Markers of muscle damage for comparing soft tissue injury following proximal femur nail and dynamic hip screw operations for intertrochanteric hip fractures.

BACKGROUND: Femoral neck fractures are the most common fractures among the elderly. The two operative approaches used for the treatment of AO/OTA 31 intertrochanteric fractures include an intramedullary device (proximal femoral nail [PFN]) or an extramedullary device (sliding/dynamic hip screw [DHS]). The aim of this study was to provide objective evidence of local soft tissue injury by measuring serum creatine phosphokinase (CPK), a biochemical marker, to quantify muscle damage and inflammation in patients treated by the two approaches. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Medical data of 359 patients operated for intertrochanteric fractures with PFN (156 patients) or DHS (193 patients) were retrospectively reviewed. The fractures were classified according to AO/OTA classification. Perioperative and radiographic data were collected to ensure cohorts with similar characteristics. Serum CPK and serum hemoglobin (Hb) levels were measured preoperatively and on postoperative day 1 (POD1). Independent predictors of elevation in the levels of markers of inflammation and muscle damage were determined by a multivariate linear regression model. RESULTS: The demographics were similar for the two groups. Our study population included 64.2% female patients. Preoperative serum CPK levels were available for 89 patients and POD1 serum CPK levels were available for all patients. One-hundred and thirteen of the 193 DHS patients (58%) and 14 of the 156 PFN patients (9%) had a stable fracture (AO/OTA 31A1, p<0.0001). The DHS patients had a greater increase between pre- and postoperative CPK levels compared to the PFN patients (DHS, δ=368 versus PFN, δ=65, p<0.0002). The PFN patients had a greater decrease in both the pre- and postoperative Hb levels compared to the DHS patients (Diff_Hb 0.27g/dl). The older the patient, the greater decreases in Diff_CPK compared to the younger ones. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of POD1 CPK blood levels as a biochemical marker of soft tissue injury provided quantitative evidence that patients whose intertrochanteric fracture was stabilized by a DHS suffered greater soft tissue injury compared to patients whose fracture was stabilized by a PFN.

A Literature Review of Burns in Reconstructed Breasts After Mastectomy.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this literature review is to review and combine case studies of accidental burns to the breast, following mastectomy and immediate breast reconstruction with autologous tissue, implants, or tissue expanders. METHODS: The authors searched PubMed and Cochrane Library and reviewed cases of burns of reconstructed breasts after mastectomy from July 1985 to May 2015. Only studies in the English language were included in their search. They also report 5 new cases of burns in patients with burns to the breast, which were either reconstructed with implants or tissue expanders at Sheba Medical Center (Ramat Gan, Israel). RESULTS: The authors found 21 publications regarding burns after breast reconstruction dating from 1985 to 2014, which equaled 59 cases of reported burns in the 21 included publications. The most common causes of burns were due to heat conduction (37/59) followed by solar radiation (19/59) and heat convection (3/59). The majority of the cases were treated by a conservative approach. The 5 new cases added were all due to thermal radiation (5/5). Two of these cases were treated conservatively (2/5), and 3 underwent surgery (3/5). CONCLUSION: The removal of thermoregulatory capabilities of the skin and the thickness of the remaining tissue in the mastectomy procedure are key to understanding the cause of burns to reconstructed breasts.