Consensus Guidelines on Interventional Therapies for Knee Pain (STEP Guidelines) from the American Society of Pain and Neuroscience.

Knee pain is second only to the back as the most commonly reported area of pain in the human body. With an overall prevalence of 46.2%, its impact on disability, lost productivity, and cost on healthcare cannot be overlooked. Due to the pervasiveness of knee pain in the general population, there are no shortages of treatment options available for addressing the symptoms. Ranging from physical therapy and pharmacologic agents to interventional pain procedures to surgical options, practitioners have a wide array of options to choose from - unfortunately, there is no consensus on which treatments are "better" and when they should be offered in comparison to others. While it is generally accepted that less invasive treatments should be offered before more invasive ones, there is a lack of agreement on the order in which the less invasive are to be presented. In an effort to standardize the treatment of this extremely prevalent pathology, the authors present an all-encompassing set of guidelines on the treatment of knee pain based on an extensive literature search and data grading for each of the available alternative that will allow practitioners the ability to compare and contrast each option.

Osteopathic Medical Student Administered Smoking Cessation Counseling is an Effective Tool.

BACKGROUND: Physician counseling on the risks of tobacco smoking and the benefits of cessation has been shown to be an effective method of increasing the rate of smoking cessation. Using the "Help Your Patients Quit Smoking: A Coaching Guide" also referred to as the "7A's of Smoking Cessation" guideline from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is thought to be effective to convey the importance of smoking cessation. AIM: To study the efficacy of the "7A's of Smoking Cessation" guideline counseling conducted by osteopathic medical students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Osteopathic medical students were trained to counsel smokers for 3-10 min based on New York City Department of Health's "7A's of Smoking Cessation" guidelines by a licensed physician. Students then counseled health fair participants who were cigarette smokers for 3-10 min. Postcounseling, participants were administered an 4 question survey to evaluate the effect counseling had on their desire to quit smoking. Survey data were collected and analyzed. Institutional Review Board approval was obtained for this study. RESULTS: A total of 13 anonymous health fair participants who were also smokers were administered both counseling sessions and surveys. 11/13 (84.6%) participants stated that the session motivated them to quit smoking. 9/13 (69.2%) participants responded that they were now motivated to discuss smoking cessation with their doctor after being counseled. Of these participants 12/13 (92.3%) had previously attempted to quit smoking without success. CONCLUSION: Participants reported an increased willingness to stop smoking after being counseled by osteopathic medical students. Participants also reported an increased motivation to discuss smoking cessation with their physician. These findings indicate that smoking cessation counseling administered by osteopathic medical students effectively in encouraging smokers to consider reduction or cessation of tobacco use.