Greater Arch Injuries

Dislocations and fracture dislocations of carpal bones are uncommon injuries which invariably poses challenges in the management. Perilunate fracture dislocations are the combination of ligamentous and osseous injury that involve the “greater arc” of the perilunate associated instability. Despite their severity, these injuries often go unrecognized in the emergency department leading to delayed diagnosis and treatment. A Prospective study was done from June 2008 to December 2013 in 15 cases of complex wrist injuries which included of greater arch injuries, perilunate fracture dislocation and one dorsal dislocation of Scaphoid. 10 cases of perilunate fracture dislocation underwent open reduction and internal fixation with Herbert screw and k-wire, 4 cases of greater arch injury underwent closed reduction and kwire fixation and one case of neglected dorsal dislocation underwent proximal row carpectomy. One patient had Sudecks osteodystrophy 1 had Scaphoid nonunion and 6 had median nerve compression. Overall outcome according to Mayo wrist score was 53 % excellent, 33 % good and 14 % fair. Greater arch injuries are difficult to treat because injuries to many ligaments are involved and failure to recognize early leads to persistent pain, disability and early onset of arthritis. Prompt recognition requires CT scan and MRI. Management requires reduction and multiple K-Wiring according to merits of the case.     

Is it evidence-based practice? Prophylactic antibiotics for termination of pregnancy to minimize post-abortion pelvic infection?

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) causing upper genital tract problems after termination of pregnancy (TOP) is well recognized. We undertook this study to assess the local prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection and to estimate the potential benefits of introducing screening. The prevalence rate of C. trachomatis was 6%. Nine sexual contacts of the index cases were identified. They were symptom free, but all had non-specific urethritis (NSU). Four of them were positive for C. trachomatis. We conclude that screening for chlamydial infection is essential and routine prophylactic antibiotic cover may not be beneficial.     

Asbestos fibres in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from asbestos workers: examination by electron microscopy

The uncoated and coated fibre load in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid was assessed using light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and x ray microanalysis in 15 subjects with previous, unprotected exposure to asbestos, including three with clinical and radiological evidence of asbestosis, and in 13 urban dwelling control subjects with no known occupational exposure to asbestos. The mean ferruginous body count per ml BAL fluid in asbestos exposed subjects as determined by light microscopy was 52 (range 0-333). No ferruginous bodies were detected in control subjects. The mean fibre count per ml BAL fluid in asbestos exposed subjects as determined by electron microscopy was 793 (133-3700), significantly greater than 239 (44-544) in controls (p less than 0.05). Electron microscopic counts correlated with duration of previous exposure to asbestos (r = 0.47, p less than 0.05) and with percentage neutrophil counts (r = 0.53, p less than 0.025). There was no relation between electron microscopic fibre counts and light microscopic ferruginous body counts. In 11 asbestos exposed cases x ray microanalysis confirmed the presence of asbestos and in six the asbestos fibre type was clearly identified. Of five subjects showing no asbestos bodies by light microscopy, all showed fibres by electron microscopy, and in three cases the presence of asbestos was confirmed by microanalysis. Among control subjects, fibres were either large organic fibres or smaller particles which microanalysis showed were not asbestos. In only one control case were a few fibres identified which were confirmed as asbestos fibres on microanalysis. Electron microscopic examination of BAL fluid may confirm past exposure to asbestos and probably gives a crude quantitative estimate of asbestos load.     

Arthroscopic acromioclavicular joint reconstruction using a synthetic ligament device

Purpose

To describe an all-arthroscopic treatment of acromioclavicular joint (ACJ) dislocation and report the clinical results of the procedure.

Methods

This study consisted of 54 patients of whom 49 were men and 5 were women. The age of the patients averaged 39?years (range 16–69?years). All the symptomatic acute and chronic acromioclavicular joint dislocations classified according to Rockwood type III–IV were included in the study. All of them underwent standard clinical and radiological examination.

Result

All the patients were regularly followed up at the institute with the average follow-up being 15.09?months (range 5–30?months). The results were assessed using the shoulder subjective value (SSV) and the Modified rating of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) for acromioclavicular joint. The mean pre-operative SSV improved from 35.65 to the post-operative value of 88.6. According to the UCLA scale, 40 excellent, 8 good, 4 fair and 2 poor results were achieved. There were few problems encountered with the procedure like failure of ligament, incomplete reduction, capsulitis, and migration of sleeve and fracture clavicle.

Conclusion

ACJ dislocations can effectively be treated with arthroscopy-assisted procedure. Since this procedure has given uniformly good to excellent results comparable to open reconstructive procedures, it can be a good treatment option for symptomatic ACJ dislocations.

Level of evidence

IV, therapeutic series.     

Arthroscopic keyhole proximal biceps tenodesis: a technical note

We describe an arthroscopic keyhole technique for proximal biceps tenodesis. The technique is safe, easy to reproduce, cost-effective, and less time consuming. It does not need any special instrumentation and is suitable especially for use in the developing countries. It enables examination of the biceps sheath and distal biceps tendon for unidentified tears, synovitis, and fibrosis.     

Prediction of Kerf Width and Surface Roughness of Al6351 Based Composite in Wire-Cut Electric Discharge Machining Using Mathematical Modelling

The machining of composite materials has been an area of intense research for the past couple of decades due to its wide range of applications, from automobiles to air crafts or from boats to nuclear systems. Non-conventional machining, especially electric discharge machining (EDM), is found to be a good machining option for meeting the required outputs. To overcome the challenges of machining complex shapes, wire electric discharge machining (WEDM) was developed. Al6351 composites was observed to be extensively used in nuclear applications. Therefore, identifying the kerf width and surface roughness are important criteria for the dimensional accuracy of the final product. The present work aims at predicting the behavior of the two major machining parameters which are kerf width and surface roughness of Al6351 composites in wire EDM by creating a mathematical model using ANOVA for different combinations of the reinforcements and comparing the variations in the coefficients for different combinations of reinforcements. The developed model has been validated by conducting similar set of experiments in Al6351-5% SiC-1% B₄C hybrid composite. From the work, it was identified that pulse on time and current are the major contributing factor for kerf width and wire feed rate was observed to be contributing to the surface roughness. The validation results show an average variation of 8.17% for kerf width and 11.27% for surface roughness. The work can be successfully utilized for prediction of the kerf width and surface roughness of the composites manufactured with Al6351 as the base matrix material.     

Asbestosis: assessment by bronchoalveolar lavage and measurement of pulmonary epithelial permeability.

Thirty two patients with asbestosis were assessed by means of bronchoalveolar lavage (27 patients) and the half time clearance from lungs to blood (T1/2LB) of an inhaled aerosol of diethylenetriamine pentacetate (DTPA) labelled with technetium 99m (32 patients). T1/2LB was also measured in 20 non-smoking normal individuals and 17 smokers without a history of exposure to asbestos. Thirteen patients (46%) showed an increase in the percentage of neutrophils with or without an increase in the percentage of eosinophils and eight (29%) showed an increased percentage of lymphocytes. The number of neutrophils plus eosinophils expressed as a percentage of the total count was positively correlated with the length of the history of disease (r = 0.53, p less than 0.025) and greater percentages were associated with more severe impairment of lung function. Smokers had lower percentages of lymphocytes than non-smokers (p less than 0.002) and showed increased proportions of neutrophils and eosinophils more often than non-smokers (p less than 0.05). In 18 non-smokers with asbestosis the mean T1/2LB was 33.8 (range 10.0-62.0) minutes, significantly less than 57.2 (30.5-109) minutes in 20 non-smoking normal subjects (p less than 0.002). In non-smokers shorter T1/2LB correlated with a longer time since first exposure to asbestos (r = -0.65, p less than 0.005), longer duration of exposure (r = -0.70, p less than 0.001), and a shorter time since last exposure (r = 0.59, p less than 0.01). Shorter T1/2LB was also associated with increased inflammatory activity as shown by higher bronchoalveolar lavage cell counts (r = -0.53, p less than 0.025) and higher combined percentages of neutrophils, eosinophils, and lymphocytes (r = -0.47, p less than 0.05). The techniques of bronchoalveolar lavage and measurement of inhaled solute clearance may be useful in assessing inflammatory activity in asbestosis.     

The histocompatibility antigen in asbestos related disease.

Thirty nine phenotypes of human leucocyte antigens (HLA)-A-B-DR and DQ were obtained from 99 asbestos workers (one woman and 98 men). Presence or absence of antinuclear antibodies and rheumatoid factor was determined in 91 of them. Workers were divided into five groups: asbestos workers with no apparent disease (AW; n = 17), diffuse benign pleural disease (PD; n = 31), asbestosis (AS; n = 24), asbestosis with lung cancer (AS-CA; n = 14), and mesothelioma (M; n = 13). Compared with AW, several trends of differences of HLA antigen prevalence were found in patients with asbestos related disease, but these did not achieve statistical significance when p was corrected (pcorr) by number of analyses undertaken. Analysis of the results obtained in previous studies together with the results of this study showed that compared with AW, AS patients had decreased prevalence of HLA-DR5 (pcorr < 0.02). Reasons for the differences in results of previous studies and statistical methods commonly used to compare prevalences of HLA antigen are discussed.     

The histocompatibility antigen in asbestos related disease.

Thirty nine phenotypes of human leucocyte antigens (HLA)-A-B-DR and DQ were obtained from 99 asbestos workers (one woman and 98 men). Presence or absence of antinuclear antibodies and rheumatoid factor was determined in 91 of them. Workers were divided into five groups: asbestos workers with no apparent disease (AW; n = 17), diffuse benign pleural disease (PD; n = 31), asbestosis (AS; n = 24), asbestosis with lung cancer (AS-CA; n = 14), and mesothelioma (M; n = 13). Compared with AW, several trends of differences of HLA antigen prevalence were found in patients with asbestos related disease, but these did not achieve statistical significance when p was corrected (pcorr) by number of analyses undertaken. Analysis of the results obtained in previous studies together with the results of this study showed that compared with AW, AS patients had decreased prevalence of HLA-DR5 (pcorr < 0.02). Reasons for the differences in results of previous studies and statistical methods commonly used to compare prevalences of HLA antigen are discussed.     

Bronchoalveolar lavage and clearance of 99m-Tc-DTPA in asbestos workers without evidence of asbestosis

We performed BAL and measured the clearance of 99m-Tc-DTPA in 20 non-smoking subjects (mean age 50, range 36-68 years) occupationally exposed to asbestos (mean duration 14, range 3-30 years). All had normal lung function and none had clinical or radiological evidence of asbestosis. The mean BAL results were: total cells per ml 737 X 10(3) (360-1210), percentage macrophages 79 (49-96), percentage lymphocytes 13 (1-42), percentage neutrophils 8 (1-40), percentage eosinophils 0 (0-3), asbestos bodies per ml 83 (0-550). Eight subjects showed increased percentage of lymphocytes and four others showed increased percentages of neutrophils when compared with normal ranges in our laboratory. Higher percentages of neutrophils correlated with longer duration of exposure to asbestos (r = 0.54, P less than 0.025), and shorter time since last exposure to asbestos (r = -0.54, P less than 0.025). Four subjects showed faster clearance of 99m-Tc-DTPA than was observed in 31 normal non-smoking control subjects. There was a tendency for faster solute clearance to be associated with greater numbers of BAL macrophages (r = -0.39, P less than 0.10) but there were no significant relationships between solute clearance and other BAL variables. BAL profiles in asbestos workers may be abnormal in the absence of clinical or radiological evidence of asbestosis.