Article
Clinical Neurology
Suraj Dhanjani, Majd Marrache, Varun Puvanesarajah, Jina Pakpoor, Amit Jain
Summary: The study found that there was no significant change in the overall utilization of spinal imaging for pediatric patients with low back pain between 2011 and 2017, but there was an increase in the utilization of magnetic resonance imaging. Boys had higher rates of imaging compared with girls, and imaging rates varied significantly between regions across the United States, with the Midwest having the highest imaging rates.
WORLD NEUROSURGERY
(2021)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Chandler McClellan, Emily Mitchell, Jerrod Anderson, Samuel Zuvekas
Summary: This study aims to assess the feasibility of using machine learning (ML) methods for imputation in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). The results show that ML algorithms outperform Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) in both prediction and matching imputation. The use of ML algorithms and an alternative matching scheme can improve the quality of expenditure imputation in the MEPS.
HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Sandra Alcaraz-Clariana, Lourdes Garcia-Luque, Juan Luis Garrido-Castro, Cesar Fernandez-de-las-Penas, Cristina Carmona-Perez, Daiana Priscila Rodrigues-de-Souza, Francisco Alburquerque-Sendin
Summary: This study aimed to identify potential differences in muscle mechanical properties and spinal range of motion between patients with acute low back pain or acute neck pain and healthy controls. The results showed that cervical tone was higher in patients with acute neck pain than in controls, while cervical flexion was reduced in both spinal pain groups. Lumbar flexion differentiated patients with acute low back pain and controls, whereas cervical flexion differentiated patients with acute neck pain and controls. The study supports a tendency of the affectation of other spinal regions when only one is affected.
Article
Pediatrics
Stephen Rogers, Arvin Garg, Yorghos Tripodis, Annelise Brochier, Emily Messmer, Mikayla Gordon Wexler, Alon Peltz
Summary: This study examines the impact of continuous Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) enrollment on health care costs for children in low-income households. The results suggest that sustained SNAP enrollment over a two-year period does not generate significant short-term reductions in health care costs for children, despite the demonstrated benefits on child health outcomes. This finding highlights the need for further research to understand the factors influencing health care costs in this population.
Review
Health Care Sciences & Services
Claire Stark, John Cunningham, Peter Turner, Michael A. Johnson, Henrik C. Baecker
Summary: Smartphone rehabilitation applications have not been widely adopted, but the COVID-19 pandemic has provided an opportunity for their integration. This systematic literature review compared smartphone rehabilitation applications to standard physiotherapy for back pain treatment. The results showed no significant difference in VAS-pain score between the application and control groups, except for one research group that found significant improvement in PROMs for the application group. Therefore, application-based rehabilitation programs can provide an easily accessible alternative for patients with back pain.
JOURNAL OF PERSONALIZED MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Amro Matyori, Clyde P. Brown, Askal Ali, Fatimah Sherbeny
Summary: This study aimed to explore the utilization and expenditure trends of statins in the United States before and after the publication of the 2013 ACC/AHA guidelines. The findings revealed a significant increase in the proportion of individuals using statins following the adoption of the guidelines. However, suboptimal prescribing trends of high-intensity statins were observed, which need to be addressed by stakeholders to maximize medication outcomes. Statins expenditures, especially co-payments, significantly decreased.
SAUDI PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Carina F. Pinheiro, Anamaria S. Oliveira, Tenysson Will-Lemos, Lidiane L. Florencio, Cesar Fernandez-de-las-Penas, Fabiola Dach, Debora Bevilaqua-Grossi
Summary: Episodic and chronic migraines were associated with reduced total range of motion and mean angular velocity of neck movements, while muscle activity during active neck movements did not show significant differences. Neck disability and kinesiophobia were weakly correlated with cervical movement parameters.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Hugo Marion-Moffet, Christian Bocti, Francois Evoy
Summary: There is an overuse of lumbar and cervical spine MRI for low back pain and neck pain in our region, leading to delayed access for appropriate indications.
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Tony Bohman, Lena W. Holm, Mats Lekander, Johan Hallqvist, Eva Skillgate
Summary: The study found that in patients with long-duration activity-limiting neck/back pain, good self-perceived work ability and non-smoking were associated with a favorable prognosis, but there appeared to be no synergistic prognostic effect between the two.
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Amal M. Alsubaie, Masood Mazaheri, Eduardo Martinez-Valdes, Deborah Falla
Summary: In people with chronic non-specific low back pain, motor variability may be altered during repetitive non-functional and functional tasks, potentially showing differences compared to individuals without pain.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Franz Landauer, Klemens Trieb
Summary: The analysis of literature on low back pain and spinal orthoses revealed that specific diagnosis-based orthosis treatment may be effective, while there was limited effectiveness in unspecific orthotic treatment for patients without specific diagnosis.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Ju-Fang Shi, Le Wang, Jian-Chao Ran, Hong Wang, Cheng-Cheng Liu, Hai-Zeng Zhang, Lin Yang, Su-Sheng Shi, Li-Ming Jiang, Jin-Hu Fan, Yue-Ming Zhang, Wei-Hu Wang, Jian-Song Ren, Lin Zhu, Zhao-Xu Zheng, Yong-Kun Sun, Shuang-Mei Zou, Jun Jiang, Bo Chen, Hong-Da Chen, Guo-Xiang Liu, Li Yang, Yun-Chao Huang, Lan-Wei Guo, De-Bin Wang, Yong-Zhen Zhang, A-Yan Mao, Jia-Lin Wang, Ji-Yong Gong, Dong-Hua Wei, Wu-Qi Qiu, Bing-Bing Song, Kai Zhang, Ni Li, Eleonora Feletto, Jie-Bin Lew, You-Lin Qiao, Wan-Qing Chen, Min Dai, Jie He
Summary: The study found an increasing proportion of late-stage CRC diagnoses in China, posing a challenge for control efforts. Changes in diagnostic and treatment options, along with increased expenditures, were clearly illustrated in the study.
Review
Clinical Neurology
Tatiana Grasser, Amabile Borges Dario, Patricia Carmo Silva Parreira, Igor Macedo Tavares Correia, Ney Meziat-Filho
Summary: A scoping review found that there is a lack of consensus concerning the definitions of text neck in the academic literature. Posture was identified as the defining characteristic, with adjectives qualifying incorrect posture. Other components of the definitions included overuse, mechanical stress or tensions, musculoskeletal symptoms, and tissue damage. However, there is no scientific evidence linking text neck with neck pain regardless of the definition used, suggesting that adjectives like inappropriate or incorrect should be avoided.
EUROPEAN SPINE JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Theresa N. Mann, Johan H. Davis, Gerhard Walzl, Caroline G. Beltran, Jacques du Toit, Robert P. Lamberts, Novel N. Chegou
Summary: Host serum biomarkers show potential in distinguishing spinal TB from mechanical back pain, with a five-marker biosignature identified in this study needing further validation in larger studies.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Kamil Koszela, Marta Woldanska-Okonska
Summary: This study found that age and sex do not seem to have a significant impact on back pain intensity in rehabilitated patients with discopathy. Further research is still needed in a larger group of patients.