Access to original canal trajectory after deviation and perforation with guided endodontic assistance

Procedural accidents are eventualities that may occur during endodontic treatment because of lack of attention to detail or even unforeseeable situations. Knowledge of the root canal anatomy and its variations is a prerequisite for successful endodontic treatment. This case report describes an endodontic treatment where there was an intercurrence, generating deviation and perforation, which was solved with the aid of guided endodontics. A 37 years old, ASA1, was referred to the clinic for localisation and treatment of a calcified canal of the second right upper premolar. The tomographic images revealed the presence of only one canal and deviation with apical perforation. With the help of CBCT and CAD/CAM, it was possible to perform the guided access technique even after deviation and root perforation. Once again, this technique proved to be safe and predictable, allowing for a favourable prognosis in the long term.     

The Minimum Clinically Important Difference of the Patient-rated Wrist Evaluation Score for Patients With Distal Radius Fractures

Background

The Patient-rated Wrist Evaluation (PRWE) is a commonly used instrument in upper extremity surgery and in research. However, to recognize a treatment effect expressed as a change in PRWE, it is important to be aware of the minimum clinically important difference (MCID) and the minimum detectable change (MDC). The MCID of an outcome tool like the PRWE is defined as the smallest change in a score that is likely to be appreciated by a patient as an important change, while the MDC is defined as the smallest amount of change that can be detected by an outcome measure. A numerical change in score that is less than the MCID, even when statistically significant, does not represent a true clinically relevant change. To our knowledge, the MCID and MDC of the PRWE have not been determined in patients with distal radius fractures.

Questions/Purposes

We asked: (1) What is the MCID of the PRWE score for patients with distal radius fractures? (2) What is the MDC of the PRWE?

Methods

Our prospective cohort study included 102 patients with a distal radius fracture and a median age of 59 years (interquartile range [IQR], 48–66 years). All patients completed the PRWE questionnaire during each of two separate visits. At the second visit, patients were asked to indicate the degree of clinical change they appreciated since the previous visit. Accordingly, patients were categorized in two groups: (1) minimally improved or (2) no change. The groups were used to anchor the changes observed in the PRWE score to patients’ perspectives of what was clinically important. We determined the MCID using an anchor-based receiver operator characteristic method. In this context, the change in the PRWE score was considered a diagnostic test, and the anchor (minimally improved or no change as noted by the patients from visit to visit) was the gold standard. The optimal receiver operator characteristic cutoff point calculated with the Youden index reflected the value of the MCID.

Results

In our study, the MCID of the PRWE was 11.5 points. The area under the curve was 0.54 (95% CI, 0.37–0.70) for the pain subscale and 0.71 (95% CI, 0.57−0.85) for the function subscale. We determined the MDC to be 11.0 points.

Conclusions

We determined the MCID of the PRWE score for patients with distal radius fractures using the anchor-based approach and verified that the MDC of the PRWE was sufficiently small to detect our MCID.

Clinical Relevance

We recommend using an improvement on the PRWE of more than 11.5 points as the smallest clinically relevant difference when evaluating the effects of treatments and when performing sample-size calculations on studies of distal radius fractures.     

Fibrinopeptide A and platelet factor levels in unstable angina pectoris

Fibrinopeptide A, platelet factor 4, beta-thromboglobulin, thromboxane B2, and 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha were estimated by radioimmunoassay on venous plasma samples taken within 48 hr of admission from 16 consecutive patients with unstable angina and 15 patients with stable angina matched for clinical variables. The ratio of circulating platelet aggregates, platelet aggregation to increasing concentrations of ADP (0.455 to 1.82 micrograms/ml), and platelet thromboxane B2 production in vitro were also tested. The two groups of patients were statistically similar in terms of sex distribution, age, presence of risk factors, use of medication, extent of coronary artery disease and history of previous myocardial infarction. Mean plasma levels of fibrinopeptide A were 2.7 +/- 0.4 ng/ml (geometric means +/- SEM, range 1.5 to 5.5) in patients with stable angina vs 5.5 +/- 1.8 ng/ml (range 2.4 to 32; p less than .001) in those with unstable angina. In the latter group, after 6 to 8 days, fibrinopeptide A levels decreased to 3.6 +/- 0.5 ng/ml (range 1.5 to 9.3; p less than .04 vs admission). All other variables measured were statistically identical in the two groups. We conclude that plasma fibrinopeptide A levels, as opposed to platelet factors, discriminate between patients with unstable and stable angina, indicating an activation of the coagulation system in unstable angina.     

Sarcoidosis and renal insufficiency

Renal complications of sarcoidosis are rare but they may lead to renal failure. The two most common mechanisms are interstitial nephritis and acute hypercalcaemic renal failure. We report the case of a woman who presented both of these complications.     

Papillary Cystadenoma of Minor Salivary Glands: Report of 11 Cases and Review of the English Literature

Papillary cystadenoma is a rare, benign salivary gland tumor which is well-circumscribed, containing cystic cavities with intraluminal papillary projections. Only 19 cases arising within minor salivary glands (MnSG) from the oral cavity sites have been reported in the English literature (PubMed 1958–2014). We report 11 new cases of MnSG papillary cystadenomas in conjunction with a review of the literature. Demographic information, clinical and histologic features, treatment and prognosis are compiled and discussed for all 30 cases reported in the English literature.     

Gene Mutations in Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia Related to Otitis Media

Otitis media with effusion (OME) is the most common cause of conductive hearing loss in children and is strongly associated with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD). Approximately half of the children with PCD require otolaryngology care, posing a major problem in this population. Early diagnosis of PCD is critical in these patients to minimise the collateral damage related to OME. The current gold standard for PCD diagnosis requires determining ciliary structure defects by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) or clearly documenting ciliary dysfunction via digital high-speed video microscopy (DHSV). Although both techniques are useful for PCD diagnosis, they have limitations and need to be supported by new methodologies, including genetic analysis of genes related to PCD. In this article, we review classical and recently associated mutations related to ciliary alterations leading to PCD, which can be useful for early diagnosis of the disease and subsequent early management of OME.