Patellar fractures are associated with an increased risk of total knee arthroplasty: A Matched Cohort Study of 6096 Patellar Fractures with a mean follow-up of 14.3 Years.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of knee arthroplasty and arthroscopy following patellar fractures, and to compare this with an age- and gender-matched group without a prior patellar fracture. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A national matched cohort study based on the Danish National Patient Register including all citizens of Denmark (approximately 5.3 million) was undertaken. A total of 6096 patients who sustained a patellar fracture in Denmark between 1 January 1996 and 31 December 2000 were included. The median age of these patients was 50.6 years (interquartile range (IQR) 28.5 to 68.9); 49.1% were women. Patients were followed-up until 31 December 2015, with regard to treatment with knee arthroplasty and/or knee arthroscopy. RESULTS: Patients with a patellar fracture had an increased risk of knee arthroplasty (hazard ratio (HR) 1.83, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.57 to 2.13) compared with citizens without a patellar fracture, and the effect was strongest during the first five years (HR 3.02, 95% CI 2.26 to 4.03). Patients with a patellar fracture also had a higher risk of knee arthroscopy (HR 3.94, 95% CI 3.49 to 4.46), and the effect was highest during the first five years after the fracture (HR 7.40, 95% CI 6.32 to 8.66). CONCLUSION: Patellar fractures are associated with an increased risk of knee arthroplasty and knee arthroscopy. The consequences of a patellar fracture may be more severe than previously considered, and patients must expect a lifelong increased risk of knee arthroplasty. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2018;100-B:1477-81.

The outcome after lateral tibial plateau fracture treated with percutaneus screw fixation show a tendency towards worse functional outcome compared with a reference population.

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the functional and radiological outcome after lateral tibial plateau fractures (Müller AO classification (AO) 41-B1, B2 and B3) treated with minimal invasive bone tamp reduction and percutaneous screw fixation. METHODS: Retrospective, cross-sectional study. Review and clinical examination of 37 patients treated between 2005 and 2010. The patients completed a clinical examination, Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) and questionnaire evaluating QOL (Eq5D-5L). RESULTS: Thirty-seven patients agreed to participate (76 %). Mean time of follow-up was 5.2 years. At final follow-up, maintained anatomical joint reduction was achieved in 34 patients. The mean KOOS score was pain = 84.4, ADL = 88.4, symptoms = 80.7, QOL = 70.3, sport = 59.6. Compared with the established KOOS reference population patients, the current study reports a tendency towards worse KOOS scores but is only significant for KOOS sport. The mean Eq5D-5L index was 0.815 and shows a tendency towards worse outcome compared with the reference population. Mean knee flexion: 125.7° (95-135). A reduced number of sit-to-stands in the mean 30-s chair stand test showed a significant negative association with KOOS. The study showed a significant association between younger age at surgery and worse KOOS outcome. CONCLUSION: At 5.2-year follow-up, the patients reported a tendency towards worse KOOS and Eq5D-5L scores compared with established reference populations. This study shows a significant association between a decrease in muscle strength and worse KOOS outcome. Furthermore, a significant association between younger age at the time of surgery and worse KOOS outcome score was observed.

Dysplasia epiphysealis hemimelica (Trevor's disease) of the distal radius.

The authors report a rare case of dysplasia epiphysealis hemimelica (DEH) or Trevor's disease of the radius in an Eskimo from Greenland. DEH is indistinguishable microscopically from osteochondroma, however its epiphyseal site of origin differentiates it from the osteochondroma, which characteristically originates in the metaphysis.

Roentgen stereophotogrammetric analysis using computer-based image-analysis.

The two-dimensional position of markers in radiographs for Roentgen Stereophotogrammetric Analysis (RSA) is usually determined using a measuring table. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reproducibility and the accuracy of a new RSA system using digitized radiographs and image-processing algorithms to determine the marker position in the radiographs. Four double-RSA examinations of a phantom and 18 RSA examinations from six patients included in different RSA-studies of knee prostheses were used to test the reproducibility and the accuracy of the system. The radiographs were scanned at 600 dpi resolution and 256 gray levels. The center of each of the tantalum-markers in the radiographs was calculated by the computer program from the contour of the marker with the use of an edge-detection software algorithm after the marker was identified on a PC monitor. The study showed that computer-based image analysis can be used in RSA-examinations. The advantages of using image-processing software in RSA are that the marker positions are determined in an objective manner, and that there is no need for a systematic manual identification of all the markers on the radiograph before the actual measurement.

Long-lasting functional abdominal pain and duodenal ulcer are associated with stress, vulnerability and symptoms of psychological stress. A controlled study including healthy and patient controls.

OBJECTIVE: To assess psychological differences between patients with functional abdominal pain (FUNC) and three separate control groups comprising patients with duodenal ulcer (DU), patients with gallstone or urinary tract stone (STONE), and healthy non-patient controls (HEALTH). METHODS: All participants completed a self-administered questionnaire including questions about the relationship between symptoms and certain life events and psychometric tests for psychological distress (SCL-90) and vulnerability. PARTICIPANTS: The FUNC group consisted of 27 hospital outpatients with long-lasting abdominal pain without demonstrable abnormalities (ten men and 17 women; mean age 38 years). The DU group consisted of 13 untreated outpatients with endoscopically proven duodenal ulcer (nine men and four women; mean age 42 years) while the STONE group comprised 13 untreated patients with gallstone (n = 7) or urinary calculi (n = 6) (six men and seven women; mean age 43 years). The HEALTH group consisted of five men and nine women (mean age 36 years). RESULTS: Significantly more FUNC and DU patients compared with STONE patients experienced an association with at least one of 14 life events (74%, 77%, and 31%, respectively; p = 0.02). The FUNC and DU groups showed significantly higher scores on the depression subscale of the SCL-90 than the HEALTH group (p < 0.05), and on the anxiety subscale compared with the STONE and HEALTH groups (p < 0.05). The FUNC group scored significantly higher on the somatization subscale compared with all the other groups (p < 0.05). As an overall measure of psychological distress the Global Severity Index (GSI) was calculated. GSI was significantly higher in the FUNC group compared with the HEALTH group (p < 0.01) and tended to be higher in the DU group (p = 0.06). The FUNC and DU groups had significantly higher scores for vulnerability than the STONE and HEALTH groups (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: FUNC as well as DU outpatients seem to be more psychologically distressed and vulnerable than healthy controls or outpatients suffering from pain caused by stones in the gallbladder or urinary tract. As opposed to the STONE group, a high proportion of the FUNC and DU patients experienced that the onset or aggravation of abdominal pain was associated with certain life events. The similarities between the FUNC and DU group demonstrate that it is important to separate DU patients from other "organic" patients in such investigations.

[Reduced concentration of beta-endorphin in cerebrospinal fluid and reduced pain tolerance in patients with functional dyspepsia]. / Nedsat koncentration af beta-endorfin i spinalvaeske og nedsat smertetolerance ved funktionel dyspepsi.

It was investigated whether central pain mechanisms including the endogenous antinociceptive system were involved in functional dyspepsia defined as: abdominal pain without abnormal findings. Pain sensitivity was measured by an ischaemic pain test comparing 21 functional dyspepsia patients with two control groups: 1) 24 patients with organic abdominal pain, and 2) 13 healthy pain-free controls. The endogenous opioids beta-endorphin, met-enkephalin immunoreactivity, and dynorphin immunoreactivity were measured in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from nine patients with functional dyspepsia and pain-free controls undergoing minor surgery while under spinal analgesia. There was no significant difference between the groups in pain sensitivity, but subdivision of the functional dyspepsia group showed that individuals with pain and no symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) were significantly more sensitive to ischaemic pain than functional dyspepsia patients with IBS. The CSF beta-endorphfin concentration was significantly decreased in the functional dyspepsia group as compared with the controls. There were no significant group differences regarding met-enkephalin immunoreactivity and dynorphin immunoreactivity. Because of post-lumbar-puncture headache, this part of the investigation was suspended after nine patients. Functional dyspepsia is probably a pain syndrome with decreased central antinociceptive activity.

Resection arthroplasty of the proximal interphalangeal joint.

Palmar plate resection arthroplasty of the PIP joint, a new technique for operative treatment of destroyed PIP joints, is presented. By combining palmar plate arthroplasty with a flexor tenodesis a stable arthroplasty with adequate active motion can be performed. It can be used even in severely destroyed joints and still provide adequate post-operative stability and motion. Exercise can be started early.

Glenohumeral movement patterns after puncture of the joint capsule: An experimental study.

In on experimental series comprising 22 shoulder specimens obtained at autopsy, we investigated the influence of an intact capsule on glenohumeral stability. Puncture of the capsule resulted in significant glenohumeral translation in unloaded and loaded specimens during shoulder abduction. A maximum of 16.6 mm of distal translation was observed at 20° of abduction. Concomitant with this translation the humerus spontaneously rotated externally, with a maximum rotation of 15.8° at 50° of abduction. After venting the capsule, anterior and posterior translation and external rotation were increased significantly. Maximum total increase in anteroposterior translation was 14 mm at 30° of abduction. The external rotation was increased up to 7.1° at 40° of abduction. These findings indicate that studies evaluating glenohumeral instability are compromised unless the translations resulting from capsular venting ore corrected. Evaluation of shoulder stability should be performed before violation of the intraarticular pressure mechanisms.

[Radiation induced sarcoma of the shoulder girdle]. / Stråleinducerede sarkomer i skulderbaeltet.

A well-known complication after irradiation of tissue is development of postradiation sarcomas, and the shoulder girdle is in this connexion a frequent location, because it relatively often is exposured to x-rays. During the period 1956 to 1989 121 patients with sarcomas located to the shoulder girdle were referred to the Sarcoma centre in Arhus. Of these, six were postradiation sarcomas. The indication for the initial irradiation was in two cases cancer of the breast, in one malignant lymfogranulomatosis, in one a metastasis from malignant melanoma and finally two cases of peritendinitis humeroscapularis. In average 15 years (7-26 years) elapsed from irradiation to the diagnosis of the sarcomas. There were four bone sarcomas, two located in the clavicles and 2 in the humeri. Of these, three were osteogenic sarcomas and one a malignant fibrous histiocytoma. There were two soft tissue sarcomas, both located subcutaneously with involvement of deep fascia and muscle. Both tumors were extraskeletal osteogenic sarcomas. Three patients died of tumor on an average after 11 months. Two died without tumor from other causes, and one patient is alive without tumor 11 years after the treatment. If a patients presents with pain at the side of prior radiation, the diagnosis postradiation sarcoma must be considered and the patient referred to the Sarcoma centre. Radiation therapy should not be used in patients with benign lesions.

Anterolateral instability in the anterior cruciate ligament deficient knee. A cadaver study.

Knee instability was evaluated in 13 normal osteoligamentous knee preparations after transection of the anterior cruciate ligament. Abduction-adduction rotation, coupled tibial translatory movement, and coupled tibial axial rotation were recorded continuously and simultaneously during flexion or extension while applying a well defined valgus directed moment and during extension while applying an anterior tibial force. As a result of the valgus-directed moment, an increase was found in abduction rotation, in coupled anterior tibial translation, and in coupled internal tibial axial rotation. Coupled rotatory and translatory instabilities were larger, and maximum instability was observed at a smaller knee angle during the extension movement than during the flexion movement. The pattern of the instability, excited as a result of the valgus moment, was different from the instability excited as a result of an anterior tibial force.

Histopathological grading of soft tissue tumours. Prognostic significance in a prospective study of 278 consecutive cases.

A consecutive 10-year series of 278 soft tissue sarcomas was prospectively graded, using a system based on the number of mitoses and taking into account parameters such as cellularity, anaplasia, necrosis, and histogenetic type and subtype of tumour. Prognostic factors in relation to metastasis-free survival were studied by uni- and multivariate analysis. Fifty-seven (20.5 per cent) were low-grade tumours, 43 (15.5 per cent) were intermediate, and 178 (64 per cent) were high grade. High-grade tumours were divided into two groups; 80 (29 per cent) grade 3A (= 5-20 mitoses per 10 high power fields (HPF)) and 78 grade 3B (28 per cent) (= more than 20 mitoses/10 HPF); 10 HPF corresponds to 2.5 mm2. Twenty (7.2 per cent) high-grade tumours could not be further subdivided. Grading was found to be the prognostic factor associated with the strongest predictive value. Five-year survival in low-grade and intermediate tumours (95 and 86 percent, respectively) differed significantly (P less than 0.0001) from high grade (50 per cent) and (p = 0.0018) between grade 3A (64 per cent) and grade 3B (41 per cent). Other prognostic indicators of importance in high-grade tumours were age, local recurrence at presentation (primary operation outside the Centre), and localization (superficial vs. deep).

Prognosis in acute pancreatitis complicated by acute renal failure requiring dialysis.

Acute pancreatitis complicated by acute renal failure (ARF) requiring dialysis is a rare condition with a mortality rate of 80%. During the period 1977-1988 419 patients were admitted to our hospital because of ARF requiring dialysis. Fourteen (3%) had ARF caused by acute pancreatitis. Ten patients developed respiratory failure, eight patients circulatory failure, four hepatic failure, and one disseminated intravascular coagulation. Three patients had complicating septicemia and two gastrointestinal bleeding. Ten patients (71%) died. All patients with four or more organ failures besides the pancreatic failure died. Median time from start of symptoms until death was 28 days. Mortality in this series does not differ from that reported over the last 40 years. The need of multicenter trials for the purpose of improving prognosis is emphasized.

Perforated gastric ulcer.

A retrospective study is presented of 297 patients operated upon for perforated benign gastric ulcer in Denmark from 1975 to 1984. Male:female ratio was 0.9:1, mean age 64.2 years. The numbers of gastric and prepyloric perforations were almost equal (156:141), but gastric perforations were more frequent in elderly women and prepyloric perforations in younger men. Simple closure was performed in 83 per cent of the patients, gastric resection in 14 per cent and simple closure and vagotomy in 3 per cent. The postoperative mortality rate was 21 per cent and was related to the high proportion of elderly patients with concurrent diseases and delayed treatment.

Gastrocolic fistulas.

Sixteen patients were treated for gastrocolic fistula arising as a complication of peptic ulcer (11 cases), colonic perforation (2), gastric cancer (1), colonic cancer (1) or pancreatitis (1). The predominant symptoms were diarrhoea, weight loss and abdominal pain. Barium meal and barium enema were the most reliable means of diagnosis, and no fistula was gastroscopically demonstrable. A one-stage en bloc resection of the involved gastrocolic region was performed in eight cases. Other operations were simple excision (3), gastric resection with closure of the colonic wall (2) and colectomy with closure of the gastric wall (2). In one case cure was achieved with cimetidine, without surgical intervention. Four patients died postoperatively and two had recurrence of fistula.

The influence of PO2, pH, and albumin on the in vitro contraction of vascular smooth muscle.

A method by which gases can be added to a tissue bath containing proteins in solution is described and utilized in a study of the importance of O2, CO2 and albumin for the contraction of rings of rabbit pulmonary artery. In electrolyte solutions without protein, reduction of the oxygen tension from 700 to 150 mm Hg caused a shortening of the period during which contractions could be elicited by nerve specific electrical field stimulation before a significant decrease in the contractile response occurred. The addition of albumin (45 g/l) to the bath caused a significant increase in contractile response during the first hour and furthermore a prolongation of the period during which the following gradual decrease remained at an insignificant level. A reduction in oxygen tension in the albumin solution from 700 to 150 mm Hg caused a more abrupt and pronounced reduction in contractile response than the one seen in the protein free solution. The response increased when the pH in the saline solution was raised early during an experiment but not if the pH was raised later. Decreased responses were seen when the pH was reduced regardless of the length of the period prior to the pH change. It is emphasized that the method improves the possibilities for in vitro studies of the activity of protein bound drugs in the presence of dissolved proteins.