Long-term Efficacy of Corticosteroid Injection for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Systematic Review.

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a debilitating condition that can cause significant morbidity. Corticosteroid injection (CI) is a popular treatment for CTS. Short-term benefits of CI for CTS have been reported, but there is little evidence on long-term outcomes. We performed a systematic review in the PubMed/MEDLINE and Cochrane Library databases to identify studies which reported outcomes of CI for CTS with at least 1-year follow-up. We identified 20 total studies and extracted data on outcomes such as number of patients needing eventual surgery or reinjection, complications, and functional scores. In included studies, 41.6% of patients underwent eventual carpal tunnel release surgery (CTRS), 29% underwent reinjection, there were no major and approximately 34/1133 (3.0%) minor complications, and median/mean time from CI to eventual CTRS ranged from 128 to 446 days. There was disparity on the long-term efficacy of CI for functional outcomes. The evidence indicates that CI is a very low risk procedure that has potential to improve symptoms enough to either prevent or, in most cases, delay the need for further reintervention. However, our conclusions are limited by the heterogeneity of available studies. There is a need for further, high-quality research on this topic.

Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Agonists: What the Orthopaedic Surgeon Needs to Know.

¼ Orthopaedic surgeons are increasingly likely to encounter patients with obesity and/or type 2 diabetes taking glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists for weight loss.¼ GLP-1 agonists are an effective treatment for weight loss with semaglutide and tirzepatide being the most effective agents. Randomized controlled trials using these agents have reported weight loss up to 21 kg (46 lb).¼ The use of GLP-1 agonists preoperatively can improve glycemic control, which can potentially reduce the risk of postoperative complications. However, multiple cases of intraoperative aspiration/regurgitation have been reported, potentially related to the effect of GLP-1 agonists on gastric emptying.¼ While efficacious, GLP-1 agonists may not produce sufficient weight loss to achieve body mass index cutoffs for total joint arthroplasty depending on individual patient factors, including starting bodyweight. Multifactorial approaches to weight loss with focus on lifestyle modification in addition to GLP-1 agonists should be considered in such patients.¼ Although GLP-1 agonists are efficacious agents for weight loss, they may not be accessible or affordable for all patients. Each patient's unique circumstances should be considered when creating an ideal weight loss plan during optimization efforts.

The Combination of Fractional Tendon Lengthening and the Wide Awake, Local Anesthesia, No Tourniquet Technique for Secondary Tendon Reconstruction.

Rupture is a major concern after primary flexor tendon repair. The predominant treatment for rupture of the primary repair is immediate surgical exploration and repeat repair. However, repeat repair is challenging, including achieving ideal tension in the flexor mechanism. Further, immediate repeat repair is associated with poor outcomes, particularly in the small finger. As such, there is a need to improve both the technique and outcomes of repeat repair of primary flexor tendon rupture. We present a case of primary flexor tendon repair rupture treated with a novel combination of fractional tendon lengthening and the wide awake, local anesthesia, no tourniquet technique. A combination of these techniques has multiple benefits. An intraoperative, dynamic assessment of the digits enables immediate optimization of the repair. Further, these techniques allow for better intraoperative patient education and communication, increasing the likelihood of adherence to postoperative therapy and better overall outcomes.

The Treatment of Complex Extremity Wounds Using External Tissue Expansion: A Case Series.

SUMMARY: The goal of wound reconstruction is the approximation of soft tissue and re-establishment of an acceptable appearance with minimal risk of complications. For large wound closure in the extremities, skin graft and flap reconstruction are common treatments but are associated with a variety of complications. Comparatively, tissue expansion can provide the opportunity to reconstruct large wounds with native, durable, and sensate tissue without significant donor site morbidity. External tissue expansion is less invasive and avoids complications associated with internal expansion. The authors treated 11 patients with varying extremity wound types and sizes with an external tissue expansion device. Patient age ranged from 18 to 68 years with an average age of 43.7 years (SD, ± 13.1 years). Average wound surface area was approximately 235 cm 2 (SD, ± 135.3 cm 2 ). Devices were affixed and left for 7 to 11 days before closure of the wounds. Outcomes were assessed at 2 to 36 weeks postoperative follow-up. All wounds were fully closed after treatment without need for secondary reconstructive procedures. No patient experienced major complications. All patients demonstrated intact sensation within the area of reconstruction equivalent to surrounding tissues. External tissue expansion, an excellent treatment option in extremity reconstruction, is efficacious and associated with lower complication rates compared with internal tissue expansion, skin grafts, and flap reconstruction. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, IV.

How Are Radial Height and Radial Shortening Defined in the Treatment of Distal Radius Fractures? A Critical Review.

BACKGROUND: Radial height is a radiographic parameter used to guide the treatment of distal radius fractures. However, it is often used synonymously with other terms, and there are substantial discrepancies in its measurement/definition. These discrepancies can alter the measurement of radial height and affect treatment decisions. The purpose of this review is to identify the different definitions of radial height in the literature relevant to distal radius fractures. METHODS: A literature review was conducted in the PubMed/MEDLINE database from inception to 2022. Full-length, English-language studies that pertained to distal radius fractures and reported radial height as a recorded measurement were included. The method of radial height measurement (definition) was extracted from included studies. Level of evidence was determined by the Oxford Centre for Evidence-based Medicine Levels of Evidence tool. RESULTS: A total of 385 studies were identified. Of these, 183 (47.5%) did not provide a definition for radial height. Of the studies that defined radial height, 50.9% (103/202) measured radial height from the radial styloid to the distal ulna, 10.9% (22/202) measured from the radial styloid to the distal radius, and 29.2% (59/202) were "other" definitions. CONCLUSIONS: There is substantial discrepancy in the way that radial height is measured and reported. We advocate for a standardized measurement of radial height (synonymous with radial length) from the radial styloid to the distal ulnar articular surface. Radial shortening is a different measurement and requires comparison with a reference value.

Longitudinal Tear of the Central Slip Causing Painful and Unusual Snapping of the Finger: A Case Report.

The most common cause for catching or snapping in the finger is stenosing tenosynovitis, that is, trigger finger. Although less common, snapping can also occur as a result of extensor mechanism injury. Among these injuries, sagittal band rupture is most common and leads to snapping at the metacarpophalangeal joint. Snapping at the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint is rare with only 4 reported cases; reported mechanisms of PIP joint snapping include retinacular ligament injury or tendon impingement. We present a unique case of painful finger snapping at the PIP joint as a result of longitudinal tear of the central slip, leading to sudden subluxation of one-half of the central slip and conjoint lateral band with flexion of the PIP joint.

Ambient intelligence-based monitoring of staff and patient activity in the intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND: Caregiver workload in the ICU setting is difficult to numerically quantify. Ambient Intelligence utilises computer vision-guided neural networks to continuously monitor multiple datapoints in video feeds, has become increasingly efficient at automatically tracking various aspects of human movement. OBJECTIVES: To assess the feasibility of using Ambient Intelligence to track and quantify allpatient and caregiver activity within a bedspace over the course of an ICU admission and also to establish patient specific factors, and environmental factors such as time ofday, that might contribute to an increased workload in ICU workers. METHODS: 5000 images were manually annotated and then used to train You Only LookOnce (YOLOv4), an open-source computer vision algorithm. Comparison of patientmotion and caregiver activity was then performed between these patients. RESULTS: The algorithm was deployed on 14 patients comprising 1762800 framesof new, untrained data. There was a strong correlation between the number ofcaregivers in the room and the standardized movement of the patient (p < 0.0001) withmore caregivers associated with more movement. There was a significant difference incaregiver activity throughout the day (p < 0.05), HDU vs. ICU status (p < 0.05), delirious vs. non delirious patients (p < 0.05), and intubated vs. not intubated patients(p < 0.05). Caregiver activity was lowest between 0400 and 0800 (average .71 ± .026caregivers per hour) with statistically significant differences in activity compared to 0800-2400 (p < 0.05). Caregiver activity was highest between 1200 and 1600 (1.02 ± .031 caregivers per hour) with a statistically significant difference in activity comparedto activity from 1600 to 0800 (p < 0.05). The three most dominant predictors of workeractivity were patient motion (Standardized Dominance 78.6%), Mechanical Ventilation(Standardized Dominance 7.9%) and Delirium (Standardized Dominance 6.2%). CONCLUSION: Ambient Intelligence could potentially be used to derive a single standardized metricthat could be applied to patients to illustrate their overall workload. This could be usedto predict workflow demands for better staff deployment, monitoring of caregiver workload, and potentially as a tool to predict burnout.

The Microtubule Destabilizer Eribulin Synergizes with STING Agonists to Promote Antitumor Efficacy in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Models.

Eribulin is a microtubule destabilizer used in the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Eribulin and other microtubule targeted drugs, such as the taxanes, have shared antimitotic effects, but differ in their mechanism of microtubule disruption, leading to diverse effects on cellular signaling and trafficking. Herein, we demonstrate that eribulin is unique from paclitaxel in its ability to enhance expression of the immunogenic cytokine interferon beta (IFNß) in combination with STING agonists in both immune cells and TNBC models, including profound synergism with ADU-S100 and E7766, which are currently undergoing clinical trials. The mechanism by which eribulin enhances STING signaling is downstream of microtubule disruption and independent of the eribulin-dependent release of mitochondrial DNA. Eribulin did not override the requirement of ER exit for STING activation and did not inhibit subsequent STING degradation; however, eribulin significantly enhanced IRF3 phosphorylation and IFNß production downstream of the RNA sensing pathway that converges on this transcription factor. Additionally, we found that eribulin enhanced the population of activated CD4+ T-cells in vivo when combined with either a STING agonist or tumor, demonstrating the ability to function as an immune adjuvant. We further interrogated the combination of eribulin with ADU-S100 in the MMTV-PyVT spontaneous murine mammary tumor model where we observed significant antitumor efficacy with combination treatment. Together, our findings demonstrate that microtubule targeted chemotherapeutics have distinct immunological effects and that eribulin's ability to enhance innate immune sensing pathways supports its use in combination with immunotherapies, such as STING agonists, for the more effective treatment of TNBC and other malignancies.

Unusual Anatomic Location of the Median Nerve Within the Pronator Teres Muscle: A Case Report.

CASE: A 57-year-old man presented with pain and paresthesia in both hands and was diagnosed with pronator teres syndrome. Surgical decompression of the left elbow and forearm revealed the median nerve in an unusual anatomic location, specifically running within the pronator teres muscle. CONCLUSION: Anatomic anomalies of the pronator teres muscle and the path of the median nerve have been described. However, there are no reports of the median nerve entering and traveling within the pronator teres. Surgeons should be aware of this anomaly to avoid potential iatrogenic injury when performing an anterior surgical approach to the elbow and proximal forearm.

External tissue expansion to salvage failed scalp and forehead reconstruction: a case report.

The reconstruction of forehead and scalp defects is a difficult task. Common reconstructive methods are associated with multiple complications and may fail, requiring a difficult second surgery. We present the use of external tissue expansion as a method to achieve effective closure of a failed scalp and forehead reconstruction.

Re-evaluation of the Fijianolide/Laulimalide Chemotype Suggests an Alternate Mechanism of Action for C-15/C-20 Analogs.

Herein, we report on naturally derived microtubule stabilizers with activity against triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines, including paclitaxel, fijianolide B/laulimalide (3), fijianolide B di-acetate (4), and two new semisynthetic analogs of 3, which include fijianolide J (5) and fijianolide L (6). Similar to paclitaxel, compound 3 demonstrated classic microtubule stabilizing activity with potent (GI50 = 0.7-17 nM) antiproliferative efficacy among the five molecularly distinct TNBC cell lines. Alternatively, compounds 5 or 6, generated from oxidation of C-20 or C-15 and C-20 respectively, resulted in a unique profile with reduced potency (GI50 = 4-9 µM), but improved efficacy in some lines, suggesting a distinct mechanism of action. The C-15, C-20 di-acetate, and dioxo modifications on 4 and 6 resulted in compounds devoid of classic microtubule stabilizing activity in biochemical assays. While 4 also had no detectable effect on cellular microtubules, 6 promoted a reorganization of the cytoskeleton resulting in an accumulation of microtubules at the cell periphery. Compound 5, with a single C-20 oxo substitution, displayed a mixed phenotype, sharing properties of 3 and 6. These results demonstrate the importance of the C-15/C-20 chiral centers, which appear to be required for the potent microtubule stabilizing activity of this chemotype and that oxidation of these sites promotes unanticipated cytoskeletal alterations that are distinct from classic microtubule stabilization, likely through a distinct mechanism of action.

Comparison of cutaneous facial temperature using infrared thermography to standard temperature measurement in the critical care setting.

To assess the accuracy and precision of infrared cameras compared to traditional measures of temperature measurement in a temperature, humidity, and distance controlled intensive care unit (ICU) population. This was a prospective, observational methods comparison study in a single centre ICU in Metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. A convenience sample of 39 patients admitted to a single room equipped with two ceiling mounted thermal imaging cameras was assessed, comparing measured cutaneous facial temperature via thermal camera to clinical temperature standards. Uncorrected correlation of camera measurement to clinical standard in all cases was poor, with the maximum reported correlation 0.24 (Wide-angle Lens to Bladder temperature). Using the wide-angle lens, mean differences were - 11.1 °C (LoA - 14.68 to - 7.51), - 11.1 °C ( - 14.3 to - 7.9), and - 11.2 °C ( - 15.23 to - 7.19) for axillary, bladder, and oral comparisons respectively (Fig. 1a). With respect to the narrow-angle lens compared to the axillary, bladder and oral temperatures, mean differences were - 7.6 °C ( - 11.2 to - 4.0), - 7.5 °C ( - 12.1 to - 2.9), and - 7.9 °C ( - 11.6 to - 4.2) respectively. AUCs for the wide-angle lens and narrow-angle lens ranged from 0.53 to 0.70 and 0.59 to 0.79 respectively, with axillary temperature demonstrating the greatest values. Infrared thermography is a poor predictor of patient temperature as measured by existing clinical standards. It has a moderate ability to discriminate fever. It is unclear if this would be sensitive enough for infection screening purposes. Fig. 1 Bland-Altman plots for temperatures measured using clinical standards to infrared camera. a Wide-angle camera versus bladder temperature. b Narrow-angle camera versus bladder temperature.

Pulsed electromagnetic field therapy alters early healing in a rat model of rotator cuff injury and repair: Potential mechanisms.

Rotator cuff repair failure remains common due to poor tendon healing, particularly at the enthesis. We previously showed that pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy improved the mechanical properties of the rat supraspinatus tendon postoperatively. However, little is known about the mechanisms behind PEMF-dependent contributions to improved healing in this injury model. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of PEMF treatment on tendon gene expression and cell composition, as well as bone microarchitecture and dynamic bone metabolism during early stages of healing. We hypothesized that PEMF treatment would amplify tendon-healing related signaling pathways while mitigating inflammation and improve bone metabolism at the repair site. Rats underwent rotator cuff injury and repair followed by assignment to either control (non-PEMF) or PEMF treatment groups. Gene and protein expression as well as tendon and bone histological assessments were performed 3, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after injury. Gene expression data demonstrated an upregulation in the bone morphogenetic protein 2 signaling pathway and increases in pro-osteogenic genes at the insertion, supporting important processes to re-establish the tendon-bone interface. PEMF also downregulated genes related to a fibrotic healing response. Anti-inflammatory effects were demonstrated by both gene expression and macrophage phenotype. PEMF significantly increased the rate of kinetic bone formation directly adjacent to the tendon enthesis as well as the number of cuboidal surface osteoblasts (active osteoblasts) in the humeral head. This study has provided insight into how PEMF affects cellular and molecular processes in the supraspinatus tendon and adjacent bone after injury and repair.

External Tissue Expansion in Complex Extremity Reconstruction.

Skin grafting and flap-based reconstruction have been the conventional treatments for complex extremity wounds. However, these methods can be associated with relatively high complication rates and involve increasing levels of complexity. External tissue expansion has recently emerged as an attractive alternative to its conventional counterparts. It is a technically simple and low-morbidity technique for complex wound reconstruction. This article provides a review of internal and external tissue expansion with a focus on the evolution, indications, and recent successes of external expansion for soft tissue coverage.

Infrared thermography as a modality for tracking cutaneous temperature change and post-mortem interval in the critical care setting.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the potential use of cutaneous facial temperature change as measured by an infrared camera as a marker of postmortem interval (PMI) in the minutes immediately following death. METHODS: This was a prospective, observational pilot study using a convenience sample of all deaths which occurred in a room in an Intensive Care Unit equipped with a ceiling mounted thermal camera. Cutaneous temperature measurements were taken from 60 min antemortem to as long as possible postmortem. RESULTS: A total of 134 separate measurements was taken from 5 patients, with 65 occurring antemortem, and 69 occurring post-mortem. The longest recorded post-mortem time was 130 min. A Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA testing the hypothesis that there was a difference in facial temperature at each of the different timepoints showed significance (p = 0.029). Post-Hoc comparisons were then performed to compare median temperature values at each timeframe to the baseline value. Compared to baseline, there was a significant difference in facial temperature at 30, 60, and 90 min (p = 0.007, p = 0.01, p = 0.016) (Table 2). CONCLUSION: There is a statistically significant cutaneous facial temperature change in patients immediately following death as measured by a thermal camera. There is potential for infrared thermography to identify changes immediately before and after death in environments where traditional temperature measurement cannot be accomplished. More work needs to be done to confirm whether a precise postmortem interval (PMI) could be derived from these values.

Synostosis of the interphalangeal joint: an uncommon cause of post-fracture digital stiffness.

Loss of motion and stiffness after fracture of the digits are most commonly a result of soft tissue contracture and adhesions. However, stiffness can also have a bony etiology. We present a case of synostosis of the thumb interphalangeal joint after non-operative treatment of a closed fracture.

A Deep Learning-Based Camera Approach for Vital Sign Monitoring Using Thermography Images for ICU Patients.

Infrared thermography for camera-based skin temperature measurement is increasingly used in medical practice, e.g., to detect fevers and infections, such as recently in the COVID-19 pandemic. This contactless method is a promising technology to continuously monitor the vital signs of patients in clinical environments. In this study, we investigated both skin temperature trend measurement and the extraction of respiration-related chest movements to determine the respiratory rate using low-cost hardware in combination with advanced algorithms. In addition, the frequency of medical examinations or visits to the patients was extracted. We implemented a deep learning-based algorithm for real-time vital sign extraction from thermography images. A clinical trial was conducted to record data from patients on an intensive care unit. The YOLOv4-Tiny object detector was applied to extract image regions containing vital signs (head and chest). The infrared frames were manually labeled for evaluation. Validation was performed on a hold-out test dataset of 6 patients and revealed good detector performance (0.75 intersection over union, 0.94 mean average precision). An optical flow algorithm was used to extract the respiratory rate from the chest region. The results show a mean absolute error of 2.69 bpm. We observed a computational performance of 47 fps on an NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX module for YOLOv4-Tiny, which proves real-time capability on an embedded GPU system. In conclusion, the proposed method can perform real-time vital sign extraction on a low-cost system-on-module and may thus be a useful method for future contactless vital sign measurements.

Chronic Nicotine Exposure Minimally Affects Rat Supraspinatus Tendon Properties and Bone Microstructure.

Cigarette smoking is the largest cause of preventable deaths, and a known risk factor for musculoskeletal issues including rotator cuff tendon tears. Tendon degeneration is believed to be due in part to changes in tendon cell health and collagen structure. Several studies have demonstrated that exposure to nicotine negatively impacts tendon healing, but surprisingly, nicotine exposure was shown to increase rat supraspinatus tendon stiffness. In order to address this seeming contradiction, the objective of this study was to comprehensively investigate the effects of long-term (18 weeks) exposure of nicotine on tendon-to-bone microstructural properties in a rat model. We hypothesized that long term subcutaneous nicotine delivery would lead to diminished tendon mechanical properties, decreased bone microstructure in the humeral head, and altered tendon cell morphology compared to age-matched control rats receiving saline. Results demonstrated a small decrease in tendon size and stiffness, with decreased cell density in the tendon midsubstance. However, no differences were found in the enthesis fibrocartilage or in the underlying subchondral or trabecular bone. In conclusion, our study revealed limited effects of nicotine on the homeostatic condition of the supraspinatus tendon, enthesis, and underlying bone. Future studies are needed to ascertain effects of other components of tobacco products.

Novel wearable and contactless monitoring devices to identify deteriorating patients in the clinical setting: a systematic review protocol.

BACKGROUND: With technological advances, there has been increasing interest in developing contactless and/or non-invasive wearable technologies that continuously monitor vital signs in the clinical setting, and in particular in the deteriorating patient. These devices as of yet have not been well validated in the clinical setting in the clinical ranges observed in a critically unwell patient. We will perform a systematic review of all novel wearable and contactless devices in the clinical setting with focus on degree of novelty and the range of vital signs captured. METHODS: Ovid MEDLINE including Epub Ahead of Print and In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, Ovid Embase, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) Health Technology Assessment (HTA) database (Ovid), CINAHL with Full Text, searches of the grey literature, cited references of eligible studies through Web of Science, and reference lists of eligible studies will be searched. Outcomes of interest will include the quality of studies in relation to reporting guidelines, limitations of non-invasive technology, and application in different clinical populations. We will perform a qualitative assessment of the novelty of the device and discuss its validation in deteriorating patients. DISCUSSION: While novel monitoring devices are often proposed as a solution to problems with infection, discomfort, and frequency of monitoring in the clinical setting it has not yet been established which devices have been validated in clinical settings in the pathological ranges of vital signs that reflect patient deterioration. It is equally unclear what additional value these devices might provide. This systematic review will synthesize published data regarding devices that have been tested and validated in patients AND in a clinical setting AND in reference ranges that reflect severe illness. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42019130091.

Effects of immersive virtual reality therapy on intravenous patient-controlled sedation during orthopaedic surgery under regional anesthesia: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Immersive virtual reality (IVR) is a form of distraction therapy that has shown potential as an analgesia and sedation sparing agent. This study assessed the effect of IVR on the self-administered sedation requirements of patients undergoing joint replacement surgery under regional anesthesia in a single center. METHODS AND FINDINGS: This study was a single-center, randomized control trial at St Vincent's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Fifty patients undergoing elective total knee and total hip arthroplasty were randomized to IVR and Propofol patient-controlled sedation (PCS) or propofol PCS alone. The primary outcome measure was intra-operative propofol use. Secondary outcomes included pattern of propofol use over time, use of adjunct analgesia, unmet propofol demand, and patient satisfaction survey scores. Of 50 total patients, 25 received IVR in conjunction with PCS, and 25 received PCS alone. All patients received adjunct analgesia from the treating Anesthesiologist. Median propofol use/hour over the entire procedure in the control group was 40 (11.1, 93.9) mg/hour compared with 45 (0, 94.7) mg/hour in the IVR group (p = 0.90). There were no differences in patterns of propofol use over the course of each procedure. Adjusting for various baseline characteristics did not change the results. Postoperative satisfaction scores were equivalent in both groups. The VR intervention was well tolerated by all patients, with no report of major side effects. Key limitations were relatively small sample size, the non-blinded nature of the study, and use of adjunct analgesia. CONCLUSIONS: In patients receiving joint replacement surgery under regional anesthesia with PCS, IVR was well tolerated but did not decrease the overall sedation requirement.