Colorado Springs Research Articles

Ageism in Birthday Cards: A Mixed-Method Content Analysis.

Ageism is oftentimes sugarcoated within humor. Paper birthday cards are 1 delivery approach in which ageist messages are perpetuated and reinforced through humor. A convenience sample of birthday cards (k = 227), all indicating a decade of age, were acquired from 7 national retail stores in Colorado Springs, CO. The decades sampled ranged from 21 to 100. With a predeveloped codebook, 3 raters coded the decade birthday cards on various variables, including age group, ageist tone, and humor. Birthday cards intended for age 30-60 contained significantly more ageist messages compared to cards intended for age 21 and age 70-100, which did not show a significant difference from each other. Additionally, birthday cards with humor showed more ageist messages than cards without humor. Characteristics of decade birthday cards were also explored. Consumers need to learn to evaluate these ageist messages in birthday cards to reduce the perpetuation of damaging stereotypes.

Changes in adult leisure-time physical activity during and after COVID-19 restrictions in Colorado Springs, Colorado

ABSTRACT The public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic may have changed leisure-time physical activity (PA) behaviour, as many ‘Stay-at-Home’ policies mandated closure of indoor recreational facilities. This study examined changes in adult leisure-time PA in more and less active groups during and after COVID-19 restrictions in a relatively active region where outdoor PA was not limited. Self-reported data on walking, moderate, and vigorous PA before, during, and after restrictions were collected via a retrospective internet survey with convenience and snowball sampling. Respondents (N = 183) were categorised as either meeting (n = 129) or not meeting (n = 54) the national recommendation of 150 minutes/week of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic PA (MVPA) during the period before restrictions. Minutes of walking, MVPA, and total PA were compared across groups and periods with two-way repeated-measure ANOVAs. Those who met PA guidelines decreased MVPA by 51.0 minutes/week during restrictions compared to before. Those not meeting PA guidelines increased total PA by 88.1 minutes/week during restrictions. This study highlights a need to better understand interactions between built environment and social cognitive factors related to leisure-time PA, which may help inform future PA interventions.

A pilot of a veteran suicide prevention learning collaborative among community organizations: Initial results and outcomes.

Veteran suicide remains an ongoing public health concern in need of fresh, community-based initiatives. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has built an enterprise-wide integrated behavioral health system that has pioneered numerous suicide prevention methods. However, most Veterans receive healthcare outside the VA, from organizations that may not be equipped to address Veteran suicide risk. One solution is implementing a VA/community suicide prevention learning collaborative to support organizations in implementing suicide prevention best practices for Veterans. Although learning collaboratives have a history of supporting improved patient safety in healthcare systems, to our knowledge, none have focused on Veteran suicide prevention. The current quality improvement project sought to pilot a VA/community suicide prevention learning collaborative in the broader Denver and Colorado Springs areas with 13 organizations that served, interacted with, or employed Veterans. The collaborative had a large footprint in the region, with organizations interacting with over 24,000 community members and over 5000 Veterans. Organizations implemented 92 Veteran suicide prevention program components within a 16-month period. Overall, the learning collaborative made significant strides in Veteran suicide prevention. Findings suggest that this method facilitates rapid implementation of Veteran suicide prevention practices and may be promising for accelerating uptake within communities.

The Northeastern Society of Plastic Surgeons: The First 40 Years.

The concept for creating the Northeastern Society of Plastic Surgeons originated in May 1982, at the American Association of Plastic Surgeons in Colorado Springs Colorado. The new society would supplement, not supplant, existing state and small regional societies. Two hundred fifty-seven northeastern plastic surgeons joined the charter membership. The inaugural meeting of the Northeastern Society of Plastic Surgeons was held in Philadelphia, September 1984. The following historical account highlights our society's founding principles and leadership throughout the first 40 years.

All the Water the Law Allows: Las Vegas And Colorado River Politics. By Christian S. Harrison

Journal Article All the Water the Law Allows: Las Vegas And Colorado River Politics. By Christian S. Harrison Get access All the Water the Law Allows: Las Vegas And Colorado River Politics. By Christian S. Harrison (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2021. xv + 249 pp. Maps, illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. $39.95.) Eric Perramond Eric Perramond Colorado College, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA eperramond@ColoradoCollege.edu Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Western Historical Quarterly, whad070, https://doi.org/10.1093/whq/whad070 Published: 03 May 2023

Behavior, stress and metabolism of a parthenogenic lizard in response to flyover noise

The Colorado checkered whiptail (Aspidoscelis neotesselatus) is a parthenogenetic lizard that is listed as a “species of special concern” in the state of Colorado. A. neotesselatus occupies a small range that includes the US Army Fort Carson Military Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The species is exposed to a variety of military disturbances, including aircraft flyover noise. We sampled 82 females during the 2021 reproductive season to assess whether scheduled flyovers would impact the behavior, stress, and metabolism of A. neotesselatus, while controlling for size and reproductive stage differences. We measured corticosterone (CORT) as a marker of anthropogenically induced stress during flyovers compared to a control. We further tested for the downstream effects of flyovers on plasma glucose (free energy available to tissues), elevated metabolism with oxidative stress (ROMs), and ketone bodies (alternative cerebral energy substrates to glucose). When disturbed by flyovers, these lizards spent less time moving but more time eating. Aircraft noise also increased CORT when controlling for clutch size, indicating a stress response driven by flyovers, as well as an independent effect of reproductive investment on CORT. CORT did not affect plasma glucose. Flyovers led to a marginally decrease in circulating ROMs, with gravid females experiencing lower plasma ROMs than non-gravid females, but that later effect was independent of flyovers. Flyovers significantly increased ketone bodies, with smaller animals experiencing higher ketone concentrations than larger individuals, yet the effect of size on ketone bodies was independent of the flyover treatment. Although A. neotesselatus seem to adjust their behavior and eat more to buffer the potentially negative effect of flyovers on energetic pathways, they still appear to suffer a metabolic cost driven by the stress response via ketone accumulation, as well as a reproductive cost driven by clutch size investment that is independent of flyover disturbance. We suggest that military aircraft operators attempt to avoid dense populations of A. neotesselatus during the reproductive season or fly at altitudes that lead to decibel reads that fall below 50 dB at ground level, as a cautious management step that ensures the resilience and local abundance of A. neotesselatus at Fort Carson.

The Wind River Scribe: Grace Darling Wetherbee Coolidge and Her Teepee Neighbors

Grace Darling Wetherbee Coolidge’s 1917 book Teepee Neighbors is a little-known collection of twenty-nine sketches of Indian life on the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming, where she worked as a missionary from 1902 to 1910. Only recently have Coolidge’s personal papers been made publicly available by the Pioneers Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado, allowing scholars to investigate the true contours of her life for the first time. These primary source materials shed new light on a woman who—though born to great privilege in New York City—rejected a life of leisure and wealth in favor of a subsistence existence on a remote Indian reservation, devoted to charitable acts. This paper offers the first accurate essay-length biographical treatment of Grace Coolidge. It as well analyzes selections of her Teepee Neighbors as an attempt to generate sympathy among white readers for a colonized people, the Arapaho, and to offer a critique of Euro-American society from the standpoint of the communal Indian values she encountered at Wind River. Coolidge’s project, however, is ultimately hampered by her own ethnocentrism and admitted inability to understand Indian cultures.

Do We Know What We Publish? Comparing Self-Reported Publication Data to Scopus and Web of Science

Research productivity is a basic quantitative measure for universities, but obtaining a comprehensive view of a university’s output is difficult. Databases like Web of Science and Scopus can provide a list of publications associated with an institution, but they are limited in the formats and disciplines they cover. An institution can rely on its researchers to provide information on their own publications, which may avoid format and discipline limitations, but the data is often too messy or incomplete for research assessments. This study compares research productivity data obtained through Web of Science and Scopus to self-provided data from researchers at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS). The study seeks to determine if certain disciplines are advantaged or disadvantaged by their representation in each dataset and to determine how complete researcher’s self-provided data is. It was determined that basing UCCS’s research assessment on researcher provided data led to more comprehensive results.

Where is the Love, y’all? Punk Pedagogy in High School Choir

Capitalism and its offspring, neoliberalism, are omnipresent in modern and postmodern societies. Illich, Giroux, and McLaren, among others, point to the futility and inequity of current models of education that focus on standardization, vocationalism, and conformity. Running counter to these powerful hegemonic systems, critical pedagogues and educational philosophers such as hooks and Silverman follow philosophers Frankfurt and Wolf in identifying a teaching approach rooted in love. Such an ethic embodies a robust, punk confrontation to potentially damaging, dehumanizing institutional norms perpetrated by current systems of schooling (Hewitt & Smith, 2020). The authors present and discuss vignettes as a duoethnographic study of one teacher’s work with a high school choir in Colorado Springs, USA, through which she works to engage young people as compassionate artistic citizens (Elliott & Silverman, 2015; Hendricks 2018). By teaching with love and by modeling love, she teaches young people to love, embracing what Noddings (2005) identifies as an ethic of care. This choral community demonstrates the messy, anarchist ideal that Wright (2019) highlights as a necessary future for music education, wherein the educator diverts from teaching solely to standardized expectations to address the affiliative needs of her students through a love that desires good for her students (Fromm, 1956; Noddings, 2005)

Comorbid Conditions and Complications in Body Contouring Surgery: A Retrospective Review.

Body contouring procedures have significantly increased in popularity in the United States. The authors sought to understand, categorize, and classify patients' experiences with postoperative complications following common body contouring procedures. PearlDiver (PearlDiver Technologies, Colorado Springs, CO), a database with over 90 million patients, was queried to identify patients who had undergone body contouring procedures between 2010 and 2021 using current procedural terminology (CPT) codes. The authors identified patients who underwent panniculectomy, abdominoplasty, brachioplasty, thighplasty, mastopexy, breast augmentation, augmentation mastopexy, breast reduction, and liposuction for analysis. They reviewed combined procedures and analyzed risk factors associated with the most common complications. There were 243,886 patients included in the study. The majority of patients were female, between 50 and 59 years old, and had their procedures performed in the southern United States. There were an average of 25,352 procedures per year. The majority of cases involved breast surgeries. The most common preoperative comorbid conditions diagnosed 1 year before surgery were hypertension, obesity, and diabetes. The most common postoperative complications within 90 days were wound dehiscence, hematoma, and urinary tract infection. A logistic regression evaluating the association of the preoperative comorbid conditions with postoperative complications found that patients with obesity, tobacco use, diabetes, and hypertension had an increased risk of developing wound dehiscence, hematoma, and surgical-site infection. The data suggest that patients with obesity, tobacco use, diabetes, and hypertension undergoing body contouring surgery are at greater risk of developing wound dehiscence, hematomas, and surgical-site infections. Understanding this data is imperative for providers to adequately identify associated risk factors, stratify patients, and provide adequate perioperative counseling.

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in the Fountain Creek Watershed, Colorado Springs, CO, USA: A Yearlong Investigation of PFAS Levels in Water, Soils, and Sediments

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in the Fountain Creek Watershed, Colorado Springs, CO, USA: A Yearlong Investigation of PFAS Levels in Water, Soils, and Sediments

The Impact of Hepatitis C on Complication Rates After Revision Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Matched Cohort Study.

It is unclear if hepatitis C (HCV) negatively impacts outcomes of revision total knee arthroplasty (rTKA). The purpose of this study was to compare complication rates after rTKA for patients with HCV vs matched controls. A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the PearlDiver database (PearlDiver Inc., Colorado Springs, CO). Patients with HCV who underwent rTKA (n= 1448) were matched 1:4 with controls (n= 5792) on age, sex, and several comorbidities. Rates of medical complications within 90 days and prothesis-related complications within 2years postoperatively were compared with logistic regression for (1) patients with vs without HCV and (2) HCV patients who underwent aseptic vs septic rTKA. Relative to controls, patients with HCV exhibited significantly higher rates of medical complications (27.7% vs 20.9%; odds ratio [OR] 1.47), periprosthetic fractures (2.3% vs 1.1%; OR 2.20), all-cause repeat rTKA (11.7% vs 9.4%; OR 1.29), and repeat rTKA for prosthetic joint infection (PJI) (6.7% vs 3.6%; OR 1.92). Within the HCV cohort, HCV patients with initial septic rTKA exhibited significantly higher rates of medical complications (41.7% vs 22.7%; OR 2.39), all-cause subsequent rTKA (15.9% vs 10.2%; OR 1.67), and repeat rTKA for PJI (15.9% vs 3.4%; OR 5.39). Conversely, HCV patients with initial aseptic rTKA exhibited significantly higher rates of aseptic loosening (2.6% vs 7.4%; OR 0.33). Patients with HCV exhibited significantly higher rates of medical and prosthesis-related complications after rTKA than controls. Among patients with HCV, initial septic rTKA was associated with significantly higher rates of medical complications, repeat rTKA, and PJI.

Nocoastjazz

Nocoastjazz

Peripherally Inserted Central Line Catheters following Hand and Wrist Infections.

The PearlDiver Patients Records Database was queried to identify patients who underwent treatment for infection of the hand, wrist, and forearm between 2010 and 2018. Logistic regression analysis was utilized to evaluate the association of patient-related risk factors with PICC utilization, complications, readmissions, and length of stay (LOS). A total of 24,665 patients with an upper extremity infection were included in the study. Ultimately, 416 patients required a PICC placement (1.69%). Patients with older age, male gender, certain medical comorbidities, and infection involving deeper structures were more likely to require a PICC. Ninety-day all-cause medical complication rates were significantly higher for the PICC group (19.7% versus 6.7%) compared to those without. Any hospital readmission rates were significantly higher for PICC group at 90 days (28.4% versus 6.3%) and 1 year (35.8% versus 10.9%). Readmission rates remained slightly higher at 1 year for both groups. The PICC group demonstrated significantly longer LOS by 2 days (7.72 days versus 5.14 days). While not required for the majority of hand, wrist, and forearm infections, PICC placement is associated with increased medical complications, more frequent hospital readmissions, and longer LOS.

Phylodynamics of a regional SARS-CoV-2 rapid spreading event in Colorado in late 2020.

Since the initial reported discovery of SARS-CoV-2 in late 2019, genomic surveillance has been an important tool to understand its transmission and evolution. Here, we sought to describe the underlying regional phylodynamics before and during a rapid spreading event that was documented by surveillance protocols of the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) in late October-November of 2020. We used replicate long-read sequencing on Colorado SARS-CoV-2 genomes collected July through November 2020 at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical campus in Aurora and the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Replicate sequencing allowed rigorous validation of variation and placement in a phylogenetic relatedness network. We focus on describing the phylodynamics of a lineage that likely originated in the local Colorado Springs community and expanded rapidly over the course of two months in an outbreak within the well-controlled environment of the United States Air Force Academy. Divergence estimates from sampling dates indicate that the SARS-CoV-2 lineage associated with this rapid expansion event originated in late October 2020. These results are in agreement with transmission pathways inferred by the United States Air Force Academy, and provide a window into the evolutionary process and transmission dynamics of a potentially dangerous but ultimately contained variant.

Differences Between Total Ankle Replacement and Ankle Arthrodesis in Post-operative Complications and Reoperations at 30 Days and One Year.

PurposeTotal ankle replacement (TAR) and ankle arthrodesis (AA) are two commonly performed procedures for end-stage arthritis of the ankle joint. The aim of this study was to analyze the differences in the rates of complications and reoperations at both 30 days and one year within a matched sample of TAR and AA patients from a large database population.MethodsA commercially available patient database record, known as the PearlDiver database (www.pearldiverinc.com, Colorado Springs, CO, USA), was used for this study. Patients undergoing TAR and AA were identified using Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes. After matching both TAR and AA groups for confounding variables, such as diabetes, smoking, obesity, and comorbidities scores, the differences in the rates of complications at 30 days and one year and the rate of reoperation at one year were evaluated in both groups.ResultsAfter matching for confounding variables, there were 1287 patients in each group. There was no significant difference in the male/female ratio. Within each group, 430 patients were diabetic, 102 patients smoked, and 543 patients were obese. The rate of surgical site infection (SSI) and wound dehiscence were higher at 30 days in the AA group. About 63.45% of complications happened after 30 days. The AA group showed a higher rate of SSI, wound dehiscence, mechanical complications, and pneumonia at one year. The rate of reoperation was also higher in the AA group at one year.ConclusionAnkle arthrodesis is associated with a higher rate of local and systemic complications at 30 days and one year, along with a higher reoperation rate at one year, when compared to total ankle replacement. Most complications happened after 30 days, suggesting that studies reporting complications within 30 days following AA and TAR may underestimate the true rates of complications.

Comparison of Differences in Complications and Revision After Conversion to Total Hip Arthroplasty from Plating vs. Nailing vs. Hemiarthroplasty.

Total hip arthroplasty (THA)after previous hip surgery increases the procedure complexity and complication rate. We investigated the complication rates following conversion to total hip arthroplasty from three hip surgeries, namely plate fixation of the intertrochanteric fracture, nailing of the trochanteric fracture, and hemiarthroplasty of the hip. This retrospective study was conducted using the PearlDiver database (www.pearldiverinc.com, Colorado Springs) and identified all patients undergoing THA between 2010 and 2019. Among this group, we included all patients who had received one of the three procedures , hip hemiarthroplasty (CPT 27125), fixation of the intertrochanteric fracture with plates and screws (CPT 27444), or fixation of hip fracture with nail (CPT 27445) within two years of THA. We analyzed complications in these patients and compared it to the complication rate in primary THA patients. The complications analyzed were 30-day transfusion risk, 90-day surgical site infection (SSI) risk, 90-day periprosthetic fracture risk, 1-year dislocation risk, and 2-, 5-, and 10-year revision risk. A total of 118,209 patients underwent THA between 2010 and 2019. A total of 9,173, 48,326, and 31,632 patients underwent fixation with plates and screws , nailing and hemiarthroplasty respectively. We identified 71, 42, and 160 patients with hemiarthroplasty, plates & screws, and nailing, respectively, within two years of THA. 117,936 primary THA patients were used as a comparison group. The nailing group had the highest rate of transfusion risk (OR=2.34, 95% CI=1.32, 4.13, P<0.05).Furthermore, the hemiarthroplasty group had highest rate of SSI risk (OR=9.25, 95% CI=4.86, 17.63, P<0.05) and highest revision risk at 2 years (OR=10.532, 95% CI= 6.09, 18.19, P<0.05). Conversion of hemiarthroplasty to THA was associated with a higher risk of infection and revision. Hence, surgeons considering primary hip hemiarthroplasty for severely comminuted intertrochanteric fracture should exercise caution, especially for active elderly patients.

Beryllium Minerals of the Mount Rosa Complex near Colorado Springs, Colorado

Beryllium Minerals of the Mount Rosa Complex near Colorado Springs, Colorado

63. Bone morphogenetic protein and cancer in spinal fusion: a propensity matched analysis

<h3>BACKGROUND CONTEXT</h3> Since its FDA approval in 2002, recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) has been increasingly used in spinal surgery to promote arthrodesis and avoid the morbidity of autologous iliac crest bone graft harvest. Recent data estimate its utilization in 25% of spinal fusions. Because growth factors such as rhBMP-2 stimulate cellular proliferation, the association of rhBMP-2 with tumorigenesis in spinal fusion is an area of concern. Previous research has generated conflicting conclusions on the risk of cancer in patients receiving rhBMP-2 for spinal fusion. <h3>PURPOSE</h3> The purpose of this study is to compare the incidence of new solid organ and hematopoietic malignancies in patients undergoing spinal arthrodesis with or without BMP in a large administrative database. <h3>STUDY DESIGN/SETTING</h3> Retrospective propensity-matched analysis. <h3>METHODS</h3> Patients undergoing thoracolumbar fusion with or without BMP utilization between 2015-2020 were identified from the PearlDiver Mariner Patient Claims Database (PearlDiver Technologies, Colorado Springs, CO, USA) using ICD-10 codes. Patients with pre-existing malignancy diagnosis were excluded. Data were analyzed for incidence of solid organ malignancy (lung, breast, kidney, prostate, thyroid) and hematopoietic malignancy (lymphoma, myeloma, leukemia) diagnosed after spinal surgery. Propensity score matching was performed between patients who did and did not receive BMP. Propensity matched variables were selected a priori and included age, sex, and year of surgery. <h3>RESULTS</h3> Among patients without a history of solid organ malignancy undergoing thoracolumbar fusion, BMP was used in 9,593 patients and was not used in 193,713. In the propensity matched group, 1.5% of the BMP group developed solid organ malignancy following surgery compared to 1.9% of the non-BMP group. The odds ratio of developing solid organ malignancy in the BMP group compared to the control group was 0.80 (95% CI 0.64-1.00); P=0.056. Among patients without a history of hematopoietic malignancy undergoing thoracolumbar fusion, BMP was used in 9,913 patients and was not used in 191,006 patients. In the propensity matched group, 0.3% of the BMP group developed hematopoietic malignancy compared to 0.5% of the non-BMP group. The odds ratio of developing hematopoietic malignancy in the BMP group compared to the control group was 0.69 (95% CI 0.44-1.07); P=0.12. <h3>CONCLUSIONS</h3> BMP use in a large patient population undergoing thoracolumbar fusion was not associated with increased risk of new solid organ or hematopoietic malignancy. Limitations of this study include its reliance on accurate documentation and coding, including documentation of BMP use which may not be as robust as CPT coding since BMP coding may not be reimbursable. However, for the subset of patients with clear documentation of BMP use, this study further supports emerging data on the lack of a causal relationship between BMP use and malignancy. <h3>FDA DEVICE/DRUG STATUS</h3> Bone morphogenetic protein: Approved for certain types of spinal fusion.

184. Surgical site infection in thoracolumbar fractures: Incidence and risk factors in a series of 11,401 patients

<h3>BACKGROUND CONTEXT</h3> Surgical site infection (SSI) is relatively uncommon following elective spine surgery with reported rates ranging from 0.5-5%. Published reports have suggested a higher SSI rate in nonelective spine surgery such as spinal trauma though there is a paucity of large database studies examining this issue. <h3>PURPOSE</h3> The purpose of this study is to investigate the incidence and risk factors of SSI in patients undergoing spinal surgery for thoracic and lumbar fractures in a large administrative database. <h3>STUDY DESIGN/SETTING</h3> Retrospective. <h3>METHODS</h3> Patients undergoing spinal surgery for thoracic and lumbar fractures between 2015-2020 were identified in the PearlDiver Mariner Patient Claims Database (PearlDiver Technologies, Colorado Springs, CO, USA) using ICD-10 codes. Clinical data was collected based on ICD-10 codes. Collected data included gender, age, diabetes, smoking status, obesity, Elixhauser comorbidity index (ECI) and SSI. Patients were excluded who had another surgery either 14 days before or 21 days after the index spinal surgery. Univariate analysis was used to assess the association of potential risk factors and SSI. Multivariate analysis was used to identify independent risk factors of SSI. <h3>RESULTS</h3> Of 10,769 patients undergoing spinal surgery for thoracic and lumbar fractures, 9,848 met inclusion criteria and 921 were excluded. Of these, 736 patients developed SSI (7.5%). Risk factors significantly associated with SSI in univariate analysis included diabetes (OR 1.55; 95% CI 1.33-1.81; P=1.43e-8), obesity (OR 1.41; 95% CI 1.30-1.54; P=3.36e-13), increased age (P=0.00015) and ECI (P=2.2e-16). On multivariate analysis, obesity and ECI were independently associated with SSI (P=1.2e-4 and P=2.23e-10 respectively). <h3>CONCLUSIONS</h3> Nonelective spinal surgery for thoracic and lumbar fractures is associated with a 7.5% risk of surgical site infection. Obesity and ECI are independent predictors of SSI in this patient population. By establishing the rate of SSI in a large, nationwide database this study gives providers a broad overview of the risk of SSI in this population and may also help counsel patients regarding risk. Limitations of the study include its retrospective nature and its dependency on accurate ICD-10 database coding. <h3>FDA DEVICE/DRUG STATUS</h3> This abstract does not discuss or include any applicable devices or drugs.