Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Orthopedic and Trauma Departments in Tunisia.

OBJECTIVE: Measure the effect of the strategy to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, based on containment, on the practice of orthopedic and trauma surgery in Tunisia. METHODS: This is a comparative study, concerning the impact of Covid-19 on the flow of patients, operated in orthopedic surgery and trauma departments, during the containment period from March 12, 2020 to April 30, 2020, comparing it to the same period of the year 2019, in the Central-East region of Tunisia (Kairouan, Sousse, Mahdia, Monastir). RESULTS: A significant decrease of 27% in the flow of patients admitted to orthopedic surgery departments in central-eastern Tunisia, during the 2020 containment period, compared to the same period of the previous year was documented. This decrease was generally widespread, notified in three orthopedic departments: Sousse (39%; p<10-3), Monastir (29%; p<10-3) and Mahdia (27%; p<10-3). It focused on the following three groups: infections (45%; p<10-3), wounds (30%; p<10-2), and fractures (20%; p<10-3). CONCLUSION: The collateral effects of the strategy to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, are "obvious" in orthopedic surgical practice. A health crisis management plan (including disasters and pandemics) should be better prepared in orthopedic surgery departments.

COVID-19 and Management of Orthopedic Emergencies. Producing a Consensus of Experts.

OBJECTIVE: Report the results of a participatory approach in Tunisian orthopedic surgery, for the development of a consensus of experts, on the identification of the list of pathologies to always be considered as non-postponable emergencies, during the COVID-19 pandemic. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This descriptive study of the opinions of Tunisian experts covered all orthopedic morbidities classified into three homogeneous groups: trauma, infections and tumors of the musculoskeletal system. The attitudes of the interviewees were collected using the "Delphi" method, using a "Google-Form" questionnaire, sent by email to all of the Tunisian university orthopedic surgeons in practice, and registered at the SOTCOT. Consensus has been established for an item, if validated by at least 80% of the experts. The analysis of the results focused on the first 30 responses to this "online" form. RESULTS: Tunisian experts agreed on the continuity of the urgency of taking in charge all the items of orthopedic morbidity during the COVID-19 pandemic, apart from the following affections: aseptic nonunions in the upper and lower limbs, aggressive giant cell tumors, and hyperalgesic disc herniations, where agreement rates were only at 8%, 12%, 58% and 77%. CONCLUSION: Relative to its disciplinary and professional specificities, the majority the of orthopedic conditions were still considered as emergencies, during the COVID-19 pandemic, which did not lend to postponement of the surgery. However, their management should obey to the recommendations of "Sorting" and the " COVID-19 Patient Pathway ", established by national authorities.

Attitudes of health professionals towards the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Maghreb.

OBJECTIVE: Measuring the attitudes of health professionals in two Maghreb countries (Tunisia and Algeria) with regard to the response to COVID-19 during the first quarter of 2020. METHODS: This scoping study was based on a "Google Form" covering three constituents of the response plan against COVID-19: responders, activities and crisis communication. The attitudes of health professionals who are working in Tunisia and Algeria were measured through the Likert scale with four propositions, grouped in pairs, during the analysis. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 280 health professionals, 170 of whom are Tunisians along with 110 Algerians. The medians of age and that of professional seniority are, respectively, 37 and 10 years. The role of "health workers", "Mass Media" and "civil society associations" was found to be satisfactory according, respectively, to 92%, 71%, and 55% of the respondents. As far as 72% of health professionals are concerned, the "barrier measures" were respected by the population. Approximately, seven in ten respondents were satisfied with the quality of communication occuring between the Ministries of Health and its epidemiological structures. CONCLUSION: Health professionals of the Maghreb working in Tunisia and Algeria had a generally positive perception of the role of population responders, community engagement, and the quality of official communication in regards to the response plan against COVID- 19. This perception would be a prerequisite for the success of community participation and multisectoral action as well as essential in the strategy of prevention and control of this pandemic and of possible other health emergencies.

Counter-COVID- 19 pandemic strategy in the Maghreb Central. Qualitative study of the perceptions of health professionals.

CONTEXT: The Maghreb Central, like all the countries of the world, was strongly mobilized (governments, ministries of health, population, civil society) in the response against COVID-19, immediately after the registration of the first cases on its territory (end of February, beginning of March) and according to pre-established control strategies. OBJECTIVES: Describe the perceptions of health professionals in the Central Maghreb (Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco) as to the Strengths/Opportunities and Weaknesses/Threats of the national response plans against COVID-19, during the first weeks of their execution, and report their proposals for optimizing the performance of control strategies. METHODS: This is a qualitative study of the perceptions of health professionals in the Maghreb Central regarding their experience of the first six weeks of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The data was collected using the "Delphi" technique in one turn, based on an electronic form such as "Google Form", developed according to SWOT analysis. The respondents' verbatim was grouped into homogeneous groups of items, the occurrence of which was subsequently measured. RESULTS: A total of 382 health professionals from the Maghreb Central participated in this study, with a median age of 37 years and a median professional tenure of 10 years. The major force of the Maghreb response strategies, the most shared by the respondents, was the performance of the human resources mobilized (doctors, biologists, nurses, etc.) who succeeded in quickly learning from the international epidemiological expertise accumulated in Asia and in Europe. The fight against COVID-19 in the Central Maghreb was confronted with the general and chronic fragility of the national health systems and the low support of the general population for the recommendations of the steering committees of response, threatening the capacity of the Maghreb to confront new epidemics. CONCLUSION: The success of the national response plans against COVID-19 and of possible epidemics or pandemics in the Central Maghreb, is strongly attributed to the commitment of health professionals and to community participation, necessitating the launch of assistant motivation programs. and development of health personnel and mobilization and loyalty of civil society.

Lessons learned from the fight against COVID-19 in the Great Maghreb.Five lessons for better resilience.

OBJECTIVE: To compile the lessons learned in the Greater Maghreb, during the first six months of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, in the field of "capacity building" of community resilience. METHODS: An expert consultation was conducted during the first week of May 2020, using the "Delphi" technique. An email was sent requesting the formulation of a lesson, in the form of a "Public Health" good practice recommendation. The final text of the lessons was finalized by the group coordinator and validated by the signatories of the manuscript. RESULTS: A list of five lessons of resilience has been deduced and approved : 1. Elaboration of "white plans" for epidemic management; 2. Training in epidemic management; 3. Uniqueness of the health system command; 4. Mobilization of retirees and volunteers; 5. Revision of the map sanitary. CONCLUSION: Based on the evaluation of the performance of the Maghreb fight against COVID-19, characterized by low resilience, this list of lessons could constitute a roadmap for the reform of Maghreb health systems, towards more performance to manage possible waves of COVID-19 or new emerging diseases with epidemic tendency.

Lessons learned from the fight against COVID-19 in the Great Maghreb. Five lessons for a better response.

OBJECTIVE: Identify the lessons learned in the Greater Maghreb, during the first semester of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, in the field of response. METHODS: During the first week of May 2020, a consultation of experts was conducted, using the "Delphi" technique, through an email asking each of them, the drafting of a good practice recommendation for "Public health". The Group coordinator finalized the text of the lessons, later validated by the signatories of the manuscript. RESULTS: Five lessons of good «response¼ against epidemics have been deduced and approved by Maghreb experts, linked to the following aspects: 1. Total reservation of hospital beds for patients; 2. Clinical management of the response; 3. Discreet conflict of interest; 4. Community participation in the response; 5. Contextualization of the global fight strategy. CONCLUSION: Based on the finding of low relevance of the Maghreb response against COVID-19, this list of lessons would help support the performance of Maghreb health systems in the management of epidemics.

Lessons learned from the fight against COVID-19 in the Greater Maghreb. Five lessons for better preparation.

OBJECTIVE: To compile the lessons learned in the Greater Maghreb, during the first six months of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, in the field of preparation of health systems. METHODS: An expert consultation was conducted during the first week of May 2020, using the "Delphi" technique. An email was sent to them requesting the formulation of a lesson, in the form of a "Public Health" good practice recommendation. The final text of the lessons was finalized by the group coordinator and validated by the signatories of the manuscript. RESULTS: A list of five lessons for the preparation of the national health systems of the Greater Maghreb for the fight against epidemics, was deduced and approved: 1. Liberal health systems are incapable of managing epidemics; 2. The specialties of "Public Health" are often marginalized; 3. Health personnel in the Maghreb are doubly devalued; 4. Flagrant regional disparities in the field of health care are still observed; 5. A general shortage of preventive equipment and medical devices has been noted. CONCLUSION: Based on the evaluation of the performance of the Maghreb fight against COVID-19, characterized by the vulnerability of the preparation of health systems, this list of lessons could constitute a roadmap for the reform of health systems. Maghrebian health, towards more performance in managing possible waves of COVID-19 or new emerging diseases with epidemic tendency.

Septic arthritis of the wrist: about six cases.

The wrist is a rare location of septic arthritis. It often involves patients with preexisting joint disease which symptoms could be confused with infection making the diagnosis more difficult and usually delayed. It is often responsible for residual functional impairment and for a high mortality rate among vulnerable patients. We report 6 cases of septic arthritis of the wrist in 3 males and 3 females. The mean age was 32 years in the male patients and 66 in the female patients. All the women were followed for rheumatoid arthritis. Biological results showed elevated rates of white blood cells and c-reactive protein in all the patients. Joint fluid analyses showed elevated white blood cell count. The treatment was medico-surgical consisting in synovectomy, joint debridement and immobilization of the wrist. At the average follow-up of 1 year and 4 months, 3 patients recovered a perfect mobility of the wrist without any limitation of the range of motion nor the strength. Three patients developed stiffness of the wrist.

Outcome of intramedullary pinning of isolated radial neck fractures in adulthood.

BACKGROUND: The treatment of radial neck fractures is controversial and typically depends on displacement. Surgical procedures based on open reduction-internal fixation (ORIF) may lead to several complications, such as avascular necrosis of the radial head, nonunion, malunion, and elbow stiffness. Closed reduction with intramedullary pinning of radial neck fractures, which is commonly used in children, is a viable option for these fractures in adults and may allow for a lower complication rate compared with ORIF. The aim of this study was to report the functional outcome of closed reduction and intramedullary stabilization in isolated radial neck fractures. METHODS: Fourteen cases were retrospectively reviewed between January 2007 and December 2016. The inclusion criteria were isolated radial neck fractures of type I to III according to the Mason classification, absence of previous injuries of the elbow, and a minimum of 1 year of follow-up. The Mason classification was used to classify these injuries. At final follow-up, functional assessment was established based on functional scores: Morrey Elbow Score, Elbow Self-Assessment Score, and QuickDASH (short version of Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand questionnaire) score. Range of motion was evaluated similarly. RESULTS: The mean follow-up period was 86 months. The mean age was 44.2 years. Regarding the functional outcome, 78% of patients claimed satisfaction. Concerning the functional scoring, the mean visual analog scale score was 0.2 (range, 0-4) and the mean Morrey Elbow Score was 95.7 (range, 85-100). The mean QuickDASH score was 6.4 (range, 7-22). The complication rate was 35%. Malunion was observed in 7% of patients. CONCLUSION: Intramedullary pinning of radial neck fractures represents a viable technique in adults because of its safety and simplicity. The complication rates are lower than those in other reports of ORIF.

Glomus tumor of the leg: a case report.

Glomus tumors are uncommon benign tumors developing from the neuro-myo-arterial glomus body. They are typically located in the fingers. The extra-digital involvement is unusual and makes diagnosis difficult. Only few cases have been reported in literature. We report an exceptional case of a glomus tumor of the lower leg in a 65-year-old male. The diagnosis was clinically suspected and confirmed by a biopsy. Surgical excision gave immediate pain relief. The aim of this report is to make the surgical community more aware of this entity based on the analysis of our own experience and a review of the literature.

A Rare Case of Glomus Tumor of the Thigh with Literature Review.

INTRODUCTION: GTs are rare, benign tumors, developing from a neuro-myo-arterial structure. Their typical location is in the hand, but they may develop anywhere else. Extra-digital glumus tumors GTs, like the location in the thigh, are rare and much more difficult to diagnose. They are usually misdiagnosed and unproperly treated, due to the absence of the typical symptoms. CASE REPORT: We report a case of a GT of the thigh in a 25-year-old female, presenting with a painful mass on the posterior side of her left thigh, evolving for 15 months. She was suffering from pain and hyperesthesia of the underlying skin exacerbated by movements. The patient was successfully treated by excisional biopsy. CONCLUSION: Gts of the thigh represent an exceptional location of extra-digital Gts, very rare themselves. Pain, hypersensitivity to cold, and severe amyotrophy should raise suspicion for Gts. Through this case we discuss the diagnostic difficulties and the treatment of extra-digital Gts.

An exceptional location of tuberculous arthritis: The metatarsal phalangeal joint.

Osteoarticular tuberculosis is a rare type of tuberculosis. The spine is the most frequent location, while peripheral locations in the limbs are rare. We report a case of tuberculous osteoarthritis of the metatarsophalangeal joint of the first ray of the foot in a 48-year-old woman. The patient presented with painful swelling of the dorsum of the big toe, insidiously evolving for 6months. Diagnosis was obtained with histological study after surgical biopsy. Antitubercular chemotherapy for 12months promoted healing. Through this clinical case the authors describe the epidemiological, diagnostic features, and treatment of osteoarticular tuberculosis and discuss the causes of delayed diagnosis often encountered in these exceptional locations and differential diagnoses, gout in particular, for this particular case.

Open Periprosthetic Patellar Fracture after Total Knee Replacement.

INTRODUCTION: Periprosthetic patellar fracture after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a rare complication. Their management can be very challenging with unpredictable results. Literature analysis showed few articles about this complication, but no publication has described the management of open patella fracture around total knee arthroplasty. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a unique case of an open patellar fracture above a total knee arthroplasty, sustained by a 56-year-old female patient. CONCLUSION: Despite the poor outcome of operative management in patellar periprosthetic fracture, this approach should be considered for acute and post traumatic fractures in young patients with a good remaining bone stock.

Kuhlmann vascularized bone grafting for treatment of Kienböck's disease: a case report.

Treatment of Kienböck's disease has historically been determined by staging, ulnar variance, and presence or absence of arthritic changes. With the advent of newer techniques of vascularized bone grafting, the status of the cartilage shell of the lunate has become another factor that can influence the procedure performed. The purpose of this article is to describe the technique of Kuhlmann vascularized bone graft for Kienböck's disease. In addition, the indications, contraindications, and outcomes are described.

Intraosseous ganglion cyst of the lunate: A case report.

Intraosseous ganglion cyst of the carpal bones represents a rare cause of wrist pain. We report a case of a 42 year-old, right-handed female, who presented with pain of the right wrist following a fall on the palm of the hand. Clinical study revealed a moderate swelling over the mid-section of the palmar face and pain through extreme ranges of motion of the wrist. Plain radiographs and CT-scan of the wrist have revealed an intraosseous ganglion cyst of the lunate bone. Curetting-filling by Kuhlman's vascularized radial bone graft allowed a good functional recovery. The clinical, radiological and therapeutic aspects are discussed.

Pseudotumoral form of soft-tissue tuberculosis of the wrist.

Tuberculosis is a major public health problem in developing countries. Hand and wrist is a rare localization for extra-pulmonary tuberculosis, a pseudotumoral form of soft tissue tuberculosis of the wrist is exceptional. We report the case of a 45-year-old male presenting with a painful swelling of the dorsal aspect of the right wrist evolving for six months. Clinical study was evoking a ganglion cyst of the wrist. Intraoperatively a pseudotumoral mass with rice bodies was found, suggesting tuberculous tenosynovitis. The histopathological study revealed caseating giant cell granulomas with epithelioid cells. Cultures on Löwenstein-Jensen medium detected Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Synovectomy with removal of all the rice bodies followed by anti-tuberculous chemotherapy provided uneventful recovery.

Transformation of Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans into a Fibrosarcoma.

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans is a rare cutaneous mesenchymal tumor characterized by a low potential of malignancy with a very low rate of metastasis but an important rate of local recurrence. Its transformation into a fibrosarcoma is exceptional, responsible for a higher metastatic potential. This transformation implies a closer surveillance. Through a case report and literature review, we will try to expose epidemiological, clinical, histological, therapeutic, and outcome particularities of this entity.

Pseudotumoral form of soft tissue tuberculosis of the hand: six cases.

Musculoskeletal involvement is not uncommon in extra-pulmonary tuberculosis, but the localization in the soft tissue of the hand is very rare. Diagnosis is much more difficult because of the atypical location and non-specific symptoms. We report 6 cases of pseudotumoral form of soft tissue tuberculosis of the hand treated in our department during the past 12 years. The mean age of the patients was 51 years with extremes of 44 and 63 years. A marked female predominance was observed (sex ratio = 0.2). All patients presented with swelling of the finger, two of which were painful swelling. All long fingers were involved; the thumb was involved in two cases. The histological study after excisional biopsy revealed caseating giant cell granulomas with epitheloid cells confirming the diagnosis. Antibacillary chemotherapy promoted healing and good outcome in our patients.

Carpal tunnel syndrome caused by lipoma: a case report.

Lipoma is a relatively frequent, benign soft-tissue tumor rarely located in the hand. A lipoma of the hand causing a carpal tunnel syndrome by compression of the median nerve is exceptional. We report the case of a 70-year-old female presenting with a carpal tunnel syndrome. A compression of the median nerve by a lipoma was discovered during surgery. Transverse carpal ligament release with lipoma excision and neurolysis of the median nerve were performed. Histopathological study of the resected mass was consistent with a lipoma. Two-month postoperatively, the patient recovered full hand function with entire disappearance of acroparesthesia. Carpal tunnel syndrome caused by space occupying lesions is rare. Diagnosis is difficult, usually based on the clinical study, electrophysiology and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Transverse carpal ligament release and excision of lipoma provides excellent functional recovery.

Acute carpal tunnel syndrome of the hand following a cat bite.

Cat bites at the hand are common situation in emergency departments. Neglected or poorly supported, these lesions sometimes lead to serious injuries that may compromise the function of the hand. Pasteurellamultocida is the most offending germ in these lesions, despite their sensitivity to antibiotics; it can sometimes lead to deep infections involving the skin, bones and joints. Acute carpal tunnel syndrome is exceptional after cat bite. We report a case of a 56 Year old female presenting with an acute carpal tunnel syndrome associated with compartment syndrome of the right hand 6 days after a cat bite of her right thumb. The patient was treated by surgery to relieve the median nerve. Microbiology identified PasteurellaMultocida.