Relationship of Height to Site‐Specific Fracture Risk in Postmenopausal Women

Height has been associated with increased risk of fracture of the neck of femur. However, information on the association of height with fractures at other sites is limited and conflicting. A total of 796,081 postmenopausal women, who reported on health and lifestyle factors including a history of previous fractures and osteoporosis, were followed for 8 years for incident fracture at various sites by record linkage to National Health Service hospital admission data. Adjusted relative risks of fracture at different sites per 10‐cm increase in height were estimated using Cox regression. Numbers with site‐specific fractures were: humerus (3036 cases), radius and/or ulna (1775), wrist (9684), neck of femur (5734), femur (not neck) (713), patella (649), tibia and/or fibula (1811), ankle (5523), and clavicle/spine/rib (2174). The risk of fracture of the neck of femur increased with increasing height (relative risk [RR] = 1.48 per 10‐cm increase, 99% confidence interval [CI] 1.39–1.57) and the proportional increase in risk was significantly greater than for all other fracture sites (p_{heterogeneity} < 0.001). For the other sites, fracture risk also increased with height (RR = 1.15 per 10 cm, CI 1.12–1.18), but there was only very weak evidence of a possible difference in risk between the sites (p_{heterogeneity} = 0.03). In conclusion, taller women are at increased risk of fracture, especially of the neck of femur. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).     

Intraoperative real-time fluorescence angiography with indocyanine green for evaluation of intestinal viability during surgery for an incarcerated obturator hernia: a case report

Background

Bowel incarceration represents a dreaded complication amongst patients with hernias. The intraoperative evaluation of the bowel perfusion following hernia reduction with regard to the need for resection of ischaemic bowel can be challenging. In this case report we discuss intraoperative fluorescence angiography with indocyanine green (ICG) as an objective means of accessing bowel perfusion following hernia reduction.

Case presentation

The case of a 92-year-old, caucasian, female patient presenting with symptoms of small bowel obstruction secondary to an incarcerated left sided obturator hernia is presented. An incarcerated segment of the small bowel was reduced during emergency laparoscopy. Intraoperative ICG fluorescence angiography revealed ischaemic changes in the normal appearing bowel, so that the involved segment was resected. The postoperative course was uneventful and the patient was discharged home safely on postoperative day seven.

Conclusion

Intraoperative ICG fluorescence angiography provides an objective method of judging bowel perfusion and therefore represents a useful tool for assessing intestinal perfusion in patients with incarcerated hernia.

     

Transabdominal versus endovaginal pelvic sonography: prospective study

Transabdominal and endovaginal pelvic sonograms were obtained in 108 nonpregnant patients referred for pelvic sonography. The studies were independently obtained by two radiologists and interpreted on the basis of identical clinical information. The sonograms were then compared for anatomic detail and abnormalities. A determination was made about which examination, if either, was superior. Follow-up was performed through a review of the medical records and follow-up studies. Overall, the endovaginal study was judged superior in 65 cases (60.2%), equal in 39 (36.1%), and inferior in four (3.7%). The authors conclude that the endovaginal examination can effectively replace the transabdominal examination as the initial approach for routine pelvic sonography.     

Limited Margins Using Modern Radiotherapy Techniques Does Not Increase Marginal Failure Rate of Glioblastoma

PURPOSE: We investigate the patterns of failure in the treatment of glioblastoma(GBM) based on clinical target volume(CTV) margin size,dose delivered to the site of initial failure,and the use of temozolomide and intensity-modulated radiotherapy(IMRT).METHODS: Between August 2000 and May 2010,161 patients with GBM were treated with radiotherapy with or without concurrent temozolomide.Patients were treated with CTV expansions that ranged from 5 to 20 mm using a shrinking field technique.Patterns of failure and time to progression and overall survival were compared based on CTV margin,use of temozolomide,and use of IMRT.Kaplan Meier analysis was used to estimate survival times,and χ test was used for comparison of cohorts.RESULTS: For patients treated with 5-,10-,and 15-to 20-mm CTV,79%,77%,and 86% experienced failures in the 60 Gy volume,respectively.Forty-eight percent,55%,and 66% of patients with 5-,10-,and 15-to 20-mm CTV experienced failures in the 46 Gy volume,respectively.There was no statistical difference between patients treated with 5-,10-,15-to 20-mm margins with regard to 60 Gy failure(P=0.76),46 Gy failure(P=0.51),or marginal failure(P=0.73).Eighty percent of patients receiving temozolomide experienced failures in the 60 Gy volume.There was no increased likelihood of marginal failures in patients receiving IMRT(P =0.97).CONCLUSIONS: Modern treatment techniques including use of concurrent temozolmide,limited CTV margin size,and IMRT have not greatly changed the patterns of failure of GBM.     

The provision of a time-critical elective surgical service during the COVID-19 Crisis: a UK experience

IntroductionWith the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, all elective surgery was temporarily suspended in the UK, allowing for diversion of resource to manage the anticipated surge of critically unwell patients. Continuing to deliver time-critical surgical care is important to avoid excess morbidity and mortality from pathologies unrelated to COVID-19. We describe the implementation and short-term surgical outcomes from a system to deliver time-critical elective surgical care to patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.Materials and methodsA protocol for the prioritisation and safe delivery of time-critical surgery at a COVID-19 ‘clean’ site was implemented at the Nuffield Health Exeter Hospital, an independent sector hospital in the southwest of England. Outcomes to 30 days postoperatively were recorded, including unplanned admissions after daycase surgery, readmissions and complications, as well as the incidence of perioperative COVID-19 infection in patients and staff.ResultsA total of 128 surgical procedures were performed during a 31-day period by a range of specialties including breast, plastics, urology, gynaecology, vascular and cardiology. There was one unplanned admission and and two readmissions. Six complications were identified, and all were Clavien-Dindo grade 1 or 2. All 128 patients had preoperative COVID-19 swabs, one of which was positive and the patient had their surgery delayed. Ten patients were tested for COVID-19 postoperatively, with none testing positive.ConclusionThis study has demonstrated the implementation of a safe system for delivery of time-critical elective surgical care at a COVID-19 clean site. Other healthcare providers may benefit from implementation of similar methodology as hospitals plan to restart elective surgery.     

A founder mutation in BBS2 is responsible for Bardet‐Biedl syndrome in the Hutterite population: utility of SNP arrays in genetically heterogeneous disorders

Innes AM, Boycott KM, Puffenberger EG, Redl D, MacDonald IM, Chudley AE, Beaulieu C, Perrier R, Gillan T, Wade A, Parboosingh JS. A founder mutation in BBS2 is responsible for Bardet‐Biedl syndrome in the Hutterite population: utility of SNP arrays in genetically heterogeneous disorders. Bardet‐Biedl syndrome (BBS) is a multisystem genetically heterogeneous disorder, the clinical features of which are largely the consequence of ciliary dysfunction. BBS is typically inherited in an autosomal recessive fashion, and mutations in at least 14 genes have been identified. Here, we report the identification of a founder mutation in the BBS2 gene as the cause for the increased incidence of this developmental disorder in the Hutterite population. To ascertain the Hutterite BBS locus, we performed a genome‐wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis on a single patient and his three unaffected siblings from a Hutterite family. The analysis identified two large SNP blocks that were homozygous in the patient but not in his unaffected siblings, one of these regions contained the BBS2 gene. Sequence analysis and subsequent RNA studies identified and confirmed a novel splice site mutation, c.472‐2A>G, in BBS2. This mutation was also found in homozygous form in three subsequently studied Hutterite BBS patients from two different leuts, confirming that this is a founder mutation in the Hutterite population. Further studies are required to determine the frequency of this mutation and its role, if any, in the expression of other ciliopathies in this population.