No abstract

Pelvic floor disorders are highly prevalent in women of all ages and can greatly impair quality of life. Pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) is a viable treatment option for several pelvic floor conditions including urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. PFMT is a program of therapy initiated by an experienced clinician (e.g., women's health or urology nurse practitioner (NP), physical therapist (PT)) that involves exercises for women with stress urinary incontinence (UI) and exercises combined with behavioral or conservative treatments (lifestyle changes, bladder training with urge suppression) for women with urgency or mixed UI. These exercise programs are more comprehensive than simple Kegel exercises. Despite evidence-based research indicating the efficacy and cost-effectiveness for treatment of urinary incontinence, PFMT is not commonly used as a first-line treatment in clinical practice in the USA (Abrams et al., 2012). This article will review PFMT for the treatment of UI and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and theorize how this conservative therapy can be utilized more effectively in the USA.

As the population ages and people remain active into the 7th and 8th decades of life, the frequency of total joint replacement is increasing. Following joint replacement surgery, patients inevitably require various invasive procedures as part of their routine health maintenance, including, but not limited to, dental care, colonoscopy, cystoscopy, and cardiac catheterization. There is scant evidence to support the use of periprocedural prophylactic antibiotics in the prevention of late total joint infection. The guidelines for the usage of periprocedural antibiotics have changed as knowledge of the pathophysiology of joint infection has evolved. We review the current recommendations from subspecialty academic organizations regarding antibiotic prophylaxis for patients undergoing routine urologic, gastrointestinal, dental, and cardiac procedures after total joint replacement. (J Am Board Fam Med 2016;29:500 -507.)