[Autologous transfusion of drained blood in hip and knee alloplasty. A prospective controlled study of 56 patients]. / Autolog draenblodtransfusion ved hofte- og knaealloplastik. En prospektiv kontrolleret undersøgelse af 56 patienter.

Fifty-six patients undergoing hip or knee replacements were randomized to receive autologous drain-blood transfusion or homologous blood transfusion at postoperative need. A reinfusion of 65% of the postoperative drainage blood loss was achieved. The number of homologous blood transfusions fell concomitantly from 2.3 to 0.6 after hip replacement and from 3.3 to 0.3 after knee replacement. No signs of activation of the complement or coagulation systems were found.

Autotransfusion of drainage blood in arthroplasty. A prospective, controlled study of 31 operations.

56 consecutive patients who had primary arthroplasties of the hip or the knee were randomly selected for either autologous or homologous blood transfusion. For autologous transfusion, the Solcotrans Orthopaedic device was used. Patients who received autologous transfusion had 65 percent of the post-operatively drained blood reinfused; compared to the control group the number of bank blood transfusions decreased in the hip group from 2.3 to 0.6 units, and in the knee group from 3.3 to 0.3 units.

[Colles' fracture. Therapeutic results and use of resources. A comparative study between 2 departments in the same county]. / Fractura Collesi. Behandlingsresultater og ressourceforbrug. En sammenlignende undersøgelse imellem to afdelinger i et amt.

A comparison between the functional end results of Colles' fractures, treated in two different hospitals, was performed by a follow up study of 100 patients from each hospital 18-24 months after fracture. The difference between the requirements of resources in the two hospitals were mainly: treatment of patients as outpatients or during admission and the method of anaesthesia. No significant difference in functional end result between the two groups was found. It was concluded that local anaesthesia in the fracture haematoma often is insufficient and is unpleasant for the patient. A more effective anaesthesia which can be applied polyclinically is preferable, as anaesthesia, which demands admission to the hospital, is an expensive solution and does not give a better functional end result. The "sandwich" type plaster of Paris bandage is more comfortable, safer to use with outpatients and is therefore preferable to the circular plaster of Paris bandage.

Traumatic amputation of the upper limb: the use of body-powered prostheses and employment consequences.

Forty three patients with unilateral traumatic amputations were reviewed as to the use of prostheses and employment consequences of the amputation. Seventeen of 19 below-elbow amputees, and 12 of 24 above-elbow amputees used their prostheses. Non-users compared to users of prostheses were characterized by: 1) Higher level of amputation 2) Non-dominant arm amputation and 3) Younger age at the time of amputation. However non-users usually did well on the labour market for various reasons.

Effects of aluminum(III), chromium(III), and iron(III) on the rate of dissolution of calcium hydroxyapatite crystals in the absence and presence of the chelating agent desferrioxamine.

Aluminum ions (Al) and chromium (III) ions (Cr), as they exist in aqueous solution at neutral pH, adsorb onto calcium hydroxyapatite crystals (HAP) and severely inhibit their dissolution process, when present in concentrations less than 1 microM. Iron (III) ions (Fe), at concentrations up to 10 microM, have no effect on the dissolution process of HAP. The Fe-chelating agent desferrioxamine also forms strong complexes with Al but not with Cr. Desferrioxamine prevents the adsorption of Al to HAP and removes pre-adsorbed Al from the HAP surface, although not instantaneously, but has no significant effect on the adsorption of Cr to HAP. Desferrioxamine is also found to be capable of removing Al preadsorbed to bone powder.

The healing of through-knee amputations in relation to skin perfusion pressure.

The healing in 20 through-knee amputations was compared with preoperatively measured skin perfusion pressure, determined as the minimal external pressure required to stop the washout of isotopes injected intradermally 10 cm distal to the knee joint. Out of 18 amputations with a skin perfusion pressure of above 20 mmHg only 2 failed to heal, whereas 2 out of 4 cases with skin perfusion pressure below 20 mmHg failed to heal. It is concluded that the through-knee amputation must be considered in cases where the circulation is borderline for healing in below-knee amputation.