Musculoskeletal Matters 7 | Page 2

Case Study 2: Intra-articular joint injection Nurses working on a busy day case unit noticed variation in what investigations clinicians required their patients to have prior to receiving an intra-articular joint injection. Some required urinalysis (to look for evidence of infection), others did not. This variation led to cancellations and delayed treatment for patients. 1. They explained this clinical dilemma to the group. 2. The group refined the question and searched for good-quality evidence. • They found no evidence to support the notion that routine urinalysis performed prior to intra-articular corticosteroid injection avoids exacerbation of an underlying urinary tract infection. • Local policies have been amended to reduce variation in clinical practice which has reduced patient cancellations and delays. For more details on this topic go to: www.keele.ac.uk/media/keeleuniversity/ ri/primarycare/ebpmicro/catbank/IA_urinalysis.pdf Implementation lessons from case studies These cases studies concerned clinically relevant issues, with clinicians engaged throughout the process and who gained skills in appraising the literature. Their expertise was utilised either to inform the design of the interventions package used in a research trial (co-production) or to jointly agree changes in clinical pathways using understandable language. They are now more likely to utilise the research finding as it is an area of interest and clinically relevant. “Being involved in the group has been a very positive experience… Initially I felt daunted at being the only Occupational Therapist and felt that I had very little knowledge… my research knowledge and skills have grown.” “Joining the group was a career-changing event. It made me sit up and take note of what was going on around me, outside of my day-to-day work. It made me question my routine practice. It has demystified research for me.” • • • •  ave you a clinical question that needs answering? H Are you interested in establishing a similar group? Do you want to share our experience of implementing research findings? Do you already run a similar group and want to get in touch? Then please get in touch… we look forward to hearing from you. Please email: [email protected] or [email protected] To find out more including details of other clinical questions considered by the group, please go to: www.keele.ac.uk/ebp/mrfgroup For more information on these bulletins please visit: www.keele.ac.uk/pchs/disseminatingourresearch/newslettersandresources/bulletins