BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI)–English is a valid and reliable instrument for disability measurement in low back pain (LBP) patients. There is no existing ODI–Ilokano that evaluates LBP patients. This study aimed to cross-culturally adapt the ODI–English into Ilokano.

The ODI–English was cross-culturally adapted into Ilokano through a process that included forward translation, synthesis of the translations, back translation, expert committee review, and testing of the pre-final version.

Forward translation focused on capturing the essence of terms related to pain intensity, personal care, and daily activities, achieving consensus on phrases that accurately mirrored the original English meanings. Subsequent synthesis refined these translations, emphasizing idiomatic and conceptual equivalence over literal interpretations, particularly in nuanced areas like sleep disturbance and social life activities. Backward translation processes aligned Ilokano and English terms, especially for pain intensity and personal care, ensuring consistency across languages. The expert committee review addressed spelling, word choice, and sentence structure, making strategic adjustments for cultural relevance. Pilot testing with participants from Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur, Philippines highlighted comprehension challenges with specific terms, leading to adaptations like replacing 'milya' and 'yarda' with metric units and retaining culturally sensitive terms with supplementary English explanations.

This study refined the ODI–English into a culturally adapted Ilokano version, focusing on semantic, idiomatic, and cultural equivalence. Incorporating pilot testing feedback, such as modifying measurement units and addressing sensitive terms, highlighted the thorough adaptation process. The collaborative translation efforts and diverse patient input ensured a culturally resonant ODI version for Ilokano speakers. This adaptation enhances physical therapy practices by improving patient assessments and advocates for adapting patient-reported outcomes to diverse cultures, advancing patient-centered care.

BACKGROUND

Low back pain is a major global cause of disability, typically treated through traditional onsite rehabilitation. However, the advancement of telerehabilitation during the COVID-19 pandemic presents an opportunity to examine its effectiveness as a treatment option for low back pain. This study aims to seek and explore the experiences and perspectives of healthcare professionals about onsite or online management of LBP.

The study will employ a phenomenological qualitative study design that will use quota sampling to recruit a total of 16 participants, equally distributed among rehabilitation doctors, physical therapists, barangay healthworkers, and patients with low back pain, coming from hospitals and centers affiliated with the University of Santo Tomas in Metro Manila. Key informant interviews that follow a semi-structured interview format will be conducted either on-site or online, depending on the preference of the invited informant. The NVivo data analysis software will be utilized to produce codes and outline themes from the gathered data.

The research is expected to highlight the nuanced interplay between individual viewpoints and contextual factors that influence decision-making in rehabilitation settings, besides identifying these themes. Findings will be instrumental in informing best practices for managing low back pain, thereby helping physical therapists determine the most effective treatment approach—whether through telerehabilitation or traditional on-site care. The study can provide actionable recommendations through grounding the implications of the analysis to the anticipated findings that might affect the rehabilitation practices and patient outcomes in the Philippines.

Gliomatosis peritonei (GP) is a condition characterized by the dissemination of mature glial tissues throughout the peritoneal cavity. It is usually associated with immature ovarian teratoma but presents with mature cystic teratoma (MCT) in 1% of cases. GP, associated with MCT, is a benign disorder. The majority of cases remain asymptomatic and rarely recur. Here, we present a case of a 22-year-old woman with a history of abdominal enlargement and severe abdominal pain who underwent exploratory laparotomy, peritoneal fluid cytology, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, appendectomy, omental biopsy, and Jackson-Pratt drain insertion with histopathologic result of GP with MCT. A month later, the patient had a recurrence of abdominal enlargement, necessitating a second surgery. Immunohistochemistry for histopathologic evaluation and diagnostic imaging are crucial in confirming the diagnosis and guiding the treatment strategy. A multidisciplinary team approach in monitoring and comprehensive support is significant in optimizing outcomes for patients with aggressive GPs associated with MCT. Further research and clinical experience are essential to establish a standardized guideline to improve the management and clinical outcome of this condition.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the feasibility and effectiveness of a foldable pedicled latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap to repair soft tissue defects in the shoulder and back. METHODS: Between August 2018 and January 2023, the foldable pedicled latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flaps were used to repair soft tissue defects in the shoulder and back of 8 patients. There were 5 males and 3 females with the age ranged from 21 to 56 years (mean, 35.4 years). Wounds were located in the shoulder in 2 cases and in the shoulder and back in 6 cases. The causes of injury were chronic infection of skin and bone exposure in 2 cases, secondary wound after extensive resection of skin and soft tissue tumor in 4 cases, and wound formation caused by traffic accident in 2 cases. Skin defect areas ranged from 14 cm×13 cm to 20 cm×16 cm. The disease duration ranged from 12 days to 1 year (median, 6.6 months). A pedicled latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap was designed and harvested. The flap was divided into A/B flap and then were folded to repair the wound, with the donor area of the flap being pulled and sutured in one stage. RESULTS: All 7 flaps survived, with primary wound healing. One patient suffered from distal flap necrosis and delayed healing was achieved after dressing change. The incisions of all donor sites healed by first intention. All patients were followed up 6 months to 4 years (mean, 24.7 months). The skin flap has a good appearance with no swelling in the pedicle. At last follow-up, 6 patients had no significant difference in bilateral shoulder joint motion, and 2 patients had a slight decrease in abduction range of motion compared with the healthy side. The patients' daily life were not affected, and linear scar was left in the donor site. CONCLUSION The foldable pedicled latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap is an ideal method to repair the soft tissue defect of shoulder and back with simple operation, less damage to the donor site, and quick recovery after operation.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Young Adult ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Plastic Surgery Procedures ; Myocutaneous Flap/surgery* ; Shoulder/surgery* ; Skin Transplantation ; Superficial Back Muscles/transplantation* ; Soft Tissue Injuries/surgery* ; Wound Healing ; Treatment Outcome ; Perforator Flap

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Low back pain is one of the most common work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Healthcare workers are prone to low back pain because of the nature of their profession. Low back pain may be related to lumbar multifidi atrophy or instability and poor core stability. Core stability can be assessed using the unilateral hip bridge endurance test. This cross-sectional study aims to determine the correlation between unilateral hip bridge endurance (UHBE) and sonologic characteristics of the bilateral L4-L5 lumbar multifidus muscles of physically active allied healthcare professionals.

Forty (40) physically active healthcare professionals (mean age = 31.3 ± 6.39 years, mean height = 161.17 ± 8.45 cm, mean weight = 61.88 ± 13.58 kg, mean BMI = 23.61 ± 3.68 kg/m2) were recruited via purposive sampling. The participants answered online versions of the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) and Oswestry Disability Index. They subsequently underwent the UHBE test and ultrasound assessment of the L4-L5 multifidi. Multiplied anteroposterior (AP) and lateral linear (L) measurements were used to estimate L4-L5 multifidi size. The Pearson test was used to test for correlation between the primary outcomes of the study.

There was no statistically significant correlation between Lumbar Multifidi CSA and UHBE Scores (r = -0.172, p > 0.05), and between Lumbar Multifidi CSA% Difference and UHBE Scores (r = -0.140, p > 0.05). However, results showed a very weak negative correlation between the Lumbar Multifidi CSA% Difference and UHBE Scores.

There is no definite evidence showing a correlation between core stability tests such as the unilateral hip bridge test scores and sonologic characteristics of the lumbar multifidi. However, lumbar multifidi symmetry may have a role with core stability. The correlation between core stability tests and lumbar multifidus morphology should be further investigated.

Female ; Humans ; Consensus ; East Asian People ; Pelvic Floor/surgery* ; Prostheses and Implants ; Registries ; Plastic Surgery Procedures/adverse effects* ; Prosthesis Implantation

Intrauterine device(IUD)migrating to the bladder is rare,especially the migration far away from the uterus into the bladder wall.Due to no obvious clinical symptom in the early stage and being far away from the uterus,the IUD totally embedded in the bladder wall is prone to misdiagnosis and delay in treatment.We reported one case of such migration,aiming to improve the clinical management of the IUD totally embedded in the bladder wall.
Female ; Humans ; Urinary Bladder/surgery* ; Uterus ; Pelvis ; Intrauterine Devices/adverse effects*

This study systematically searched and sorted out randomized controlled trial(RCT) of acupuncture-moxibustion treatment for non-specific low back pain by scoping review, so as to demonstrate the current state of the research evidence and provide a reference point for future clinical research and healthcare decision-making. Eight commonly used Chinese and English databases were searched, and the search time was from the establishment of the databases to July 7, 2023, so as to analyze the characteristics of the current status of the current research through visualization methods. A total of 50 studies were included, including 23 studies in Chinese and 27 studies in English. The overall number of studies showed an increasing trend. The percentage of studies published in Chinese non-core journals was 42.0%. The disease subtypes of interest were mainly chronic non-specific low back pain, accounting for 68.0% of the studies. The sample sizes of the studies were mainly concentrated in the range of 50-100 cases. A total of 15 types of interventions were categorized, with acupuncture interventions being the most studied. Duration of treatment did not exceed one month in 80.0% of the studies. Only 8.0% of the studies used minimal clinical important difference(MCID) as a basis for judgment. The follow-up period was set within 3 months in 28.0% of the studies, and 82.0% of the studies concluded that acupuncture-moxibustion was effective in the treatment of non-specific lower back pain. Adverse events were reported in 20.0% of the studies. The risk of bias in the included studies was dominated by low risk of bias and uncertain risk of bias, with fewer studies focusing on high risks of bias. In most of the studies, acupuncture-moxibustion was significantly more effective than the control group. The research on acupuncture-moxibustion treatment for non-specific low back pain is developing rapidly, but there are still insufficient studies on psychological state, safety, and other indicators, and there are still some studies with uncertain risks of bias, which is not conducive to the generalization and application of the findings. Therefore, future studies should improve and refine these shortcomings.
Humans ; Acupuncture Therapy/methods* ; Low Back Pain/etiology* ; Moxibustion/methods* ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic

Precise segmentation of lung field is a crucial step in chest radiographic computer-aided diagnosis system. With the development of deep learning, fully convolutional network based models for lung field segmentation have achieved great effect but are poor at accurate identification of the boundary and preserving lung field consistency. To solve this problem, this paper proposed a lung segmentation algorithm based on non-local attention and multi-task learning. Firstly, an encoder-decoder convolutional network based on residual connection was used to extract multi-scale context and predict the boundary of lung. Secondly, a non-local attention mechanism to capture the long-range dependencies between pixels in the boundary regions and global context was proposed to enrich feature of inconsistent region. Thirdly, a multi-task learning to predict lung field based on the enriched feature was conducted. Finally, experiments to evaluate this algorithm were performed on JSRT and Montgomery dataset. The maximum improvement of Dice coefficient and accuracy were 1.99% and 2.27%, respectively, comparing with other representative algorithms. Results show that by enhancing the attention of boundary, this algorithm can improve the accuracy and reduce false segmentation.
X-Rays ; Algorithms ; Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted ; Thorax/diagnostic imaging* ; Lung/diagnostic imaging* ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of posterolateral approach lumbar interbody fusion assisted by one-hole split endoscope (OSE) and traditional posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) in the treatment of L_{4, 5} degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis (DLS). METHODS: The clinical data of 58 patients with DLS who met the selection criteria admitted between February 2020 and March 2022 were retrospectively analyzed, of which 26 were treated with OSE-assisted posterolateral approach lumbar interbody fusion (OSE group) and 32 were treated with PLIF (PLIF group). There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of gender, age, body mass index, Meyerding grade, lower limb symptom side, decompression side, stenosis type, and preoperative low back pain visual analogue scale (VAS) score, leg pain VAS score, Oswestry disability index (ODI), and the height of the anterior and posterior margins of the intervertebral space (P>0.05). The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative hospital stay, and complications were compared between the two groups. The low back pain and leg pain VAS scores and ODI before operation, at 1 month, 6 months after operation, and last follow-up, the height of anterior and posterior margins of the intervertebral space before operation, at 6 months after operation, and last follow-up, the modified MacNab criteria at last follow-up after operation were used to evaluate the effectiveness; and the Bridwell method at last follow-up was used to evaluate the interbody fusion. RESULTS: Both groups successfully completed the operation. Compared with the PLIF group, the OSE group showed a decrease in intraoperative blood loss and postoperative hospital stay, but an increase in operation time, with significant differences (P<0.05). In the OSE group, no complication such as nerve root injury and thecal sac tear occurred; in the PLIF group, there were 1 case of thecal sac tear and 1 case of epidural hematoma, which were cured after conservative management. Both groups of patients were followed up 13-20 months with an average of 15.5 months. There was no complication such as loosening, sinking, or displacement of the fusion cage. The low back pain and leg pain VAS scores, ODI, and the height of anterior and posterior margins of the intervertebral space at each time point after operation in both groups were significantly improved when compared with those before operation (P<0.05). Except for the VAS score of lower back pain in the OSE group being significantly better than that in the PLIF group at 1 month after operation (P<0.05), there was no significant difference in all indicators between the two groups at all other time points (P>0.05). At last follow-up, both groups achieved bone fusion, and there was no significant difference in Bridwell interbody fusion and modified MacNab standard evaluation between the two groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSION OSE-assisted posterolateral approach lumbar interbody fusion for L_{4, 5} DLS, although the operation time is relatively long, but the postoperative hospitalization stay is short, the complications are few, the operation is safe and effective, and the early effectiveness is satisfactory.
Humans ; Spondylolisthesis/surgery* ; Low Back Pain/surgery* ; Retrospective Studies ; Lumbosacral Region ; Blood Loss, Surgical ; Endoscopes