Anterior talofibular ligament's superior fascicle as a cause of ankle microinstability can be routinely identified by ultrasound.

PURPOSE: Chronic pain can affect up to 40% of patients after ankle inversion sprains. The current hypothesis to explain this high percentage of chronic pain is a partial/total rupture of anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) superior fascicle, a structure that has recently been described as intra-articular and as having a different function than ATFL's inferior fascicle. This has created the need for diagnosing ATFL superior and inferior fascicles independently. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate if the ATFL's superior fascicle can be visualized on ultrasound, and to describe its ultrasonographic appearance. METHODS: Twenty fresh-frozen ankle specimens were used in this 4-phases study. First, the specimens were scanned on US to identify what was believed to be ATFL's superior fascicle. Second, ATFL's superior fascicle was sutured under direct arthroscopic vision. Next, the specimens were scanned on US to obtain an image of the sutured structure. Finally, the specimens were dissected to confirm that the suture was indeed placed on ATFL's superior fascicle. RESULTS: On the 20 specimens studied, full correlation was obtained between US, arthroscopic suture and specimen dissection. ATFL's superior fascicle US appearance is provided. CONCLUSION: ATFL's superior fascicle can be visualized on US, which will allow to undergo diagnosis of isolated injuries to that fascicle, a common finding in ankle microinstability. The results of this study will facilitate the diagnosis of partial or complete rupture of ATFL's superior fascicle, likely increasing the amount of ankle microinstability diagnosis, impacting clinical management of ankle sprain consequences.

Primary Periphyseal Stress Injuries of the Fingers in Adolescent Climbers: A Critical Review.

ABSTRACT: The worldwide rise in popularity of climbing and development of climbing as a competitive sport is reflected by its debut at the 2021 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. Digital primary periphyseal stress injuries in adolescent climbers may pose a significant risk to long-term skeletal health. The aim of this article is to critically review research on the diagnosis and management of primary periphyseal stress injuries of the fingers in adolescent climbers. We adopted a systematic approach to searching for relevant literature. Articles were identified after searches of the following electronic databases: Discover, Academic Search Complete, PubMed, Embase, SPORTDiscus, and ScienceDirect. Conclusive evidence suggests digital primary periphyseal stress injuries are a consequence of repetitive microtrauma. Pain reported by adolescent climbers on the dorsal aspect of the proximal interphalangeal joint should be investigated promptly to avoid serious negative consequences. Clinicians should be aware of the efficacy of imaging techniques to inform a clinical diagnosis. A conservative management approach is preferred but in rare cases surgical intervention may be necessary. A diagnostic and therapeutic algorithm for digital primary periphyseal stress injuries is presented.

Proximal adductor avulsions are rarely isolated but usually involve injury to the PLAC and pectineus: descriptive MRI findings in 145 athletes.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study is to review the MRI findings in a cohort of athletes who sustained acute traumatic avulsions of the adductor longus fibrocartilaginous entheses, and to investigate related injuries namely the pyramidalis-anterior pubic ligament-adductor longus complex (PLAC). Associated muscle and soft tissue injuries were also assessed. METHODS: The MRIs were reviewed for a partial or complete avulsion of the adductor longus fibrocartilage, as well as continuity or separation of the adductor longus from the pyramidalis. The presence of a concurrent partial pectineus tear was noted. Demographic data were analysed. Linear and logistic regression was used to examine associations between injuries. RESULTS: The mean age was 32.5 (SD 10.9). The pyramidalis was absent in 3 of 145 patients. 85 of 145 athletes were professional and 52 competed in the football Premier League. 132 had complete avulsions and 13 partial. The adductor longus was in continuity with pyramidalis in 55 athletes, partially separated in seven and completely in 81 athletes. 48 athletes with a PLAC injury had a partial pectineus avulsion. Six types of PLAC injuries patterns were identified. Associated rectus abdominis injuries were rare and only occurred in five patients (3.5%). CONCLUSION: The proximal adductor longus forms part of the PLAC and is rarely an isolated injury. The term PLAC injury is more appropriate term. MRI imaging should assess all the anatomical components of the PLAC post-injury, allowing recognition of the different patterns of injury. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III.

Why is it so difficult to recruit patients to research in emergency care? Lessons from the AHEAD study.

INTRODUCTION: In February 2014, all 23 National Institute for Health Research medical research specialities were failing to meet recruitment targets, with 'Injuries and Emergencies' research performing particularly poorly. In this paper, the multicentre AHEAD study was used to explore issues surrounding recruitment in UK emergency departments. METHOD: The AHEAD study investigated management and outcomes in over 3000 anticoagulated patients who suffered a head injury. Data from the study were used to compare patient recruitment at 33 Type-1 emergency departments. A questionnaire was sent to a research nurse at each of these sites and 30 replied (91% response rate). The survey investigated the difficulties encountered during patient recruitment and whether these were related to recruitment methods. More detailed interviews were conducted with three research nurses, to gain further insight into the barriers and facilitators involved. RESULTS: Overall recruitment varied widely between sites with an eightfold variation in recruitment rates. Population demographics and other uncontrollable factors will partly contribute to this variation. However, research nurses reported many problems, including site resources, lack of staff engagement and flaws in recruitment strategies, which could be improved. CONCLUSIONS: Many of the barriers to recruiting patients for research studies encountered by research nurses have previously been reported in the literature, but there remain consistent problems. Until solutions are found, researchers will continue to miss recruitment targets and this will have implications for the efficiency and quality of emergency medicine research in the UK.

Fatal superior sagittal sinus hemorrhage as a complication of aplasia cutis congenita: a case report and literature review.

Aplasia cutis congenita (ACC) is a rare condition that occurs in around 0.01% of births. Characterized by a localized absence of skin, it affects the midline of the scalp in over 80% of cases. We describe the case of an infant born via vaginal spontaneous delivery with ACC affecting the scalp. This extended to the subcutaneous tissue and bone leaving the dura mater exposed. The patient was managed conservatively. At 4 weeks of age, she had a fatal superior sagittal sinus hemorrhage. In a review of the literature, we found ten previous cases of hemorrhage of the superior sagittal sinus complicating an ACC. Including our case, ACC complicated by hemorrhage of the superior sagittal sinus shows a 36% mortality (4/11). An analysis of these cases suggests that this tends to occur between 1 and 3 months of age, though it may occur in younger neonates.

Radiographic/MR Imaging Correlation of the Elbow.

This article covers the use of radiographs and MR imaging for diagnosing elbow disorders. It concentrates on these techniques, but other imaging techniques including computed tomography, ultrasound, and nuclear medicine are discussed when clinically important. The article covers the use of imaging for specific symptoms including lateral, medial, anterior, posterior and generalized elbow pain, focal swelling, restriction of movement, locking, and neurologic symptoms. Radiographs have been the mainstay of initial imaging of the elbow, while ultrasound examination is often used for soft tissue disease. MR imaging has the advantage over radiographs and ultrasound in accurately examining bone and soft tissue together.

Evaluating the impact of cycle helmet use on severe traumatic brain injury and death in a national cohort of over 11000 pedal cyclists: a retrospective study from the NHS England Trauma Audit and Research Network dataset.

OBJECTIVES: In the last 10 years there has been a significant increase in cycle traffic in the UK, with an associated increase in the overall number of cycling injuries. Despite this, and the significant media, political and public health debate into this issue, there remains an absence of studies from the UK assessing the impact of helmet use on rates of serious injury presenting to the National Health Service (NHS) in cyclists. SETTING: The NHS England Trauma Audit and Research Network (TARN) Database was interrogated to identify all adult (≥16 years) patients presenting to hospital with cycling-related major injuries, during a period from 14 March 2012 to 30 September 2017 (the last date for which a validated dataset was available). PARTICIPANTS: 11 patients met inclusion criteria. Data on the use of cycling helmets were available in 6621 patients. OUTCOME MEASURES: TARN injury descriptors were used to compare patterns of injury, care and mortality in helmeted versus non-helmeted cohorts. RESULTS: Data on cycle helmet use were available for 6621 of the 11 192 cycle-related injuries entered onto the TARN Database in the 66 months of this study (93 excluded as not pedal cyclists). There was a significantly higher crude 30-day mortality in un-helmeted cyclists 5.6% (4.8%-6.6%) versus helmeted cyclists 1.8% (1.4%-2.2%) (p<0.001). Cycle helmet use was also associated with a reduction in severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) 19.1% (780, 18.0%-20.4%) versus 47.6% (1211, 45.6%-49.5%) (p<0.001), intensive care unit requirement 19.6% (797, 18.4%-20.8%) versus 27.1% (691, 25.4%-28.9%) (p<0.001) and neurosurgical intervention 2.5% (103, 2.1%-3.1%) versus 8.5% (217, 7.5%-9.7%) (p<0.001). There was a statistically significant increase in chest, spinal, upper and lower limb injury in the helmeted group in comparison to the un-helmeted group (all p<0.001), though in a subsequent analysis of these anatomical injury patterns, those cyclists wearing helmets were still found to have lower rates of TBI. In reviewing TARN injury codes for specific TBI and facial injuries, there was a highly significant decrease in rates of impact injury between cyclists wearing helmets and those not. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that there is a significant correlation between use of cycle helmets and reduction in adjusted mortality and morbidity associated with TBI and facial injury.