On the Physiology of the Sensory-Collapse Test.

The sensory-collapse test (formerly the scratch-collapse test) is a physical examination finding describing a momentary inhibition of external shoulder rotation following light stimulation of an injured nerve in the ipsilateral limb. Similar to other physical examination tests designed to interrogate nerve compression, such as the Phalen or Tinel tests, its test characteristics demonstrate variation. There remains speculation about the test's existence and anatomic basis. The literature of mammalian reflex physiology was reviewed with an emphasis on the sensory pathways from the upper extremity, the extrapyramidal system, and newly discovered pathways and concepts of nociception. A clear reflex pathway is described connecting the stimulus within an injured nerve through the afferent pathways in the fasciculus cuneatus in the spinal cord directly to the lateral reticulospinal tract, resulting in the inhibition of extensor muscles in the proximal limb (eg, shoulder) and activation of the limb flexors by acting upon alpha and gamma motor neurons. The sensory-collapse test represents a reflex pathway that teleologically provides a mechanism to protect an injured nerve by withdrawal toward the trunk and away from the noxious environment.

Computed Tomography Neurography for Visualization of the In Vivo Nervous System: A Proof of Concept.

BACKGROUND: The human peripheral nervous system embodies anatomical, physiologic, and diagnostic perplexities that remain unexplained. Yet in the course of human history, there are no mechanisms, such as computed tomography (CT) or radiography, by which to image the peripheral nervous system in vivo using a contrast agent that is identified by ionizing radiation, which would aid in surgical navigation, diagnostic radiology, and basic science thereof. METHODS: A novel class of contrast was created by linking iodine to lidocaine. The radiodensity of 0.5% experimental contrast molecule was compared with a control of 1% lidocaine by placing 1.5-mL aliquots of each liquid into centrifuge tubes and performing micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) synchronously under identical settings. Physiologic binding to the sciatic nerve was evaluated by injecting 10 mg of the experimental contrast and 10 mg of the control into the contralateral sciatic nerve, and documenting loss of hindlimb function and recovery. In vivo visualization of the sciatic nerve was evaluated by injecting 10 mg of experimental contrast or control into either sciatic nerve and imaging the hindlimbs under identical conditions using micro-CT. RESULTS: The mean Hounsfield unit of the contrast was 56.09 compared with -0.48 for control (116-fold increase, P = .0001). Hindlimb paresis revealed similar degree of paresis, baseline recovery, and time to recovery. In vivo enhancement between the contralateral sciatic nerves was similar. CONCLUSION: Iodinated lidocaine offers a viable mechanism for in vivo peripheral nerve imaging using CT; however, it requires modification to improve in vivo radiodensity.

Watch Out for Wild Animals: A Systematic Review of Upper Extremity Injuries Caused by Uncommon Species.

BACKGROUND: Across the world, many species of nondomesticated animals dwell among humans in metropolitan areas. Rare animal bites pose a dilemma for hand surgeons, as they often result in operative injuries and recalcitrant infections. The authors treated an 85-year-old man who experienced severe cellulitis of the index finger following an opossum bite. This case prompted a systematic review of upper extremity injuries caused by species other than dogs, cats, snakes, and insects. METHODS: The authors conducted a systematic review of PubMed and Scopus databases to identify relevant articles published between 1980 and 2016. Two reviewers critically appraised the studies that met inclusion and exclusion criteria. RESULTS: The hand infection in the man who sustained an opossum bite at the authors' institution was successfully treated with targeted antibiotic therapy, hand elevation, and splinting. Seventy-one articles met inclusion criteria for and were included in this systematic review. The vast majority of existing articles represent level IV and level V evidence. The relevant literature suggests that the majority of hand infections attributable to animal bites and stings are polymicrobial. CONCLUSIONS: Injuries secondary to aquatic animals appear to be the most frequently described in the literature, and hot water immersion should be used for the majority of envenomation attributable to aquatic species. Infections can often be treated with an aminopenicillin antibiotic combined with a beta-lactamase inhibitor. Given the variability in presentation and potential for sequelae such as soft-tissue necrosis and systemic reactions, hand surgeons should approach such upper extremity injuries with a high degree of caution.

Systematic Review and Operative Technique of Recalcitrant Pressure Ulcers Using a Fillet Flap Technique.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this article is to describe the indications, operative technique, outcomes, and systematic review of the literature on the reconstruction of patients with end-stage pressure ulcers using a fillet flap technique. In this technique, the femur, tibia, and fibula are removed from the thigh and leg, and the soft tissue is used as a pedicled, or free, myocutaneous flap for reconstruction. Long-term outcomes, salient surgical technique of flap elevation, and design are detailed for patients who had a fillet of leg flap for reconstruction of extensive pressure ulcers. METHODS: The indications, surgical technique, and postoperative outcomes of 5 patients who had pedicled fillet flaps are reviewed including patient age, sex, underlying comorbidities, duration of paraplegia, operative technique, and complications. A systematic review of the literature was performed searching PubMed, Cochrane Database, and Medline with the following MeSH terms: pressure ulcer, pressure sore, decubitus ulcer, fillet flap, and fillet flap. Inclusion criteria were use of a fillet technique, article data on the number of reconstructions before fillet flap, complications, and English language. RESULTS: Most of our patients were male 75% (n = 3) with an average age of 47.5 years, had been paralyzed for an average of 16 years, and had few medical comorbidities. Two patients (3 flaps) required hip disarticulation, 1 patient had a bilateral fillet flaps, and 3 patients had resection of tibia/fibula. After following patients for an average of 1.4 years (4 mo to 2 yr), complications were limited to 1 patient who had partial-thickness flap loss at the distal skin flap that healed by secondary intention and 1 patient who had ulcer recurrence because of noncompliance. Four articles met inclusion criteria for systematic review and 3 were excluded. CONCLUSIONS: The fillet of leg flap remains a useful and reliable method of reconstructing end-stage pressure ulcers.

Active range of motion outcomes after reconstruction of burned wrist and hand deformities.

This works aim is to evaluate the efficacy of skin grafts and flaps in reconstruction of post-burn hand and wrist deformities. A prospective study of 57 burn contractures of the wrist and dorsum of the hand was performed. Flaps were used only if there was a non-vascularized structure after contracture release, otherwise a skin graft was used. Active range of motion (ROM) was used to assess hand function. The extension deformity cohort uniformly underwent skin graft following contracture release with a mean improvement of 71 degrees (p<0.0001). The flexion deformity cohort was treated with either skin grafts (8 patients) or flaps (9 patients) with a mean improvement of 44 degrees (p<0.0001). Skin grafts suffice for dorsal hand contractures to restore functional wrist ROM. For flexion contractures, flaps were more likely for contractures >6 months. Early release of burn contracture is advisable to avoid deep structure contracture.

A systematic review of distraction osteogenesis in hand surgery: what are the benefits, complication rates, and duration of treatment?

BACKGROUND: This work analyzes the utility of distraction osteogenesis as a surgical option for the management of acquired and traumatic hand deformities through a systematic review of the published literature. METHODS: A PubMed search for articles reporting results of distraction osteogenesis in the hand was performed. Data collected included age, sex, cause, bone distracted, latency period, distraction rate, consolidation period, treatment time, length gained, and complications. Proportion data variables were compared using the chi-square test. A meta-analysis was also performed to assess the size effect of variables on complication development. RESULTS: Thirty articles (424 distractions) met inclusion criteria. The average length gained from distraction was 2.2 cm; the average total treatment time was 116 days; the average complication rate was 26.4 percent. Proportion analysis, including all articles, showed that congenital cause had significantly fewer complications compared with traumatic cause (p = 0.0129). A lower complication rate in pediatric patients compared with adults approached but did not reach significance (p = 0.0507). Studies that underwent meta-analysis, including only articles comparing both variables of interest, were homogeneous (I < 25) and without publication bias (Kendall's tau p > 0.05 and symmetric funnel plot). None of the variables analyzed by meta-analysis had a significant odds ratio for complication development (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Despite distinct advantages, distraction osteogenesis is associated with a long duration of treatment and high complication rates, particularly in adults and in posttraumatic reconstruction. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, IV.

A fatal central nervous system enterovirus 68 infection.

The anticipated eradication of poliovirus emphasizes the need to identify other enteroviral causes of severe central nervous system disease. Enterovirus 68 has been implicated only in cases of respiratory illness. We therefore report a case of fatal meningomyeloencephalitis caused by enterovirus 68 in a 5-year-old boy, which required neuropathology, microbiology, and molecular techniques to diagnose.

A cost, profit, and efficiency analysis of performing carpal tunnel surgery in the operating room versus the clinic setting in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Carpal tunnel surgery (CTS) can be performed in the clinic or operating room with similar outcomes. Our goals were to perform a total cost comparison, profit analysis, and assess efficiency of CTS in each setting. METHODS: A detailed cost analysis for all CTSs at a tertiary care academic center was done for the year 2007. We calculated the net revenues and profit margins for single endoscopic port and open CTS performed in each setting in the year 2007. For efficiency analysis, we assumed that the time saved by performing a procedure in the more efficient setting could accumulate and permit additional CTSs. This would be the opportunity cost of performing CTS in the less efficient setting. RESULTS: In general, the operating room was a costlier setting than the clinic. The total cost per case when performing single-port endoscopic CTS was more than double ($2273 vs. $985) when performed in the operating room versus the clinic. For open CTS, the operating room was more than 4 times as expensive than the clinic ($3469 vs. $670). For single endoscopic port cases, profits gained were greater than double in the clinic versus the operating room ($2710 vs. $1139). For open CTS, clinic cases had a profit margin per case of $1186; however, procedures in the operating room incurred a loss of $650 per case. The block time allowed for CTS in the clinic was 30 and 60 minutes in the operating room. To value this efficiency, we used the profit margin of CTS performed in the clinic ($2710) and divided it by the 30 minutes it took to perform. This provided us with a multiplier of $90/min. We multiplied the 30 minutes saved when operating in the clinic by the $90/min to give us an opportunity cost of $2700. CONCLUSION: Performing either single endoscopic port or open CTS in the operating room is more expensive and less efficient than in the clinic setting.

A detailed analysis of level I evidence (randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses) in five plastic surgery journals to date: 1978 to 2009.

BACKGROUND: Evidence-based medicine is the synthesis of clinical expertise, best available clinical evidence, and patient values to provide optimal health outcomes. A scant number of randomized controlled trials exist in the plastic surgery literature. The authors sought to analyze the level I studies (randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses) in five leading plastic surgery journals to date to understand the distribution of primary categories of study, primary outcomes, age breakdown, degree of quality, and the trend in publication rates. METHODS: PubMed/MEDLINE was searched by leaving entry field empty and applying the following limitations: randomized controlled trials and meta-analysis, English, all ages, all dates, humans and animals, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Annals of Plastic Surgery, British Journal of Plastic Surgery, Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, and Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery. RESULTS: Three hundred nine publications were included in the analysis. There was a steady increase in the number of level I studies from 1978 to 2009. Thirty-eight percent were double-blinded, 31 percent were single-blinded, 20 percent were not blinded, and 8 percent were meta-analyses. Cosmetic was the most common category. Cost and efficiency were primary outcomes in only 2.6 and 4.2 percent, respectively. Power analysis was performed 15.5 percent of the time, and randomization technique was reported in only 39 percent of the studies. CONCLUSIONS: Level I studies in plastic surgery continue to increase in number; however, most are not randomized or blinded, do not have power analyses, and do not consider cost. Future studies should be designed to produce high-quality evidence and should address cost and comparative effectiveness.

Descriptive epidemiology of mortality and morbidity of health-indicator diseases in hospitalized children from western Jamaica.

The objectives of our study were to describe the epidemiology of child-health indicator diseases in western Jamaica, examine differences in indicator diseases between sex and age, and generate hypotheses about causes of disease burden. International Classification of Disease, 10th Revision, coded discharge diagnoses were collected from consecutive admissions for 2003-2005 from a public tertiary care hospital. Mortality data were not coded. Perinatal disease was the most common cause of mortality, with hyaline membrane disease the primary cause. Younger children, particularly males, are disproportionately affected by all indicator diseases (P < 0.001) and more likely to die from acute respiratory tract infections and infectious diseases (P < 0.05). Sickle cell disease was the fourth most common diagnosis. Children in western Jamaica are most affected by diseases of prematurity. These children experience disease burden similar to that of children in other developing countries, but fewer neonatal sepsis and insect-borne infections, and more hematologic illness.