Is Cemented Bipolar Hemiarthroplasty Good Choice For Unstable Intertrochanteric Fractures In Elderly: Multicentric Prospective Study At Karachi.

Background: To analyse the functional outcome of primary cemented bipolar hemi arthroplasty (PCBH) for unstable osteoporotic intertrochanteric femur fractures in elderly patients. Methods: : It was a multicentre prospective study conducted at Institute of Orthopaedics & Surgery, Medicare Cardiac & General Hospital and Dr Ruth K M Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi, Pakistan from February 2015 to July 2020. Thirty-eight patients of 60-90 years of either gender diagnosed as close UIF, severe osteoporosis as per Singh index grade ≤3, time since injury <2 weeks, ASA status II & III and pre-injury independent walking were enrolled in this study. All patients with UIF underwent PCBH. The radiographs were performed before surgery and at intervals postoperatively. All patients were requested to come for follow up visits at 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 3 months, 6 months 1 year and then at 3 years to assess the functional outcome of patients. At first postoperative day check X-rays taken and rehabilitation started as per institutional rehabilitation protocol, at 2-week stiches removed, at 4 weeks' x-ray was done and all the patients were followed for 3 years. The primary outcomes were noted using Harris Hip Score (HHS) for the functional outcome assessed at the end of 1 year and at final follow up. Results: The mean age of the study participants was 68.29±8.04 years. One male (2.6%) died at 6th month, then 2 females (5.2%) patients died at 1 year and 2 females (5.2%) patients died at the end of 3 years due to multiple comorbid conditions. During 1st year 3 patients (7.4%) developed DVT and 4 patients (10.5%) having diabetes and hypertension developed superficial wound infection. The mean Harris Hip Score between time points which indicated that the mean Harris Hip Score significantly improve over the period of time (p=0.001). Post hoc tests revealed that there were statistically significant differences between each time points (p<0.05). The functional outcome at 3 years, shown, one patient had excellent outcome, 24 patients had good outcome and 8 had fair outcome, respectively. Conclusion: The Primary Cemented Bipolar Hemiarthoplasty is a good choice of treatment in terms of reasonable functional outcome such as early mobilization and associated with less post-operative complications in elderly patients of UIF.

Disease Spectrum and Frequency of Illness in Pediatric Emergency: A Retrospective Analysis From Karachi, Pakistan.

Background: The National Institute of Child Health (NICH) is the largest tertiary care pediatric hospital operating in Karachi, Pakistan. Its emergency department (ED) is always occupied. However, the spectrum of illness in patients presenting to this ED has not been investigated in depth to identify the most common presentations and to develop effective management for treating patients. Methods: This retrospective study included all children visiting the pediatric ED of the NICH from January 2017 through December 2017. Newborns to children 14 years of age were included, for a total cohort of 188,803 patients. Sociodemographic data and clinical information were extracted from the medical record. Univariate analysis was performed to determine the frequency and percentage for all the variables. Results: The cohort consisted of 9% (n=16,952) neonates (0 to 1 month) and 91% (n=171,351) older children (>1 month to 14 years). Among the neonates, 36.6% presented as triage level 1. Sepsis was diagnosed in 23.8% of neonates, low birth weight/preterm in 18.4%, and respiratory distress/pneumonia in 15.2%. In infants and older children, diagnoses related to the respiratory system (37.3%), gastrointestinal system (16.4%), and multisystem involvement (15.9%) were the most common. During the evening shifts, 38.1% of patients were seen, and on weekends, 51.6% of patients were seen. Sunday was the busiest day in the ED. Conclusion: The tertiary care pediatric EDs in Pakistan have witnessed an increasing number of critical emergencies over time. Respiratory and gastrointestinal emergencies form the majority of the ED burden. A surge of patients is seen on the weekends and during the evening shifts. The spectrum of illnesses should be investigated via prospective, longitudinal studies in other pediatric EDs in Pakistan to understand the trends and to provide the foundation for developing nationwide recommendations for improving pediatric emergency care.