Peripheral Foot Blockade Versus Popliteal Fossa Nerve Block: A Prospective Randomized Trial in 51 Patients

The majority of foot and ankle operations are performed on an outpatient basis and often under some form of regional anesthesia. In this prospective, randomized study of 51 patients undergoing elective unilateral forefoot procedures, we compared 2 different anesthetic techniques: the peripheral foot blockade and the popliteal sciatic nerve block. Variables assessed included the quality of surgical anesthesia, postoperative analgesia, and the incidence of postoperative complications. The anesthesia was classified as effective if it was the sole anesthetic technique for the forefoot surgery. We found successful results in both groups: 92% in the foot block group and 96% in the popliteal block group. Analysis of time required to perform the anesthetic procedure showed a significant difference between the 2 groups, with foot block being considerably faster (14.3 minutes vs 19.2 minutes for popliteal block) (P = .0078). Foot block patients demonstrated 10.96 hours of analgesia, whereas popliteal block patients exhibited 14.32 hours (P = .132). With a mean follow-up of 5.7 months, we did not find anesthesia-related complications in any of the patients. Both techniques showed a high level of safety and efficacy, with no significant difference detected between them. Our patients showed a high rate of satisfaction with both procedures (96% for foot block patients and 96.1% for popliteal block patients) and reported a good discharge disposition. These data show that both procedures are safe and effective anesthetic techniques and well suited to forefoot ambulatory surgery.     

Pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy and the renin-angiotensin system.

Despite the beneficial effects of good glycaemic control, loss of vision because of diabetic retinopathy (DR) still occurs. Recent studies have suggested that hypertension is a risk factor for the development and progression of DR and that blood pressure reduction can delay the progression of retinopathy. The renin-angiotensin system is activated by chronic hyperglycaemia, and the vitreous fluid level of angiotensin II (AII) is elevated in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular oedema. AII increases vascular permeability and promotes neovascularization. It has been suggested that an autocrine-paracrine relationship may exist between AII and vascular endothelial growth factor in the ocular tissues. Accordingly, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or AII Type 1 (AT1) receptor blockers may be useful therapeutic agents for preventing the progression of DR.     

The Distally Based Sural Artery Flap for Ankle and Foot Coverage

The sural artery flap is a distally based fasciocutaneous flap that has many advantages to offer for coverage in the foot and ankle area. It has the largest arc of rotation of all the regional flaps and does not require sacrifice of any major artery, and moderate-to-large-sized defects can be covered adequately. The dissection technique is simple, and donor site morbidity is minimal. We report our experience with 17 cases. Age range was from 13 to 56 years. Ten (59%) defects were posttraumatic, 3 (17%) were related to reconstructive surgery of the foot or tendon Achilles', 2 (11%) resulted from tumor resection, and 1 each were from infection and gunshot wound. The smallest flap was 6 x 4 cm and the largest was 15 x 12 cm, with the average size being 11 x 7.5 cm. In 5 cases, the donor site was closed primarily, and in other cases, split-thickness skin graft was needed. The short saphenous vein was included in the pedicle in all cases. There was no incidence of complete flap necrosis. Follow-up ranged from 3 to 30 months. Two cases (12%) developed partial superficial necrosis. In 1 case, there was partial wound dehiscence that needed debridement and repair. Another case had postoperative discharge, which subsided after removal of the calcaneal plate. None of the patients complained of any functional problem related to loss of sensation along the lateral border of the foot. The sural island flap is a reliable, safe, and easy method of providing soft tissue coverage in the area of the foot and ankle.     

糖尿病周围神经病97例临床特征与神经电生理分析

目的:探讨糖尿病周围神经病(DPN)患者的临床特征与神经电生理变化。方法:分析97例DPN患者的临床特征,比较DPN组和对照组的神经传导速度(NCV)、远端潜伏期、远端波幅3个参数。结果:①临床特征以肢体麻木(59%)最多见、其次为疼痛(42%)。②患者组NCV、远端波幅值低于对照组,远端潜伏期比对照组延长;两组3个参数比较,除腓总神经远端波幅、尺神经感觉传导速度和正中、尺、腓肠神经远端潜伏期外,差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论:①DPN患者临床特征以肢体麻木和疼痛最多见;②检测NCV、远端潜伏期、远端波幅,能较早发现临床患者。     

Mirror foot: treatment of three cases and review of the literature

Purpose  To describe three cases of mirror foot and to develop a new classification of the mirror feet with an emphasis on their treatment. Methods  Surgical treatment was performed on three patients with mirror foot. Mirror feet in the English literature were surveyed and cases found in PubMed as well as our three cases were classified according to a new classification that was an analogy of the mirror hand classification proposed by Al-Qattan et al. (J Hand Surg Br 23:534–536, 1998). Results  All three cases obtained satisfactory outcome after the treatment. In addition to these cases, 28 mirror feet were well described in the English literature, among which only seven cases have been documented for their treatment. All of the cases could be assigned to one of the categories of the proposed classification. Conclusion  Mirror foot is a very rare congenital deformity of the foot. We successfully treated three novel cases of mirror feet. A classification of the mirror feet proposed in this article was useful in order to understand its nature and obtain a guideline for its treatment.     

解毒通络保肾胶囊对实验性糖尿病大鼠肾脏NF-κB表达的影响

目的研究解毒通络保肾胶囊对糖尿病(DM)大鼠肾组织中NF-κB表达的影响。方法以链脲菌素诱导的糖尿病大鼠为动物模型,经中药和西药分别治疗12周后,采用免疫组化半定量技术检测各组大鼠肾小球中NF-κB的表达水平。结果解毒通络保肾胶囊能明显改善糖尿病大鼠一般状态,降低尿蛋白,改善肾功能,减少肾小球中NF-κB蛋白表达。结论解毒通络保肾胶囊的肾保护作用可能与减少肾小球中激活的NF-κB表达有关。     

黄连素对2型糖尿病神经病变大鼠神经传导速度的影响

目的观察不同剂量的黄连素(Ber)对2型糖尿病周围神经病变(DPN)大鼠空腹血糖(FBG)、痛阈及神经传导速度(NCV)的影响。方法采用高脂高果糖饲料喂养1个月再用小剂量链脲佐菌素(STZ)诱导的方法建立2型DPN大鼠模型,将实验动物随机分为4组。正常对照组不予任何处理,DPN对照组予磷酸盐缓冲液(PBS)1 mL/kg,低剂量组和高剂量组分别给予Ber 100 mg/kg、187.5 mg/kg灌胃,整个治疗持续8周。用血糖仪测FBG,用热板法测定大鼠痛阈,用BL-420生物功能信号采集记录系统测定NCV。结果低剂量组、高剂量组的FBG均较DPN对照组明显降低(P均<0.05),而DPN对照组大鼠FBG则维持在高血糖水平。DPN对照组大鼠痛阈值明显降低(P<0.05),而高剂量组的痛阈值较DPN对照组显著升高(P<0.01)。两剂量组均可加快NCV,高剂量组对NCV有更加显著的改善(P<0.001)。在用Ber治疗的后期能使明显消瘦的大鼠体质量回升。结论Ber可明显降低2型DPN大鼠的FBG,且大剂量Ber对2型DPN大鼠的周围神经病变有明显的改善作用。     

刺五加注射液及抗凝剂对糖尿病足的早期干预治疗

目的观察刺五加注射液及抗凝剂(潘生丁、肠溶阿斯匹林)对糖尿病足早期干预治疗的影响。方法将符合1999年WHO诊断标准的100例糖尿病合并早期足病变的患者分为两组:干预治疗组50例,对照组50例。在控制血糖、血压、糖尿病教育的基础上,干预组予以静滴刺五加注射液及口服抗凝剂(潘生丁、肠溶阿斯匹林)治疗,对照组为口服VitB1、VitB6、复方丹参片治疗。观察治疗前后两组患者足背动脉搏动、皮肤颜色、温度,痛、温、触觉等相关指征,血糖、HbA1c、血TG、TC、HDL-C,及血流变学、眼底病变、心脑血管事件发生率等。结果干预组糖尿病足病变治疗好转率高,恶化发展率低,心脑血管事件发生率少。血脂、血流变学、下肢血管多普勒彩超及眼底病变等好转改善明显,与对照组比较差异有统计学意义(P<0.05或P<0.01)。结论刺五加注射液及抗凝剂(潘生丁、肠溶阿斯匹林)对糖尿病足病变的早期干预治疗疗效显著,有重要的临床意义。     

Effects of chronic treatment with a nitric oxide donor on nerve conduction abnormalities and endoneurial blood flow in streptozotocin-diabetic rats

Abstract. This study examined the ability of nitrova-sodilator treatment with isosorbide dinitrate to prevent the development of reduced nerve conduction velocity and nutritive blood flow in streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus in rats. Two month untreated diabetes caused approximately 23% and 13% reductions in sciatic motor and saphenous nerve sensory conduction velocity ( P < 0.001). Isosorbide dinitrate treatment provided 64.6 and 67.6% protection for motor and sensory nerves, respectively ( P < 0.01). Sciatic endoneurial nutritive blood flow was measured by microelectrode polarography and a hydrogen clearance technique. After 1 month untreated diabetes, flow was reduced by 41.9% ( P < 0.001). Isosorbide dinitrate treatment for 1 month in non-diabetic and diabetic rats significantly increased blood flow ( P < 0.01). When between-group variations in blood pressure were taken into account, vascular conductance increased by 29% and 31% in non-diabetic and diabetic rats, respectively ( P < 0.01). Thus, nitrovasodilator treatment improves nerve perfusion and function in experimental diabetes, probably by compensating for reduced endothelium-derived nitric oxide release or action.