Lateral ligament reconstruction with allograft in patients with severe chronic ankle instability

Introduction

Chronic ankle instability is a condition of perception of giving way and persistent pain usually following multiple ankle sprains. In case of severe joint laxity, surgical treatment with reconstruction of the lateral ligamental complex is recommended. The aim of this study was to evaluate the functional outcome of patients treated with lateral ligament reconstruction with allograft for severe chronic lateral ankle instability.

Materials and methods

We performed a retrospective cohort study of ten patients who underwent allograft external non-anatomic ligamentoplasty for severe chronic lateral ankle instability between 2009 and 2011, with an average follow-up of 16.3 months (SD 8.2). Median age at surgery was 29 years (range 25–35). All patients presented both ATFL and CFL lesion. Patients were evaluated using American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society score, Karlsson–Peterson score, Tegner activity level, Sefton stability scale, and objective examination comprehending range of motion, anterior drawer sign and talar tilt test. Telos stress equipment was used for pre- and post-operative radiographic laxity testing.

Results

Follow-up examination at an average of 16.3 months (SD 8.2) after surgery showed significant improvement of all variables compared to pre-operative values (p < 0.001). Most patients rated their outcome as good/excellent. Telos stress radiographs documented improvement in joint stability.

Conclusions

Lateral ligament reconstruction with allograft represents a valid treatment option in patients with severe chronic lateral ankle instability.     

Evolving as nurse educators in problem-based learning through a community of faculty development.

Effective faculty development programs are of paramount importance in this era of profound change in nursing education driven by baccalaureate-degree entry to practice and the concurrent implementation of college/university collaborative partnerships in Ontario, Canada. The overall purpose of this study was to design, disseminate, and evaluate a faculty development program involving nursing faculty from the McMaster University, Mohawk College, and Conestoga College. In keeping with selected conceptual models and responses to a needs assessment, faculty participated in a collaborative faculty development program that included a planned workshop, a mentorship program, and regular faculty development activities. This article presents the qualitative program evaluation component that included focus group discussions and subsequent content analysis to gain an understanding of the experiences and meaning of the faculty who participated in the faculty development program. The overarching theme was that the faculty experienced a sense of evolving as nurse educators in problem-based learning (PBL) through a community of faculty development. The following themes emerged: becoming certain in the midst of uncertainty; developing collegial trust and community; embracing PBL; valuing faculty development; and evolving as a nurse educator in PBL through faculty development. The results attest to the benefits of a collaborative faculty development program, guide future faculty development, and promote mastery in PBL.     

Understanding the clinical implications of minimal residual disease in childhood leukemia.

Improved laboratory techniques now allow a more sensitive detection of leukemia cells at designated intervals throughout therapy. Using flow cytometry and polymerase chain reaction, it is possible to detect 1 leukemic cell among 10(4) normal cells (1 leukemia cell in 10,000 normal cells), representing a 100-fold greater sensitivity than morphological examination in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Recently, it has been shown that the molecular presence of persistent acute lymphoblastic leukemia at the end of remission therapy is a poor indicator of clinical outcome. Now similar studies are being performed in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). While the sensitivity using flow cytometry is less in AML than in ALL (able to detect 1 leukemic cell among 1000 normal cells in AML), persistent or minimal residual AML provides the clinician guidance with future treatment recommendations. Minimal residual disease (MRD) is now considered an important indicator response of disease response to treatment. As such, MRD once considered a research variable is now influencing treatment decisions. Therefore, it is imperative that the nurse have an understanding of the newer techniques to study residual leukemia and their clinical implications for patients and their families.     

Brain tissue volume changes in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: correlation with lesion load

The aim of this study was to simultaneously measure in vivo volumes of gray matter (GM), normal white matter (WM), abnormal white matter (aWM), and cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF), and to assess their relationship in 50 patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RR-MS) (age range, 21-59; mean EDSS, 2.5; mean disease duration, 9.9 years), using an unsupervised multiparametric segmentation procedure applied to brain MR studies. Tissue volumes were normalized to total intracranial volume providing corresponding fractional volumes (fGM, faWM, fWM, and fCSF), subsequently corrected for aWM-related segmentation inaccuracies and adjusted to mean patients' age according to age-related changes measured in 54 normal volunteers (NV) (age range 16-70). In MS patients aWM was 23.8 +/- 29.8 ml (range 0.4-138.8). A significant decrease in fGM was present in MS patients as compared to NV (49.5 +/- 3.2% vs 53.3 +/- 2.1%; P < 0.0001), with a corresponding increase in fCSF (13.0 +/- 3.8% vs 9.1 +/- 2.4%; P < 0.0001). No difference could be detected between the two groups for fWM (37.5 +/- 2.6% vs 37.6 +/- 2.2%). faWM correlated inversely with fGM (R = -0.434, P < 0.001 at regression analysis), and directly with fCSF (R = 0.473, P < 0.001), but not with fWM. There was a significant correlation between disease duration and EDSS, while no relationship was found between EDSS or disease duration and fractional volumes. Brain atrophy in RR-MS is mainly related to GM loss, which correlates with faWM. Both measures do not appear to significantly affect EDSS, which correlates to disease duration.     

Sonographic diagnosis of talar lateral process fracture.

The frequency of fractures of the lateral process of the talus (LPT) has markedly increased because of the expansion of snowboard activity. These lesions are difficult to diagnose, because they have aspecific signs, and standard radiographs do not show the fractures in 50% of cases. Sonography is used more and more in the assessment of ankle trauma, but it is rarely performed for detection of bone fractures. We report a case of a patient in which sonography directly showed an LPT fracture.     

Impact of Early Salvage Radiation Therapy in Patients with Persistently Elevated or Rising Prostate-specific Antigen After Radical Prostatectomy

Background

Salvage radiation therapy (SRT) is a recommended treatment option for biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy (RP). However, its effectiveness may be limited to specific categories of patients.

Kidney function and cognitive decline in frail elderly: two faces of the same coin?

Background and aims

Cognitive and renal impairment are pervasive among elderly frails, a high-risk, geriatric sub-population with peculiar clinical characteristics. In a series of frail individuals with non-advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD), we aimed at assessing the entity of functional, general health and cognitive impairment and the possible relationship between these types of dysfunction and the severity of renal impairment.

Methods

2229 geriatric subjects were screened for frailty and CKD. Severity of CKD was assessed by eGFR (CKD-EPI formula). Frailty was established by the Fried Index. Functional, general health and cognitive status were assessed by validated score measures.

Results

Final analysis included 271 frail CKD subjects (162 women, 109 men). Mean eGFR was 64.25?±?25.04 mL/min/1.73 m². Prevalence of mild-to-moderate CKD (stage 3–4) was 44%. Twenty-six percent of patients had severe cognitive impairment, while mild and moderate impairment was found in 7 and 67% of individuals, respectively. All subjects had poor functional and general health status. Cognitive capacities significantly decreased across CKD stages (p for trend?<?0.0001). In fully adjusted multivariate analyses, cognitive status remained an independent predictor of eGFR (β?=?0.465; p?<?0.0001).

Conclusions

Mild-to-moderate CKD is highly pervasive among frail elderly individuals and the severity of renal dysfunction is independently correlated with that of cognitive impairment. Future studies are advocated to clarify whether the combination of kidney and mental dysfunction may portend a higher risk of worsen outcomes in this high-risk population.

     

The role of surgery in intracranial PCNSL

This aimed to evaluate the effect of surgery for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in intracranial primary CNS lymphoma (PCNSL) of all patients diagnosed at a single center. A prospective database at Oslo University Hospital of PCNSL was reviewed over a 12-year period (2003–2014). Seventy-nine patients with intracranial PCNSL were identified. Deep brain involvement was shown in 63 patients. Thirty-two patients underwent craniotomy with resection, while all other patients had a biopsy. Fifty-seven patients were given chemotherapy: 18 were treated with the MSKCC (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center) with rituximab, 21 with the MSKCC without rituximab, and 14 within a Nordic prospective phase II protocol. Forty-four patients achieved complete response (CR) and had OS of 46.3 months. Patients who underwent resection had a median OS of 28.6 versus 11.7 months for those who had a biopsy performed. Resection showed an insignificant prolongation of OS. Multivariate analysis confirmed statistical significance of deep brain involvement only (p?<?0.005). Neither chemotherapy regimen, Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS), type of surgery, nor patient age was significant factors for OS or PFS. Resective surgery played no role in significantly improving either OS or PFS and therefore it is not recommended as treatment for PCNSL.     

Radical prostatectomy or radiotherapy reduce prostate cancer mortality in elderly patients: a population-based propensity score adjusted analysis

Purpose

Contemporary data regarding the effect of local treatment (LT) vs. non-local treatment (NLT) on cancer-specific mortality (CSM) in elderly men with localized prostate cancer (PCa) are lacking. Hence, we evaluated CSM rates in a large population-based cohort of men with cT1-T2 PCa according to treatment type.

Methods

Within the SEER database (2004–2014), we identified 44,381 men ≥ 75 years with cT1-T2 PCa. Radical prostatectomy and radiotherapy patients were matched and the resulting cohort (LT) was subsequently matched with NLT patients. Cumulative incidence and competing risks regression (CRR) tested CSM according to treatment type. Analyses were repeated after Gleason grade group (GGG) stratification: I (3 + 3), II (3 + 4), III (4 + 3), IV (8), and V (9-10).

Results

Overall, 4715 (50.0%) and 4715 (50.0%) men, respectively, underwent NLT and LT. Five and 7-year CSM rates for, respectively, NLT vs. LT patients were 3.0 and 5.4% vs. 1.5 and 2.1% for GGG II, 4.5 and 7.2% vs. 2.5 and 2.8% for GGG III, 7.1 and 10.0% vs. 3.5 and 5.1% for GGG IV, and 20.0 and 26.5% vs. 5.4 and 9.3% for GGG V patients. Separate multivariable CRR also showed higher CSM rates in NLT patients with GGG II [hazard ratio (HR) 3.3], GGG III (HR 2.6), GGG IV (HR 2.4) and GGG V (HR 2.6), but not in GGG I patients (p = 0.5).

Conclusions

Despite advanced age, LT provides clinically meaningful and statistically significant benefit relative to NLT. Such benefit was exclusively applied to GGG II to V but not to GGG I patients.