Effect of early treatment with zoledronic acid on prevention of bone loss in patients with acute spinal cord injury: a randomized controlled trial.

STUDY DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. OBJECTIVES: To determine the effect of zoledronic acid on bone loss in people with acute spinal cord injury (SCI) SETTINGS: Sawai Man Singh Medical College, India. METHODS: Sixty patients with acute SCI were randomized to receive either standard treatment alone or standard treatment with zoledronic acid within 3 months after injury. Areal bone mineral density (aBMD) was measured at the hip using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) at baseline 3, 6, and 12 months. RESULTS: Significant differences in aBMD were found between the standard treatment alone and standard treatment plus zoledronic acid group at the femoral neck (-0.13; 95% CI, -0.18 to -0.09, p < 0.0001), and total hip (-0.16; 95% CI, -0.19 to -0.12, p < 0.0001), respectively, at 1 year and bone loss was reduced in the zoledronic acid treated group as compared to the standard treatment group. Significant differences in aBMD between the groups at 6 months post infusion was also observed at these sites. [Femoral neck -0.08; 95% CI, -0.12 to -0.03; p = 0.002 and total hip -0.12; 95% CI, -0.15 to -0.08; p < 0.0001] CONCLUSION: A zoledronic acid 5 mg infusion given within 3 month significantly reduces bone loss at the hip after 6 months post infusion in patients with acute SCI.

Inequality in Forensic Medicine in India: The Current Scenario and Way Forward.

Background Forensic Medicine (FM) is one of the core specialties of medicine in India, which serves as a bridge between medical science and India's justice delivery systems. Although FM experts play a crucial role in handling medicolegal cases, there is an increasing deficit of FM experts in India. This may be due to the inadequate postgraduate (PG) seats across the states and the low uptake of PG seats in FM. This study was conducted to explore the current status of PG seats along with the Forensic Medicine Toxicology (FMT)/FM index across Indian states. Methodology In this cross-sectional study, data on the number of PGs in FMT/FM and the institutes offering PG courses in FMT/FM were searched on the official website of the National Medical Commission. The data available on the website until November 2023 were incorporated. The FMT/FM index was calculated at the national and state levels, and the states were graded based on the national FMT/FM index. Results The national FMT/FM PG trainee index was 0.054. Considering this as the reference value, grading of the FMT/FM PG trainee index was done as the highest (1.159 to 0.308), higher than the nation (0.054 but less than 0.308), lower than the nation (0.054 but higher than 0.00), and zero. Among all the states and union territories, Andaman & Nicobar, Arunachal Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Jammu & Kashmir, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Ladakh had zero FMT/FM PG index due to non-availability of any PG seats for FMT/FM. In total, 20 states had an FMT/FM PG index higher than India's FMT/FM PG index headed by Pondicherry (1.159), followed by Chandigarh (0.429) and Goa (0.308). Conclusions PG seats were highly deficient in several states, which is more likely to affect justice delivery in the future across these states. This study has a few limitations, as we did not explore the actual intake of these PG seats across different states. We anticipate a lower intake of PG seats due to factors such as low demand, fewer job opportunities, and monetary gain. However, this needs further exploration in future studies.

Study of Relationship between Bone Mineral Density in Ipsilateral Proximal Femur and Severity of Osteoarthritis of Knee.

Introduction: Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is the most common rheumatic disease that is characterized by degradation of articular cartilage, subchondral bone alteration, meniscal degeneration, synovial inflammatory response, and overgrowth of bone and cartilage. In severe OA, the reduced mobility caused by pain can increase bone loss and reduction of bone mineral density leading to osteoporosis. Objective: To examine the possible relationship between severity of osteoarthritis (OA) and bone mineral density (BMD) by evaluating the bone mineral density in ipsilateral proximal femur and radiographic grading of knee OA in the Indian population. Methods: In this cross-sectional observational study, 100 subjects diagnosed with OA knee using ACR criteria were enrolled. Severity of OA knee was assessed using Kellgren-Lawrence scale (1 to 4) on weight-bearing radiographs. The BMD, T-score, and Z-score of the ipsilateral proximal femur was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to test the association of severity of OA knee with BMD. Results: Among 100 subjects, there were 51 females and 49 males with mean age 59.94 ± 6.67. Maximum patients were with K-L grade 2 (42%) followed by grade 3 (30%) and grade 4 (22%). There was statistically significant (p < 0.0001) association between BMD and severity of OA knee. BMD decreased as the K-L grade of OA knee increased from 1 to 4. Similar statistically significant association was observed in T-score and Z-score. Conclusion: The study concluded that BMD of ipsilateral proximal femur decreases with severity of OA knee. These data support the fact that the two conditions may be related to each other and primary care physicians must look for these two conditions in coexistence. Primary prevention of either of the two conditions should be advised, if the other condition coexists in the same patient.

An Investigator-Initiated, Prospective, Single-Center, Open-Label Clinical Study to Evaluate Safety and Performance of Intra-Articular Hyaluronic Acid (IA-HA) (Biovisc Ortho) in Patients with Osteoarthritis (OA) of the Knee.

OBJECTIVE: IA-HA is injected into the osteoarthritis knee as a viscosupplementation for therapeutic purposes. This clinical trial was carried out for evaluating the efficacy and safety of Biovisc Ortho IA-HA (20 mg/2 mL) in a 2 mL prefilled syringe. DESIGN: The study was conducted as an open-label, single-center, single-arm clinical trial in India. Patients of knee OA with moderate to severe symptoms for a minimum duration of 3 months were included in the study. Five visits were conducted at weekly intervals and the investigational product was administered at each visit. Two follow-up visits were conducted at 3 and 6 months after the completion of the last injection cycle. The primary outcome variable was change in KOOS pain score from baseline. The secondary outcome variables were analyzed for other KOOS scales and safety of the device. RESULTS: Change in KOOS pain score at 6 months from baseline was 29.71±15.74 and the change in mean KOOS score for pain was statistically significant (p<0.0001) for all post-baseline visits. Statistically significant improvement was observed for mean values of efficacy assessments (KOOS) during the study period (6 months) for all the domains evaluated, including pain, joint function and quality of life. CONCLUSION: Despite being an open, noncomparative study, the safety and efficacy results of IA-HA establish the therapeutic effect of the treatment throughout the study period of 6 months and are safe.

Efficacy of Intralesional Platelet-Rich Plasma in Diabetic Foot Ulcer.

BACKGROUND: Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is well managed by infection control, euglycemic state, and debridement of the ulcer followed by appropriate dressing and off-loading of the foot. Studies show that approximately 90% of DFUs that are properly off-loaded heal in nearly 6 weeks. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) serves as a growth factor agonist and has mitogenic and chemotactic properties that help in DFU healing. We sought to evaluate the efficacy of local application of PRP with respect to healing rate and ulcer area reduction in treating DFUs. METHODS: Sixty noninfected patients with DFUs (plantar surface area, ≤20 cm2; Meggitt-Wagner grades 1 and 2) were randomized to receive normal saline dressing (control group [CG]) or PRP dressing (study group [SG]) along with total-contact casting for 6 weeks or until complete ulcer healing, whichever was earlier. Healing rate and change in ulcer area were evaluated weekly. RESULTS: Mean ± SD ulcer area at baseline was 4.96 ± 2.89 cm2 (CG) and 5.22 ± 3.82 cm2 (SG) (P = .77), decreasing to 1.15 ± 1.35 cm2 (CG) and 0.96 ± 1.53 cm2 (SG) (P = .432) at 6 weeks. Mean ± SD percentage reduction in healing area at 6 weeks was 81.72% ± 17.2% (CG) and 85.98% ± 13.42% (SG) (P = .29). Mean ± SD healing rate at 6 weeks was 0.64 ± 0.36 cm2 (CG) and 0.71 ± 0.46 cm2 (SG) (P = .734). CONCLUSIONS: The PRP dressing is no more efficacious than normal saline dressing in the management of DFU in conjunction with total-contact casting.

Zoledronic Acid Attenuates Early Bone Loss at Forearm in Patients with Acute Spinal Cord Injury.

STUDY DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. OBJECTIVES: To study the magnitude of bone loss at forearm in persons with acute spinal cord injury (SCI) & the effect of early administration of Zoledronic acid on its' prevention. SETTINGS: Sawai Man Singh Medical College, Jaipur, India. METHODS: Sixty patients with acute SCI were randomized either to receive standard medical and nursing care or Zoledronic acid infusion in combination with standard medical and nursing care. Areal bone mineral density (aBMD) was measured at the forearm (radius + ulna) once patients were medically stable using Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DXA) at baseline and at 3, 6 and 12 months. RESULTS: Significant differences in aBMD was found between the control & Zoledronic acid group at 1/3 forearm (- 0.064; 95% CI - 0.092 to - 0.036, p = 0.001), mid forearm (- 0.059; 95% CI - 0.084 to - 0.034, p = 0.001), UD forearm (- 0.048; 95% CI - 0.097 to 0.001, p = 0.016) and total forearm (- 0.048; 95% CI - 0.088 to - 0.008, p = 0.021) at 1 year in the paraplegic patients with SCI. Similar significant difference was also observed at 1/3 forearm (- 0.046; 95% CI - 0.073 to - 0.019, p = 0.002), mid forearm (- 0.063; 95% CI - 0.088 to - 0.037, p < 0.0001), UD forearm (- 0.084; 95% CI - 0.101 to - 0.067, p < 0.0001) and total forearm (- 0.115; 95% CI - 0.132 to - 0.097, p < 0.0001) respectively at 1 year in the quadriplegic patients with SCI. Significant differences in aBMD between the groups at 6 months post infusion was also observed at these sites in quadriplegic patients. [1/3 forearm - 0.022; 95% CI - 0.039 to - 0.005; p = 0.015, Mid forearm - 0.023; 95% CI - 0.042 to - 0.004; p = 0.019, UD forearm - 0.041; 95% CI - 0.055 to - 0.027; p < 0.0001 and Total forearm - 0.049; 95%CI - 0.062 to - 0.036; p < 0.0001]. Bone loss was reduced in the Zoledronic acid treated group compared to the standard treatment group in both paraplegic and quadriplegic patients. CONCLUSION: Single dose of 5mg intravenous Zoledronic acid is an effective treatment in preventing bone loss at the forearm for 12 months following acute spinal cord injury.