MR defecography detects pelvic floor dysfunction in participants with chronic complete spinal cord injury.

STUDY DESIGN: A prospective single arm study. OBJECTIVES: Previously we have demonstrated that magnetic resonance (MR) defecography is feasible in participants with complete spinal cord injury (SCI). The main aim of this study is to evaluate whether MR defecography can provide objective parameters correlating with the clinical manifestations of neurogenic bowel dysfunction (NBD) in participants with SCI. SETTING: A monocentric study in a comprehensive care university hospital Spinal Cord Injury Center. METHODS: Previously published MR defecography parameters (anorectal angle (ARA), hiatal descent (M-line) and hiatal width (H-line)) of twenty participants with SCI were now compared to a standardized clinical assessment of NBD. Descriptive statistics, correlations and t-tests for independent samples were calculated. RESULTS: The significantly higher values for the ARA at rest and M-line at rest in participants with SCI correlated with the clinical assessment of bowel incontinence. Furthermore, in nearly half of the investigated SCI cohort the normally positive difference between ARA, M-line and H-line at rest and during defecation became negative suggesting pelvic floor dyssynergia as a potential mechanism underlying constipation in people with complete SCI. In fact, these participants showed a more severe clinical presentation of NBD according to the total NBD score. CONCLUSIONS: MR defecography provides objective parameters correlating with clinical signs of NBD, such as constipation and bowel incontinence. Therefore, MR defecography can support pathophysiology-based decision-making with respect to specific therapeutic interventions, which should help to improve the management of NBD.

Electric impedance tomography for monitoring volume and size of the urinary bladder.

A novel non-invasive technique for monitoring fluid content in the human bladder is described. Specifically, a precommercial electric impedance tomograph (EIT) was applied to measure and visualize impedance changes in the lower torso due to changes in bladder volume. Preliminary measurements were conducted during routine urodynamic tests of nine male paraplegic patients, in whom a contrast agent was slowly infused into the bladder for diagnostic purposes. In some patients, a good correlation between bladder volume and EIT measurements was found, whereas in others the correlation was still good but inverted, presumably due to a poor electrode positioning. These preliminary results indicate that a sufficiently accurate finite element modeling of the impedance distribution in the abdomen, and proper electrode positioning aids, are important prerequisites to enable this technology to be used for routine measurement of bladder volume.

Prevalence of rotator cuff tear in paraplegic patients compared with controls.

BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal injuries of the shoulder in paraplegic patients with long-term survival can result from overuse and/or inappropriate use of wheelchairs. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence and risk of pathological changes in the weight-bearing shoulder girdle of paraplegic patients who have been wheelchair-dependent for more than thirty years in comparison with able-bodied volunteers. METHODS: One hundred paraplegic patients were matched for sex and age with a group of 100 able-bodied volunteers. Two hundred shoulders from each group were evaluated with use of magnetic resonance imaging. Collected outcome measures included a standardized clinical examination protocol, the Constant score, and a visual analog score for pain intensity. RESULTS: Shoulder function according to the Constant score was significantly worse in the paraplegic patients than in the able-bodied volunteers. Similarly, the visual analog scale pain scores were significantly worse for the paraplegic patients. Magnetic resonance imaging showed that the prevalence of rotator cuff tears in either shoulder was significantly higher in the paraplegic patients than in the able-bodied volunteers (63% compared with 15%), resulting in a tenfold higher risk of rotator cuff rupture among paraplegic patients. CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrates that the structural and functional changes of the shoulder joint are more severe and the risk of development of shoulder girdle damage is significantly higher in individuals with long-term paraplegia than in age-matched controls.

Spinal Fusion of an Unstable Atlantoaxial Fracture in a Completely Tetraplegic Patient Using Silicate-Substituted Calcium Phosphate.

Bone graft harvesting from the iliac crest constitutes the gold standard in spinal surgery due to its osteogenic, osteoconductive and osteoinductive properties. Large amounts of autograft can provoke complications like donor site morbidity, pain and the need for a second operation. Therefore, research into bone graft substitutes is of great interest. Silicate-substituted calcium phosphate (Actifuse(TM) Synthetic Bone Graft, ApaTech Ltd, London) was used in combination with morselized corticocancellous graft in a transarticular stabilization (modified Magerl) of a completely tetraplegic patient with an unstable atlantoaxial fracture. Computed tomography showed bone bridging between the segment C1/C2, the surface of the implant and the remodeled bone at follow-up at 8 months. The use of silicate-substituted calcium phosphate as a bone graft extender in spinal surgery could be an alternative to autografting from the iliac crest. Vegetative symptoms are often underestimated but can be triggered by donor site morbidity or pain in patients after spinal cord injury.

Kinematics and kinetics with an adaptive ankle foot system during stair ambulation of transtibial amputees.

Conventional prosthetic feet cannot adapt to specific conditions such as walking on stairs or ramps. Amputees are therefore forced to compensate their prosthetic deficits by modifying the kinematics and kinetics of their lower limbs. The Proprio-Foot (Ossur) intends to reduce these compensation mechanisms by automatically increasing dorsiflexion during stair ambulation thanks to an adaptive microprocessor-controlled ankle. The present investigation proposes to analyze the biomechanical effects of the dorsiflexion adaptation in transtibial (TT) amputees during stair ambulation. Sixteen TT amputees and sixteen healthy controls underwent conventional 3D gait analysis. Kinematics and kinetics of the lower limbs were compared during stair ascent and descent performed by patients with the prosthetic foot set to a neutral ankle angle and with an adapted dorsiflexion ankle angle of 4 degrees . Norm distance as well as minimum and maximal values of sagittal kinematics and kinetics were calculated for comparisons between patients and control subjects. For both stair ascent and descent, an improvement of the knee kinematics and kinetics could particularly be noticed on the involved side with an increase of the knee flexion and an increase of the knee moment during stance. Therefore, despite its additional weight compared to a conventional prosthetic ankle, the Proprio-Foot should be beneficial to active TT amputees whose knee musculature strength does not constitute a handicap.

Repeated botulinum-A toxin injections in the treatment of myelodysplastic children and patients with spinal cord injuries with neurogenic bladder dysfunction.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the effects of repeated detrusor injections of botulinum-A toxin (BTX) for possible changes in bladder function, muscular structure of the detrusor, increase in BTX tolerance (tachyphylaxis) and side-effects, as BTX is a new treatment alternative for patients with a neurogenic bladder condition that is difficult to treat and refractory to anticholinergic medication. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between 2000 and 2005, 19 patients with myelodysplasia (MDP) and 25 spinal cord-injured (SCI) patients were treated with repeated suburothelial BTX injections (Dysport, Ipsen-Pharma, Ettlingen, Germany) or injections into the intramural detrusor. The follow-up was > or = 3 years (range 3-5, median 4.5). RESULTS: Detrusor compliance, bladder capacity, and detrusor pressure at maximum filling improved significantly (P < 0.001) compared to baseline after each BTX injection. There was prolonged efficacy of each BTX administration and all repeated injections in the paediatric and adult patients with neurogenic bladder dysfunction over a median follow-up of 4.5 years. There was no evidence for drug tolerance or changes in the morphological appearance of the bladder. Safety was good: no complications were associated with the injection procedure itself. Early in the treatment programme, three patients who received a dose of 1000 units Dysport showed systemic side-effects and generalized muscle weakness. These resolved without intervention and did not recur after reducing the adult dose to 750 units (paediatric dose 20 units/kg, not >400 units), which seems to be the optimum for good efficacy with an adequate safety margin. CONCLUSION: BTX injection is a safe and effective treatment for neurogenic detrusor hyperreflexia. Repeat treatments are as effective as the first: there was no indication of a lack of efficacy due to tachyphylaxis, antibody formation, or fibrosis of the detrusor muscle in this sample.