies, individual members and others. Learn more and submit your application…(member login required)
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