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.     

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)     

Sequential scintigraphy and orthoradiographic measurement of femoral shortening after femoral neck fracture

The objective of the study was to assess scintigraphic patterns and femoral shortening after femoral neck fracture in order to select predictive parameters for late complications. Eighty-eight patients with osteosynthesized femoral neck fractures were followed for 2 years with regular scintigraphic evaluations and orthoradiographic measurements of femoral length shortening. Four different patient categories were identified with regard to the late outcome: two different groups with uneventful healing and two different groups with late complications. Accordingly, a high scintigraphic uptake at 1 month may eiher point to an uneventful healing if combined with minor femoral shortening or indicate failure if combined with a high degree of femoral shortening. In contrast, low scintigraphic uptake may either reflect primary fracture healing if accompanied by minor femoral shortening or predict failure if a high degree of femoral shortening is present. Compared with using scintigraphy alone, combined scintigraphic evaluation and assessment of femoral shortening increased the accuracy for prediction of late failures from 80% to 93%. Early scintigraphic patterns after osteosynthesis of femoral neck fractures have to be validated with care. Radiographic assessment of femoral shortening, which is less invasive, gives better prognostic accuracy and should therefore be preferred for this purpose.