Patellofemoral joint arthroplasty: patient selection,surgical technique and outcomes

Isolated patellofemoral arthritis is an increasingly recognized entity, and is usually associated with previous patellofemoral dysplasia or instability. Patellofemoral arthroplasty (PFA) has evolved significantly in recent years, both in terms of implant design and importantly in the understanding of appropriate patient selection. This review outlines the indications and investigations for PFA, provides a brief history of the development of contemporary implants, and presents the clinical outcomes for the prostheses most commonly used in the UK. In addition, it provides a detailed surgical technique for implantation of an onlay implant, with tips on how to optimize patellofemoral biomechanics and thus achieve a consistently good outcome.     

The development of a nationwide central booking service for abortion.

BACKGROUND: Central booking services have been proven to facilitate access to abortion services. This in turn should reduce morbidity and mortality. City-wide models have previously been described. A nationwide central booking service has been developed in the UK. DEVELOPMENT: A nationwide central booking service was introduced in 1993. Initially a manual booking system was used. In 1996 the appointment system was computerised. OUTPUT: More than a quarter of a million calls are now received each year. The highest demand weekday is a Monday. The volume of calls peaks at mid-morning. There is a sustained rise in calls from the second week in January through to mid-February, peaking in the fifth week of the year. More than a quarter of calls originate from mobile phones. CONCLUSIONS: The computerised central booking service has radically improved the efficiency of the organisation. Waiting times can be actively managed using data from the system.     

Treatment of refractoriness to platelet transfusion by protein A column therapy

Ten thrombocytopenic patients (platelets < 10–24 × 10(9)/L) who were refractory to platelet transfusion were investigated for their responsiveness to staphylococcal protein A column therapy. Nine patients had previously been treated with steroids, intravenous immune globulin, and/or other forms of immunosuppressive therapy without improvement in their transfusion response. All patients were receiving multiple platelet transfusions without achieving 1-hour corrected count increments (CCIs) > or = 7500. Eight patients had antibodies that reacted with platelets and were directed against HLA class I antigens, ABO antigens, and/or platelet-specific alloantigens. Plasma (500-2000 mL) from each patient was passed over a protein A silica gel column and then returned to the patient. Patients received from 1 to 14 treatments. A positive response to protein A therapy was defined as at least a doubling of the pretreatment platelet count and/or two successive 10- to 120-minute posttransfusion CCIs > or = 7500. Following plasma treatments, 6 of 10 patients responded with daily platelet counts that averaged 48 +/− 11 × 10(9) per L as compared with counts of 16 +/− 7 × 10(9) per L (p < 0.0005) before treatment. Posttransfusion CCI values determined in four of these patients averaged 2480 +/− 810 and 10,010 +/− 3540 (p < 0.005) before and after treatment, respectively. In contrast, among the four unresponsive patients, platelet counts averaged 10 +/− 9 and 13 +/− 10 × 10(9) per L (p = NS), respectively, while posttransfusion CCIs were 700 +/− 1410 and 1520 +/− 2460 (p = NS), respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

乳酸脱氢酶实验检测细胞新陈代谢的实验研究

目的 探索LDH实验检测细胞活力的可行性。方法 原代培养骨髓细胞和软骨细胞，用LDH实验测定上述两组细胞的活力，并与镜下活体观察到细胞的生长状况相比较。与目前比较成熟的测定细胞活力的MTS实验的测得的值相比较。结果 LDH实验对上述两组细胞的活力的测定结果与镜下活体观察到的结果相符合。与MTS实验的测得的结果经统计学处理无显著差异。结论 LDH实验可用于细胞活力的直接测定，而对活细胞的生存、繁殖无影响。