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Background: Several reports have shown that shoulder stabilizing procedures lead to postoperative external rotation (ER) deficits. However, no study on arthroscopic Latarjet procedures has investigated the effect on ER when the arm is abducted at 0° (ER0) and 90° (ER90). This study examined the relationship between the arthroscopic Latarjet procedure and the subsequent effect on ER0 and ER90. Methods: Patients who underwent an arthroscopic Latarjet procedure from December 2015 to April 2021 were retrospectively evaluated. Preoperative ER0 and ER90 values were obtained from the contralateral shoulder. ER0 and ER90 values from the operative side were collected at both 3 and 6 months postoperatively. A repeated measures ANOVA was performed to assess the mean preoperative and postoperative values. Results: Forty-six patients met the inclusion criteria. Mean ER0 for the 3- and 6-month time frames measured 44.2° and 54.6°, respectively. Mean ER90 for the 3- and 6-month time frames measured 78.4° and 90.4°, respectively. Comparison to the contralateral arm at the 3-month follow-up period showed a deficit of 14.9° (P = .0001) and 17.2° (P = .0001) for ER0 and ER90, respectively. At the 6-month follow-up period, patients demonstrated an average decline in ER0 and ER90 of 4.57° (P = .063) and 5.11° (P = .008), respectively. Conclusion: A nominal deficit in ER occurred for both ER0 and ER90 status post arthroscopic Latarjet procedure. Despite loss of ER90 at 6 months achieving statistical significance, the clinical impact is arguably inconsequential. Such limited loss of ER provides more information regarding bony procedures being a more definitive treatment for glenohumeral instability and the ability to restore native motion.

Introduction: Social insecurity, a form of deprivation of social amenities, if present among patients presenting in a rural emergency department (ED) can be a source of medical burden and poor health outcomes. Although knowledge and understanding of the insecurity profile of such patients is necessary for targeted care that improves their health outcomes, the concept has not been comprehensively quantified. In this study we explored, characterized, and quantified the social insecurity profile of ED patients at a rural teaching hospital in southeastern North Carolina with a large Native American population. Methods: A paper survey questionnaire was administered by trained research assistants between May–June 2018 to patients who presented to the ED and consented to participate in this cross-sectional, single-center study. The survey was anonymous with no identifying information collected on the respondents. A general demographic section and questions derived from the literature capturing sub-constructs of social insecurity—communication access, access to transportation, housing insecurity and home environment, food insecurity, and exposure to violence–were captured in the survey. We assessed the factors included in the index of social insecurity based on a rank ordering using the magnitude of their coefficient of variation and the Cronbach’s alpha reliability index of the constituent items. Results: Overall, we collected 312 surveys from the approximately 445 administered and included them in the analysis, representing a response rate of about 70%. The average age of the 312 respondents was 45.1 (±17.7) years with a range of 18.0–96.0. More females (54.2%) than males participated in the survey. Native Americans (34.3%), Blacks (33.7%), and Whites (27.6%) comprised the three major racial/ethnicity groups of the sample, which are representative of the study area’s population distribution. Social insecurity was observed among this population regarding all the subdomains and an overall measure (P

Zhou and colleagues are commended for their innovative research on the tolerability of “low-viscosity” fibre supplements in symptomatic diabetic gastroparesis patients [...]

Introduction: Emergency department (ED) visits for mental health and substance use disorders have been on the rise, with substance use disorders frequently coexisting with mental health disorders. This study evaluated substances commonly used/abused by patients presenting to the ED of a rural, regional medical center with subsequent admission for mental health treatment in Robeson County, North Carolina. Methods: This retrospective, single-center study was approved by the Southeastern Health Institutional Review Board. We reviewed medical records of psychiatric patients presenting to the ED with ultimate admission to the inpatient psychiatric unit between January 1, 2016, and June 30, 2016. Frequencies of controlled substances testing positive on urine drug and alcohol screenings in admitted patients were obtained and analyzed. We also made ethnic and gender comparisons. Results: A total of 477 patients met inclusion criteria. The percentage of patients testing positive were as follows: tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (40%); cocaine (28.7%); alcohol (15.1%); benzodiazepines (13%); opiates (9.6%); amphetamines (2.9%); barbiturates (2.3%); and methadone (0.8%). A relatively higher proportion of patients tested positive for THC than any other substance ( p≤.0002). We found statistically significant differences for gender ( p=.0004) and ethnicity ( p