Trapezial-metacarpal joint arthritis: radiographic correlation between first metacarpal articular tilt and dorsal subluxation.

PURPOSE: Dorsal subluxation of the base of the first metacarpal is a typical finding in trapezial-metacarpal (TM) osteoarthritis. The purpose of this study was to clarify the correlation between dorsal subluxation and articular tilt of the metacarpal facet in TM osteoarthritis. METHODS: We investigated 50 subjects between 25 and 70 years of age (mean, 45 ± 11 y) with normal thumbs (100 hands) and 98 subjects between 43 and 89 years of age (mean, 61 ± 11 y) with TM osteoarthritis (132 hands). We established 3 groups: normal (normal thumbs), mild arthritis (40 hands, Eaton stage 1 or 2), and severe arthritis (92 hands, Eaton stage 3 or 4). We took sagittal-plane radiographs of all TM joints. We defined the dorsal subluxation angle as the angle formed by a tangent drawn on the dorsal margin of the first metacarpal base and trapezium and the longitudinal axis of the second metacarpal. The facet angle was defined as the complementary angle between the tangent to the dorsal cortex of the first metacarpal and the line of the metacarpal facet of the TM joint. We compared the dorsal subluxation angle and facet angle between groups and investigated the correlation between these angles among the 132 hands with TM osteoarthritis. RESULTS: Both the dorsal subluxation angle and facet angle were significantly greater in the mild arthritis group than in the normal group and significantly greater in the severe arthritis group than in the mild arthritis group. A significant moderately positive correlation was also apparent between dorsal subluxation and facet angle in patients with TM osteoarthritis. CONCLUSIONS: Articular tilt and dorsal subluxation of the first metacarpal base are closely related, and both are increased with advanced-stage TM osteoarthritis. TYPE OF STUDY/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic III.

[Two cases of leprosy related conditions and relevant issues on medical services for ex-leprosy patients who live in communities in Japan].

In Japan people affected by leprosy who were forced to admit to national leprosy sanatoria under leprosy prevention/segregation law (1953) have ever been promoted to return to live in community, after destruction of the law in 1996. In this paper two cases are shown with some comments who had already been discharged from leprosy sanatoria and came late to OPD of National Suruga Sanatorium for consultations of their leprosy related conditions. One case is a 60 year-old male who developed squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) from chronic planter ulcer. The other is a 69 year-old female who developed relapse after more than 20 years BI negativity. In these cases, periods until consultation to our clinic were one year and five months, and five years and five months respectively. One reason is that there is no follow-up system of leprosy related conditions for ex-patients in current medical service of Japan. Another reason may be that patients hesitated to consult local doctors for their leprosy related conditions. Since national leprosy sanatoria will come to be closed in near future, services should be available for leprosy related conditions, such as prevention of disability (POD), prevention of worsening disability (POWD), early detection of relapse and leprosy reaction, in general medical service of Japan.

[Long-term prognosis of the patients of myotonic dystrophy with tube feeding].

We studied the long-term prognosis of the patients of myotonic dystrophy with tube feeding. Subjects were 51 patients (31 male patients and 20 female patients) of typical myotonic dystrophy who were at least once admitted in our hospital. We examined the age of the introduction of tube feeding, the cause of the introduction, respiratory and motor ability at the introduction, the duration of tube feeding, the cause of death and the extension of CTG repeats in the patients. Comparing with the patients with tube feeding and the patients without it, we also examined the prognosis after the introduction of tube feeding. Tube feeding was introduced in 13 cases. The mean age of tube feeding was 57.9 +/- 8.3 years old. The mean age of death of non tube feeding group was 55.9 +/- 5.5 years old. These show tube feeding was introduced in more elderly patients. Statstically the tube feeding was effective, but poor prognosis even after the introduction of tube feeding was suggested because the mean survival time after the introduction was about 850 days. We could not find any correlation between the age of the introduction of tube feeding and the extension of CAG report.