External fixation of lower limb fractures in children.

Thirty-four tibial and femoral shaft fractures in 32 children between the ages of 3 and 15 years were treated by external fixation over a 5-year period. The indications were fractures occurring in association with other major injuries and failure of conservative treatment to maintain satisfactory reduction. There was one case of delayed union and one early refracture. The overall pin track infection rate was 6%, but the rate for the tibial pins (2.1%) was much lower than for the femoral pins (10.3%). Union was achieved at an average of 11.7 weeks in the femoral fractures and 10.0 weeks in the tibial fractures. The use of external fixation is recommended for childhood femoral and tibial fractures, particularly in children with multiple injuries.     

44Sacral extracorporeal magnetic stimulation is an effective treatment for pelvic floor dyssynergia; Comparative study with biofeedback therapy

Background: Recent development of extracorporeal magnetic stimulation (ECMS) which uses current‐changing magnetic fields allows the induction of electrical stimulation in the desired deep tissue. Recent study showed the sacral nerve stimulation reduces corticoanal excitability that may play a functional role in anal continence mechanisms. Preliminary study shows that ECMS of sacral nerve can modify pelvic floor function and expel rectal balloon in patients with pelvic floor dyssynergia (PFD). Aims: To evaluate the effect of ECMS compared with biofeedback therapy (BF) in patients with PFD. Methods and Materials: Thirty‐eight patients who fulfilled Rome II criteria for PFD by colon transit time and anorectal function tests, were randomly treated with 8 sessions of ECMS (2/weeks; n = 19) at prone position or BF (2/weeks; n = 19) at sitting position. Stimulation parameters were set at 50–80% of maximum intensity, 10 and 50 Hz frequency, 3 s burst length with 3 and 6 s off using arm‐typed stimulator (BioCom‐1000, Mcube Co., Korea). Symptom scores for constipation with/without anorectal function test were repeatedly measured after each treatment. Response was defined as 50% or more decreased symptom score after treatment (partial response: 30–50%, poor: <30%). Results: Fifteen patients (age 49.1 ± 13.4 years, mean ± SD; 4 men) completed 8 session of BF and 14 patients (54.5 ± 17.6 years, 3 men) completed 8 session of ECMS. Four patients of BF group discontinued treatment due to unsatisfactory therapeutic effect (n = 1) and withdrew consent (n = 3) and 5 patients of ECMS group discontinued treatment because of same reasons (n = 1, 4). Total symptom scores were significantly decreased after treatment of 8 session in both treatment groups (13.4 ± 6.6 vs. 4.3 ± 4.0 for BF, p = 0.009; 14.9 ± 5.6 vs. 3.4 ± 4.0 for ECMS, p < 0.001). Bowel movements per week were also significantly increased after treatment in both groups (median 2 vs. 7 for BF, p = 0.035; median 2 vs. 7 for ECMS, p = 0.008). Thirteen out of 15 patients showed response in BF group and 12 out of 14 showed good response in ECMS group. No adverse effects in both groups. Conclusions: ECMS is as effective as BF for the treatment of PFD. Long‐term effect of ECMS for the patients with pelvic floor dyssynergia need to be evaluated in the near future.     

Expression of luminal and basal cytokeratins in human breast carcinoma

We have examined basal and luminal cell cytokeratin expression in 1944 cases of invasive breast carcinoma, using tissue microarray (TMA) technology, to determine the frequency of expression of each cytokeratin subtype, their relationships and prognostic relevance, if any. Expression was determined by immunocytochemistry staining using antibodies to the luminal cytokeratins (CKs) 7/8, 18 and 19 and the basal markers CK 5/6 and CK 14. Additionally, assessment of alpha-smooth muscle actin (SMA) and oestrogen receptor status (ER) was performed. The vast majority of the cases showed positivity for CK 7/8, 18 and 19 indicating a differentiated glandular phenotype, a finding associated with good prognosis, ER positivity and older patient age. In contrast, basal marker expression was significantly related to poor prognosis, ER negativity and younger patient age. Multivariate analysis showed that CK 5/6 was an independent indicator for relapse free interval. We were able to subgroup the cases into four distinct phenotype categories (pure luminal, mixed luminal/basal, pure basal and null), which had significant differences in relation to the biological features and the clinical course of the disease. Tumours classified as expressing a basal phenotype (the combined luminal plus basal and the pure basal) were in a poor prognostic subgroup, typically ER negative in most cases. These findings provide further evidence that breast cancer has distinct differentiation subclasses that have both biological and clinical relevance.