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ObjectiveTo estimate the cost and health outcomes associated with a new HIV testing strategy that utilizes routine-based clinical reminders.MethodsWe conducted an economic analysis of 1) traditional pretest/post-test counseling; 2) counseling and a new clinical reminders system; and 3) only clinical reminder in the veterans' health care system. A payer-perspective decision model was conducted to calculate the 1-year budget impact of three HIV testing strategies. Parameter values were obtained from the literature, including patients' probability of accepting test, and costs associated with HIV testing procedures. Deidentified patient data, including total population screened and number of new HIV cases, were collected from one clinic in Los Angeles, California, from August 2004 to December 2011. Annual total costs and costs per new case were calculated on the basis of parameter values and patient data. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to evaluate the robustness of the critical variable on costs.ResultsThe total cost of the clinical reminder system with pretest counseling was $81,726 over 1 year compared with $109,208 for traditional HIV testing. Under a clinical reminder system with no pretest counseling, the number of HIV tests performed and the number of new diagnoses increased for that year. In addition, cost per new diagnoses was the lowest.ConclusionsThe clinical reminder system can reduce the cost per cases identified and promote better performance of HIV testing compared with traditional HIV testing. The fundamental decision model can be used for hospital facilities outside the Veteran Affairs adopting a similar program for improving the HIV testing rate.

Background: Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy (APM) is used to treat meniscal tears, although its efficacy is controversial. Purpose: This study used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine characteristics that lead to greater benefit from APM and physical therapy (PT) than from PT alone among patients with meniscal tear and knee osteoarthritis. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2. Methods: Using data from the Meniscal Tear in Osteoarthritis Research (MeTeOR) trial, the authors first assessed whether the effect of treatment on pain scores at 6 months differed according to baseline MRI features (bone marrow lesions, cartilage and meniscal damage). Second, the authors summed MRI features associated with differential pain relief between APM and PT to create a "damage score," which included bone marrow lesion number and cartilage damage size with possible values of 0 (least damage), 1 (moderate), and 2 (greatest). The authors used linear models to determine whether the association between damage score and pain relief at 6 months differed for APM versus PT. Results: The study included 220 participants: 13%, had the least damage; 52%, moderate; and 34%, greatest. Although treatment type did not significantly modify the association of damage score and change in pain (P interaction = .13), those with the least damage and moderate damage had greater improvement with APM than with PT in Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score pain subscale—by 15 and 7 points, respectively. Those with the greatest damage had a similar improvement with APM and PT. Conclusion: Among patients with osteoarthritis and meniscal tear, those with less intra-articular damage on MRI may have greater improvement in pain with APM and PT than with PT alone. However, these results should be interpreted cautiously owing to the limited sample size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Synovitis is a prevalent feature in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) and meniscal tear and is associated with pain and cartilage damage. Patient-reported swelling is also prevalent in this population. The aim of this study was to investigate the cross-sectional association between patient-reported swelling and effusion-synovitis detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with OA and meniscal tear.Methods: We used baseline data from a multicenter, randomized controlled trial, Meniscal Tear in Osteoarthritis Research (METEOR). MRI-identified effusion-synovitis, a proxy for effusion and synovitis on noncontrast MRIs, was graded as none/small versus medium/large. Using MRI-identified effusion-synovitis as the gold standard, we assessed the sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of patient self-reported swelling in the previous week (none, intermittent, constant) to detect effusion and synovitis.Results: We analyzed data from 276 patients. Twenty-five percent of patients reported no swelling, 40% had intermittent swelling, and 36% had constant swelling. Fifty-two percent had MRI-identified medium/large-grade effusion-synovitis. As compared with MRI-identified effusion-synovitis, any patient-reported swelling (versus none) had a sensitivity of 84% (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 77-89), a specificity of 34% (95% CI 26-43), and a positive predictive value of 57% (95% CI 54-61). A history of constant swelling (versus none or intermittent) showed a sensitivity of 46% (95% CI 37-54), a specificity of 75% (95% CI 67-82), and a positive predictive value of 66% (95% CI 58-74).Conclusion: We found that the sensitivity and specificity of patient-reported swelling were modest when compared with effusion-synovitis detected by MRI. These data urge caution against using patient-reported swelling as a proxy of inflammation manifesting as effusion-synovitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Synovitis is a feature of knee osteoarthritis (OA) and meniscal tear and has been associated with articular cartilage damage. This study was undertaken to examine the associations of baseline effusion‐synovitis and changes in effusion‐synovitis with changes in cartilage damage in a cohort with OA and meniscal tear. Methods: We analyzed data from the Meniscal Tear in Osteoarthritis Research (MeTeOR) trial of surgery versus physical therapy for treatment of meniscal tear. We performed semiquantitative grading of effusion‐synovitis and cartilage damage on magnetic resonance imaging, and dichotomized effusion‐synovitis as none/small (minimal) and medium/large (extensive). We assessed the association of baseline effusion‐synovitis and changes in effusion‐synovitis with changes in cartilage damage size and depth over 18 months, using Poisson regression models. Analyses were adjusted for patient demographic characteristics, treatment, and baseline cartilage damage. Results: We analyzed 221 participants. Over 18 months, effusion‐synovitis was persistently minimal in 45.3% and persistently extensive in 21.3% of the patients. The remaining 33.5% of the patients had minimal synovitis on one occasion and extensive synovitis on the other. In adjusted analyses, patients with extensive effusion‐synovitis at baseline had a relative risk (RR) of progression of cartilage damage depth of 1.7 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.0–2.7). Compared to those with persistently minimal effusion‐synovitis, those with persistently extensive effusion‐synovitis had a significantly increased risk of progression of cartilage damage depth (RR 2.0 [95% CI 1.1–3.4]). Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the presence of extensive effusion‐synovitis is associated with subsequent progression of cartilage damage over 18 months. The persistence of extensive effusion‐synovitis over time is associated with the greatest risk of concurrent cartilage damage progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We designed and implemented the Brigham and Women’s Wellness Initiative (B-Well), a single-arm study to examine the feasibility of a workplace program that used individual and team-based financial incentives to increase physical activity among sedentary hospital employees. Methods: We enrolled sedentary, non-clinician employees of a tertiary medical center who self-reported low physical activity. Eligible participants formed or joined teams of three members and wore Fitbit Flex activity monitors for two pre-intervention weeks followed by 24 weeks during which they could earn monetary rewards. Participants were rewarded for increasing their moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) by 10% from the previous week or for meeting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) physical activity guidelines (150 min of MVPA per week). Our primary outcome was the proportion of participants meeting weekly MVPA goals and CDC physical activity guidelines. Secondary outcomes included Fitbit-wear adherence and factors associated with meeting CDC guidelines more consistently. Results: B-Well included 292 hospital employees. Participants had a mean age of 38 years (SD 11), 83% were female, 38% were obese, and 62% were non-Hispanic White. Sixty-three percent of participants wore the Fitbit ≥4 days per week for ≥20 weeks. Two-thirds were satisfied with the B-Well program, with 79% indicating that they would participate again. Eighty-six percent met either their personal weekly goal or CDC physical activity guidelines for at least 6 out of 24 weeks, and 52% met their goals or CDC physical activity guidelines for at least 12 weeks. African Americans, non-obese subjects, and those with lower impulsivity scores reached CDC guidelines more consistently. Conclusions: Our data suggest that a financial incentives-based workplace wellness program can increase MVPA among sedentary employees. These results should be reproduced in a randomized controlled trial. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT02850094. Registered July 27, 2016 [retrospectively registered].

Background: Illness-related absenteeism is a major threat to work productivity. Our objective was to assess the relationship between physical activity and unplanned illness-related absenteeism from work. Methods: We implemented physical activity program for sedentary non-clinician employees of a tertiary medical center. Financial rewards were available for reaching accelerometer-measured ambulatory physical activity goals over a 24-week period. We categorized participants into three groups based on mean levels of physical activity: low (0–74 min/week), medium (75–149 min/week) and meeting CDC guidelines (≥150 min/week). We built a multivariable Poisson regression model to evaluate the relationship between physical activity and rates of unplanned illness-related absenteeism. Results: The sample consisted of 292 employees who participated in the program. Their mean age was 38 years (SD 11), 83% were female, and 38% were obese. Over the 24 intervention weeks, participants engaged in a mean of 90 min/week (SD 74) of physical activity and missed a mean of 14 hours of work (SD 38) due to illness. Unplanned absenteeism due to illness was associated with physical activity. As compared to the group meeting CDC guidelines, in multivariable analyses those in the medium physical activity group had a 2.4 (95% CI 1.3–4.5) fold higher rate of illness-related absenteeism and those in the lowest physical activity group had a 3.5 (95% CI 1.7–7.2) fold higher rate of illness-related absenteeism. Discussion Less physical activity was associated with more illness-related absenteeism. Workforce-based interventions to increase physical activity may thus be a promising vehicle to reduce unplanned illness-related absenteeism.

Background: Residual pain after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) refers to knee pain after 3 to 6 months postoperatively. The estimates of the proportion of patients who experience residual pain after TKA vary widely. We hypothesized that the variation may stem from the range of methods used to assess residual pain. We analyzed data from 2 prospective studies to assess the proportion of subjects with residual pain as defined by several commonly used metrics and to examine the association of residual pain defined by each metric with participant dissatisfaction., Methods: We combined participant data from 2 prospective studies of TKA outcomes from subjects recruited between 2011 and 2014. Residual pain was defined using a range of metrics based on the WOMAC (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index) pain score (0 to 100, in which 100 indicates worst), including the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) and patient acceptable symptom state (PASS). We also examined combinations of MCID and PASS cutoffs. Subjects self-reported dissatisfaction following TKA, and we defined dissatisfied as somewhat or very dissatisfied at 12 months. We calculated the proportion of participants with residual pain, as defined by each metric, who reported dissatisfaction. We examined the association of each metric with dissatisfaction by calculating the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and Youden index., Results: We analyzed data from 417 subjects with a mean age (and standard deviation) of 66.3 ± 8.3 years. Twenty-six participants (6.2%) were dissatisfied. The proportion of participants defined as having residual pain according to the various metrics ranged from 5.5% to >50%. The composite metric Improvement in WOMAC pain score ≥20 points or final WOMAC pain score ≤25 had the highest positive predictive value for identifying dissatisfied subjects (0.54 [95% confidence interval, 0.35 to 0.71]). No metric had a Youden index of ≥50%., Conclusions: Different metrics provided a wide range of estimates of residual pain following TKA. No estimate was both sensitive and specific for dissatisfaction in patients who underwent TKA, underscoring that measures of residual pain should be defined explicitly in reports of TKA outcomes., Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest forms are provided with the online version of the article (http://links.lww.com/JBJSOA/A577)., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Incorporated. All rights reserved.)

Background: The goal of this study was to investigate the association between preoperative radiographic severity of knee osteoarthritis (OA) and patient-reported outcomes following total knee replacement., Methods: We used data from a prospective cohort study of individuals who underwent total knee replacement at a high-volume medical center. Patient-reported outcomes included the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) pain score and the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) activities of daily living (ADL) subscore, assessed preoperatively and 2 years postoperatively. We measured preoperative radiographic OA severity using the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) Atlas score, dichotomized at the median. We assessed the association between radiographic OA severity and postoperative patient-reported outcomes in bivariate analyses and in multivariable linear regression, with adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, and comorbidity score., Results: The analytic cohort included 240 patients with a mean age at surgery of 66.6 years (standard deviation, 8 years); 61% were female. The median total OARSI radiographic severity score was 10 (range, 3 to 17). The cohort improved substantially at 2 years following total knee replacement, with WOMAC pain and KOOS ADL score improvements on the order of 30 points. We did not observe significant or clinically important differences in pain relief or functional improvement between patients with milder and more severe radiographic OA. Sensitivity analyses using other radiographic assessment measures yielded similar findings., Conclusions: Total knee replacement offers substantial symptomatic relief and functional improvement regardless of preoperative radiographic OA severity., Level of Evidence: Prognostic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Incorporated. All rights reserved.)