Postoperative Intravenous Ferric Carboxymaltose Reduces Transfusion Amounts after Orthopedic Hip Surgery

BACKGROUND: This retrospective study was performed to determine whether postoperative intravenous ferric carboxymaltose reduces transfusion amounts without influencing clinical outcomes in patients that have undergone hip surgery. METHODS: Between May 2014 and April 2016, the authors adopted a new perioperative blood management protocol involving the administration of intravenous ferric carboxymaltose after hip surgeries. One-to-one matching between the 150 patients treated during this period with 150 patients treated before initiation of the new protocol was performed by propensity scoring for age, sex, diagnosis, and type of hip surgery. Hematologic results and clinical outcomes in these two groups were compared. RESULTS: Average amounts of perioperative blood loss were not different in the two groups. Ninety-two patients (61%) were transfused in the control group and 70 patients (47%) were transfused in the intravenous ferric carboxymaltose group. The average number of transfused blood units was significantly lower in the intravenous ferric carboxymaltose group (1.7 ± 2.7 units vs. 1.0 ± 1.2 units, p = 0.002). At 6 weeks after surgery, the average hemoglobin concentration recovered to baseline in both groups, but the amount of recovered hemoglobin concentration at 6 weeks was significantly greater in the intravenous ferric carboxymaltose group than in the control group. Clinical outcomes including incidences of postsurgical complications were similar between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that postoperative intravenous ferric carboxymaltose injection is associated with reduced transfusion amounts and that intravenous ferric carboxymaltose does not influence clinical outcomes after hip surgery.

Treatment of Chronic Patellar Tendinitis with Platelet Rich Plasma Injection / 대한스포츠의학회지

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections on the healing of chronic patellar tendinitis. We treated 44 patients affected by chronic patellar tendinitis. Lysholm, International Knee Documentation Committee, visual analogue scale score were used for clinical evaluation before, at the end of the treatment. A statistically significant improvement in all scores was observed at the end of the PRP injections in patients with chronic patellar tendinitis. The clinical results are encouraging, indicating that PRP injections have the potential to promote the achievement of a satisfactory clinical outcome to chronic patellar tendinitis.

Clinical Results after a Rehabilitation Program for Lateral Epicondylitis of the Elbow / 대한정형외과학회잡지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of a rehabilitation program for the patients with lateral epicondylitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-three patients with lateral epicondylitis were included from April 2009 to October 2009 and all the patients were treated with a rehabilitation program for 6 weeks. The evaluation at baseline and at 12 weeks after rehabilitation included the subjective assessment of symptoms and the objective assessment with measuring the grip strength and muscle power of the wrist extensors and flexors and the forearm supinators and pronators. After 6 months, subjective satisfaction was evaluated via telephone calls. The data was analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed rank test (SPSS ver. 16.0). RESULTS: At 12 weeks, the subjective satisfaction was improved in on the three questionnaires. The grip strength increased from 25.1 kg to 37.8 kg (p<0.05). On the Biodex analysis, there was significant difference at the wrist extensors. At 6 months, 21 cases had excellent or good results according to the score and 2 cases complained of remaining pain. CONCLUSION: Our rehabilitation program is thought to be good treatment for the patients with lateral epicondylitis, and it is a practical and precautionary step for the cases of lateral epicondylitis if the patients themselves are educated to volutarily participate in the program.