Physical Therapy and Dry Needling for Erectile Dysfunction and Impaired Penile Sensation Following Reconstructive Surgeries of the Penis; A Case Report

Peyronie’s disease (PD) is a connective tissue disorder resulting from abnormal development of fibrotic and non-expandible thickened scar tissue in the penis. Surgical intervention might lead to other complications, including decreased sensation in the penis, persistent pain after surgery, and less-rigid erections. This study presents the physiotherapeutic assessment and management of a 33-year-old man with erectile dysfunction and impaired penile sensation following reconstructive surgeries of the penis. The patient was given physiotherapeutic interventions including dry needling (DN) and subcision of the scar and stretching exercise of the penis. After the 5th visit, the patient reported improvement in symptoms. This case report suggests that dry-needling and subcision techniques can improve pain and sexual well-being in patients with post-plication surgery problems

Safety and efficacy of pulmonary physiotherapy in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia (PPTCOVID study): A prospective, randomised, single-blind, controlled trial.

BackgroundPulmonary physiotherapy (PPT) is an important treatment in the management of patients with different types of pulmonary disorders. We aimed to evaluate safety and efficacy of PPT in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia.MethodsIn this randomised, single-blind, controlled trial, we enrolled hospitalized, non-intubated patients (18 to 75 years with oxygen saturation (Spo2) in free-air breathing ≤90%) with COVID-19 pneumonia at a referral hospital. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive PPT (six sessions PPT with breathing exercises and airway clearance techniques) or basic care. The primary outcomes were venous blood O2 (pO2) and CO2 (pCO2) pressures, Spo2, and three-minute walking test (3MWT) that were assessed before and end of sixth session. Secondary outcomes included level of dyspnea, venous blood PH, one-month mortality, three-month mortality and short form-36 (SF-36) after one and three months. The assessor was blinded to the assignment. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04357340).FindingsIn April-May 2020, 40 participants were randomly assigned to PPT or basic care groups. While at the end of intervention, pO2 (adjusted mean difference to baseline measure (AMD) 6.43 mmHg [95%CI 2.8, 10.07], PConclusionEarly PPT can be considered a safe and relatively effective therapeutic choice for patients with severe COVID-19

Study protocol (English version).

(DOCX)</p

Distribution of different outcomes according to two arms in addition to related effect sizes.

Distribution of different outcomes according to two arms in addition to related effect sizes.</p

Participant’s data including characteristics and primary outcome measurement.

(SAV)</p

Study protocol (Farsi version).

(DOCX)</p

The reason for protocol modifications.

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CONSORT 2010 checklist of information to include when reporting a randomised trial*.

(DOC)</p

Trial profile.

* These participants were intubated during three days and therefore did not participate in the assessment after three days. They died before one-month follow-up.</p

Demographics and clinical characteristics of participants.

Demographics and clinical characteristics of participants.</p