Citations

Aims The aim of this study was to achieve consensus for important topics related to periprosthetic infection (PJI) in orthopaedic oncology, and to identify areas for future research. Methods In January 2024, the Birmingham Orthopaedic Oncology Meeting (BOOM) held in Birmingham, UK, gathered 309 delegates from 53 countries to debate 20 consensus statements on PJI in orthopaedic oncology using a modified Delphi process. Results Of 20 questions and statements on PJI in orthopaedic oncology, none achieved unanimous consensus, 18 achieved strong consensus, one achieved moderate consensus, and one achieved weak consensus. The statements that reached consensus with notable agreement were on the prophylaxis of infection, management of leaking wounds, and surgical strategies for the treatment of PJI. Short-duration antibiotic prophylaxis was deemed as effective as longer courses for lower-risk reconstructions, and aggressive management was recommended for wounds draining beyond five to seven days to prevent deep infection. Furthermore, single-stage, two-stage, and 1.5-stage revision were recognized as valid strategies, with two-stage revision remaining the most reliable. The statements that did not achieve consensus were on the role of debridement, antibiotics, and implant retention and prolonged antibiotic use post-revision. Conclusion The BOOM meeting achieved consensus for important topics on periprosthetic infection in orthopaedic oncology, but highlighted the low quality of the underlying evidence. This study has provided recommendations for the treatment of leaky wounds, duration of postoperative antibiotic prophylaxis, and choice of revision strategy. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2025;107-B(12):1352–1359.

Abstract Objectives The primary objective of this research is to assess the content coverage of nursing data within a publicly available common data model (CDM), focusing on how nursing data, documented in flowsheets, are represented within the model. Materials and Methods This mapping study was informed by previous evaluation studies and serves as a framework for evaluating information resources, including to guide development and implementation. The overall research process consists of 4 steps: (1) identify a CDM; (2) define evaluation criteria; (3) map nursing flowsheet data; and (4) apply evaluation criteria. Results Overall, 65.5% (n = 1170) of the flowsheet concepts were mapped to Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine—Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT) and Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC) target codes and 56.0% (n = 1831) of the flowsheet values were mapped to SNOMED CT and LOINC target codes. The flowsheet concepts had a higher average mapping time per concept/reviewer (1.19 min) as compared to the average mapping time per value/reviewer (0.64 min). Discussion This mapping study demonstrated the progress and ongoing challenges of mapping nursing data to a national common data model. However, the ability to use nursing data at scale in a national CDM remains limited until more comprehensive mapping is completed. Conclusion This mapping study identifies a significant gap in integrating nursing data into a national common data model, highlighting an opportunity to enhance patient care through improved real-time insights and evidence-based nursing practices. Addressing this gap can help shape policies that prioritize the inclusion of nursing data. Additionally, aligning nursing data at scale can advance research, increase efficiency, and optimize nurse-sensitive patient outcomes.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with multiple manifestations including both motor and non-motor symptoms. One manifestation of PD that is often overlooked is the sexual dysfunction (SD) that patients may experience. Individuals with PD can experience impairment in sexual desire, arousal or lubrication, orgasm, ejaculation, pain and the physical aspect of intimacy. This article aims to provide an overview of the current practices in the evaluation and treatment of sexual dysfunction in men in the context PD. Note that this article focuses on the male population as it reviews the available American Urology Association practice guidelines many practitioners follow, which focus on the male population. Sexual dysfunction guidelines for the female population are much more limited, and future work should review the existing literature and gaps to provide a more robust understanding of sexual dysfunction in PD. PD represents a particularly vulnerable population for development of sexual dysfunction given the multifactorial nature of its manifestations. Given its profound impact on not only the patient, but their partner, it is important to be aware of the various manifestations of SD when evaluating individuals with PD. Through thorough history taking and targeted psychosexual evaluation, we as practitioners can ensure a more holistic and comprehensive approach to caring for individuals with PD.

Background: Discovering risk biomarkers in small benign breast disease (BBD) biopsies is constrained by scarce tissue and microanatomic heterogeneity of terminal duct lobular units (TDLUs). We tested whether tissue-sparing tissue microarray (TMA)–based Digital Spatial Profiling (DSP) can deliver reproducible, biologically coherent protein measurements across benign lobules and breast cancers (BCs), and how well DSP aligns with standard immunoassays. Methods: We performed a pilot using tissues from the Mayo Clinic BBD cohort using TMAs representing four contexts: terminal duct lobular units (TDLUs) from BBD biopsies preceding BC and matched BBD-controls, subsequent BCs, and BC-associated TDLUs. We profiled 79 proteins by DSP (37 retained after QC) and benchmarked against chromogenic IHC and OPAL immunofluorescence. Reproducibility was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), cross-platform agreement (weighted kappa), marker correlations, and mixed-effects models with false-discovery-rate (FDR) control. Results: We analyzed 368 BBD-TDLU cores (88 cases; 88 controls), 204 BC cores and 110 BC-associated TDLU cores. ICCs were highest in BC tissues, and lower in BC-associated TDLUs and BBD-TDLUs. Agreement was slight–to-fair in TDLUs but moderate (ER/PR) to substantial (BCL2) in BC. DSP recapitulated expected immunologic correlations (CD45 with T-cell, B-cell, and macrophage markers) and tissue-type gradients (BC > BC-associated TDLUs > BBD-TDLUs). Exploratory case–control differences in BBD-TDLUs did not persist after FDR control. Conclusions: TMA-based DSP is feasible in archival breast tissues and yields biologically coherent, cross-platform-benchmarked profiles that are particularly robust in BC, while conserving scarce TDLUS and clarifying current limits of single-marker risk stratification from benign lobules. These data provide a foundation for refined sampling and expanded panels in future TDLU-focused studies.

Goals: Describe the establishment and expansion of a global gastrointestinal (GI) partnership and its impact on the advancement of GI care in Rwanda. Background: GI disease disproportionately affects low- and middle-income countries. In Rwanda, governmental and nonprofit efforts have made significant progress in expanding access to health care in the wake of the 1994 genocide; however, specialized care remains largely unrecognized or inaccessible. In response, the Rwanda Ministry of Health established a partnership with an international gastroenterology NGO to address this critical need. Study: We present summative data generated by this partnership. To inform future global GI programs, we provide lessons learned and details about Rwanda’s successful establishment of an in-country, self-sustainable, and locally governed gastroenterology training program. Results: From 2017 to 2023, the partnership expanded the number of clinical sites receiving care from 4 to 11. Total procedural volume increased from 244 to 1069. Most common presenting upper GI symptoms included dyspepsia, reflux, and emesis, while most common lower GI symptoms included hematochezia and constipation. Since 2017, this partnership has increased the number of faculty volunteering in Rwanda (and Rwandan clinicians studying in US academic medical centers), expanded its geographical reach, assisted in the creation of a GI fellowship, and enabled Rwanda to become an East African hub for medical education. Conclusions: Lessons learned across ethical, financial, leadership, cultural, and medical domains from the successful establishment and expansion of an international GI partnership in Rwanda provides invaluable insights to guide development of future models of health care in emerging economies.

Purpose: Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and symptoms of depression have increased health care utilization and lower quality of life. There is a knowledge gap regarding feasible and effective approaches for the management of depressive symptoms in patients with COPD. The objective of this randomized clinical trial sub-study is to determine whether 12-weeks of home-based pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) with health coaching is feasible and effective for improving depressive symptoms in patients with COPD. Methods: Patients with severe COPD and symptoms of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 [PHQ-9] ≥5 points) randomized to the intervention (N = 90) or control (N = 78) groups in the parent study were included. The primary outcome of this sub-study was the 12-week change in the PHQ-9 score. Secondary outcomes included dyspnea, fatigue, emotions, and mastery (self-management) as measured by the Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire (CRQ) and daily physical activity and sleep measured by ActiGraph. Results: Home-based PR with health coaching was associated with improved measures of depression ( P = .07), dyspnea, fatigue, emotion, and mastery (self-management) ( P < .001). Being in the intervention group was associated with a higher odds of improving by the minimal clinically important difference on the PHQ-9 (OR = 2.10: 95% CI, 1.06-4.27), CRQ-Dyspnea (OR = 2.37: 95% CI, 1.11-5.26), CRQ-Fatigue (OR = 3.35: 95% CI, 1.59-7.35), CRQ-Emotions (OR = 4.59: 95% CI, 2.13-10.40), and CRQ-Mastery (OR = 3.36: 95% CI 1.60-7.28) after multivariable adjustment. The improvement in depression symptoms was maintained for 3 and 6 months after finishing the intervention. Conclusion: Home-based PR with health coaching is feasible and possibly effective in improving depressive symptoms and quality of life in patients with COPD and symptoms of depression.

Abstract Objective VEXAS syndrome is a severe systemic haemato-inflammatory disease with heterogeneous clinical presentations. Most patients experience recurrent inflammatory flares despite anti-inflammatory therapy. The lack of accepted definitions of flare in these patients is preventing development of disease activity tools that are essential for conducting clinical trials. We aimed to develop a consensus definition of a VEXAS flare for use in clinical trials. Methods A nine-member international expert advisory committee established a consensus definition of VEXAS flare using modified Delphi methodology. Clinical inflammatory manifestations of VEXAS syndrome were identified through a systematic literature review. Committee members developed a conceptual framework for flare definition, proposed revisions and voted on changes until consensus (≥75% concurrence) was reached. Results Consensus defined VEXAS flare as active inflammatory manifestation(s) of VEXAS syndrome requiring escalation in glucocorticoid therapy. Three flare categories were established: (i) recurrence of a prior documented VEXAS manifestation; (ii) development of a new VEXAS-defining inflammatory manifestation; or (iii) emergence of a new inflammatory manifestation not meeting criteria for A or B. The panel endorsed an independent adjudication committee to assess Category C flares in clinical trials. Conclusions This study proposes a standardized definition of VEXAS flare, providing uniform criteria for identifying VEXAS disease activity. Future research will evaluate its performance in clinical trials.

Abstract The advent of high-throughput sequencing has led to an exponential increase in genomic data, highlighting the need for efficient and accurate models to analyze and interpret this information. In this study, we introduce a novel, exomic foundational model that leverages a combination of the human reference genome and multispecies data to improve variant detection and interpretation. Our model utilizes a short-range transformer architecture and is trained on a large dataset of human exomic sequences derived from the Tapestry study. Through a series of ablation studies and scaling experiments, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our model in predicting next token accuracy and identifying clinically pathogenic variants. We also show that our model outperforms existing models in a range of downstream tasks, including variant effect prediction and disease state identification. In fact, our largest sequence transformer for range adaptive nucleotide decoding variant (1B parameters) surpassed previous benchmarks, demonstrating a mean accuracy of 0.880 [an 8.2% improvement over the original nucleotide transformer (NT) and a 7% improvement over NT-v2]. Furthermore, we construct a unique exomic ClinVar dataset to evaluate the model’s performance on pathogenicity and disease states. Our results highlight the potential of this model to improve our understanding of the human exome and its role in disease. The model and its applications have significant implications for genomics-based diagnosis and personalized medicine, including tailored therapeutic development.