Evaluation of Crossover Sign in Pelvis Models Made with a Three-Dimensional Printer.

Introduction: Investigation of the crossover sign (COS) in different degrees of tilt in pelvises made by three-dimensional printing of CT scans among patients with normal hip versions was carried out. Methods: Radiology CT scans of 8 normal pelvises reconstructed in 3D and the effect of sequential tilting on the presence of the false-positive COS in 48 radiographs were investigated. Results: The COS was seen in 77% of the AP radiographs during tilt changes. The average distance between the tip of the coccyx and the symphysis pubis was 32.06 ± 10.99 mm. Also, COSs were present in all radiographs from 6 degrees tilt and above. Conclusion: Minor tilting of the pelvis can result in a false-positive crossover sign on AP plain radiographs.

Comparison of the Separate and Combined Effects of Physiotherapy Treatment and Corticosteroid Injection on the Range of Motion and Pain in Nontraumatic Rotator Cuff Tear: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Surgical treatment and conservative treatment is the options to improve pain, function, and range of motion following rotator cuff tear. In this study, we aimed to compare the effects of physiotherapy and corticosteroid injections on the function, pain, and range of motion in patients with full-thickness rotator cuff tearing separately and simultaneously. METHODS: A total of 96 patients were randomly assigned to the study and divided into 3 groups of 32 patients. DASH questionnaire and VAS criterion were completed by all three groups, and the range of motions of all groups was measured by a goniometer. Then, the first group underwent 12 sessions of physiotherapy twice a week for 6 weeks; the second group received 80 mg of methylprednisolone and 1 ml of lidocaine 2% in two stages, 21 days apart; and the third group received 80 mg of methylprednisolone and 1 ml of lidocaine 2%, and after 2 days, 6 sessions of physiotherapy twice a week for 3 weeks were prescribed. In the end, the questionnaire was filled out by the patient, and the range of emotions was assessed with a goniometer. RESULTS: More than 80% of patients in each group were female. There was no significant difference between the gender and age distribution of the groups. The mean age in physiotherapy, steroid, and physiotherapy + steroid groups was 51.78 ± 7.37, 52.37 ± 6.61, and 50.87 ± 5.65, respectively. The combination of physiotherapy + steroid intervention was more effective in reducing VAS and DASH scores than physiotherapy or steroid injection alone. Goniometric findings showed that treatments that included the steroid injection approach (steroid injection and steroid + physiotherapy) had a more dramatic effect on improving the patients' range of motion than physiotherapy alone. CONCLUSIONS: Among the conservative approaches of treating full-thickness rotator cuff tear, a combination of steroid injection and physiotherapy is more effective significantly in comparison with either treatment alone. This trial is registered with IRCT20200102045987N1.

A comparative mechanical study of two types of femur bone implant using the finite element method.

The femoral bone fracture is one of the most common fractures that orthopedic surgeons deal with. These fractures are associated with a significant percentage of death due to non-orthopedic complications. For this reason, it is necessary that the surgeon be well-aware of the condition of the patient and also of the biomechanical conditions of the bone and implant before surgery, in order to use the best surgical technique. Nowadays, the use of implants is a popular technique among the available methods for the treatment of femoral fractures. In the present study, two patients with different ages, three types of femoral bone fractures, that is, oblique, reverse oblique, and neck fracture, and two types of implants, namely, the dynamic hip screw (DHS) and the Gamma nail have been investigated. The behavior of the implants has been investigated at the two stages of treatment, that is, before and after bone union. The analysis of implants was based on the amount of stress and displacement induced in different parts of the bone and the implant. From the viewpoint of the stresses induced in the bone, all models are quite similar and in terms of the implant stresses, the Gamma nail is more reliable than the DHS. Additionally, the relative displacement of the fractured bone segments at the fracture planes was calculated. According to the obtained results, it can be concluded that the relative displacement of the fracture planes with the use of Gamma nail is somewhat less than the DHS, but this difference is not significant.

The Effect of Simultaneous Sand-Ice Bag Application on Hemorrhage and Hematoma after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Introduction: Angioplasty is widely used as a selective treatment for acute coronary syndromes. The complications of this procedure often lead to an increase in the length of the patients' stay and hospital costs. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effect of using sand and ice bags on hematoma and hemorrhage after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, study was completed with participation of 60 patients with femoral angioplasty candidate, referring to Imam Reza hospital in Mashhad, were randomly divided into control and intervention groups. In the control group, a sand bag was placed on the location for up to 4 hours. In the intervention group, the ice bag and the sand bag were used simultaneously for 15 minutes, and then for 45 minutes, with the pressure of the sand bag only. This cycle was repeated four times. Hemorrhage (volume and weight) and hematoma (area and lump) were checked four times. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 22. Results: The rate of hemorrhage after intervention was significantly reduced in the intervention group compared to the control group. Although the incidence of hematoma in the intervention group decreased from control to 20% to 6.7%, but the statistical test was not significant. Conclusion: According to the results of the present study, the simultaneous sand-ice bag application can reduce post-PCI' hemorrhage (and hematoma rate, though insignificantly) through compression and vasoconstriction.

Can the crossover sign be a reliable marker of global retroversion of the acetabulum?

OBJECTIVE: Diagnosis of acetabular retroversion based on crossover sign in the anteroposterior radiograph of the hip joint is well described. Accuracy of the crossover sign to identify global retroversion of the acetabulum in comparison to version of the acetabulum in reconstructed three-dimensional computed tomography (3D CT) scan of the hip was the aim of this study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: X-rays of 500 hips were assessed regarding presence of crossover sign and its location in the upper, middle, or lower third of the acetabulum. Mean of anteversion and true retroversion (defined as less than one standard deviation below the mean of acetabular anteversion) of the acetabulum using reconstructed 3D CT scan by mathematical software was determined among 500 hips. The positive and negative crossover signs were compared to the retroversion obtained by CT scan. RESULTS: The average of acetabular anteversion was 12.5 ± 4.2 degrees. True global retroversion in 3D CT scans was defined as a version below 8.3 degrees. Although positive crossover sign was seen in 193 out of 500 (38 %), only 69 out of 500 (13.8 %) of hips had version below 8.3 (true retroversion) and 124 subjects had an acetabular version above 8.3. The sensitivity and specificity of crossover signs were about 82 and 70 %, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The crossover sign could pick up hips with less than normal anteversion with acceptable sensitivity but it has no enough specificity for being used as the sole indication for treatment.

Evaluation of Thrombin Generation Assay in Patients With Hemophilia.

We evaluated the correlation between thrombin generation (TG) parameters with bleeding symptoms and disease severity in patients with hemophilia. In this cross-sectional study, 59 patients with hemophilia without inhibitors and regardless of their severity were randomly selected from southern Iran and TG assays were conducted. Bleeding score (BS) was calculated by performing a clinical evaluation using Tosetto questionnaire. Only lag time showed a statistically significant correlation with BS (rs = .316,P= .016). All TG parameters except peak showed association with disease severity (P< .05). Endogenous thrombin potential showed a significant correlation with factor activity level (rs = .459,P< .001). Both lag time and start tail showed significant negative correlations with factor activity level (rs = -0.488,P< .001 andrs = - .289,P< .026, respectively). Although most of the TG parameters evaluated were not significantly correlated with the BS of patients with hemophilia, the majority of TG parameters were significantly associated with factor activity level and disease severity.

Comparison of thrombin generation assay with conventional coagulation tests in evaluation of bleeding risk in patients with rare bleeding disorders.

Based on the premise that the capacity of plasma to generate thrombin in vitro is a comprehensive and precise functional test of the clotting system, we designed a cross-sectional, single-center study involving 83 patients with rare bleeding disorders (RBDs) to compare the usefulness of the thrombin generation (TG) assay versus conventional tests including prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) in predicting bleeding risk in patients with RBD in southern Iran. The TG parameters consisted of endogenous thrombin potential, lag time, peak, time to peak (ttPeak), and start tail. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve showed statistically significant associations between bleeding risk and lag time, ttPeak, and start tail. We determined cutoff values for these 3 TG parameters and obtained a negative predictive value of 86% to 90% in patients with RBD who had a bleeding score (BS) ≤13. The ROC curves for the association of PT and aPTT with BS did not indicate any significant association. Correlation analysis supported the results of ROC curve analysis, only lag time, ttPeak, and start tail showed significant positive correlations with BS (P < .05). Disease severity based on plasma factor activity was significantly associated with prolonged lag time and ttPeak and with prolonged PT (P <.05). We suggest that TG assay is a potentially more useful tool for predicting the bleeding risk in patients with RBD. However, the small sample size in different RBD subgroups precluded subgroup analysis. Prospective multicenter studies with larger numbers of patients are therefore advisable.

Serum cancer antigen 15.3 concentrations in patients with betathalassemia minor compared to those with cancer and healthy individuals.

BACKGROUND: High serum level of cancer antigen 15.3 (CA15.3) has been reported in some malignant and nonmalignant conditions including thalassemia major which could have been resulted from ineffective erythropoiesis. We aimed to evaluate the serum level of CA15.3 in carriers of beta-thalassemia by comparing them with cancer patients and healthy individuals. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was done from February to December 2011 in Southern Iran. Participants consisted of 32 subjects with beta-thalassemia minor, 49 with cancer and 25 healthy individuals. The serum levels of CA15.3 were measured and compared in different groups. RESULTS: The serum levels of CA 15.3 in all participants were in the normal range (<35 U/mL). Also it did not significantly differ among various groups of the participants (p=0.723). Age was not significantly correlated with the serum level of CA 15.3 (r= 0.039, p=0.702). The most frequent cancer in the group of patients with malignancies was hematologic malignancies (96%) with the highest frequency for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (37 patients). Frequency of thalassemia minor in patients with cancer was 11 (22.4%). CONCLUSION: No correlation was found between CA 15.3 serum level with beta-thalssemia minor or with childhood malignancies. Compared to general population, a high proportion of beta-thalssemia minor was observed in patients with cancer in our study. Future prospective studies are needed to evaluate the relationship between cancer and beta-thalassemia minor accurately.

Explosive attack: Lessons learned in Seyed Al Shohada mosque attack, April 2008, Shiraz, Iran.

INTRODUCTION: The threat of explosive attacks has become a worldwide problem. Bombing is the preferred method of attacks. These attacks result in specific physical and psychiatric trauma. In this paper, we present an epidemiologic description of the physical injuries of patients who survived the explosive attack in Seyed Al Shohada mosque April 2008 Shiraz, Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All medical records of the patients admitted at Shiraz Hospitals on April 2008 due to Seyed Al Shohada mosque bombing attacks, Shiraz, Iran, were reviewed. RESULTS: A total of 202 patients were referred to the hospitals over 24 h following the terrorist attack. One hundred sixty-four patients were admitted for short periods of observation (<24 h). Thirty-eight patients needed more than 1 day of hospitalization. The mean age of the patients was 26.2 (range 2 to 51) years. One hundred thirty-five (66.8%) patients were males. Twenty-six (12.8%) were children. Burn was the most prevalent cause of admission. Five (13.5%) patients needed chest tube insertion and eight (21%) needed skin grafts due to burn. Overall, 12 patients expired (5%). Three (25%) of them were children (2 and 6, and 11 years old). Mortality rate was significantly higher among the children than adults (P value <0.05). The most important cause of death was head trauma which was seen in five (41.6%) of the expired patients followed by burn (including air way burn) in four (33%), and internal bleeding in three (25%). Patients with head trauma had significantly a higher rate of mortality than other patients (P value <0.05). DISCUSSION: Following a bombing attack, numerous victims were brought to the emergency unit suffering from a combination of multi-organ injuries caused by the blast, penetrating injuries caused by shrapnel and other debris, and burns. It is important for a physician to be familiar with the clinical features and treatments of explosive attacks victims. Early management of patients at the scene and hospital may save their life.