Acute COVID-Related Hip Arthritis. Case Report and Literature Review.

Introduction: 2 years after the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak which is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, the clinical presentations remain unclear and unpredictable. The disease can present with a heterogeneous clinical course and a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations which can cause various complications from different systems, including musculoskeletal. Case Report: The case of a young, fit, and healthy female patient with severe onset of hip pain which started only shortly after being tested positive for COVID-19 infection is presented in this study. There is no history of rheumatologic disease. Clinical assessment did not show any signs of erythema at the hip region, however, on palpation, there was significant tenderness at the anterior aspect of the left hip joint. The patient was unable to bare weight on this hip and could not straight leg raise, and the rotation of the hip was severely restricted due to underlying pain. The nasopharyngeal swabs for SARS-Vo2 were performed and came back positive. The CRP was 205 and plain anteroposterior radiograph of the pelvis did not show abnormalities. A diagnostic aspiration under sedation in theaters was offered; the culture and enrichment were negative for infection. Since the symptoms were not improving with conservative measures, an open washout of the joint cavity was performed in theatres. The microbiologists guided on the antibiotic treatment and adequate analgesia was prescribed. Symptoms settled very soon after the open procedure and the requirements for analgesics were reduced to minimal use. The following couple of days, the pain, range of movement, and mobility significantly improved, and the patient returned within 2 weeks back to her normal activities. The rheumatologists organized a complete screening which ruled out elements of seronegative disease. In the final, 6-month follow-up, the patient was totally symptom free, and the blood markers were entirely unremarkable. Conclusion: This is the first case of COVID-19-related, hip arthritis recorded worldwide, in a patient without any predisposing factors. Clinical suspicion is the key for early diagnosis and treatment for every COVID-19-positive patient with musculoskeletal symptoms, even for the patients with no history of autoimmune diseases. Viral-related arthritis remains a diagnosis of exclusion and underlies the importance to perform all the test to rule out other possible inflammatory arthritis. Our experience showed that early irrigation of the joint cavity is related with efficient symptoms relief, less requirement for analgesia, less time in hospital, and quicker return to daily activities.

Fractured Neck of Femur Management at a District General Hospital: Adherence to NICE guidelines CG124 for total hip replacement.

INTRODUCTION: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in 2011 declared standards in the management of fracture neck of femur (NOF) patients suggesting a total hip replacement (THR) if necessary criteria were met. The Best Practice Tariff (BPT) states all NOF fracture patients should be operated on within 36 h of presentation to Accident & Emergency. We conducted this retrospective study for the years 2016-2018 to evaluate the adherence to these guidelines by Basildon and Thurrock University Hospital and compared the results with national standards. METHODS: Data for the period from 2016 to 2018 was collected from the National Hip Fracture Database (NHFD) retrospectively. The data was analysed to calculate various procedures performed for fracture NOF fixations, the number of THR's for displaced intracapsular fracture NOF, and percentage of patients operated within 36 h and evaluated reasons for the delay. RESULTS: Over the 3 years, the number of THR eligible displaced intracapsular neck of femur fracture patients that underwent THR was above the national average. Across all 3 years, the number of patients who underwent surgery within 36 h was less than the national average. Administrative/logistic reasons for the delay were the major cause for delayed surgery in all 3 years. CONCLUSION: Compliance with the NICE guidelines and achievement of national standards in NOF fracture care is achievable by most district general hospitals. Awareness and implementation of NICE guidelines for THRs need to be enhanced. A sustained, continual team effort and strict vigilance are necessary to prevent delayed surgery.

Pseudoaneurysm of the Perforating Peroneal Artery After Ankle Fracture Fixation: Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Pseudoaneurysm formation around the ankle area is a very rare complication of an anatomic region that is highly exposed to trauma. A review of the published medical data revealed the rarity of the condition. Pseudoaneurysms of the perforating branch of the peroneal artery account for only 8 in the published data, with 6 (75%) cases related to sprain injury and only 2 (25%) to fracture fixation. We present a pseudoaneurysm of the perforating peroneal artery after a bimalleolar ankle fracture in a patient taking warfarin and a review of the published data. Our patient was treated successfully with thrombin embolization, and at 6 weeks after embolization, she remained completely free of symptoms.

Congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis: a case report of a 33-year-old patient.

Congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis is a type IV hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy, presenting early in life. This disorder results from defective neural crest differentiation with loss of the first-order afferent system, which is responsible for sensations of pain and temperature; a neuronal loss in the sympathetic ganglia is also present. A case of a 33-year-old patient with congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis is presented. From the time of birth, he did not sweat and did not respond to painful stimuli, although unexplained bouts of fever were often observed in infancy; an extensive workup during childhood helped establish the diagnosis. Throughout childhood and adulthood, the patient presented multiple infections and fractures in various sites of his body, growth disturbances, and avascular necrosis, and Charcot arthropathies and joint dislocations mainly affected his elbow and hip joint. At the final follow-up, at the age of 33 years, he was found to be obese, with a limited social life. A Charcot elbow restricted the activity of his left upper limb, and the dislocated hips combined with the instability of the ankle joints limited the ambulation distance. A specific treatment protocol has not been established in the literature; the main principles that can be applied in patients with normal intelligence include training programs to prevent self-mutilation and accidental injuries and an early diagnosis and treatment of the infections.

Hybrid instrumentation for correction of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

UNLABELLED: New technology and instrumentation techniques are continually entering the spine field, leaving the scoliosis surgeon with a wide variety of options for the treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. All-screw constructs are currently the most popular. However, they remain controversial because of possible complications, and also because they have been associated with a decrease in thoracic kyphosis, not observed with hybrid instrumentation. The aim of the present study was to evaluate a hybrid construct: hooks and wires proximally, but pedicle screws distally. Forty-three patients with a minimum 2-year follow-up were included. The mean preoperative Cobb angle of the major curve was 60.85 degrees +/- 21 degrees. At the final evaluation it was reduced to 28.44 degrees +/- 11.9 degrees (mean correction 53.3%, p < 0.0001). The mean translation of the apical vertebra was corrected from -19.13 +/- 49 mm to -9.42 +/- 28.9 mm. The average thoracic kyphosis improved from 24 degrees +/- 14.3 degrees preoperatively to 30.7 degrees +/- 7.1 degrees, representing a mean correction of 28%. Kyphosis at the T10-L2 level was within normal values in all patients at the final evaluation. Complications included one superficial infection, one implant removal due to late onset wound infection, and 2 revisions to extend the fusion more distally. In other words, operative treatment with hybrid instrumentation yielded satisfactory results, with less risk of neurological damage. An excellent outcome in all planes could be safely achieved and maintained for a minimum of 2 years. CONCLUSION: why use an expensive all-screw construct, knowing that a hybrid construct is kyphosis sparing, cheaper, safer and more resistant to pull-out?

Hemolymphangioma of the lower extremities in children: two case reports.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Hemo-lymphangiomas are rare benign tumors that arise from congenital malformation of the vascular system. They are usually diagnosed at birth or early in childhood. The management of hemo-lymphangiomas in children remains challenging because complete resection is often difficult to be achieved and recurrences are common. METHODS: We present the case of two children with a mass on their left tibia. Imaging modalities, plain radiograph, Ultrasonography and Magnetic Resonance were used to investigate the nature of the mass, the anatomical relationship to the neighboring tissues and help planning the surgical resection. The dominant diagnosis was hemo-lymphangioma. Both lesions increased in size in a short period of follow-up thus we decided to proceed to surgical excision.The diagnosis of hemo-lymphangioma was confirmed by histological examination of the surgical specimen.Post-operatively, seroma was formed to the first patient, managed by placing a drainage and immobilizing the limb on a splint.The second patient experienced no complications post-operatively.After 12 months of follow-up both patients had no complications or recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Very few cases of hemo-lymphangiomas of the extremities have been reported in the literature. Those tumors can grow slowly and remain asymptomatic for a long period of time or may become aggressive and enlarge rapidly, without invasive ability though.Radical resection is the choice of treatment offering the lowest recurrence rates. Other therapeutic methods are: aspiration and drainage, cryotherapy, injection of sclerotic agents and radiotherapy; although none of those offers better results that the surgical excision.