[Reanimation de l'extension du pouce par transfert de l'extensor indici proprius chez les enfants atteints de pouce flexus adductus congenital]. / Réanimation de l'extension du pouce par transfert de l'extensor indici proprius chez les enfants atteints de pouce flexus adductus congénital.

Congenital clasped thumb is a rare congenital deformity characterized by a permanent contracture of the thumb metacarpo-phalangeal joint. Surgical option often raise in case of failure of the orthopaedic method. We wanted to evaluate the use of the extensor proprius indici (EPI) tendon to reanimate thumb extension in children affected by congenital clasped thumb. We made a retrospective review of children operated in our center between 2005 and 2019. We operated eight children (twelve hands) over this period: nine were grade I, two grade II and one case grade III (arthrogryposis). Medium age at surgery was 18 months (10 to 23 months). In each case, EPI tendon transfer was realized and sutured to the extensor pollici longus. Children were seen in consultation at six weeks postoperative and then mean follow-up was nineteen months. Seven children (87.5%) had a physiologic thumb extension at six weeks. One case of partial loss of extension on the index was noted. One second time of surgery was necessary to change the course of EPI transfer. At six months postoperative, all children could use their thumb with an extension similar to the opposite thumb. Surgery must be proposed in congenital clasped thumb persistent after at least four months of orthopaedic treatment or in cases of severe deformity. Tendon transfer using EPI must be proposed first given the good functionnal results and low morbidity.

Impact of the COVID-19 lockdown period on adult musculoskeletal injuries and surgical management: a retrospective monocentric study.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to the worldwide implementation of unprecedented public protection measures. On the 17th of March, the French government announced a lockdown of the population for 8 weeks. This monocentric study assessed the impact of this lockdown on the musculoskeletal injuries treated at the emergency department as well as the surgical indications. We carried out a retrospective study in the Emergency Department and the Surgery Department of Nantes University Hospital from 18 February to 11 May 2020. We collected data pertaining to the demographics, the mechanism, the type, the severity, and inter-hospital transfer for musculoskeletal injuries from our institution. We compared the 4-week pre-lockdown period and the 8-week lockdown period divided into two 4-week periods: early lockdown and late lockdown. There was a 52.1% decrease in musculoskeletal injuries among patients presenting to the Emergency Department between the pre-lockdown and the lockdown period (weekly incidence: 415.3 ± 44.2 vs. 198.5 ± 46.0, respectively, p < .001). The number of patients with surgical indications decreased by 33.4% (weekly incidence: 44.3 ± 3.8 vs. 28.5 ± 10.2, p = .048). The policy for inter-hospital transfers to private entities resulted in 64 transfers (29.4%) during the lockdown period. There was an increase in the incidence of surgical high severity trauma (Injury Severity Score > 16) between the pre-lockdown and the early lockdown period (2 (1.1%) vs. 7 (7.2%), respectively, p = .010) as well as between the pre-lockdown and the late lockdown period (2 (1.1%) vs. 10 (8.3%), respectively, p = .004). We observed a significant increase in the weekly emergency department patient admissions between the early and the late lockdown period (161.5 ± 22.9, 235.5 ± 27.7, respectively, p = .028). A pronounced decrease in the incidence of musculoskeletal injuries was observed secondary to the lockdown measures, with emergency department patient admissions being halved and surgical indications being reduced by a third. The increase in musculoskeletal injuries during the late confinement period and the higher incidence of severe trauma highlights the importance of maintaining a functional trauma center organization with an inter-hospital transfer policy in case of a COVID-19s wave lockdown.