Longitudinal Ultrasound-Guided Injection Curriculum for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residents.

Physiatrists are increasingly using musculoskeletal ultrasound for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. However, a standardized longitudinal curriculum for instructing physical medicine and rehabilitation residents in performing ultrasound-guided interventional procedures has yet to be established. The purpose of this study is to develop and assess the effectiveness of a longitudinal curriculum in training residents to perform common ultrasound-guided musculoskeletal injections using fresh-frozen cadaveric specimens. The course included six weekly hands-on educational sessions, divided by anatomical region, integrated into an established anatomy and physical examination curriculum. After completion of the curriculum, residents reported improved comfort and confidence and displayed improved competence in performing these injections. Other physiatry residency programs should consider implementing longitudinal, hands-on cadaveric training courses to better prepare trainees to perform ultrasound-guided injections as part of their future clinical practice

Depletion of CD4+ T cells abrogates post-peak decline of viremia in SIV-infected rhesus macaques

CD4+ T cells play a central role in the immunopathogenesis of HIV/AIDS, and their depletion during chronic HIV infection is a hallmark of disease progression. However, the relative contribution of CD4+ T cells as mediators of antiviral immune responses and targets for virus replication is still unclear. Here, we have generated data in SIV-infected rhesus macaques (RMs) that suggest that CD4+ T cells are essential in establishing control of virus replication during acute infection. To directly assess the role of CD4+ T cells during primary SIV infection, we in vivo depleted these cells from RMs prior to infecting the primates with a pathogenic strain of SIV. Compared with undepleted animals, CD4+ lymphocyte–depleted RMs showed a similar peak of viremia, but did not manifest any post-peak decline of virus replication despite CD8+ T cell– and B cell–mediated SIV-specific immune responses comparable to those observed in control animals. Interestingly, depleted animals displayed rapid disease progression, which was associated with increased virus replication in non-T cells as well as the emergence of CD4-independent SIV-envelopes. Our results suggest that the antiviral CD4+ T cell response may play an important role in limiting SIV replication, which has implications for the design of HIV vaccines

Long-term efficacy and safety of questionnaire-based initiation of urgency urinary incontinence treatment

OBJECTIVES: To determine the longer-term efficacy and safety of initiating treatment for urgency-predominant urinary incontinence (UUI) in women diagnosed using a simple questionnaire rather than an extensive evaluation. STUDY DESIGN: Women completing a 12-week randomized controlled trial of fesoterodine therapy for UUI diagnosed by questionnaire were invited to participate in a 9-month open label continuation study. UUI and voiding episodes were collected using voiding diaries. Participant satisfaction was measured by questionnaire. Safety was assessed by measurement of post void residual volume and adverse event monitoring; if necessary, women underwent specialist evaluation. Longitudinal changes in UUI and voiding episodes were evaluated using linear mixed models adjusting for baseline. RESULTS: Of the 567 women completing the randomized trial, 498 (87.8%) took at least one dose of medication during this open label study. Compared to the enrollment visit in the randomized trial, fesoterodine was associated with a reduction in total incontinence episodes/day and urgency incontinence episodes/day at the end of the open label study [adjusted mean (standard error (SE)) 4.6 (0.12) to 1.2 (0.13) and 3.9 (0.11) to 0.9 (0.11) respectively, p-value<.0001 for both]. Most women were satisfied with treatment (89%, 92%, and 93% at 3, 6, and 9 months). Twenty-six women experienced 28 serious adverse events, one of which was considered possibly treatment-related. Twenty-two women had specialist evaluation: 5 women’s incontinence was misclassified by the 3IQ; none experienced harm due to misclassification. CONCLUSIONS: Using a simple validated questionnaire to diagnose and initiate treatment for UUI in community dwelling women is safe and effective, allowing timely treatment by primary care practitioners