Earn CME for reviewing a journal article and evidentiary table that analyzes the methodology and findings of a study that compared intraarticular triamcinolone injections to hyaluronate injections for treatment of lumbar zygapophyseal pain. The authors present a statistically significant improvement yet external calculations fail to support that conclusion.
The paper, Intraarticular Triamcinolone versus Hyaluronate Injections for Low Back Pain with Symptoms Suggestive of Lumbar Zygapophyseal Joint Arthropathy: A Pragmatic, Double Blind Randomized Controlled Trial by Annaswamy et al., was critically reviewed by SIS Research Division members Drs. Byron Schneider and Anthony Schwarzer.
As busy physicians, Spine Intervention Society members struggle to keep up with the never-ending stream of new research findings that can impact their practice. Members need to be able to attend to research findings and understand how such data can assist their clinical practice. Members can benefit from being able to defend their treatment plans to insurance carriers and will better understand directions for future research pursuits.
On a quarterly basis, Research Division members identify and review three high impact papers that are of most interest to interventional spine care, summarizing and critically appraising the studies, and then posting the summary, critique, and reference information. This online activity will provide learners with the opportunity to obtain Journal-based CME credit for reading one of these articles, reviewing the associated evidentiary table, and completing a short assessment via SpineNet.
You will be awarded CME credit after reading the article, reviewing the evidentiary table, and completing the post-test.
CME Credits: 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™
Price: $24.95 Members; $9.95 Residents/Fellows; $49.95 Non-Members
Educational Objectives
Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:
- Examine emerging literature to mitigate risks and to practice spine interventions safely and best protect patients;
- Discuss the application of evidence-based medicine principles to recent research findings;
- Apply research findings to the practice of ethical, evidence-based interventional spine care.
Research Division Reviewers
Byron Schneider, MD and Anthony Schwarzer, MD, PhD
Disclosures
Schneider, Byron
Service as a consultant, expert witness, speaker, or author with a commercial interest: Professional Disabilities Associates.
Advisory committees or review panels: Tennessee Advisory Group - Spine Episodes of Care.
Any position in a healthcare, medical, or physician society/association (committee, board, workgroup/taskforce, etc.): NASS RIMS committee, NASS healthcare policy committee.
Travel Expenses: NASS, SIS.
Schwarzer, Anthony
Stock ownership or investment interest (including stock option grants, equity, warrants) in a commercial interest: Ramsay Healthcare, Resmed, CSL.
Fair Use Disclaimer
This article is made available for the purpose of this online continuing medical education activity under the fair use doctrine of copyright law, which allows that the use of a copyrighted work “for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright” and factors to consider are “the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes” Section 107 of the Copyright Act.
Commercial Support
No commercial support was received for this activity.
Accreditation Statement
The Spine Intervention Society (SIS) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Credit Designation Statement
SIS designates this Journal-based CME activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Method of Physician Participation
Each participant will read the journal article and evidentiary table and then answer post-test questions.
Copyright
Materials presented in this activity have been made available by the Spine Intervention Society for educational purposes only. We reserve all rights to such material.
Date of Activity Release: 6/5/2018
Date of Activity Expiration: 6/4/2021