Lisfranc Injury Diagnosis: What Is the Diagnostic Reliability of New Radiographic Signs Using Three-dimensional CT?

BACKGROUND: Up to one-third of Lisfranc injuries (an injury affecting the normal stability, alignment, and congruency of the tarsometatarsal joints) are misdiagnosed. Delayed diagnosis and improper treatment may lead to long-term, irreversible sequela and functional disability. Recently, the employment of three-dimensional (3D) CT demonstrated higher diagnostic reliability, but there is limited evidence on this, and radiologic features of Lisfranc injuries when using this diagnostic modality are not well described. QUESTION/PURPOSE: What is the diagnostic performance of several novel radiographic signs on 3D CT when evaluating for Lisfranc injury, namely the Mercedes sign, the peeking metatarsal sign, and the peeking cuneiform sign, and what is the interobserver and intraobserver reliability of those diagnostic signs? METHODS: In this retrospective, diagnostic study, video clips of 3D CT reconstructions of 52 feet with intraoperatively confirmed Lisfranc injuries and 50 asymptomatic feet with a normal appearance of the tarsometatarsal joints, as ascertained by a subspecialty-trained foot and ankle surgeon and a musculoskeletal radiologist, were analyzed by two foot and ankle specialists and three orthopaedic residents twice each, with a washout period of 2 weeks. Among the 52 patients with intraoperative evidence of Lisfranc injury, there were 27 male patients and 25 female patients, with a median (IQR) age of 40 years (23 to 58); among the 50 controls, there were 36 male and 14 female patients, with a median age of 38 years (IQR 33 to 49). For each video clip, the presence of all three radiographic signs was documented (each sign was rated in a binary yes/no fashion). Before the evaluations, all observers underwent a short training session by the head of the foot and ankle department. Later, these reading were used to assess for the sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve in terms of Lisfranc diagnosis against the gold standard of intraoperative testing of tarsometatarsal joint stability. Intraoperatively, the congruency and stability of the second tarsometatarsal joint had been evaluated by direct visualization and by the insertion of a probe into the joint between the base of the second metatarsus and the medial cuneiform and twisting the probe to assess for stability. The individuals evaluating the video clips were unaware of the surgically obtained diagnosis at the time they performed their evaluations. RESULTS: All 3D radiographic signs that were examined had excellent diagnostic reliability in terms of sensitivity and specificity, ranging from 92% to 97% and from 92% to 93%, respectively. When assessing the association between the suggested 3D radiographic signs and Lisfranc injury diagnosis as a function of the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, the Mercedes sign demonstrated a higher area under the curve than the other signs did (0.91 versus 0.87 versus 0.8; p < 0.001). The mean intraobserver and interobserver reliability (kappa) values were excellent for all 3D radiographic signs that were evaluated. CONCLUSION: The proposed radiographic findings demonstrated excellent diagnostic performance and were repeatable within and among observers. Three-dimensional CT radiographic signs could function as a valuable diagnostic tool for the evaluation and initial screening for Lisfranc injury in the acute injury phase because obtaining AP bilateral standing radiographs of the foot is often impractical in the acute setting. Further research and comparison with AP weightbearing radiographs of the bilateral feet may be warranted. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, diagnostic study.

Placental abruption as a trigger of DIC in women with HELLP syndrome: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC) is a life-threatening condition. Hemolysis, Elevated Liver enzymes and Low Platelets (HELLP) syndrome is one of the obstetrical syndromes mostly associated with DIC and thus, high rates of fatal complications. There is a lack of information regarding epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of women who developed HELLP syndrome with and without DIC. Additionally, until now, there is no adapted and widely accepted way to diagnose DIC among pregnant women presenting with HELLP syndrome, despite the evident maternal mortality linked to the disease.Objectives: (1) Address the gaps in knowledge regarding the prevalence, epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of women with HELLP syndrome who develop DIC; and (2) determine the risk factors for the development of DIC among women with HELLP syndrome. STUDY DESIGN: This was a population-based retrospective cohort study, including all women who delivered at the Soroka University Medical Center between the years 2001-2017. The study population was divided into three groups: (1) comparison group (n = 207,266 deliveries); (2) HELLP syndrome without DIC (n = 320); (3) HELLP syndrome with DIC (n = 21). The diagnosis of DIC was based on the ICD-9 code as recorded in the obstetrical database of the Soroka University Medical Center. The coding is based on the diagnosis made by the attending physician during hospitalization. RESULTS: (1) The rate of HELLP syndrome in the study population was 0.16% (341/207,607), of them 6.16% (21/341) had DIC; (2) among patients with HELLP syndrome, those with DIC had a higher median gravidity and parity; (3) a higher rate of severe maternal morbidity including blood product transfusion, placental abruption, eclampsia, acute renal failure and maternal death was observed in those who had HELLP syndrome and DIC compared to those with HELLP syndrome without DIC and the comparison group (p-value <.001 for comparison among the three groups); (4) among women with HELLP syndrome, those with DIC had a longer median PT difference, higher serum creatinine and lower AST as well as ALT median concentrations than those without DIC; (5) patients with HELLP syndrome and DIC had a higher rate of stillbirth and postpartum death than patients in the other groups (p-value <.001 for comparison among the three groups); and (6) placental abruption was an independent risk factor for the development of DIC in women with HELLP syndrome (p-value <.001). CONCLUSIONS: (1) Among women with HELLP syndrome, those who developed DIC had a higher rate of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality than those without DIC; and (2) placental abruption, but not abnormal liver function, was an independent risk factor for the development of DIC in women with HELLP syndrome.

Differences in environmental factors contributing to preterm labor and PPROM - Population based study.

BACKGROUND: Previous reports indicate an association between ambient temperature (Ta) and air pollution exposure during pregnancy and preterm birth (PTB). Nevertheless, information regarding the association between environmental factors and specific precursors of spontaneous preterm birth is lacking. We aimed to determine the association between Ta and air pollution during gestation and the precursors of spontaneous preterm parturition, i.e. preterm labor (PTL) and preterm prelabor rupture of membranes (PPROM). METHODS: From 2003 to 2013 there were 84,476 deliveries of singleton gestation that comprised the study cohort. Exposure data during pregnancy included daily measurements of temperature and particulate matter <2.5 µm and <10 µm, PM2.5 and PM10, respectively. Deliveries were grouped into PPROM, PTL and non-spontaneous preterm and term deliveries. Exposure effect was tested in windows of a week and two days prior to admission for delivery and adjusted to gestational age and socio-economic status. Poisson regression models were used for analyses. RESULTS: There is an association of environmental exposure with the precursors of spontaneous preterm parturition; PPROM was more sensitive to Ta fluctuations than PTL. This effect was modified by the ethnicity, Bedouin-Arabs were susceptible to elevated Ta, especially within the last day prior to admission with PPROM (Relative Risk (RR) =1.19 [95% CI, 1.03; 1.37]). Jews, on the other hand, were susceptible to ambient pollutants, two (RR=1.025 [1.010; 1.040]) and one (RR= 1.017 [1.002; 1.033]) days prior to spontaneous PTL with intact membranes resulting in preterm birth. CONCLUSION: High temperature is an independent risk factor for PPROM among Bedouin-Arabs; ambient pollution is an independent risk factor for spontaneous PTL resulting in preterm birth. Thus, the precursors of spontaneous preterm parturition differ in their association with environmental factors.

The Association of Glucocorticosteroid Treatment with WBC Count in Patients with COPD Exacerbation.

Systematic glucocorticosteroids (GCS) are used to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and can cause leukocytosis. Distinguishing the effect of GCS on leukocyte level from infection-induced leukocytosis is important. We sought to quantify the effect of chronic GCS treatment on leukocytosis level in patients with COPD exacerbation. We reviewed the records of patients with COPD exacerbation and fever hospitalized in a tertiary medical center in 2003-2014. Patients were classified according to the GCS treatment they received: chronic GCS treatment (CST), acute GCS treatment (AST), and no prior GCS treatment (NGCS). We used the eosinophil absolute count as a marker of compliance and efficacy of steroid treatment. The primary outcome was the maximal white blood cell (WBC) count within the first 24 h of admission. Of 834 patients, 161 were categorized as CST, 116 AST, and 557 NGCS. The overall maximal leukocyte count was higher and the eosinophil count lower in the two GCS therapy groups. In patients with COPD exacerbation and fever, acutely treated with GCS, the mean increase in the WBC count was more evident when the eosinophils were undetectable (absolute count of zero). This supports leukocytosis level as a marker of disease course in COPD and fever.

Estimations of a degree of steroid induced leukocytosis in patients with acute infections.

BACKGROUND: Glucocorticosteroids (GCS) are known to cause the hematologic effect of leukocytosis and neutrophilia. Leukocytosis is a key parameter in establishing the diagnosis of sepsis and in the estimation of its severity. OBJECTIVE: To quantify the effect of chronic or acute GCS treatment on the level of leukocytosis in patients with acute infectious process. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients with an acute infection hospitalized in tertiary medical center between the years 2003-2014. Patients were classified into three categories: chronic GCS treatment, acute GCS treatment, no GCS treatment. The primary outcome was the maximal WBC count within the first 24h from admission. RESULTS: We identified 5468 patients with acute infection: 333 of them with chronic GCS treatment, 213 with acute GCS treatment and 4922 with no GCS treatment. The overall maximal leukocytes count was higher in GCS therapy groups: 15.4±8.3×109/L for the acute GCS treatment, 14.9±7.4×109/L for chronic GCS treatment and 12.9±6.4×109/L for the no GCS group (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: In patients with acute infections chronically treated with GCS, an increase in the WBC is at average of 5×109/L. These data must be taken into consideration while using the level of leukocytosis as a parameter in the diagnosis of the infectious process.