Early detection of developmental dysplasia of hip by ultrasound.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of early universal ultrasound (US) screening of developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). STUDY DESIGN: A prospective study of universal hip screening of all mature neonates was conducted from 2012 to 2013, at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Szeged; 1636 newborns (3272 hips) had clinical examinations and hip ultrasound by the Graf method within the1st 3 days of life. Prevalence of DDH, risk factors, sensitivity and specificity of clinical examinations were evaluated. RESULTS: At the 1st US, 70 of the examined 3272 hips (2.14%) were found to be positive. According to Graf categories, the following distribution was observed: type II C, 21 hips (30.0%); D, 24 hips (34.28%); III, 24 hips (34.28%); IV, 1 hip (1.44%). Regarding the risk factors, female gender, breech presentation and positive family history proved to be significant. Interestingly, 28 (50.90%) of the 55 newborns with DDH had neither positive physical signs nor any risk factors, except being female. The physical examination was calculated for sensitivity (20.0%) and specificity (98.34%). CONCLUSIONS: In our 1-year period study, 50.9% of the newborns with DDH had neither any positive physical signs nor any risk factors, except being a female. In contrast, early universal US screening of the hip facilitated to diagnose all cases with hip dysplasia. Hip sonography is an effective mode of prevention in orthopaedics, however further studies are needed to compare the rates of operative procedures in selective versus universal screening models.

Metabolic changes in the lower esophageal sphincter influencing the result of anti-reflux surgical interventions in chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease.

AIM: With the availability of a minimally invasive approach, anti-reflux surgery has recently experienced a renaissance as a cost-effective alternative to life-long medical treatment in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). We are not aware of the fact whether reflux episodes causing complaints for a long time i.e., at least for one year are associated with metabolic changes in the lower esophageal sphincter, and if so, whether these may influence functional results achieved after anti-reflux surgery. METHODS: Between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2002 we performed anti-reflux surgery on 79 patients. Muscle samples were taken from the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) in 33 patients during anti-reflux surgery. Inclusion criteria were: LES resting pressure below 10 mmHg and a marked, pH proven acid exposure to the esophagus of at least one year's duration, causing subjective complaints and requiring continuous proton pump inhibitor treatment. Control samples were obtained from muscle tissue in the gastroesophageal junction that had been removed from 17 patients undergoing gastric or esophageal resection. Metabolic and lysosomal enzyme activities and special protein concentrations 16 parameters in total were evaluated in tissue taken from control specimens and tissue taken from patients with GERD. The biochemical parameters of these intra-operative biopsies were used to correlate the results of anti-reflux operations (Visick I and II-III). RESULTS: In the reflux-type muscle, we found a significant increase of the energy-enzyme activities e.g., creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, beta-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, and aspartate aminotransaminase-. The concentration of the structural protein S-100 and the myofibrillar protein troponin I were also significantly increased. Among lysosomal enzymes, we found that the activities of cathepsin B, tripeptidyl-peptidase I, dipeptidyl-peptidase II, beta-hexosaminidase B, beta-mannosidase and beta-galactosidase were significantly decreased as compared to the control LES muscles. By analyzing the activity values of the 9 patients in Visick groups II and III at two months post-surgery, we found a significant increase in the activity of the so-called energy-enzyme values and in the concentration of structural and myofibrillar proteins as compared to the rest of the reflux patients. CONCLUSION: Our results call attention to the metabolic changes that occurred in the LES muscles of reflux patients. The developing hypertrophy-like changes of LES muscles may be a reason for complaints after anti-reflux surgery, which consisted mainly of reports of persisting dysphagia.