W&L Student Co-Authors Paper Published by the Pain Medicine Journal Lucy Worthy ’24 assisted in the research and helped publish the results alongside two W&L alumni.

By Brian Laubscher
October 3, 2023

Washington and Lee University student Lucy Worthy ’24 recently co-authored a paper titled “Ultrasound-guided costovertebral joint injection – technique description and fluoroscopy and computerized tomography combined controlled cadaveric feasibility study,” which appeared in the Pain Medicine Journal published by the Oxford University Press.

The published paper describes and assesses the feasibility of an ultrasound-guided technique for intra-articular injection of the costovertebral joints, in an un-embalmed cadaveric specimen, using fluoroscopy and cone beam computerized tomography for confirmation of contrast spread and needle tip position, respectively. The research concluded that, when performed by experienced interventionists, the technique had a 72% accuracy rate.

Worthy, a biology major and environmental studies minor from St. Simon’s Island, Georgia, assisted in the research presented in the paper during a 10-week clinical research internship through the Mayo Clinic’s Clinical Research Internship Study Program (CRISP). She learned of the opportunity from W&L alumnus Dr. Joseph Bestic ’99, eventually applying and gaining acceptance into the program.

Worthy spent her 10 weeks working with another W&L alumnus, Dr. Mark F.B. Hurdle ’87, at the Mayo Clinic’s Florida campus in Jacksonville, Florida. Her research experience was previewed in The Columns last August.

Both Bestic and Hurdle served as co-authors for the resulting paper, with assistance from Dr. Nuno Ferreira-Silva and Dr. Rita Ribas from Portugal and Dr. Guilherme Ferreira-Dos-Santos from Spain.

“This publication would not have been possible without Dr. Hurdle and Dr. Ferreira-Silva taking me under their wing and showing me steps to develop a draft of a paper all the way to submitting it to journals,” said Worthy. “I would also like to thank Dr. Bestic, Dr. Rita Ribas, Dr. Guilherme Ferreira-Dos-Santos, and Mayo Clinic’s Simulation Center for making the study possible. This experience showed me that medicine, from providing healthcare to conducting research, is a collaborative process, which is what makes the field so exciting to me.”

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