Continuing Medical Education (Subscribe)  

Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to:
Discuss the principles and tissue effects of harmonic energy and techniques for hemostasis
Compare existing surgical techniques in terms of blood loss, coagulation, and soft tissue damage
Discuss potential future applications for ultrasonic energy technologies and limitations of current research
Minimizing Blood Loss...

April 28, 2009 — A new pain assessment tool helps separate radicular from axial low back pain (LBP), according to the results of a study reported online in the April issue of PLoS Medicine.

Update on Gout: New Therapeutic Strategies and Options
Robert Terkeltaub, MD
Posted: 12/18/2009; Nat Rev Rheumatol. 2010;6(1)
The goal of this activity is to treat gout effectively and understand the role of new potential therapies for gout.
Abstract Gout, a disease recognized since antiquity, has increased in prevalence in recent years and the clinical...

"We found that patients who had drunk alcohol most frequently had symptoms that were less severe than those who had never drunk alcohol or only drunk it infrequently," said lead author James Maxwell, a consultant rheumatologist at the Rotherham Foundation NHS Trust and an honorary senior clinical lecturer in the...

August 3, 2010 — In patients with hip and/or knee osteoarthritis, better adherence to home exercises and more physical activity improve long-term efficacy of exercise therapy, according to the results of a prospective, observational follow-up study reported in the August issue of Arthritis Care & Research. "Several authors have hypothesized that...

Cardiorespiratory Aerobic Exercise May Be Helpful in Rheumatoid Arthritis In a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, aerobic exercise was safe in stable rheumatoid arthritis and had a modest benefit on pain and quality of life.
June 30, 2010 — Cardiorespiratory aerobic exercise may be safe and modestly beneficial in patients with rheumatoid...

March 8, 2010 — Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) significantly improves subacute and chronic low back pain both in the short term and during 1 year compared with advice alone and is highly cost-effective, new research suggests. Published online February 26 in The Lancet, investigators found that disability scores as measured by...

October 1, 2010 — Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), glucocorticoids, and biologics appear to have similar effects on radiographic progression in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to the results of a meta-analysis reported in the October issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.
"During the last 10 years, several effective, but expensive immuno-selective biologic drugs...

Earlier surgery for hip fracture is linked to better outcomes in elderly patients, according to the results of a systematic review and meta-analysis published online September 13 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
CME Author: Désirée Lie, MD, MSEd
CME Released: 09/14/2010; Valid for credit through 09/14/2011

Fall-Prevention Program May Be Ineffective in High-Risk, Cognitively Intact Elderly In a randomized controlled trial, a multifactorial fall-prevention program did not reduce falls in high-risk, cognitively intact older persons. Clinical Review, July 2010
July 19, 2010 — A fall-prevention program is not shown to be effective in reducing falls among high-risk, cognitively intact...

March 30, 2010 — Subtrochanteric and diaphyseal femur fractures are rare, even with bisphosphonate use for up to 10 years, according to the results of an analysis of 3 trials reported online March 24 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
"Patients who are being treated with bisphosphonates for osteoporosis should...

For Acute Low Back Pain, Staying Active May Be Better Than Bed Rest Advice to stay active vs bed rest may offer small benefits in pain and function for patients with acute low back pain, but both approaches are comparable for sciatica. Clinical Review, June 2010

September 29, 2010 — Home-based exercises may protect high-risk elderly women from hip fractures, according to the results of a population-based, randomized controlled exercise trial reported in the September 27 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Human disorders of hereditary and nonhereditary heterotopic ossification are conditions in which osteogenesis occurs outside of the skeleton, within soft tissues of the body. The resulting extra skeletal bone is normal. The aberration lies within the mechanisms that regulate cell-fate determination, directing the inappropriate formation of cartilage or bone, or...

Low Back Pain: Evaluation, Management, and Prognosis CME/CE
B. Eliot Cole, MD, MPA, Chair; Roger Chou, MD, FACP; Bill McCarberg, MD
Recorded at a live symposium held in conjunction with the 29th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Pain Society in Baltimore, Maryland, on May 7, 2010.
Contents of This CME/CE Activity
All sections...