Maximizing rehabilitation outcomes in geriatric hip fracture patients: the impact of surgical variables.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Hip fracture is a major traumatic event with high mortality and disability rate. Its management in the acute setting and in the rehabilitation process is highly debated. This study evaluates the possible determinants of hip fracture rehabilitation outcome, among which surgical intervention type, weight-bearing status and hospitalization length Methods: The data of 738 hip fracture patients, who completed rehabilitation process in our centre, were collected and patients' functional abilities at the time of admission and discharge were analysed. RESULTS: It has been observed that functional recovery depends on several factors: the type of surgery, the post-operative course and related complications, the hospitalisation time, the surgeon's techniques and expertise and the Orthopaedics centre where the operation is performed. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, data integration in perspective of an individualised rehabilitation program appears crucial for the functional recovery of the hip fracture patient.

Role of frailty in functional recovery after hip fracture, the variable impact in restoring autonomy.

BACKGROUND: In an old or very older adult, frailty is a common geriatric syndrome resulting from aging-associated decline including loss of autonomy related to multiple pathologies. AIM: The study aims to evaluate the frailty affects on functional and rehabilitative recovery of the elderly patient. DESIGN: This is a retrospective study of subjects over 65 years old who underwent hip surgery following a traumatic femoral fracture. SETTING: Patients admitted to intensive rehabilitation department after hip fracture event. POPULATION: The sudy include records of 350 patients over-65-year-old with hip fracture treated in hospital with surgery. METHODS: Patients enrolled were classified into three groups: youngest-old, ages 65 to 74 years; middle-old, 75 to 84 years; and oldest-old, ≥85 years. Each patient underwent a multidimensional evaluation capable of identifying the deficient domains, defining the presence of frailty, and the different degrees of severity. All patients underwent a project and rehabilitation program according to the literature protocol. RESULTS: The average age of the enrolled patients was 73.2 ± 5.6, 38.6% were over 75 years of age, mostly females (58.9%). The prevalence of frailty increased with age, and cognitive functions were associated with both the frailty measured with the Rockwood and Lacks scales. The recovery of Barthel and Tinetti scores correlates to the level of fragility. CONCLUSION: The approach based on the diagnosis and treatment of the individual disease should be radically changed to a culture and an assessment capacity of elderly persons that take into account the indicators which characterize it as comorbidity, psychological, cultural factors, and environmental health status. Frailty is the sum of these conditions, and it is the most impacting variable in the recovery of autonomy. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: The approach based on the diagnosis and treatment of the individual disease should include comorbidity, psychological condition, cultural factors, and environmental health status.

SPINE20 A global advocacy group promoting evidence-based spine care of value.

PURPOSE: The Global Burden of Diseases (GBD) Studies have estimated that low back pain is one of the costliest ailments worldwide. Subsequent to GBD publications, leadership of the four largest global spine societies agreed to form SPINE20. This article introduces the concept of SPINE20, the recommendations, and the future of this global advocacy group linked to G20 annual summits. METHODS: The founders of SPINE20 advocacy group coordinated with G20 Saudi Arabia to conduct the SPINE20 summit in 2020. The summit was intended to promote evidence-based recommendations to use the most reliable information from high-level research. Eight areas of importance to mitigate spine disorders were identified through a voting process of the participating societies. Twelve recommendations were discussed and vetted. RESULTS: The areas of immediate concern were "Aging spine," "Future of spine care," "Spinal cord injuries," "Children and adolescent spine," "Spine-related disability," "Spine Educational Standards," "Patient safety," and "Burden on economy." Twelve recommendations were created and endorsed by 31/33 spine societies and 2 journals globally during a vetted process through the SPINE20.org website and during the virtual inaugural meeting November 10-11, 2020 held from the G20 platform. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first time that international spine societies have joined to support actions to mitigate the burden of spine disorders across the globe. SPINE20 seeks to change awareness and treatment of spine pain by supporting local projects that implement value-based practices with healthcare policies that are culturally sensitive based on scientific evidence.

[Pharmacogenetic testing in acute and chronic pain: a preliminary study]. / Test farmacogenetici nel dolore acuto e cronico: uno studio preliminare.

SUMMARY: Background. Pain is one of the most common symptoms that weighs on life's quality and health expenditure. In a reality in which increasingly personalized therapies are needed, the early use of genetic tests that highlight the individual response to analgesic drugs could be a valuable help in clinical practice helping to reduce response times, to achieve a good level of analgesia and to reduce the risk of side effects and adverse events. The study aims to confront the clinical response to analgesic drugs with the result of pharmacogenetic testing in patients with persistent pain. Methods. This preliminary study compares the genetic results of pharmacological effectiveness and tolerability analyzed with a Pharmacogenetic Test with the results obtained in clinical practice in 5 patients suffering from acute and chronic pain. Results. Regarding the genetic results of the 5 samples analyzed, 2 reports were found to be completely comparable to what found in clinical practice, while 3 reports showed that the profile of tolerability and effectiveness were partially discordant. Conclusions. In light of the data, not completely overlapping with results observed in clinical practice, further studies would be appropriate in order to acquire more information on the use of the PGT in clinical practice.

What still prevents to acknowledge a major role for pulmonary rehabilitation in COPD treatment?

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major health issue, particularly in aging people. Despite an increasing availability of drugs to treat COPD, recent data indicate that an actual control of the disease is achieved in a minority of  patients. This makes apparent that additional treatments of COPD should be taken into account, such as pulmonary rehabilitation (PR), which was introduced in the 1960s and has large evidence of clinical effectiveness. PR is a non-pharmacologic therapy based on a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, patient-centered intervention comprising exercise training, self-management education and psychosocial support. PR treated patients develop an increased exercise tolerance and quality of life, reduced dyspnea and anxiety, and are concerned by less hospital admissions for disease exacerbations. Notwithstanding, the use of PR in COPD patients is negligible, being globally estimated in 2-5%. Here we update the evidence in favor of PR and the actual need to consider it as a treatment to be considered for COPD patients with significant impairment in daily living activities.

Continuity of care for patients with hip fracture after discharge from rehabilitation facility.

Background and aims of the work: Hip fracture is a dramatic event especially in the elderly and the return to the pre-fracture functional and social state is often difficult to achieve. In the post-acute, the intensive rehabilitation period aims to recover as much autonomy as possible to these patients, but not always its duration is sufficient to ensure an effective and lasting result in returning home, hence the need for additional rehabilitation services. Our aim was to evaluate the use of additional rehabilitation services by patients who underwent hip fracture after an intensive rehabilitation treatment period performed at our hospital. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study. We involved patients aged 45 years and older, admitted at our intensive rehabilitation, who joined a rehabilitation program for a hip fracture. RESULTS: Our results showed how the use of further physiotherapy is associated with the type of surgical intervention and with higher Cumulative Illness Rating Scale CIRS scores. Similarly, the loss of autonomy is associated with the type of intervention, the increase in CIRS and the duration of the physiotherapy, and negatively associated with the duration of each session. The re-hospitalizations for each cause is positively associated with CIRS and negatively associated with the further use of physiotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: Our conclusion is that rehabilitation needs a personalized schedule, because the real discriminating factor in the management of frail patients should therefore be the quality, and not the quantity (i.e. longer session), of the rehabilitative intervention prescribed.

Pharmacogenetic Testing in Acute and Chronic Pain: A Preliminary Study.

Background and Objectives: Pain is one of the most common symptoms that weighs on life's quality and health expenditure. In a reality where increasingly personalized therapies are needed, the early use of genetic tests that highlights the individual response to analgesic drugs could be a valuable help in clinical practice. The aim of this preliminary study is to observe if the therapy set to 5 patients suffering of chronic or acute pain is concordant to the Pharmacogenetic test (PGT) results. Materials and Methods: This preliminary study compares the genetic results of pharmacological effectiveness and tolerability analyzed by the genetic test Neurofarmagen Analgesia, with the results obtained in clinical practice of 5 patients suffering from acute and chronic pain. Results: Regarding the genetic results of the 5 samples analyzed, 2 reports were found to be completely comparable with the evidences of the clinical practice, while in 3 reports the profile of tolerability and effectiveness were partially discordant. Conclusion: In light of the data not completely overlapping with results observed in clinical practice, further studies would be appropriate in order to acquire more information on the use of Neurofarmagen in routine clinical settings.

Caregivers' misperception of the severity of hip fractures.

PURPOSE: The aim of our study was to evaluate how the caregiver of a hip fracture patient perceives the patient's health status and autonomy in the period immediately preceding the acute event and whether these judgments are actually in line with the prognosis predicted by the medical team caring for the patient in the rehabilitation structure. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We enrolled 147 patients of both sexes, aged ≥65 years, who were referred to our center following surgical treatment of hip fractures of various nature. At the beginning of the rehabilitation program, each patient's caregiver was asked to complete the Blaylock Risk Assessment Screening Score (BRASS) questionnaire. The same questionnaire was compiled contemporaneously by the doctor taking care of the patient. RESULTS: Analysis of the data shows that the caregivers tend to assign lower scores than the doctor, with a mean difference in agreement with the Bland-Altman plot of -2.43, 95% CI=-2.93 to -1.93, t-test P<0.001. Furthermore, differences in objectivity emerge in the evaluation of the clinical problems of the patient in a borderline clinical condition. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that caregivers systematically misperceive the clinical situation of hip fracture patients prior to the acute event. Altered perception of such an important factor can lead to a general lack of satisfaction with the outcome achieved by the patient at the end of the rehabilitation process. We therefore believe that an adequate, effective communication between the people making up the health care team and the patient's social and family network is the foundation of the rehabilitation process. It is precisely on this foundation that the individual's care and assistance need to be assembled.

Rehabilitation After Urgent or Elective Orthopedic Surgery: The Role of Resilience in Elderly Patients.

PURPOSE: The aim of this investigation was to assess resilience within an elderly population during postacute rehabilitation for orthopedic surgery and to identify the role of resilience on rehabilitation outcomes by comparing hip fracture and elective patients (total knee and hip arthroplasty). DESIGN: We conducted a prospective study in an orthopedic rehabilitation department. METHODS: On admission and on discharge, 80 patients aged over 60 years underwent a multidimensional evaluation with the Resilience Scale, the Functional Independence Measure (FIM), the Multidimensional Prognostic Index, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF. FINDINGS: Hip-fractured patients had a lower level of resilience. High-resilient fracture patients achieved higher FIM scores. For elective patients, no differences on FIM score occurred for different resilience levels. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Resilience plays a significant role in reaching optimal functional recovery in hip-fractured elderly people. Results suggest the introduction of early routine assessment of resilience in future outcome studies in rehabilitation.

The influence of local steroid injections, body weight and the length of symptoms in the treatment of painful subcalcaneal spurs with extracorporeal shock wave therapy.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) for the treatment of painful subcalcaneal spurs and evaluate whether local steroid injections, body weight and the length of symptoms can affect the clinical results. DESIGN: Subjects were selected through clinical examination and heel radiograms according to diagnosis of painful subcalcaneal spurs. SUBJECTS: Sixty-four subjects were divided into two groups of treatment depending on their past history of previous local steroid injections. INTERVENTIONS: Each subject received a three-session ESWT (performed weekly). A rehabilitative programme was instituted, consisting of self-assisted plantar fascia and plantar flexors stretching exercises. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The Mayo Clinical Scoring System (MCSS) was utilized to evaluate each subject before the treatment and at two- and ten-month follow-ups. In addition, standard radiograms were done both before the treatment and at the ten-month follow-up. RESULTS: Patients with no past treatment using steroids did not show any statistically significant improvement of the MCSS at the two-month follow-up. The statistical significance was obtained at the ten-month follow-up. Patients with past treatment using steroids did not show any statistically significant improvement of the MCSS at either follow-up. At the radiogram check, none of the subjects showed any modification of the heel spurs. CONCLUSIONS: According to the results of the present study ESWT should be considered as an effective treatment for painful subcalcaneal spurs. Previous local steroid injections may negatively affect the result of ESWT.