Early clinical manifestations of vibrio necrotising fasciitis

We present five patients with vibrio necrotising fasciitis, a lethal and disabling disease. Two of these patients had a history of exposure to either warm seawater or raw/live seafood, three had underlying chronic liver disease, and four presented with hypotension and fever. There were three deaths and four patients required intensive care unit stays. Among the two survivors, one had high morbidity. Only one patient met the criteria of Laboratory Risk Indicator for Necrotising Fasciitis score > 6. A clinician should suspect possible vibrio necrotising fasciitis if the following are present: contact with fresh seafood/warm seawater, a known history of chronic liver disease and pain that is out of proportion to cutaneous signs. All patients must be managed via intensive care in high dependency units. We recommend a two-step surgical protocol for patient management involving an initial local debridement, followed by a second-stage radical debridement and skin grafting.

The long and short of cephalomedullary nails in the treatment of osteoporotic pertrochanteric fracture

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>Pertrochanteric fractures after low-energy trauma are common among osteoporotic patients. Although the use of intramedullary devices to treat such fractures is becoming increasingly popular, there is a paucity of data comparing the outcomes of the use of short cephalomedullary nails (SCN) with the use of long cephalomedullary nails (LCN). This study aimed to compare the outcomes of treatment using LCN with treatment using SCN for patients with osteoporotic pertrochanteric fractures.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A retrospective review of 64 patients with osteoporotic pertrochanteric fractures who were treated with either LCN or SCN and had a minimum follow-up of one year was performed. Primary outcome measures include complications, revision surgeries and union rates. Secondary outcome measures include duration of surgery, estimated blood loss, length of hospital stay, and ambulatory and mortality status at one year.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There was no significant difference in the clinical and functional outcomes of the patients who were treated with LCN and those who were treated with SCN. However, there was a higher incidence of heterotopic ossification in the latter group, and a slightly greater average estimated blood loss and duration of surgery in the former group. Patients treated with LCN tended to be more osteoporotic.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Our study found no significant difference in terms of complications, revision surgeries, union rates and ambulatory status between the patients who were treated with LCN and those who were treated with SCN. Both LCN and SCN provided safe and reliable outcomes in the treatment of osteoporotic pertrochanteric fractures.</p>