Use of Growth Rod Systems for Management of Early Onset Scoliosis in Cerebral Palsy: A Systematic Review.

AIM: To review the literature for the role and outcome of growing rod surgeries in patients with cerebral palsy associated neuromuscular scoliosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A systematic search was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Electronic literature search was conducted of PubMed and Embase databases. Patient demographics, type of growing rod used, lengthening and complications were analyzed from the included studies. RESULTS: A total of 11 studies with poor overall study quality (Level of evidence IV, V) were included in the study. A total of 181 patients with mean age 6.8 ± 1.3 (5-13 range) years at index surgery and mean follow-up of 3.02 ± 1.3 (2-5.8 range) years were included in the study, with a female preponderance. The most common curve and instrumentation was thoraco-lumbar and conventional dual growing rods respectively. All studies showed improvement in Cobb?s angle and pelvic obliquity. There was better improvement in pelvic obliquity if pelvis was included in instrumentation. Wound related complications (34.6%) were most commonly noted. CONCLUSION: Overall growing rod construct has shown questionable outcomes in cerebral palsy patients with scoliosis in terms of the complication rate observed although allowing growth of the spinal column with regular lengthenings. Magnetic controlled growth rods hold a bright promise for the future considering its ability to maintain correction as well as the lower rate of complications The benefits and risk of immediate fusion with respect to growth sparing surgeries should be considered before the decision.

Risk Factors for Avascular Necrosis of the Femoral Head in Pediatric Femoral Neck Fractures.

Introduction A neck of femur fracture is a rare injury in the pediatric population and is of foremost importance, as it is associated with a high rate of complications. It usually occurs due to high-velocity trauma or a fall from a height. There is a scarcity of data on risk factors and their role in the prognostication of avascular necrosis. The purpose of the study was to retrospectively analyze the association of various risk factors with avascular necrosis (AVN) of the femoral head in patients with a neck of femur fracture in the pediatric age group. Material and methods The study included 21 (13 males and 8 females) pediatric patients with a neck of femur fracture treated at a university-level hospital. The patients were followed for a minimum of one year and the clinico-radiological outcome was analyzed using Ratliff criteria. The association of AVN with age, gender, side, fracture type, and injury with treatment delay, type of reduction, and type of internal fixation used was studied. Results The mean age of the treated patients was 11 (±3.178) years (range=5-16 years). Avascular necrosis was seen in four patients and coxa vara occurred in two of them. A statistically significant association was seen between the Delbet fracture type and avascular necrosis, and three out of four cases of AVN were a Type I fracture (p-value=0.006). Three out of six patients having concomitant skeletal or other organ injuries developed AVN (p-value=0.022). The rate of AVN was higher in patients who were managed after 48 hours of initial injury but no statistically significant correlation was found (p-value=0.314). No statistically significant association with AVN was found between gender, age, type of reduction (closed/open), or the implant used (cannulated screws/k-wires). Conclusions Multiple independent factors may have a role in the development of AVN of the femoral head in children. Prognostication should not be based on a single factor. Statistically significant results in this study have shown that the type of fracture and concomitant skeletal or other organ injuries are important risk factors and should be kept in mind. All independent risk factors must be noted and should be considered while prognosticating the outcome of a child with a neck of femur fracture.

Building operational readiness for responding to emergencies in the WHO South-East Asia Region.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has an essential role to play in supporting Member States to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies with public health consequences. Operational readiness for known and unknown hazards and emergencies requires a risk-informed and structured approach to building capacities within organizations such as WHO offices and national ministries of health. Under the flagship priority programme on emergency risk management of the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia, a readiness training programme consisting of four modules was implemented during 2017-2018, involving staff from WHO country offices as well as from the regional office. The experience of and lessons learnt from designing, developing and delivering this phased training programme have fed into improvements in the curriculum and training methodology. The training programme has also facilitated the development of business continuity plans and contingency plans in some of the 11 Member States of the region and has increased the readiness of WHO staff for swift deployment in recent emergencies. It is recommended that the strengthening of operational readiness for responding to emergencies in the region be sustained and accelerated through the development of a regional training consortium that can scale the training programme up at national level, taking into account country contexts, national health systems and the needs of populations. The resilience of the populations and health systems in the region will be increased if disaster risk reduction and emergency preparedness and response activities are supported by operational readiness.