Liver Function Tests and FIB-4 Score as Predictors of Severity in COVID-19 Patients from the South-West of Romania.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic (COVID-19) is the most important global health crisis to date. In this study, we performed an analysis to find the association between liver damage, FIB-4 score and the severity of COVID-19 disease. METHODS: We included a total of 580 patients that tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection and were hospitalized. No patient included had any known history of liver disease. Liver function tests were performed, and FIB-4 score was calculated in order to assess their involvement in the disease progression. RESULTS: More than half of the patients had elevated liver function tests. Age, high body mass index, associated heart disease and diabetes were associated with poor outcome. Corticosteroids, antibiotics, and anticoagulants strongly correlated with liver injuries. Liver impairment and injury, as well as a FIB-4 score higher than 3.5, also correlated with higher degrees of disease severity. CONCLUSION: Liver injury and elevated FIB-4 score were associated with poor clinical outcome and disease severity, as well as being a valuable tool to predict COVID-19-related mortality.

Bimalleolar pathological fracture in a patient with chronic tophaceous gout.

Gout is one of the most common types of inflammatory arthritis. Four stages have been described in its evolution: asymptomatic hyperuricemia, acute gouty arthritis, intercritical gout and chronic tophaceous gout. Monosodium urate crystals deposits are more frequently encountered in hyaline cartilage, tendon sheaths, articular bursae, bone epiphysis, synovium, and skin. Pathological fractures that occur at the formation sites of gout tophi have been rarely described in gout. Bimalleolar fractures often occur following a trauma. We present the case of a 56-year-old patient, diagnosed with chronic gout for over 12 years, with tophi in the upper and lower limbs, who presented accusing mechanical pain in the left tibio-tarsal joint and impaired function of the hands. The clinical examination showed bilateral multiple destructive gout tophi in the hands, forearms, elbows, feet, ankles, and lower legs, while the left ankle exhibited an important varus deformity. Computed tomography examination of the left ankle showed multiple gout tophi with bone erosions and a bimalleolar pathological fracture. The patient underwent pharmacological treatment, physical therapy and the ankle was immobilized in a knee-ankle-foot orthosis, with subsequent orthopedic surgical treatment for fracture fixation, to improve functional status. We have chosen to present this case given the multiple disabilities of the patient, which have improved following the rehabilitation treatment.

Managing Low Back Pain in Primary Care.

Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common pathologies for which patients present for consultation in primary medical practice. The objective of the study was to determine the number of patients with LBP who presented to the general practitioner 's (GP) office between October 2019 and March 2020, to determine risk factors, favoring factors and their correlation with clinical data obtained after performing the clinical examination, with paraclinical data obtained by imaging investigation. 347 patients, aged between 17 and 82 years, were included in the study, presenting a sex ratio of men: women of approximately 2: 1. The main pain symptoms of the patients were: localized pain in the lumbar spine, radicular pain, referred to the lower limbs, subjective sensitivity disorders felt in the lower limbs, distal motor deficit in the lower limbs, paravertebral muscle contractions and the feeling of instability in the low back. The main risk factors were smoking, the existence of a trauma to the lumbar spine, sedentary lifestyle, maintaining a prolonged fixed position and intense physical exercise, either occasionally or daily. Among the patients included in the study, a number of 93 patients required the granting of medical leave both by the attending GP and by other specialists. Regardless of the etiology and pathophysiological mechanisms involved in the occurrence of LBP, therapeutic management should aim to stop pain symptoms and prevent recurrences.

Complex evaluation in patients with knee osteoarthritis.

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a very common, slowly progressive and incurable articular disease resulting in the breakdown of cartilage and bone in the joint, which causes significant discomfort, pain and disability, with a significant socio-economic impact. The aim of our observational study for patients with symptomatic KOA was to investigate the changes of C-terminal telopeptide of type II collagen (CTX-II) in serum pre and post a complex rehabilitation program and to establish the correlation between all studied parameters [clinical, functional, serum CTX-II (sCTX-II) and histological aspects obtained through arthroscopy]. During 2016-2017, we performed an observational study including 24 patients, between 59 and 76 years old, diagnosed with KOA. Studied patients were completely assessed before (T1) and four months after a complex rehabilitation program (T2). The measured parameters were stiffness, pain, and physical function and we used the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain, with Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), sCTX-II value obtained by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test, histological assessment of knee cartilage after arthroscopy. In the histological assessment of our patients, we observed that the cells of the superficial areas were round and hypertrophic, the cartilage tissue had few proteoaminoglycans and glycosaminoglycans, with an airy aspect of the matrix and degenerate cells, numerically reduced. After positive diagnosis, the complete treatment, including the rehabilitation program, seems to be the ideal option for improving the CTX-II values, as well as the quality of life in KOA patients.

Frostbite arthropathy - a rare case of osteoarthritis, review of the literature and case presentation.

Frostbite affects more commonly the northern population then it was suspected earlier, but wherever cold winter occurs, cold caused lesions are reported. Most often, it is described as soft tissue lesions, but deeper structures like tendons, ligaments, muscles, cartilage or bones can be affected. All extremities can be involved; lesions can lead to necrosis and amputations. First documented cases were described during military actions, but occupational or recreational activities can also be a risk factor for frostbite. Frozen or frostbite arthropathy is a rare cause of osteoarthritis. Usually, arthritis appears after a long time after frostbite, it can be decades apart. Frostbite arthropathy can result in different debilitating conditions. The current review describes the most important changes in frostbite and a rare but very serious late complication, which lead to arthropathy.

Immunohistochemical analysis of bone metabolism in osteonecrosis of the femoral head.

Osteonecrosis of the femoral head occurs because of the suppression of blood circulation. At the level of the area affected by the ischemic phenomenon, there are two types of events, in the first stage there is necrosis of the cellular elements, followed by a reparatory phase of the spongy bone tissue. The objective of the study was the histological and immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis of bone metabolism in the repair phase. We observed the action of the main cells involved in the remodeling, the osteoblasts and the osteoclasts, following the reaction of the markers of their activity: osteoprotegerin, osteonectin, osteopontin. We included 23 patients diagnosed with femoral head osteonecrosis, stage II, Ficat and Arlet classification, biological material required for histological and IHC analysis being obtained during hip arthroplasty. Regardless of the age or presence of risk factors, the reaction to osteoprotegerin was mildly positive, being only highlighted at the level of the reactive dividing line, being absent in the other areas, indicating a reduced activity of inhibiting differentiation and activation of osteoclasts, also highlighted with classical histology methods, the affected area being well-defined and we could observe the necrotic tissue resorption by osteoclasts. The intense positive reaction of osteopontin and osteonectin, especially at the line of demarcation, is due to the increase in the number of osteoblasts required for the synthesis of neoformation bone tissue. We believe that the aspects revealed by our study can be a track in finding new-targeted therapies useful in stopping the development of the disease.

Hand enchondroma - complete evaluation and rehabilitation.

Enchondroma, the most frequently reported primary tumor in the long bones of the hand, is a common benign cartilaginous tumor, defined more exactly as a benign mature hyaline cartilaginous tumor that is located into the medullar space of the tubular bones. Between 2012 and 2018, we performed an observational study on six patients (two males and four females), aged 16 to 49 years old (mean 29.5 years), who were diagnosed during routine physical examinations with isolated enchondroma in their hand. The tumor was more frequently located in their proximal phalanges (four patients), while two patients had middle phalange tumors. The most common digit involved was the little finger (five patients), followed by the ring finger (one patient). The symptoms, which prompted surgical interventions, were: enlargement without fracture (two patients), pain or limitation of mobility (four patients), pain without pathological fracture (six patients). Studied patients were completely assessed before the treatment program (surgical intervention and rehabilitation program). The measured parameters and scales used were Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) scale for functional status and histological exam. For both VAS and HAQ, we observed a statistically significant difference between the initial and final evaluations, with p=0.03 and p=0.035, respectively. Histological assessment and differential diagnosis are essential for the post-surgical treatment and rehabilitation program.

Predictive model of synovial membrane degradation using semi-automated morphometry and artificial neural networks.

Gonarthrosis is a degenerative disease that affects mainly older people, but whose incidence has increased significantly in the last decade in population under the age of 65. The main objective of this study was developing a predictive model of synovial membrane degradation in relation to local nerve structures in patients with knee osteoarthritis, based on advanced morphometry and artificial neural networks (ANNs). We present here a pilot test of the method, describing preliminary findings in analyzing a pre-set number of images. We tested the system on a pre-defined set of 50 images from patients suffering of gonarthrosis in different stages. Biological material used for the histological study was synovial membrane fragments. We included 50 anonymized images from 25 consecutive patients. We found significant differences between mean fractal dimensions (FDs) of histological elements of normal and pathological tissues. In the case of immunohistochemistry, we found statistically relevant differences for mean FDs of all antibodies. We fed the data to the ANN system designed to recognize pathological regions of the examined tissue. We believe that further study will have an important contribution to the development and will bring new local targeted therapies. These could slow or reverse joint damage and pain relief in patients with osteoarthritis.

Rheumatoid nodules and quality of life in rheumatoid arthritis females - complex assessment.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) represents the most commonly diagnosed arthropathy that affect many tissue types and organs, characterized by a clinical, functional and therapeutic pathogenic complexity and it affects especially diarthroidal joints. Rheumatoid nodules (RNs) are one of the most frequent extra-articular manifestations of RA, and usually reflect an advanced stage of the disease and a poor prognosis. The complexity of histological, clinical and functional aspects in RA has a real impact on the quality of life in all patients diagnosed with this disorder. Our prospective study presents the RNs involvement in the rehabilitation program performed in order to enhance the quality of life in the 25 RA female patients. We made a complex assessment and realized a correlation between pain, disability and histological aspect of RN, before and after the rehabilitation program. Also, we evaluated the clinical and functional effectiveness of a complex rehabilitation program and changes in impairment and activity limitation in women with RA and RNs. The immunohistological complexity of RNs reflects the intensity of the inflammatory-immune process and completes the assessment of RA patients with RNs. It allows for medical assistance quantification, even for patients that have a poor evolution prognosis.

Macrophage response in patients diagnosed with aseptic necrosis of the femoral head presenting different risk factors.

Aseptic necrosis of the femoral head is a condition caused by partial or total interruption of blood supply to the femoral head. The diminished blood supply causes necrosis of the cellular elements and of the bone marrow, followed by the collapse of the bone structure, events that ultimately lead to the destruction of the bone tissue, the appearance of local pain and loss of function in the affected coxofemoral joint. The importance of this condition is that it mainly affects young adults aged 30-50 years, active from a socio-professional standpoint, and increased life expectancy. The material studied to achieve CD68 immunostaining was represented by bone fragments from the area of necrosis and from the adjacent areas of the femoral heads, harvested from 39 patients when performing hip arthroplasty surgery. The patients were diagnosed with aseptic necrosis of the femoral head and hospitalized in the Clinic of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Emergency County Hospital of Craiova, Romania, from June 2014 to January 2015. The 39 patients included in the study were divided into four categories according to presented risk factors (alcohol, alcohol and smoking, trauma, corticosteroids). All the 39 cases had positive immunostaining for CD68, macrophage being highlighted both in the area of necrosis and in the adjacent areas. We noted significant differences in the number and arrangement of macrophages in patients presenting different risk factors. The highest number of macrophages was present in patients presenting a risk factor corticosteroids, and the lowest number of macrophages was found in patients who had trauma as the main risk factor.

Imaging and histopathological aspects in aseptic osteonecrosis of the femoral head.

Aseptic osteonecrosis causes various clinical manifestations, depending on its location, but has in common a histopathological and radiological substrate. Aseptic osteonecrosis of the femoral head is a condition whose pathogenesis remains unclear despite many theories developed so far, and the discovery of numerous risk factors. The objective of this study is to emphasize the role of imaging techniques and correlating histology and immunohistochemistry methods in order to more accurately stage the disease. This retrospective study was performed on a total of 103 patients with clinical and radiological suspicion of unilateral or bilateral osteonecrosis. For the diagnosis criteria, we used clinical information, pelvic X-ray images, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT). For the inclusion of patients in a disease stage, we used the Association Research Circulation Osseous (ARCO) classification system. For patients diagnosed at an advanced stage, who underwent hip arthroplasty, we harvested biological material necessary for the histopathological study. There were differences in the appearance and extent of the lesion on the histological samples compared to macroscopic examination and even those obtained through imaging means, particularly for patients in evolutionary stage III. Aspects such as the extension of the area of fibrosis, bone tissue remodeling, the density of the newly formed vascular network and degree of impairment of the cartilage, are determined more accurately using histology and immunohistochemistry techniques. Before classifying patients in a certain stage, after correlating clinical and imaging data, histopathological aspects have to be considered, particularly in patients in stages III and IV, in which total hip arthroplasty could be delayed.

A Case of Bilateral Aseptic Necrosis of the Femoral Head.

Aseptic necrosis of the femoral head is a disease whose etiology is not completely elucidated and generally affects young adults aged between 30 and 50 years. In a significant number of patients bilateral disease occurs, which makes detection in its early stages constitute an important objective. We present the case of a male patient, aged 23 years, with the following risk factors: smoking and chronic alcohol consumption, who is diagnosed with aseptic necrosis of the left femoral head, ARCO stage IV, and in just six months after the diagnosis and hip arthroplasty, he suffers an injury which leads to the same diagnosis in the contralateral hip. We want to emphasize that for all patients with a high index of suspicion there should be an MRI examination, because the plane radiographs or CT are most often not relevant in detecting early signs of this condition. Diagnosis of aseptic necrosis of the femoral head in the early stages is a necessity in order to obtain an optimal result of conservative treatment.

Pseudorheumatoid disability man with chronic tophaceous gout: a case report.

Gout is a type of inflammatory arthropathy that affects the peripheral joints and results from the accumulation of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals in the synovial fluid and other tissues. This disease is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis in men over 40 years of age. The fundamental biochemical abnormality in gout is an increase in serum urate (SU) concentration. These needle-like crystals induce not only acute episodes of inflammatory process into the surrounding area, but also, in the long-term history of the disease, chronic inflammation that is associated with changes in articular and periarticular structures. The next step caused by deposited MSU crystals is represented by the tophus formation and chronic gouty synovitis. The presence of tophi has been associated with greater physical functional disability in gout patients. We presented a case of severe chronic tophaceous gout in a 48-year-old man with chronic hand arthritis and urolithiasis, to point the significance of complex assessment (clinical, functional, imagistic and histological exams) in the diagnosis of a soft tissue lesion, especially in hands.

Morphometric findings in avascular necrosis of the femoral head.

Avascular necrosis of the femoral head is an illness with a controversial etiology, the trigger event being the suppression of blood flow to the femoral head. The disease affects mostly young adults within their third and fifth decade, the majority of the patients being men. The main risk factors are trauma, chronic alcohol consumption, smoking, corticotherapy. The main goal of our study is to describe the morphometric changes found in the bone tissue of patients diagnosed with avascular necrosis of the femoral head, with different risk factors, by comparing the area of bone trabeculae inside the area of necrosis with that from the adjacent viable tissue. The morphometric study used biological material from 16 patients with ages between 29 and 57 years, who underwent surgery for avascular necrosis of the femoral head. They were admitted in the Orthopedics Department at the Emergency County Hospital in Craiova between 2010 and 2011 and were split into four groups. Group I presented trauma as the main risk factor, Group II had corticotherapy as the defining risk factor, Group III presented chronic alcohol consumption and Group IV was represented by the patients who smoked and exhibited chronic alcohol consumption. There was not a significant statistical difference between the areas of bone trabeculae of the four groups when we compared viable bone tissue to the necrotized one. Knowing the risk factors of the avascular necrosis of the femoral head is critical to the management of the disease, because diagnosing it in an early stage is a necessity for obtaining a good result for conservative treatment.

Macroscopic and microscopic findings in avascular necrosis of the femoral head.

UNLABELLED: The avascular necrosis of the femoral head is an illness induced by the cutoff of blood flow to the femoral head and it affects mostly young adults between the ages of 30 and 50 years, raising therapeutic and diagnostic issues. Many risk factors are incriminated in the development of avascular necrosis of the femoral head like: trauma, chronic alcohol consumption, smoking, administration of corticosteroid drugs, most of the cases are considered to be idiopathic. The main goal of our paper is to describe the macroscopic and microscopic variations of the bone structure, which occur in patients with avascular necrosis of the femoral head. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The biological material needed for our study was obtained following hip arthroplasty surgery in 26 patients between the ages of 29 and 59 years, which previously were diagnosed with avascular necrosis of the femoral head and admitted in the Orthopedics Department of the Emergency County Hospital of Craiova (Romania) between 2010 and 2011. From a macroscopic point of view, we found well defined areas of necrosis, most of which were neatly demarcated of the adjacent viable tissue by hyperemic areas, loss of shape and contour of the femoral head and transformations of the articular cartilage above the area of necrosis. When examined under the microscope, we found vast areas of fibrosis, narrow bone trabeculae, obstructed blood vessels or blood vessels with clots inside, hypertrophic fat cells, bone sequestration but also small cells and pyknotic nuclei. The microscopic and macroscopic findings on the femoral head sections varied with the patients and the stage of the disease.