Efficacy of Cal-Cemex as bone substitute for tibial plateau fractures.

BACKGROUND: Various factors influence treatment and outcomes in tibial plateau fractures. Bone defects are among them. Many materials have been proposed to address this problem: allograft, bone-cements and various bone substitutes (BSM). Cal-Cemex (ß-tricalciophosphate and polymethylmethacrylate) is a new hybrid bi-component BSM. A retrospective multicenter study was conducted based on the clinical experience of three European Hospitals, to demonstrate its clinical effectiveness, versatility and safety. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From December 2016 to March 2022, 45 displaced tibial plateau fractures were treated with internal fixation and augmentation using Cal-Cemex. The average age was 55.9 years. According to Schatzker classification, we included 13 type II, 24 type III, 3 type V and 4 type VI fractures. The postoperative follow-up (FU) consisted of clinical and radiological examinations at 6 and 12 weeks and 1 year after surgery. A CT scan was performed preoperatively and 1 year after surgery. Full weight bearing was permitted after less than 6 weeks. Clinical data were collected from patient charts, while functional data were evaluated using the Rasmussen knee function score, the KOOS score and the Hospital for Special Surgery knee rating score (HSS), to evaluate the range of motion, axis and functionality of the knee. RESULTS: The average FU was 42.8 months. CT scans taken at 1 year demonstrated a good surface osteointegration without radiolucent lines or osteolysis with good evidence of interdigitation and even bone ingrowth. At 1-year FU, the mean Rasmussen score was 24.7, the mean KOOS score was 90.7 and the mean HSS was 89.9 and the average full weight-bearing period 34.9. No patients had hardware failure or fracture secondary displacement. DISCUSSION: Cal-Cemex combines biological features and good mechanical performances. It guarantees biocompatibility and osteoconductivity, although it is not fully reabsorbable; ß-tricalciophosphate component gives macro- and microporosity that allow fluids to penetrate inside the material, to stimulate bone ingrowth. CONCLUSIONS: The study suggests that Cal-Cemex is an option for tibial plateau fractures, where augmentation and support are necessary for early full weight bearing. The absence of major complications, ease of application, the possibility to cut and perforate this material support its extensive use in bone augmentation for trauma cases.

COVID-19 at War: The Joint Forces Operation in Ukraine.

The ongoing pandemic disaster of coronavirus erupted with the first confirmed cases in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) novel coronavirus, the disease referred to as coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19. The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the outbreak and determined it a global pandemic. The current pandemic has infected nearly 300 million people and killed over 3 million. The current COVID-19 pandemic is smashing every public health barrier, guardrail, and safety measure in underdeveloped and the most developed countries alike, with peaks and troughs across time. Greatly impacted are those regions experiencing conflict and war. Morbidity and mortality increase logarithmically for those communities at risk and that lack the ability to promote basic preventative measures. States around the globe struggle to unify responses, make gains on preparedness levels, identify and symptomatically treat positive cases, and labs across the globe frantically rollout various vaccines and effective surveillance and therapeutic mechanisms. The incidence and prevalence of COVID-19 may continue to increase globally as no unified disaster response is manifested and disinformation spreads. During this failure in response, virus variants are erupting at a dizzying pace. Ungoverned spaces where nonstate actors predominate and active war zones may become the next epicenter for COVID-19 fatality rates. As the incidence rates continue to rise, hospitals in North America and Europe exceed surge capacity, and immunity post infection struggles to be adequately described. The global threat in previously high-quality, robust infrastructure health-care systems in the most developed economies are failing the challenge posed by COVID-19; how will less-developed economies and those health-care infrastructures that are destroyed by war and conflict fare until adequate vaccine penetrance in these communities or adequate treatment are established? Ukraine and other states in the Black Sea Region are under threat and are exposed to armed Russian aggression against territorial sovereignty daily. Ukraine, where Russia has been waging war since 2014, faces this specific dual threat: disaster response to violence and a deadly infectious disease. To best serve biosurveillance, aid in pandemic disaster response, and bolster health security in Europe, across the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO) and Black Sea regions, increased NATO integration, across Ukraine's disaster response structures within the Ministries of Health, Defense, and Interior must be reinforced and expanded to mitigate the COVID-19 disaster.

Expert Opinion on the Extensive Use of Prescription Crystalline Glucosamine Sulfate in the Multimodal Treatment of Osteoarthritis in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Armenia.

OBJECTIVE: The present work was led by a multidisciplinary panel of experts and proposes an extensive review on the use of prescription crystalline glucosamine sulfate (pCGS) in the multimodal treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) applicable in Ukraine and other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries. METHODS: A panel of rheumatologists, orthopedic surgeons, and field experts from Ukraine and CIS regions discussed the management of OA. Literature was systematically searched using Medline, EMBASE, CIHNAL, and Cochrane Library databases. The 2-day meeting critically reviewed the available literature, treatment algorithms, pharmacoeconomic aspects, and real-world instances to form a multimodal approach based both on real-life clinical practice and systematic literature research for the management of OA in Ukraine and CIS countries. EXPERT OPINION: pCGS plays a pivotal role in the stepwise approach to OA treatment. If it is necessary (step 1), the combined use of pCGS with paracetamol and topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) has been recommended. If symptoms persist, oral NSAIDs and intra-articular (IA) hyaluronic acid or corticosteroids are added to the therapy (step 2) of pCGS in the patients. In case of insufficient relief and severe OA (step 3), pCGS along with oral NSAIDs, IA corticosteroids, and duloxetine have been recommended. Patient stratification with regular monitoring and careful alterations in treatment were advocated. CONCLUSIONS: This expert opinion article recommends a modified approach to the existing guidelines incorporating pCGS in treatment modality of OA in Ukraine and CIS countries. Extensive use of pCGS targets early symptomatic relief in OA while limiting the adverse effects due to long-term use of analgesics and NSAIDs.

Expandable distal femur megaprosthesis: A European Musculoskeletal Oncology Society study on 299 cases.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Expandable distal femur prostheses have become more popular over the last decades, but scientific data is limited. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed, including cases treated between 1986 and 2019 in 15 European referral centers for bone sarcomas. RESULTS: A total of 299 cases were included. Average follow-up was 80 months (range, 8-287 months). Mean patient age was 10 years. Most (80%) of the implants were noninvasive growers and a fixed hinge knee was used more often (64%) than a rotating hinge. Most prosthetic designs showed good (>80%) implant survival at 10 years, but repeat surgery was required for 63% of the patients. The most frequent reason for revision procedure was the completion of lengthening potential. Noninvasive expandable implants showed less risk of infection compared to invasive growers (11.8% vs 22.9% at 10 years). No difference in aseptic loosening was found between cemented and uncemented stems. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows the increasing popularity of expandable distal femur prostheses, with overall good results for function and implant survival. However, repeat surgery is frequently required, especially in patients under the age of 10 years old. Infection is less frequent in noninvasive growers compared to implants that require invasive lengthening procedures.