Anthony Delitto,  PhD, PT, FAPTA
	Office Location 6036 Forbes Tower Office phone 412-383-6631 E-mail address delitto@pitt.edu

Academic Appointment

Professor and Chair, Department of Physical Therapy
Director of Research, Comprehensive Spine Center
Vice President for Education and Research, CRS/UPMC

Education

PhD Washington University, St. Louis, MO, Social Psychology, 1990

MHS/PT, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, Physical Therapy, 1983

BS, SUNY Buffalo, NY, Physical Therapy, 1979

Recent Publications

Refereed Journals

Brennan GP, Fritz JM, Hunter SJ, Thackeray A, Delitto A, Erhard RE.  Identifying Subgroups of Patients with Acute/Subacute “Nonspecific” Low Back Pain.  Spine 2006;31:623-631

Atlas SJ, Delitto A:  Spinal stenosis: surgical versus nonsurgical treatment.  Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. 443:198-207; 2006.

Hicks GE, Fritz JM, Delitto A, McGill SM. Preliminary development of a clinical prediction rule for determining which patients with low back pain will respond to a stabilization exercise program.  Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 86:(9) 1753-1762, 2005.

Delitto A. What will it take? The need for large-scale trials.[comment]. [Comment. Letter] Physical Therapy. 85(5):466, 2005.

George SZ, Delitto A: Clinical examination variables discriminate among treatment-based classification groups: a study of construct validity in patients with acute low back pain. Physical Therapy.85(4):306-14, 2005.

Wainner RS, Fritz JM, Irrgang JJ, Delitto A, Allison S, Boninger ML: Development of a clinical prediction rule for the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome. Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. 86(4):609-18, 2005.

Childs JD, Fritz JM, Flynn TW, Irrgang JJ, Johnson KK, Majkowski GR, Delitto A. A clinical prediction rule to identify patients with low back pain who will benefit from spinal manipulation: A validation study. Ann Int Med. 141(12): 920-928; 2004.

Rankin EA, Alarcon GS, Chang RW, Cooney LM, Costley LS, Delitto A, Reyo RA, Donaldson SK, Hochberg MC, MacLean CH, Yelin EH: NIH Consensus Statement on Total Knee Replacement December 8-10, 2003. JBJS (Am) 86-A: 1328-1335, 2004.

Hicks GE, Fritz JM, Delitto A, Mishock J: Interrater reliability of clinical examination measures for identification of lumbar segmental instability. Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 84 (12):1858-64, 2003.

Fritz JM, Delitto A, Erhard RE. Comparison of Classification-Based Physical Therapy with Therapy Based on Clinical Practice Guidelines for Patients with Acute Back Pain. Spine, 28:1363-1372, 2003.

Bizzini M. Childs JD. Piva SR. Delitto A. Systematic review of the quality of randomized controlled trials for patellofemoral pain syndrome. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 33(1):4- 20, 2003.

Wainner RS. Fritz JM. Irrgang JJ. Boninger ML. Delitto A. Allison S. Reliability and diagnostic accuracy of the clinical examination and patient self-report measures for cervical radiculopathy.  Spine. 28(1): 52-62, 2003.

Research

Funded Active Grants

Source: National Institute for Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (1R01AR/NS45622-01A1)

Role on Project: Principal Investigator (35% effort)

Dates and Costs of entire Project: 9/01/2000 – 3/31/2005, $1,248,725

Title:      A Randomized Clinical Trial of Treatment for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

Abstract: A Randomized Clinical Trial comparing surgical and non-surgical management of patients with lumbar spinal stenosis. The project spans 4.5 years and will recruit a total of 240 patients who are diagnosed with lumbar spinal stenosis and who consent to surgical decompression. Patients will be randomly assigned to surgical versus non-surgical intervention and followed initially (6 weeks post surgery) and at two-years after intervention. This grant is multidisciplinary, involving investigators who are physical therapists, surgeons and epidemiologists from the Departments of Neurological and Orthopaedic Surgery and the Graduate School of Public Health.

Source: National Institute Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (1R01AT00985-01A2)

Role on Project: Investigator (10% effort); Weiner D PI

Dates and Costs of entire Project: 9/01/2003-5/31/2007,

Title: Functional Impact of PENS for 65+ Chronic Low Back Pain

Abstract: More than 17 million people > age 65 in the United States have experienced at least one episode of low back pain (LBP) during the past year (1).  When LBP becomes chronic, it leads to functional and emotional impairment, decreased quality of life, and greater health care costs because of increased health care utilization (2-4). Treatment of patients with chronic low back pain typically results in modest improvement in pain intensity, but such modest changes may lead to substantial improvement in function and decline in health care resource utilization (5).  While the mainstay of treatment for these individuals consists of non-opioid analgesics and physical therapy, frail older adults with unrelieved symptoms have limited therapeutic alternatives.  Opioid analgesics may be an appropriate part of the treatment armamentarium for patients with refractory symptoms, but their associated morbidity in older adults often limits their utility (6).  Surgical interventions may be inappropriate for those with multiple comorbidities.  The purpose of this investigation is to explore the efficacy of an alternative non-pharmacologic treatment modality for older adults with chronic low back pain (CLBP), namely percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (PENS), a neuroanatomically guided form of electroacupuncture (7).

Source: National Institute on Aging (NIA) Claude Pepper Center Older Americans Independence Center

Role on Project: Principal Investigator (10% effort) on Pilot Project (Stephanie Studenski, PI on Center Grant)

Dates and Costs of entire Project: 7/01/2004-6/30/2007

Principal Co-Investigators: Anthony Delitto, PT, PhD, Jessie VanSwearingen, PhD, PT

Co-Investigators: Rakie Cham, PhD, Nicholaas Bohnen, MD, PhD, Elizabeth Schenk, RN, PhD

Title: An Investigation of Balance Interventions in Older Adults with Walking Disability

Abstract: This pilot study is based in a prospective cohort study of the neurobiology of balance and falls, led by Dr. N Bohnen. The parent study will characterize 104 older adults aged 50 or older (32 with peripheral neuropathy and 72 without) using MRI, PET scans, clinical and biomechanical testing. We will recruit a sub-sample of 30 people (10 with significant white matter, 10 with peripheral neuropathy and 10 healthy controls) from the parent project. All subjects will have completed their assessments for the parent study, including the Common Data Set of gait speed, Short Physical Performance Battery, falls history and balance confidence, and will have undergone a standard clinical screen for impairments contributing to balance capacity. After recruitment to one of the three groups (WMD, PN or HC), all participants will complete a pretest battery of clinical and laboratory assessments, participate in a 12 week program of therapeutic exercise and repeat the baseline assessment. All subjects will undergo a rehabilitation intervention focused on exercise and skill acquisition. Although the rehabilitation intervention will include general strengthening, flexibility, and a small aerobic conditioning component, the primary focus will be in practicing skill acquisition tasks.

Membership in Scientific/Professional/Honorary Societies

APTA (New York Chapter), 1977 ‑ 1979

APTA (Missouri Chapter), 1979 ‑ 1990

APTA (Illinois Chapter), 1990 - 1991

American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), 1977 ‑ Present

APTA Section on Research, 1979 ‑ Present

APTA Section on Clinical Electrophysiology, 1986 - Present

American College of Sports Medicine, 1987 - Present

APTA Section on Orthopedic and Sports Medicine, 1979 ‑ 1980, 1982 ‑ 1984, 1988 - present

APTA (Pennsylvania Chapter), 1991 - Present

Arthritis Foundation Medical Scientific Committee, 1997 - Present

Honors and Awards

Golden Pen Award, American Physical Therapy Association (March, 1992)

Steven J. Rose Award, Orthopedic Section, APTA (February, 1993)

Steven J. Rose Award, Orthopedic Section, APTA (February, 1994)

Steven J. Rose Award, Orthopedic Section, APTA (February, 1995)

Marian Williams Award for Research in Physical Therapy, American Physical Therapy Association (June, 1997)

Catherine Worthingham Fellow, American Physical Therapy Association (June, 2000)

Steven J. Rose Award, Orthopedic Section, APTA (February, 2003)

Steven J. Rose Award, Orthopaedic Section, APTA (February, 2006)

John HP Maley Award, Section on Research, APTA (February, 2006)