Military medicine
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Case Reports
Osteogenesis Imperfecta Diagnosed in an Active Duty Female Due to CREB3L1 Heterozygosity.
Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a heritable, collagen-related disorder with varying degrees of disease severity and systemic involvement. The hallmark of OI is bone matrix fragility, but diverse effects related to structural integrity and impaired development of connective tissue can account for hearing loss, blue sclera, dentinogenesis imperfecta, frequent fractures, joint hypermobility, and cardiac valve or vessel fragility in some cases. There is emerging recognition of unique genetic mutations leading to OI including CREB3L1, which codes for an important transcription factor for differentiation of osteoblasts. ⋯ This case highlights the importance of consideration of the variable phenotypes of OI and careful assessment of fracture history during evaluation at the Military Entrance Processing Station and subsequent encounters at military treatment facilities to improve readiness.
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High rates of physician burnout are well documented in the USA. Identifying beneficial leadership behaviors as an organizational approach to mitigating burnout can lead to improved wellness in the physicians that they lead; however, few studies have examined which leadership behaviors are beneficial and which may be detrimental. ⋯ Organizational interventions are needed to improve burnout in physicians. Adopting favorable leadership behaviors while avoiding unfavorable leadership behaviors can improve burnout in those physicians being led. These findings could inform the conceptual basis of future physician leadership training programs as transactional leadership behaviors also have an impact on physician wellness.
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Associations Among PTSD, Cognitive Functioning, and Health-Promoting Behavior in Post-9/11 Veterans.
PTSD is associated with negative health behaviors that increase chronic disease risk, yet health behaviors and their determinants are not well investigated in this context. One understudied mechanism of health behaviors is cognitive functioning. Deficits in cognitive functioning may undermine engagement in health-promoting behavior, thereby increasing the negative impact of PTSD. We tested three hypotheses: (1) Greater PTSD symptom severity is associated with less health-promoting behavior; (2) greater PTSD symptom severity is associated with poorer cognitive functioning across verbal memory, processing speed, attention, and executive functioning domains; and (3) verbal memory and executive functioning exhibit indirect effects on the relationship between PTSD and health-promoting behavior. ⋯ Therapeutic targeting of these relationships may have implications for the prevention of long-term disease impact in veterans; longitudinal research is needed to elucidate the potential impact on chronic disease.
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Surgical site infections complicate 2%-5% of surgeries. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, half of all surgical site infections are preventable. Adherence to published recommendations regarding perioperative antibiotic administration decreases the incidence of surgical site infections. Members of the Department of Anesthesia noticed casual observations of inaccurate prescribing of antibiotics at our institution, Brooke Army Medical Center, and approached the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program to collaborate on this issue. ⋯ Our multidisciplinary approach of collaboration with multiple departments, creating guidelines and providing feedback, improved compliance with perioperative antibiotic administration recommendations.
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Stretching and Self-Myofascial Release in Helicopter Aircrew to Reduce Neck and Back Pain (Phase 1).
This prospective intervention study was designed to determine the efficacy of a standardized Preflight/Postflight Stretches (PPS) protocol to reduce subjective neck and back pain scores in helicopter aircrew. Aircrew transient back and neck pain is well documented, and there is currently no standardized preflight and postflight stretching protocol for Naval Aviation. ⋯ Aircrew back and neck pain because of flying is well documented. However, there is no standardized stretching protocol for aircrew to perform immediately preflight or postflight in U.S. Naval Aviation. This study demonstrated that PPS, a simple 5- to 7-min stretching routine, gives aircrew structure and can reduce postflight cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and overall pain. This phase proved to be safe as no adverse events were reported. The prehabilitation aspect could reduce conventional medical intervention, costly pharmacological management of neck and back pain, and be applied to other aviation populations in military and civilian communities.