Background/Objectives: The European Society for Emergency Medicine reports that emergency department visits have increased by nearly 30% over the past decade, yet resources have not kept pace with this growing demand. Lean Healthcare Management has emerged as a promising approach to optimizing emergency department operations. This study aims analyze the specific Lean Healthcare Management interventions implemented across three major Barcelona hospitals. Methods: Three Barcelona hospitals were analyzed. Revision of the Lean Healthcare Management tools, hospital staff observation and focus groups with nurses, physicians, and administrators were performed to evaluate impact of Lean Healthcare Management interventions. A cumulative SWOT analysis was performed as a synthesis of individual responses and focus groups for the three included hospitals separately. Results: The average adherence scores to implemented Lean Healthcare Management solutions were 87% at Vall d’Hebron, 85% at Sant Joan de Déu, and 89% at Hospital Clínic de Barcelona. Implementation of Lean Healthcare Management led to 20% fewer cancelations of scheduled surgical procedures, decreased patient hospitalization times for targeted pathways (from 8 h to 70 min) and significant increase in patient satisfaction. All centers shared a common foundation in Value Stream Mapping. Implemented Lean Healthcare Management solutions were personalized for each hospital. Conclusions: Lean Healthcare Management’s effectiveness is contingent on aligning the Lean approach with the hospital’s specific mission, constraints, and patient population. This contextual dependency explains the variation in the tools adopted and the outcomes prioritized across the three analyzed hospitals.

Background: Due to the high frequency of pain associated with the masticatory system, in addition to the use of physiotherapy, it is sometimes beneficial to introduce percutaneous pharmacology. This is an example of a non-invasive alternative to the traditional route of administration, which can be highly effective and limit the risk of many side effects. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of transdermal drug application by patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD). Methods: A review of randomized controlled trials retrieved from PubMed, ACM, BASE, Scopus, Cochrane, and Google Scholar on 23 October 2025 was performed using the PRISMA Checklist. Studies that evaluated transdermal drug administration for masticatory system-related conditions were included. Trials involving interventions such as muscle punctures or any systemic treatments were excluded. The revised Cochrane tool (RoB 2) was used to assess the risk of bias. A statistical analysis of the effect of such therapy on pain and its influence on changes in mandibular abduction was performed. Results: A total of nine articles meeting the inclusion criteria were included, with a total of 390 participants. The risk of bias assessment indicated that most articles were of low risk of bias (6/8), while two were assessed as “some concerns”. The review found a significant reduction in pain on the visual analog scale (VAS) for selected active substances (p < 0.05). The greatest pain reduction occurred when 1.46% cannabidiol was used. There are few results regarding the effect of this method on jaw opening, and the results obtained are comparable for the placebo group, which was related to the application method. Conclusions: The results of this systematic review are promising and indicate the probable effectiveness of this method, but due to some limitations, this topic requires further investigation.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been associated with thyroid dysfunction; however, evidence from primary care settings remains limited. Given that most patients with COVID-19 are managed outside hospital settings, understanding thyroid function changes in real-world primary care is clinically relevant. Methods: This retrospective study included 373 adult outpatients with confirmed COVID-19 and no prior thyroid disease, who were managed in a Family Medicine Clinic in Warsaw between January of 2022 and December of 2024. Thyroid function tests (yielding TSH, fT3, and fT4 levels) obtained within three months before and after infection were analyzed. Subacute thyroiditis (SAT) was assessed in symptomatic patients via thyroid ultrasound. Paired comparisons were performed, with p < 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: A significant reduction in the mean TSH level was observed following COVID-19 compared with pre-infection values (mean 2.39 vs. 2.17 mIU/L; p < 0.05), while fT3 (2.93 vs. 2.98 pg/mL) and fT4 (1.31 vs. 1.30 ng/dL) concentrations remained unchanged. No significant associations were found between thyroid function changes and age or sex. Conclusions: In this real-world primary care population, lower TSH concentrations were observed following COVID-19 while peripheral thyroid hormone levels remained unchanged, suggesting predominantly modest changes in thyroid function parameters. Given the retrospective study design and the absence of a control group, these findings should be interpreted with caution. Further prospective studies are needed to clarify the clinical significance of post-COVID-19 thyroid function changes.