Group items tagged

OTs are required ethically, legally, and professionally to evaluate deficits and meet the needs of their clients related to driving. It is the ethical responsibility of OTs to use current and accurate evaluation tools for data collection, and to work within our level of competence/expertise. We must strive to avoid harm; Driving may be a meaningful occupation, but it may cause heightened risk of harm for patients and the public. Identification of deficits that may effect safe driving obligates OTs to warn the patient and report their findings. In these cases, confidentiality is superseded by legal and ethical obligations.

This article discusses the treatments for trigger finger release which were splinting, corticosteroid injections, and surgery. The article discussed wearing a MCP blocking splint in 0 degrees for 3-6 weeks for different periods of time dependent upon therapist requests would be appropriate. Corticosteroid injections were preferred for immediate relief, however there is some debating going on for how many times you should get the steroid before it starts to have negative effects. Lastly, therapy should be started 10-14 days post-op for scar management post trigger finger release surgery. This articles also discusses the use of NSAIDs and cold therapy for management of symptoms for trigger finger. The articles goes onto discuss that choosing which treatment option should be based upon the severity, duration, and previous treatments given. This article helped me understand the different routes patients can take prior to coming to therapy after surgery.

This article is in regards to continuous passive motion after a TKR. This article includes follow up information longer term than most articles that I have found. The overall consensus appears to be the same throughout these articles.

Cognitive impairment is under-recognized and misdiagnosed among community-dwelling older adults. At present, there is no consensus about which cognitive screening tool represents the 'gold standard.' However, one tool that shows promise is the Brief Cognitive Assessment Tool (BCAT), which was originally validated in an assisted living sample and contains a multi-level memory component (e.g. word lists and story recall items) and complex executive functions features (e.g. judgment, set-shifting, and problem-solving). 75 community dwelling adults took the assessment and the MoCA with a cut off score of <26. A cut off score for the BCAT was 45 after utilizing the results of the study to balance sensitivity and specificity at .81 and .8 respectively. In addition scores can be separated to interpret BCAT memory and executive dysfunction component scores.