C5 Palsy Following Cervical Spine Decompression.

BACKGROUND: Cervical spinal surgery is considered safe and effective. One of the few specific complications of this procedure is C5 nerve root palsy. Expressed primarily by deltoid muscle and biceps brachii weakness, it is rare and has been related to nerve root traction or to ischemic spinal cord damage. OBJECTIVES: To determine the clinical and epidemiological traits of C5 palsy. To determine whether C5 palsy occurs predominantly in one specific surgical approach compared to others. METHODS: A retrospective study of patients who underwent cervical spine surgery at our medical center during a consecutive 8-year period was conducted. The patient data were analyzed for demographics, diagnosis, and surgery type and approach, as well as for complications, with emphasis on the C5 nerve root palsy. RESULTS: The study group was comprised of 124 patients. Seven (5.6%) developed a C5 palsy following surgery. Interventions were either by anterior, by posterior or by a combined approach. Seven patients developed this complication. All of whom had myelopathy and were older males. A combined anteroposterior (5 patients) and posterior access (2 patients) were the only approaches that were associated with the C5 palsy. None of the patients who were operated via an anterior approach did develop this sequel. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of the C5 root palsy in our cohort reached 5.6%. Interventions performed through a combined anterior-posterior access in older myelopathic males, may carry the highest risk for this complication.

Perianal abscess in infants: Amenable to conservative treatment in selected cases.

BACKGROUND: Perianal abscess is a common surgical condition in daily pediatric practice. Management is a subject of controversy and a variety of approaches are practiced. While the most frequent approach is drainage with/without fistulotomy, the superiority of this approach and the place of conservative approach has not been established. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of conservative approach in selected cases of perianal abscesses in infants. METHODS: Data of 19 patients aged <24 months treated conservatively for perianal abscess at a tertiary hospital in 2014-2018 were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: Criteria for a conservative approach were: spontaneous drainage into the anal canal (n = 8) or perianal skin (n = 4), and phlegmonous infiltrate with fluid collection detected on ultrasound (n = 7). Mean age at symptom onset was 8.4 months. Twelve patients were managed for the first time. Previous care in seven patients included 1-4 drainage procedures (n = 4), spontaneous drainage (n = 1) and antibiotics (n = 2). Five patients were on oral antibiotics at presentation. After diagnosis, 18 patients received i.v. antibiotics and one, oral antibiotics. Three patients (15.7%) ultimately required surgical drainage; two were lost to follow up. During follow up (mean, 22.4 months) four patients (28.5%) had a single recurrent episode; abscess in three (managed conservatively in two and surgically in one) and fistula-in-ano in one patient that healed spontaneously. Thus, surgical intervention was prevented in 13/17 patients (76.4%) available for follow up. CONCLUSIONS: Perianal abscess in infants is amenable to conservative management in selected cases. Avoiding surgical intervention is advantageous, especially given the high recurrence rate.

[BISPHOSPHONATES AS A PREVENTATIVE TREATMENT FOR OSTEOPOROTIC HIP FRACTURES: A MIXED BLESSING].

BACKGROUND: The widespread use of bisphosphonates for treating osteoporosis in the last two decades has raised concern about the complication of atypical hip fractures secondary to bisphosphonate treatment. These fractures may be the result of a minor trauma to the hip or without any trauma at all. It may be heralded by prodromal groin or hip pain. Prolonged bisphosphonate treatment and atypical fractures may exist, but the nature and the extent of this linkage are still unknown. Currently, there is a lack of adequate evidence-based methods or a consensus about the treatment of this unique phenomenon. METHODS: We retrospectively examined the records of all subtrochanteric hip fracture cases admitted to our department in the years 2010-2014. During that period, we treated a total of 1315 patients:726 patients with pertrochanteric fractures, 514 patients with subcapital fractures and 75 patients with distal subtrochanteric fractures. Among those, 16 patients (1.2%) qualified as atypical hip fractures. The location of the fracture, period of bisphosphonates use, fixation type, complications and recovery were recorded. RESULTS: The average age of the patients in our study was 76.9 years. All patients were treated with bisphosphonates and over 80% of the patients were treated specifically with Alendronate prior to the fracture. Mean treatment time was 7.8 years. Most of the fractures (75%) were subtrochanteric, and the others were at the femur midshaft. All patients received surgical fixation and all accomplished union of the fractures. CONCLUSIONS: It seems reasonable to assume a causative relationship between a long term use of bisphosphonates and the occurrence of atypical hip fractures. It is a relatively rare complication; nevertheless, it should be kept in mind during a long term use of bisphosphonates. According to our department's clinical experience we found no delay in bone union with these atypical hip fractures. It seems reasonable to prophylactically fixate atypical stress fractures before they become a full fracture.

Earlier Initiation of Postoperative Physical Therapy Decreases Opioid Use after Total Knee Arthroplasty.

For patients with advanced osteoarthritis of the knee, total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has been shown to provide significant pain relief and improved function with consistent, reproducible results. Post-operative physical therapy (PT) plays an important role is restoring muscle strength and range of motion (ROM). Yet, the impact of earlier physical therapy initiation after TKA has not been well defined. We assessed 205 patients that underwent primary TKA including 136 patients who started PT on the first post-operative day (POD1) and a second group that started PT 3 days after surgery (POD3), or later. Length of hospital stay (LOS), opioid use during hospital stay, complications, re-admissions, knee ROM and the need for subsequent hospitalized rehabilitation were recorded. LOS was not significantly shorter in the early PT group, compared with the delayed PT group (6.4 ± 2.2 days vs. 6.8 ± 2 days, respectively, P = .217). Patients in the delayed PT group consumed more opioids during their inpatient stay compared with the early PT group on both POD 3 (89% vs 82%, p = 0.013) and POD 4 (81% vs 66%, p = 0.005). There was no significant difference in the incidence of Immediate post-operative complications or final knee ROM between the two groups. While early postoperative PT did not impact hospital LOS or final knee ROM, it was associated with an earlier reduction in postoperative opioid consumption after primary TKA.

Minute-to-minute urine flow rate variability: a retrospective survey of its ability to provide early warning of acute hypotension in critically ill multiple trauma patients.

PURPOSE: Dynamic changes in urine output and neurological status are the recognized clinical signs of hemodynamically significant hemorrhage. In the present study, we analyzed the dynamic minute-to-minute changes in the UFR and also the changes in its minute-to-minute variability in a group of critically ill multiple trauma patients whose blood pressures were normal on admission to the ICU but who subsequently developed hypotension within the first few hours of their ICU admission. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study was retrospective and observational. Demographic and clinical data were extracted from the computerized register information systems initially; the clinical and laboratory data of 100 critically ill patients with multiple trauma who were admitted to the ICU during the study period were analyzed. Of this group, ten patients were eventually included in the study on the basis of the inclusion criteria. RESULTS: The minute-to-minute urine flow rate (UFR) and urine flow rate variability (UFRV) both decreased significantly during the periods of hypotension (p values 0.001 and 0.006, respectively). Notably, the decrease in UFRV preceded by at least 30 min a corresponding decline in the systolic and mean arterial blood pressures, which manifested as a flattening of UFRV amplitude which was observed prior to the occurrence of the lowest recorded systolic and mean arterial blood pressures. Statistical analysis by the Pearson method demonstrated a strong direct correlation between the decrease in UFRV and the decrease in the MAP (R = 0.9, p = 0.001), and SBP (R = 0.86, p = 0.001) and the decreasing urine output per hour (R = 0.88, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: We found that changes in UFRV correlate strongly with systolic and mean arterial blood pressures. We feel that this parameter could potentially serve as an early signal of hemodynamic deterioration due to occult bleeding in critically ill trauma patients, and might also be able to identify the optimal end-point of hemodynamic resuscitative measures in these patients.