Study Design: Cross-sectional. Background: Although decreased hip abduction and lateral rotation strength has been found in females with patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS), few studies have included males. Aim: To determine if hip abduction and lateral rotation strength is decreased in males with PFPS. Methods: Eight males participated. Isometric hip abduction and external rotation strength was measured with a hand-held dynamometer. Four subjects had unilateral patellofemoral pain (mean age = 26.5 ± 7.5 years) and 4 asymptomatic subjects were controls (mean age = 23 ± 6.4 years). The recorded measurements from the symptomatic legs were compared with the asymptomatic legs, and also with the controls. Results: No significant differences in hip abduction or lateral rotation strength were found between the symptomatic and asymptomatic legs of male subjects with PFPS. The PFPS subjects did not have generally weaker hip strength compared with the asymptomatic controls. Conclusion: Males with PFPS do not appear to have decreased hip abduction and lateral rotation strength. However, the sample size was too small for conclusions to be drawn. This study can be used as a preliminary step in gathering evidence about factors affecting PFPS in males, which may in turn shed light on appropriate clinical treatments.

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) has been attributed with lengthening patients' stay in the intensive care unit (ICU), is the leading cause of death among nosocomial infections, and leads to increased hospital cost. Various positional strategies in the prevention of VAP include head of bed (HOB) elevation, continuous lateral rotation therapy (CLRT), and kinetic bed therapy. However, poor compliance rates in critical care units have been reported. Mechanically ventilated patients develop nosocomial pneumonia at a rate 6 to 21 times greater than non-ventilated hospitalized patients. A HOB elevation of 30' to 45' and the turning of patients every two hours are two commonly accepted guidelines used to prevent respiratory compilations by facilitating the clearance of pulmonary secretions. Both HOB elevation and CLRT were explored as interventions that could be implemented to reduce the incidence of VAP. It is difficult to attribute reduced VAP rates to either modality alone. However, when HOB elevation and CLRT are utilized in concert with other modalities, clinically significant benefits become readily apparent. Implementation of both improves clinical outcomes. These modalities should not be considered as individual strategies to reduce VAP, but as part of a comprehensive approach to reduce the incidence of VAP and improve patient outcomes.

Background: Medial ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery (UCLR) is a common surgical procedure performed on elite level baseball players. Physical signs and symptoms of ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) injuries requiring UCLR along with treatment have been clearly defined, however, an exact etiology of UCL injuries and methods of preventing UCLR surgery remain unclear. Objective: Systematically review and qualitatively provide an in-depth summary of recent literature about the relationships between changes in advanced pitching metrics for potential warning signs of UCL injury prior to requiring UCLR. Methods: We searched two electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus) from inception to October 2021 using a keyword search. Data extracted included author and year of publication, study design, sample size, study location, and primary outcome variables. Articles that met inclusion criteria were then evaluated using a modified Downs and Black criteria. Results: The key word search returned 51 articles of which a total of seven articles were included in the review. For the papers that met the inclusion criteria, four noted changes to velocity as potential an indicator for UCLR surgery, two identified lateralization of arm angles as an indicator of UCLR surgery, and one reported change to spin rates of specific pitches as an indicator for UCLR surgery. Conclusions: The results of this review show that changes in certain advanced pitching metrics such as spin rate, velocity, and lateralization of arm angles could be potential indicators of UCL damage. Further evaluation is needed to continue to improve our understanding of how these trends could be used as predictors of UCLR.