Effects of Adding Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT) to Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) among Patients with Rotator Cuff Partial Tear: A Prospective Randomized Comparative Study.

A rotator cuff tear is a prevalent ailment affecting the shoulder joint. The clinical efficacy of combined therapy remains uncertain for partial rotator cuff tears. In this study, we integrated extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection, juxtaposed with PRP in isolation. Both cohorts exhibited significant improvements in visual analogue scale (VAS), Constant-Murley score (CMS), degrees of forward flexion, abduction, internal rotation, and external rotation, and the sum of range of motion (SROM) over the six-month assessment period. The application of ESWT in conjunction with PRP exhibited notable additional enhancements in both forward flexion (p = 0.033) and abduction (p = 0.015) after one month. Furthermore, a substantial augmentation in the range of shoulder motion (SROM) (p < 0.001) was observed after six months. We employed isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) to analyze the differential plasma protein expression in serum samples procured from the two groups after one month. The concentrations of S100A8 (p = 0.042) and S100A9 (p = 0.034), known to modulate local inflammation, were both lower in the ESWT + PRP cohort. These findings not only underscore the advantages of combined therapy but also illuminate the associated molecular changes.

The Impact of Chronic Pancreatitis on the Occurrences of Human Cancers: Real-World Data.

Chronic pancreatitis (CP) may induce systemic inflammation, potentially increasing cancer susceptibility. However, the link between CP and extra-pancreatic cancer remains underexplored. Employing Taiwanese National Health Insurance Database data from 2000 to 2017, we compared 5394 CP patients with 21,576 non-CP individuals through propensity score matching. CP patients exhibited a significantly higher cancer risk (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of 1.32 for females and 1.68 for males) and cumulative incidence (p < 0.001) compared to non-CP individuals. CP showed notable associations with pancreatic (aHR = 3.51), liver (aHR = 1.62), stomach (aHR = 2.01), and other cancers (aHR = 2.09). In terms of liver cancer, CP was significantly associated with patients without viral hepatitis, regardless of gender (aHR = 2.01 for women; aHR = 1.54 for men). No significant cancer occurrences were observed within the first year following CP diagnosis. Pancreatic or liver cancer developed in approximately half of CP patients within 2-3 years, while gastric cancer in male CP patients predominantly occurred around the fifth year after diagnosis. These findings inform potential cancer-screening plans for CP patients.

Incidence of Hip Fractures among Patients with Chronic Otitis Media: The Real-World Data.

Chronic otitis media (COM) has been considered as a localized disease, and its systemic impact is poorly understood. Whether COM-induced inflammation could be associated with systemic bone loss and hip fracture is unknown at present. Our study tried to determine the risk of hip fracture among COM patients. We selected the comparison individuals without the COM coding and paired the controls with COM patients by gender, age, and comorbidities (including osteoporosis) by about a one-to-two ratio. Our study showed that the incidence of hip fracture was 4.48 and 3.92 per 1000 person-years for comparison and COM cohorts respectively. The cumulative incidence of hip fracture is higher in the COM cohort (p < 0.001). After adjustment for gender, age, and comorbidities, the COM patients had a 1.11-fold (aHR = 1.11; 95% CI = 1.05−1.17) risk of hip fracture than the control subjects. Among COM patients, a history of hearing loss is associated with higher (aHR = 1.21; 95% CI = 1.20−1.42) fracture risk. Our study showed that COM patients, especially those with hearing loss, are susceptible to a higher risk for hip fracture.

The Association between Iron-Deficiency Anemia (IDA) and Septic Arthritis (SA): The Real-World Data.

Background and Objectives: Iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) could predispose the afflicted individuals to various infections and musculoskeletal disorders. This study attempted to investigate the association between IDA and septic arthritis (SA), a musculoskeletal disease. Materials and Methods: We investigated all the eligible subjects in the Taiwanese longitudinal health insurance database (LHID) between 2000 and 2012. Subjects with the diagnosis of IDA (International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM): 280) were allocated to the IDA cohort. The control subjects were randomly matched to every subject with IDA coding by age and sex at the 1:4 ratio. All of the recruited subjects were followed since the index date to the onset of SA (ICD-9-CM: 711.0), withdrawal from the insurance (including death), or 31 December 2013. Results: The cumulative incidence of SA was assessed. We showed that the cumulative incidence of SA was higher in the IDA cohort than in the control cohort (p-value < 0.0001). After adjustment of the comorbidities, the IDA patients had a 2.53-fold risk of SA compared to control subjects (aHR = 2.53, 95% CI = 1.89−3.38). Conclusions: IDA was associated with an increased risk of SA.