Serum and synovial vancomycin concentrations following prophylactic administration in knee arthroplasty.

A single preoperative dose of 15 mg/kg of total body weight, to a maximum of 1 g of vancomycin, was administered intravenously to patients undergoing knee arthroplasty prior to anesthesia. Vancomycin concentration levels were examined in 39 patients. Vancomycin levels were analyzed preoperatively, intraoperatively, and postoperatively. Results confirmed effective serum and synovial vancomycin levels during surgery. Effective therapeutic levels of vancomycin remained in the knee >20 hours postoperatively. Although vancomycin is not commonly used as a prophylactic antibiotic in arthroplasty, it should be considered in patients with known hypersensitivity to penicillin, or when methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in present.

Recombinant human erythropoietin reduces allogeneic blood transfusion requirements in patients undergoing major orthopedic surgery.

Blood loss is a significant problem encountered in patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty, and is considered to be one of the factors affecting the outcome of the operation. Traditionally these patients have been treated with blood transfusions. The introduction of recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEpo) into clinical practice enabled assessment of its effectiveness to decrease the allogeneic blood transfusion requirement (BTR), thus avoiding or minimizing transfusion-related complications. Fifteen patients undergoing total hip replacement (THR, 10 patients) and total knee replacement (TKR, 5 patients) in our institute (from January-April 1997), were studied. After signing an informed consent they received daily s.c. rHuEpo (100 IU/kg for those with hemoglobin (Hb) > 13 g/dl, 300 IU/kg for Hb < 13) during the 10 days prior to surgery and the 4 days following the operation. Allogeneic red blood cell (RBC) transfusions were given as needed. Hb levels were measured on days -10, 0, +1.3 and 7 of the procedure and the BTR was recorded. The results were compared with those of previous patients operated on from January-December 1996. Patients who were eligible for the study but refused to participate served as controls. The mean Hb level in the study group prior to rHuEpo administration (day -10) was 13.41 g/dl, similar to those of the control group (13.47 g/dl on day 0). However, the mean Hb levels in the rHuEpo treated patients on days 0, 1, 3 and 7 were 14.37, 11.09, 10.99, and 11.2 g/dl, respectively. This way compared with the levels of 13.47 (p = 0.016), 9.88 (p = 0.024), 9.60 (p = 0.004) and 9.97 g/dl (p = 0.007) in the control patients. The difference between the rHuEpo treated patients and the control patients was more significant among the THR patients than among the TKR patients. Of the 10 rHuEpo-treated THR patients, only a single patient required one allogeneic blood unit, as compared with 23 units transfused to the 30 control patients. None of the rHuEpo-treated TKR patients required blood transfusion as opposed to 4 units needed by the 11 control patients. In total, only one allogeneic blood unit was required by the study group which way calculated to an average consumption of 0.066 blood unit per person, compared with 27 blood units used by the 41 controls, i.e. 0.66 blood units per person (p < 0.001). In the patients treated, rHuEpo was very well tolerated with no adverse effects.

Hartshill spinal fixation in vertebral metastasis.

Spinal fusion by Hartshill rectangle frame was used in 10 patients with spinal cord compression secondary to vertebral metastasis in the thoracic and lumbar spine, occupying mainly the posterior elements. All patients presented with pain, bone collapse, and neurologic deficit. The procedure is built on a system of sublaminar wires passed under two to three lamina above and below the decompressed area and tightened to a prebent metal frame. This procedure was relatively simple, and the immediate stabilization achieved in our patients was good. All patients experienced immediate pain relief. While only two patients were able to walk before surgery, seven were able to do so at follow-up. During a follow-up period of at least 2 years in two patients, or until death in the other eight patients, one patient had a broken wire that did not affect the correction achieved at surgery. Partial loss of correction in the sagittal plane was found in two patients who had metastasis in the lumbar spine and in another patient who had metastasis in the ninth thoracic vertebra.

Sequential foot compression reduces lower limb swelling and pain after total knee arthroplasty.

Two common prophylactic measures to prevent deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in patients after orthopedic lower limb surgeries are pneumatic foot and calf compression and antithrombotic treatment. These preventive measures differ in their mechanisms of operation. Antithrombotic agents are aimed to minimize the risk of clot formation, whereas pneumatic foot and calf compression therapy prevents venous stasis, which is a primary factor leading to thrombus formation in patients with leg trauma. DVT, however, is not the only consequence of patient immobility and venous stasis. Additional sequelae of venous stasis include lower limb swelling and pain resulting from the increase in venous pressures and change of normal compartmental circulatory pressures. We therefore hypothesized in the present study that antithrombotic treatment alone is not as effective as combined with pneumatic foot compression in reducing limb swelling and pain. Forty-eight patients after total knee arthroplasty participated in this randomized, controlled study. Low-molecular-weight heparin was the prophylactic measure used for the control group, whereas the pneumatic compression group received low-molecular-weight heparin and foot compression therapy for approximately 7 days after surgery. Lower limb swelling and pain were significantly reduced for the foot compression group in relation to the control group. Ultrasound and venography demonstrated no significant DVT in either group. We conclude that foot compression therapy is an important prophylactic addition to antithrombotic treatment in overcoming the hazardous clinical implications of venous stasis.

Clinical determinants of long-term survival in patients with glioblastoma multiforme.

Repeated reports of more than ten years postoperative survival in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GM) have appeared in the literature over the last decades. Authors have tried to identify the clinical, therapeutic and histological features determining long-term survival. We present two patients in whom, after radical removal of the tumor followed by conventional radiation, there has been no recurrence for at least ten years. The young age of the patients and the radical surgical approach were in accordance with previous reports of long-term survival. Nevertheless, one tumor originated from the thalamus, a location considered to be of unfavorable prognosis. We therefore further discuss the value of clinical signs as determinants in the prognosis of GM.

Interrogatives in dialogue: case study of mother and child 16-19 months.

Question-answer sequences were examined within the dialogues of a mother-infant dyad. Mother and male infant were observed at the infant's ages of 16, 17, 18, and 19 months. The structure, content, and function of the mother's questions were analyzed in conjunction with the child's contingent responses. The child exhibited an increase in overall responsiveness to his mother's questions for the period observed. In terms of question structure and content, at about 17 months the mother began to ask more of those questions to which the child responded with a higher percentage of relevant-appropriate responses. In terms of question function, no single systematic pattern of change occurred in the frequencies of various question functions and responses. It was concluded that the present data describe a process of simultaneous change in the direction of greater congruency between mother and child behaviors, although further research is needed to determine the generalizability of the present results.