Reducing the Burden of Disease Associated With Periprosthetic Fractures: Prevention and the Need for Improved Perioperative Care.

The management of periprosthetic fractures remains challenging and controversial. There continues to be a significant burden of disease and substantial resource implications associated with fractures following total joint arthroplasty. Achieving consensus opinions regarding the prevention and treatment of this problem has important implications given the profound effect on patient outcomes. Multidisciplinary care in the preoperative and postoperative settings is critical, with a specific focus on bone health.

Myopathic Blepharoptoses: A New Classification System.

PURPOSE: Myopathic blepharoptoses (ptoses) is a complex group of disorders. To date, no formal categorization scheme has been developed based on associated ocular and systemic findings, genetic fingerprint, treatment, and prognosis for each ptosis in this group. We report a new classification scheme for myopathic ptoses. METHODS: Literature review and classification development. RESULTS: A new classification scheme of myopathic ptoses includes isolated static myopathic ptosis (congenital ptosis), static myopathic ptosis associated with aberrant innervation and those associated with periocular abnormalities, and progressive myopathic ptoses that affect the levator muscle and other muscle groups in childhood and adulthood. CONCLUSIONS: Making the distinction of myopathic ptosis type early will maximize patient outcomes by optimizing surgical and systemic management and facilitating the recruitment of subspecialists to care for patients with these challenging conditions.The authors present a comprehensive and effective myopathic ptosis classification scheme to optimize surgical management and facilitate subspecialty care.

Rabbit model of ocular indirect photodynamic therapy using a retinoblastoma xenograft.

PURPOSE: The goal of this project was to demonstrate the feasibility of coupling the indirect ophthalmoscope laser delivery system with the 690 nm wavelength diode laser used to perform photodynamic therapy (PDT) in the treatment of retinoblastoma. METHODS: For phase 1, a total of six pigmented rabbits were treated with the indirect laser delivery system. The laser source was provided by the Lumenis Opal 690 nm laser unit, delivered through a 810 nm Indirect ophthalmoscope headpiece and a hand-held 28-diopter indirect lens (1.0 mm spot size). Four rabbits received intravenous verteporfin at doses of 0.43 or 0.86 mg/kg, and two rabbits did not receive verteporfin (controls). A second phase of the study involved eight rabbits using a retinoblastoma xenograft to determine the effect of indirect PDT on subretinal tumors. RESULTS: For phase 1, a total of 20 laser treatments were performed in the right eyes of six rabbits. Laser power levels ranged between 40 and 150 mW/cm2 and treatment duration ranged between 1 and 3 min. In the four rabbits that received verteporfin, focal retinal scars were noted at 40 mW/cm2 and higher power levels. In the two control rabbits that did not receive verteporfin, thermal burns were confirmed at 75 mW/cm2 and higher power levels. Histopathology showed focal retino-choroidal scars at the site of PDT treatment, without evidence of generalized ocular damage. Using the retinoblastoma xenograft, the indirect PDT system was shown to cause areas of tumor necrosis on histopathology. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this pre-clinical study suggest verteporfin may be activated in the rabbit retina with the indirect delivery system and the 690 nm laser unit (i.e., Indirect PDT). Using verteporfin, treatment effects were observed at 40-50 mW/cm2 in the rabbit retina, while photocoagulation was achieved at 75 mW/cm2 and higher power levels. Fundoscopic and histopathologic examination of treated areas showed circumscribed areas of retinal damage and a lack of generalized ocular toxicity, suggesting that this modality may represent a safe and localized method for treating intraocular retinoblastoma.

Bilobed flap reconstruction after en-bloc removal of solitary fibrous tumor of the lacrimal sac.

Purpose: To report a rare case of a solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) of the lacrimal sac and discuss considerations for management of similar cases. Observations: We present the case of a 41-year-old woman who presented with a primary lacrimal sac SFT for which she underwent en-bloc surgical resection. We discuss management options for SFTs and our surgical approach for this case: bilobed flap reconstruction of the medial canthus and inferior orbit. Conclusions: We present an uncommon presentation of a rare tumor and a successful one-stage reconstruction with a bilobed flap.

Rituximab treatment of patients with severe, corticosteroid-resistant thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy.

PURPOSE: To study the effectiveness of anti-CD20 (rituximab [RTX]; Rituxan; Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA) therapy in patients with severe, corticosteroid (CS)-resistant thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO). DESIGN: Retrospective, interventional case series. PARTICIPANTS: Six consecutive subjects with severe, progressive TAO unresponsive to CS. METHODS: Electronic medical record review of consecutive patients receiving RTX during the previous 18 months. Responses to therapy were graded using standard clinical assessment and flow cytometric analysis of peripheral lymphocytes. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Clinical activity score (CAS), proptosis, strabismus, treatment side effects, and quantification of regulatory T cells. RESULTS: Six patients were studied. Systemic CS failed to alter clinical activity in all patients (mean CAS+/-standard deviation, 5.3+/-1.0 before vs. 5.5+/-0.8 during therapy for 7.5+/-6.4 months; P = 1.0). However, after RTX treatment, CAS improved from 5.5+/-0.8 to 1.3+/-0.5 at 2 months after treatment (P<0.03) and remained quiescent in all patients (CAS, 0.7+/-0.8; P<0.0001) at a mean follow-up of 6.2+/-4.5 months. Vision improved bilaterally in all 4 patients with dysthyroid optic neuropathy (DON). None of the 6 patients experienced disease relapse after RTX infusion, and proptosis remained stable (Hertel measurement, 24+/-3.7 mm before therapy and 23.6+/-3.7 mm after therapy; P = 0.17). The abundance of T regulatory cells, assessed in 1 patient, increased within 1 week of RTX and remained elevated at 18 months of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: In progressive, CS-resistant TAO, rapid and sustained resolution of orbital inflammation and DON followed treatment with RTX. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE(S): The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.

Incidence of Femoral Component Malrotation Using Posterior Condylar Referencing in Total Knee Arthroplasty.

Proper femoral component rotation in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is important, given the prognostic impact of a poorly positioned component. The purpose of this observational study was to determine the incidence of femoral component malrotation using posterior condylar axis (PCA) referencing. A total of 100 knees in 92 patients with varus gonarthritis of the knee undergoing primary TKA using a standard medial parapatellar approach were evaluated intraoperatively. After distal femoral resection, the standard femoral sizing guide referencing the posterior condylar axis was used to set femoral component rotation. This was then compared with both the transepicondylar (TEA) and trochlear anteroposterior axes (TRAx). Disparites were recorded and corrected in line with the epicondylar axis. Rotational adjustment for addition of further external rotation was made in 13 (13.0%) cases. In seven cases, the medial pin sites were raised between 1 and 3 mm, and in six cases, the lateral pin site was lowered between 1 and 3 mm (based on risk of notching the femoral cortex). It is critical to not rely exclusively on the PCA to confirm rotational positioning of the femoral component as predicted by posterior condylar referencing guides. Intraoperative adjustment and confirmation using the TEA and TRAx occurred in 13% of primary TKA cases, which might have, otherwise, had a significant effect on the clinical outcome.

Three presentations of CNS disease in patients with intraocular retinoblastoma at a tertiary medical center in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Patients with intraocular retinoblastoma who present with central nervous (CNS) disease at diagnosis is very rare in developed countries. METHODS: Herein, we report a review of patients with intraocular retinoblastoma diagnosed with concurrent CNS disease in the United States between January 2011 and June 2013. RESULTS: Three patients were identified in this review. The first case is a 2-year old male who presented with unilateral Group E retinoblastoma, optic nerve infiltration to the orbital apex, and a suprasellar mass. The second case is a 5-month old female with bilateral retinoblastoma, who had no optic nerve invasion, but demonstrated a temporal lobe lesion that was biopsy-proven to be metastatic retinoblastoma. The third case is a 10-month old girl with bilateral retinoblastoma who presented with a sellar mass and no evidence of optic nerve invasion in the enucleated Group E eye. CONCLUSIONS: Although rare in developed countries, patients with intraocular retinoblastoma can present with a spectrum of CNS findings at the time of diagnosis. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and orbits is a critical component of the staging evaluation.

Assessing the effect of the 2001-06 Mexican health reform: an interim report card.

Since 2001, Mexico has been designing, legislating, and implementing a major health-system reform. A key component was the creation of Seguro Popular, which is intended to expand insurance coverage over 7 years to uninsured people, nearly half the total population at the start of 2001. The reform included five actions: legislation of entitlement per family affiliated which, with full implementation, will increase public spending on health by 0.8-1.0% of gross domestic product; creation of explicit benefits packages; allocation of monies to decentralised state ministries of health in proportion to number of families affiliated; division of federal resources flowing to states into separate funds for personal and non-personal health services; and creation of a fund to protect families against catastrophic health expenditures. Using the WHO health-systems framework, we used a wide range of datasets to assess the effect of this reform on different dimensions of the health system. Key findings include: affiliation is preferentially reaching the poor and the marginalised communities; federal non-social security expenditure in real per-head terms increased by 38% from 2000 to 2005; equity of public-health expenditure across states improved; Seguro Popular affiliates used more inpatient and outpatient services than uninsured people; effective coverage of 11 interventions has improved between 2000 and 2005-06; inequalities in effective coverage across states and wealth deciles has decreased over this period; catastrophic expenditures for Seguro Popular affiliates are lower than for uninsured people even though use of services has increased. We present some lessons for Mexico based on this interim evaluation and explore implications for other countries considering health reforms.

Improving child survival through environmental and nutritional interventions: the importance of targeting interventions toward the poor.

CONTEXT: The United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set targets related to important global poverty, health, and sustainability issues. A critical but underinvestigated question for planning and allocating resources toward the MDGs is how interventions related to one MDG might affect progress toward other goals. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the reduction in child mortality as a result of interventions related to the environmental and nutritional MDGs (improving child nutrition and providing clean water, sanitation, and fuels) and to estimate how the magnitude and distribution of the effects of interventions vary based on the economic status of intervention recipients. DESIGN, SETTING, AND POPULATION: Population-level comparative risk assessment modeling the mortality effects of interventions on child nutrition and environmental risk factors, stratified by economic status. Data on economic status, child underweight, water and sanitation, and household fuels were from the nationally representative Demographic and Health Surveys for 42 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, South Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. Data on disease-specific child mortality were from the World Health Organization. Data on the hazardous effects of each MDG-related risk factor were from systematic reviews and meta-analyses of epidemiological studies. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Child mortality, stratified by comparable international quintiles of economic status. RESULTS: Implementing interventions that improve child nutrition and provide clean water and sanitation and clean household fuels to all children younger than 5 years would result in an estimated annual reduction in child deaths of 49,700 (14%) in Latin America and the Caribbean, 0.80 million (24%) in South Asia, and 1.47 million (31%) in sub-Saharan Africa. These benefits are equivalent to 30% to 48% of the current regional gaps toward the MDG target on reducing child mortality. Fifty percent coverage of the same environmental and nutritional interventions, as envisioned by the MDGs, would reduce child mortality by 26,900, 0.51 million, and 1.02 million in the 3 regions, respectively, if the interventions are implemented among the poor first. These reductions are 30% to 75% larger than those expected if the same 50% coverage first reached the wealthier households, who nonetheless are in need of similar interventions. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions related to nutritional and environmental MDGs can also provide substantial gains toward the MDG of reducing child mortality. To maximize the reduction in childhood mortality, such integrated management of interventions should prioritize the poor.

Retcam fluorescein angiography findings in eyes with advanced retinoblastoma.

PURPOSE: To characterise the fluorescein angiogram (FA) findings of eyes with advanced retinoblastoma evaluated with the Retcam contact fundus camera. METHODS: A retrospective case series was performed on all new retinoblastoma patients evaluated with Retcam FA between 2000 and 2012. Inclusion criteria included (1) patients with advanced retinoblastoma (group D or E), (2) eyes studied with early, mid-phase and late-phase Retcam FA photographs and (3) no prior treatment. RESULTS: A total of 100 eyes fulfilling the inclusion criteria were identified. For the 47 group D eyes, FA findings included iris neovascularisation (10/47), large retinal vessel dilatation (46/47), small retinal vessel changes (35/47) and retinal venous leakage (20/47). Among the 53 group E eyes, FA findings included iris neovascularisation (45/53), large retinal vessel dilatation (43/53), small retinal vessel changes (37/53) and vascular abnormalities at multiple levels (11/53). CONCLUSIONS: Advanced intraocular retinoblastoma is associated with multiple retinal vascular abnormalities on Retcam FA. These findings may be helpful in defining the extent of disease and distinguishing this tumour from other paediatric ocular conditions. Key clinical findings were subclinical iris neovascularisation, a variety of small vessel changes, intrinsic tumour vessels and retinal venous leakage. Retcam FA was not found to be clinically useful after 3 min.

Immunomodulation by imiquimod in patients with high-risk primary melanoma.

Imiquimod is a synthetic Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) agonist approved for the topical treatment of actinic keratoses, superficial basal cell carcinoma, and genital warts. Imiquimod leads to an 80-100% cure rate of lentigo maligna; however, studies of invasive melanoma are lacking. We conducted a pilot study to characterize the local, regional, and systemic immune responses induced by imiquimod in patients with high-risk melanoma. After treatment of the primary melanoma biopsy site with placebo or imiquimod cream, we measured immune responses in the treated skin, sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs), and peripheral blood. Treatment of primary melanomas with 5% imiquimod cream was associated with an increase in both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the skin, and CD4+ T cells in the SLN. Most of the CD8+ T cells in the skin were CD25 negative. We could not detect any increases in CD8+ T cells specifically recognizing HLA-A(*)0201-restricted melanoma epitopes in the peripheral blood. The findings from this small pilot study demonstrate that topical imiquimod treatment results in enhanced local and regional T-cell numbers in both the skin and SLN. Further research into TLR7 immunomodulating pathways as a basis for effective immunotherapy against melanoma in conjunction with surgery is warranted.

The thymus and the immune system: layered levels of control.

Control points of normal thymopoiesis may provide insights into strategies for interrupting cell interactions in thymomas which appear to maintain active T cell production. Thymus production of T cells represents one of two pathways by which peripheral T cell populations are maintained or, if lost, regenerated. The production of T cells by the thymus results from a series of thymus epithelial cell (TEC) - thymocyte interactions from entry of thymocyte precursors into the thymus to release of mature naïve single positive T cells into the periphery. Within this series of interactions, certain control points have been identified, all of which act through TEC to modulate thymopoiesis.

[Assessing the effect of the 2001-06 Mexican health reform: an interim report card]. / Evaluación del impacto de la reforma mexicana de salud 2001-2006: un informe inicial.

Since 2001, Mexico has been designing, legislating, and implementing a major health-system reform. A key component was the creation of Seguro Popular, which is intended to expand insurance coverage over seven years to uninsured people, nearly half the total population at the start of 2001. The reform included five actions: legislation of entitlement per family affiliated which, with full implementation, will increase public spending on health by 0.8-1.0% of gross domestic product; creation of explicit benefits packages; allocation of monies to decentralised state ministries of health in proportion to number of families affiliated; division of federal resources flowing to states into separate funds for personal and non-personal health services; and creation of a fund to protect families against catastrophic health expenditures. Using the WHO health-systems framework, a wide range of datasets to assess the effect of this reform on different dimensions of the health system was used. Key findings include: affiliation is preferentially reaching the poor and the marginalised communities; federal non-social security expenditure in real per-head terms increased by 38% from 2000 to 2005; equity of public-health expenditure across states improved; Seguro Popular affilates used more inpatient and outpatient services than uninsured people; effective coverage of 11 interventions has improved between 2000 and 2005-06; inequalities in effective coverage across states and wealth deciles has decreased over this period; catastrophic expenditures for Seguro Popular affiliates are lower than for uninsured people even though use of services has increased. We present some lessons for Mexico based on this interim evaluation and explore implications for other countries considering health reforms.

Evaluación del impacto de la Reforma Mexicana de salud 2001-2006: un informe inicial / Assessing the effect of the 2001-06 Mexican health reform: an interim report card

A partir de 2001 se inicia en México un proceso de diseño, legislación e implementación de la Reforma Mexicana de Salud. Un componente clave de ésta fue la creación del Seguro Popular, que pretende extender la cobertura de aseguramiento médico por siete años a la población que no cuenta con seguridad social, la cual constituía en ese momento casi la mitad de la población total. La reforma incluyó cinco acciones: modificar la ley para garantizar el derecho a la protección a la salud para las familias afiliadas, lo cual al ser implantado completamente incrementará el gasto público en salud entre 0.8 y 1.0 por ciento del PIB; la creación de un paquete de servicios de salud explícito; la asignación de recursos a secretarías estatales de salud descentralizadas, proporcional al número de familias incorporadas; la división de los recursos federales destinados a los estados en fondos independientes para servicios de salud personales y no personales; así como la creación de un fondo para garantizar recursos cuando se presentan eventos catastróficos en salud. Mediante el uso del marco conceptual de los sistemas de salud de la OMS, se han examinado diversos conjuntos de datos para evaluar el impacto de esta reforma en distintas dimensiones del sistema de salud. Entre los principales hallazgos clave se encuentran que: la afiliación alcanza de manera preferente a las comunidades pobres y marginadas; el gasto federal no correspondiente a la seguridad social aumentó 38 por ciento de 2000 a 2005 en términos reales; ha mejorado la equidad del gasto público entre los estados; los afiliados al Seguro Popular presentan una mayor utilización de servicios, tanto a nivel ambulatorio como para pacientes externos y pacientes hospitalarios en comparación con los no asegurados; la cobertura efectiva de 11 intervenciones en salud ha mejorado entre 2000 y 2005; han disminuido las desigualdades en cobertura efectiva durante este periodo en todos los estados y deciles...

Since 2001, Mexico has been designing, legislating, and implementing a major health-system reform. A key component was the creation of Seguro Popular, which is intended to expand insurance coverage over seven years to uninsured people, nearly half the total population at the start of 2001. The reform included five actions: legislation of entitlement per family affiliated which, with full implementation, will increase public spending on health by 0.8-1.0 percent of gross domestic product; creation of explicit benefits packages; allocation of monies to decentralised state ministries of health in proportion to number of families affiliated; division of federal resources flowing to states into separate funds for personal and non-personal health services; and creation of a fund to protect families against catastrophic health expenditures. Using the WHO health-systems framework, a wide range of datasets to assess the effect of this reform on different dimensions of the health system was used. Key findings include: affiliation is preferentially reaching the poor and the marginalised communities; federal non-social security expenditure in real per-head terms increased by 38 percent from 2000 to 2005; equity of public-health expenditure across states improved; Seguro Popular affiliates used more inpatient and outpatient services than uninsured people; effective coverage of 11 interventions has improved between 2000 and 2005-06; inequalities in effective coverage across states and wealth deciles has decreased over this period; catastrophic expenditures for Seguro Popular affiliates are lower than for uninsured people even though use of services has increased. We present some lessons for Mexico based on this interim evaluation and explore implications for other countries considering health reforms.