Influence of Footwear on Posture and Comfort in Elite Rugby Players

International audienceAbstract Influence of footwear on posture in athletes is poorly documented despite its potential impact on biomechanics and injury risk. The aim of this study was to investigate effects of different footwear geometries on comfort and posture on a cohort of 48 elite rugby players. Spine posture was characterized by photogrammetry, while center of pressure was measured by means of a force platform. Three different footwear outsoles architectures (one rugby shoe with flat outsole, one rugby shoe with a 10 mm heel rise and foot arch support, and a running shoe with a 10mm heel rise and foot arch support) were compared to non-shod in randomized order. Then comfort felt at the level of foot and spine was also estimated by subjective questionnaires. Compared to the flat rugby model, both other models induced significantly (p<0.05) greater comfort at the level of foot and spine, a slight shift toward of center of pressure and a spinal posture closer to that observed when non-shod. The footwear geometry influences comfort and posture at the level of the foot as well as spine and should be considered in a dual purpose of injury prevention and performance

Does Autologous Leukocyte-Platelet-Rich Plasma Improve Tendon Healing in Arthroscopic Repair of Large or Massive Rotator Cuff Tears?

International audienceExperimental evaluation of the clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) outcome of arthroscopic rotator cuff repair with the use of leukocyte-platelet–rich plasma (L-PRP) in patients with large or massive rotator cuff tears

Clinical phenotypes and outcomes associated with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants BA.2, BA.5 and BQ.1.1 in critically ill patients with COVID-19: a prospective, multicenter cohort study

International audienceBackground: Despite current broad natural and vaccine-induced protection, a substantial number of patients infected with emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants (e.g., BF.7 and BQ.1.1) still experience severe COVID-19. Real-life studies investigating the impact of these variants on clinical outcomes of severe cases are currently not available. We performed a prospective multicenter observational cohort study. Adult patients with acute respiratory failure admitted between December 7, 2021 and December 15, 2022, in one of the 20 participating intensive care units (17 from the Greater Paris area and 3 from the North of France) were eligible for inclusion if they had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed by a positive reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Full-length SARS-CoV-2 genomes from all included patients were sequenced by means of next-generation sequencing. The primary endpoint of the study was day-28 mortality. Results: The study included 158 patients infected with three groups of Omicron sublineages, including (i) BA.2 variants and their early sublineages referred as “BA.2” (n = 50), (ii) early BA.4 and BA.5 sublineages (including BA.5.1 and BA.5.2, n = 61) referred as “BA.4/BA.5”, and (iii) recent emerging BA.5 sublineages (including BQ.1, BQ.1.1, BF.7, BE.1 and CE.1, n = 47) referred as “BQ.1.1”. The clinical phenotype of BQ1.1-infected patients compared to earlier BA.2 and BA.4/BA.5 sublineages, showed more frequent obesity and less frequent immunosuppression. There was no significant difference between Omicron sublineage groups regarding the severity of the disease at ICU admission, need for organ failure support during ICU stay, nor day 28 mortality (21.7%, n = 10/47 in BQ.1.1 group vs 26.7%, n = 16/61 in BA.4/BA.5 vs 22.0%, n = 11/50 in BA.2, p = 0.791). No significant relationship was found between any SARS-CoV-2 substitution and/or deletion on the one hand and survival on the other hand over hospital follow-up. Conclusions: Critically-ill patients with Omicron BQ.1.1 infection showed a different clinical phenotype than other patients infected with earlier Omicron sublineage but no day-28 mortality difference