Intralesional epidermal growth factor for diabetic foot wounds: the first cases in Turkey.

BACKGROUND: Intralesional recombinant epidermal growth factor (EGF) was produced in the Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB), Cuba, in 1988 and licensed in 2006. Because it may accelerate wound healing, it is a potential new treatment option in patients with a diabetic foot wound (whether infected or not) as an adjunct to standard treatment (i.e. debridement, antibiotics). We conducted the initial evaluation of EGF for diabetic foot wounds in Turkey. METHODS: We enrolled 17 patients who were hospitalized in various medical centers for a foot ulcer and/or infection and for whom below the knee amputation was suggested to all except one. All patients received 75 µg intralesional EGF three times per week on alternate days. RESULTS: The appearance of new granulation tissue on the wound site (≥75%) was observed in 13 patients (76%), and complete wound closure was observed in 3 patients (18%), yielding a 'complete recovery' rate of 94%. The most common side effects were tremor (n=10, 59%) and nausea (n=6, 35%). In only one case,a serious side effect requiring cessation of EGF treatment was noted. That patient experienced severe hypotension at the 16th application session, and treatment was discontinued. At baseline, a total of 21 causative bacteria were isolated from 15 patients, whereascultures were sterile in two patients. The most frequently isolated species was Pseudomonas aeruginosa. CONCLUSION: Thus, this preliminary study suggests that EGF seems to be a potential adjunctive treatment option in patients with limb-threatening diabetic foot wounds.

Osteomyelitis or Charcot neuro-osteoarthropathy? Differentiating these disorders in diabetic patients with a foot problem.

Both osteomyelitis and Charcot neuro-osteoarthropathy (CN) are potentially limb-threatening complications of diabetic neuropathy, but they require quite different treatments. Almost all bone infections in the diabetic foot originate from an infected foot ulcer while diabetic osteoarthropathy is a non-infectious process in which peripheral neuropathy plays the critical role. Differentiating between diabetic foot osteomyelitis and CN requires careful evaluation of the patient, including the medical history, physical examination, selected laboratory findings, and imaging studies. Based on available studies, we review the approaches to the diagnostic differentiation of osteomyelitis from CN of the foot in diabetic patients.

[Operative stabilization of traumatic flail chest using a reconstruction plaque]. / Travmatik yelken gögsün rekonstrüksiyon plagi ile cerrahi stabilizasyonu.

Flail chest is the most serious form of blunt thoracic trauma that occurs as a result of fracture of three or more ribs from at least two places or sternal fractures and/or separation of costochondral junctions. Existence of life-threatening physiopathological changes almost always affects the clinical status of the patients. Typically the fractured segment moves in the interior and exterior directions during inspirations and expirations, respectively and this paradoxical motion is called as flail chest. Non-operative treatment approaches are usually preferred for the flail chest cases. However, surgery constitutes the unavoidable treatment procedure in the existence of severe chest wall deformities, unstable ventilation dynamics, lung and diaphragmatic injuries and prolonged mechanical ventilation. Here we present a case of traumatic flail chest in a patient with traumatic severe chest wall deformity treated by chest wall reconstruction with AO-ASIF [Arbeitsgemeindschaft fur Osteosynthesefragen (Association for the Study of Internal Fixation)] osteosynthesis plaque.

The diagnosis of diabetic foot osteomyelitis: examination findings and laboratory values.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to demonstrate how much examination findings and laboratory values can be helpful in the diagnosis of osteomyelitis in patients with diabetic foot infections. MATERIAL/METHODS: Data of 46 consecutive inpatients prospectively followed up according to a specially designed "Diabetic Foot Follow-up Form" were analyzed. Following diagnostic interventions, clinical and laboratory findings of patients with and without a diagnosis of osteomyelitis were compared. In these patients with and without osteomyelitis confirmed by histopathology and/or microbiology and/or MRI the sensitivity and specificity of ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) and wound size were also determined. RESULTS: There was no significant differences in the duration of diabetes or the existence of nephropathy or vascular disease, while the other findings (ESR, C-reactive protein, wound size, history of diabetic foot ulcer, and retinopathy) were significantly different. It is found that ESR > or =65 mm/h together with a wound size > or =2 cm2 had a sensitivity of 83%, specificity of 77%, positive predictive value of 80%, and negative predictive value of 81% in the diagnosis of osteomyelitis. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that simple clinical evaluation and laboratory findings without using expensive imaging methods may be important indicators of osteomyelitis.

[Venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in major orthopaedic surgery: A multicenter, prospective, observational study]. / Majör ortopedik cerrahilerde venöz tromboemboli profilaksisi: Cokmerkezli, prospektif, gözlem çalismasi.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated risk factors for venous thromboembolism (VTE), prophylaxis measures employed, and incidence of symptomatic deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) in patients undergoing major orthopaedic surgery (MOS). METHODS: An open, multicenter, prospective, observational study was conducted in 21 medical centers, comprising 899 patients. Of these, 316 patients (35.2%) underwent total hip arthroplasty (THA), 328 patients (36.5%) underwent total knee arthroplasty (TKA), and 255 patients (28.4%) underwent surgery for hip fractures (HF). Pharmacologic prophylaxis was employed in all the patients. RESULTS: Risk factors for VTE were seen in 73.2% of the patients, the most common being obesity (72%) and prolonged immobilization (36.3%). Low-molecular-weight heparin (91.1%) and fondaparinux (8.9%) were used for prophylaxis, which was short-term in 273 patients (30.4%) and long-term in 626 patients (69.6%). Mechanical prophylaxis was performed with compression stockings in 610 patients (67.9%) and by intermittent pneumatic compression in 67 patients (7.5%). During three-months of follow-up, symptomatic DVT and PE were seen in eight (0.9%) and four patients (0.4%), respectively. Mortality occurred in 10 patients (1.1%). Complications of major and minor bleeding were seen in eight (0.9%) and 40 (4.5%) patients, respectively. CONCLUSION: Effective VTE prophylaxis is associated with low risk of clinically apparent DVT and PE in MOS.

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation offers partial relief in notalgia paresthetica patients with a relevant spinal pathology.

There is yet no established mode of curative treatment for notalgia paresthetica (NP). We had previously shown a correlation of NP localization with relevant spinal changes which led us to speculate on the possible role of spinal nerve impingement in the pathogenesis of this entity. Based on these findings we aimed to investigate the possible effect of physical therapy in selected cases of NP. Fifteen NP patients with a relevant spinal pathology (four men and 11 women) were included in the study. The mean age was 52.80 +/- 8.83 years (+/- SD; range, 39-73). NP duration was 8.9 +/- 8.13 years (range, 1.5-30). All patients received 10 conventional transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) sessions in the symptomatic area of 20 min duration and high frequency (50-100 Hz). From an initial pruritus score of 10, the mean score by the end of first week was 7.67 +/- 2.02 (range, 5-10) and by the end of second week it was 6.80 +/- 2.73 (range, 4-11). The differences between the pretreatment and post-treatment scores were statistically significant. There was no correlation of therapeutic benefit with age or disease duration. We believe that the partial therapeutic benefit of TENS in NP patients is of importance and further research on the effects of various physical therapeutic modalities would be worthwhile.

Reverse sural artery flap for distal lower extremity defects.

Traumatic and various dermatological conditions resulting in skin and subcutaneous tissue loss on the lower limb cause a therapeutic challenge for the dermatological surgeon, because this anatomical location lacks adequate skin laxity and has limited local soft tissue, especially around the heel. In this report, we present our experience with the reverse sural artery flap on seven patients. The soft tissue defect was traumatic in two patients. We also treated three diabetic patients. There were no immediate or late surgical complications in four cases; flap and donor site healing was uneventful. The remaining three cases were diabetic, and all presented with the following complications: rejection of split skin graft at donor site, infection at the flap border and superficial flap necrosis. The flap necrosis was concluded to be at least in part due to the patient's noncompliance with postoperative measures. We conclude that the reverse sural artery flap is a satisfactory alternative in the reconstruction of lower limb defects, but we also feel that the importance of proper evaluation prior to surgery in terms of vascular impairment and patient compliance should be emphasized to ensure a successful surgical outcome.

Brown tumors mimicking bone metastases.

Brown tumors are rare skeletal manifestations of hyperparathyroidism (HPT) that may mimic cancer metastasis. Here, we present a 52-year-old woman with HPT and multiple foci of technetium uptake due to brown tumors on bone scintigraphy. Screening tests were negative for cancer and serum parathormon (PTH) measurement; parathyroid ultrasonography and scintigraphy suggested HPT. A chief cell adenoma in right and hyperplasia in the left parathyroid glands were surgically removed after which hungry bone syndrome emerged. Biopsy of the femur lesion during an open reduction with fixation operation due to a fracture established the diagnosis of a brown tumor. Brown tumors are important to consider in the evaluation of patients presenting with multiple foci of uptake on bone scanning and without an established primary neoplasm.

The analgesic effect of nitroglycerin added to lidocaine on intravenous regional anesthesia.

We evaluated the analgesic effect of nitroglycerine (NTG) when added to lidocaine in IV regional anesthesia. Thirty patients undergoing hand surgery were randomly assigned to two groups. The control group (group C, n = 15) received a total dose of 40 mL with 3 mg/kg of lidocaine diluted with saline, and the NTG group (group NTG, n = 15) received an additional 200 mug NTG. Hemodynamic variables, tourniquet pain measured before and 1, 5, 10, 20, and 30 min after tourniquet inflation, and analgesic requirements were recorded during the operation. After the tourniquet deflation, at 1 and 30 min and 2 and 4 h, visual analog scale (VAS) score, time to first analgesic requirement, total analgesic consumption in the first 24 h after operation, and side effects were noted. Shortened sensory and motor block onset time (3.2 +/- 1.1 versus 4.5 +/- 1.2 min; P = 0.01 and 3.3 +/- 1.6 versus 5.2 +/- 1.8; P = 0.009 in group NTG and group C, respectively), prolonged sensory and motor block recovery times (6.8 +/- 1.6 versus 3.1 +/- 1.2 min P < 0.0001 and 7.3 +/- 1.3 versus 3.6 +/- 0.8 P < 0.0001 in group NTG and group C, respectively), shortened VAS scores of tourniquet pain (P = 0.023), and improved quality of anesthesia were found in group NTG (P < 0.05). VAS scores were lower in group NTG after tourniquet release and in the postoperative period (P = 0.001). First analgesic requirement time was longer in group NTG (225 +/- 74 min versus 39 +/- 33 min) than in group C (P < 0.0001). Postoperative analgesic requirements were significantly smaller in group NTG (P < 0.0001) but the side effects were similar in both groups. We conclude that the addition of NTG to lidocaine for IV regional anesthesia improves sensory and motor block, tourniquet pain, and postoperative analgesia without side effects.

Investigation of spinal pathology in notalgia paresthetica.

A possible association of spinal pathology with notalgia paresthetica (NP) was investigated through clinical and radiographic evaluation. Forty-three NP patients underwent dermatologic and orthopedic examination accompanied by radiography of the spine. Sixty-one lesions in 43 patients were evaluated. In 34 patients, various vertebral pathologies were observed radiographically by a blinded investigator, and in 28 of these cases these changes were most prominent in the vertebrae which corresponded to a lesional dermatome. Thirty-seven lesions were accompanied by spinal changes decided to be relevant (60.7%). The striking correlation of NP localization with spinal pathology suggests that spinal nerve impingement may contribute to the pathogenesis of this entity.