HAND最新文献

Symptomatic bowstringing of digital flexor tendons is a rare complication of carpal tunnel release (CTR). Two weeks after open CTR, a 47-year-old man with severe carpal tunnel syndrome had relief of his preoperative median paresthesia but complained of new-onset painful snapping of the wrist and transient ulnar paresthesia occurring with wrist dorsiflexion and concomitant digital flexion. Physical examination localized the audible snapping to the hook of hamate (HOH) where manual pressure eliminated the wrist motion-induced snapping and the associated ulnar paresthesia. Wrist radiographs showed stage III scapholunate advanced collapse (SLAC) with marked palmar subluxation of the lunate. Wrist magnetic resonance imaging revealed palmar and ulnar subluxation of the digital flexors over the HOH due to the mass effect of the palmarly displaced lunate and the chronic carpal malalignment. The snapping wrist and accompanying ulnar paresthesia resolved after HOH excision, and no additional treatment for the asymptomatic SLAC wrist deformity was required. Satisfactory clinical outcome was observed at 5-year follow-up.

Aquagenic syringeal keratoderma (ASK), rare in males, is characterized by the rapid onset of edematous palmar wrinkling with small white papules after brief contact with water or sweat. A 24-year-old atopic male presented with a 2-week subacute history of bilateral palmar edema with whitish-colored papules after exposure to water, 3 months after having had COVID-19 infection treated with a full course of ritonavir-boosted nirmatrelvir (PAXLOVID^TM). He had received 3 COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer, New York, NY) about 12 months prior. Workup was negative. Initial spontaneous near-resolution 2 months after onset was temporary, with recurrence 1 month later. Treatment with 12% topical aluminum chloride was ineffective. Botulinum toxin injection to both palms led to resolution of symptoms that has been sustained for 7 months. The association between atopy and ASK remains weak. We present a case of new-onset ASK in an adult male 3 months following COVID-19 infection without a history of excessive handwashing. Our patient may have had a predisposition to recurrent ASK due to his history of atopy including atopic dermatitis and food allergy anaphylaxis combined with prior COVID-19 infection. It is possible that ASK is a novel manifestation of post-acute sequelae of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (PASC) infection or long COVID.

Intraosseous median nerve entrapment at the level of the elbow can occur after a traumatic event such as fracture and/or dislocation of the elbow. It is considered a rare and severe entity. We present a rare case of nontraumatic median nerve entrapment inside the distal humerus. No article about atraumatic intraosseous entrapment was encountered in literature.

Background: As health care costs in the United States continue to rise, there is increasing attention on cost-saving measures. One area of investigation is the utility of pathologic examination of specimens from routine procedures with a suspected benign pathology. We assessed the utility and cost of routine pathologic analysis for wrist ganglion cyst excision.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of all wrist ganglion cyst excisions performed by seven hand surgeons was conducted from 2015 to 2019 at Penn State Hershey Medical Center. Preoperative and intraoperative diagnoses, pathologic diagnosis, and pathology cost were assessed.

Results: A total of 407 patients underwent ganglion cyst excision, with 318 (78.1%) specimens sent for pathologic review. Of the 318, 317 (99.6%) specimens were concordant with the preoperative or intraoperative diagnosis of ganglion cyst. One specimen (0.3%) resulted as a benign cystic vascular malformation. The charge per specimen was $258, totaling $81,786 spent confirming benign pathology that was clinically correctly diagnosed by the operating surgeon in 99.6% of cases.

Conclusions: Routine pathologic analysis is not indicated in cases in which surgeons have a high clinical suspicion for ganglion cyst based on preoperative and intraoperative findings. Pathologic review should be reserved for cases with atypical presentations or intraoperative findings.

Background: Candidate selection for upper extremity transplantation remains an inherently subjective process. This work evaluated the effect that psychosocial factors have on outcomes, both to standardize evaluation of potential candidates and in optimizing these factors prior to transplantation. Our goal was to measure and quantify the risk that various psychosocial factors have on transplant outcomes.

Methods: Given that we do not have sufficient post-transplant patients to examine specific factors, we chose to have experts in the field evaluate hypothetical patients based on their experience. We used a Generalized Estimating Equation to estimate and compare surgical candidacy scores using patient scenario vignettes based on the presence or absence of permutations of the following: (1) depression; (2) participation in occupational therapy (OT); (3) expectation of post-transplant function; (4) punctuality; and (5) family support were given to experts in the field.

Results: This work suggests there is a decrease in predicted success with increasing numbers of negative factors with participation in OT and realistic expectations of outcomes being most important. An increase in the summarizing risk score from 0 to 1.7 was associated with a decrease in the outcome surgical candidacy score from 8.6 to 5.3, meaning candidates with 2 risk factors would often observe a large drop in surgical candidacy score.

Conclusions: Focusing on optimizing psychosocial variables in transplant candidates may help improve hand transplant success.

Background: Concomitant carpal injuries with dislocations and fracture-dislocations of the carpometacarpal joints (CMCD/FD) are often hard to see on plain radiographs, making advanced imaging a useful diagnostic adjunct. We aim to: (1) characterize bony injury patterns with CMCD/FD; and (2) determine the frequency that preoperative computed tomography (CT) scans change surgical management.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed of patients who underwent operative fixation of CMCD/FD from 2006 to 2021. X-ray and CT scan diagnoses were reviewed and correlated to intraoperative findings and procedures performed. Statistical analyses were performed to evaluate the frequency in which CT scans changed management and the frequency of new intraoperative diagnoses.

Results: Seventy-five patients were identified. All patients had a preoperative x-ray, and 27 patients (36%) additionally had a CT scan. Patients who sustained high-velocity trauma were significantly more likely to obtain a CT scan than patients with low-velocity trauma (P = .019); however, the number of additional diagnoses was not significantly associated with trauma velocity (P = .35). Computed tomography scans significantly increased the number of diagnoses (P < .001) and changed operative management in 58% of cases. Six of the 48 patients (12.5%) that did not receive a CT scan had new intraoperative diagnoses, which changed the procedure for five of these patients. New intraoperative diagnoses were identified significantly more when patients did not have a CT scan (P = .04).

Conclusions: Obtaining a CT scan in CMCD/FD patients changed the patient's diagnosis at a significant rate and changed operative management roughly half of the time. The authors recommend routine CT scans be obtained in patients with CMCD/FD.

Background: The opioid epidemic is a health crisis in the United States. Physicians contribute to this problem by overprescribing opioids. Ambulatory hand surgery (AHS) is common in the United States and associated with overprescribing of opioids. Education and guidance regarding the effectiveness of nonopioid compared with opioid interventions for pain management following ambulatory hand procedures are lacking. We assessed the current literature to suggest evidence-based protocols for postoperative analgesia.

Methods: A systematic review was performed using PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. Studies comparing nonopioid with opioid treatments for pain management following AHS were identified. Studies investigating opioid-sparing strategies after AHS were also identified. Evidence was examined to determine efficacy of nonopioid interventions and to provide recommendations for optimal nonopioid protocols and opioid-sparing strategies.

Results: A total of 510 studies were identified in the search with 18 meeting inclusion criteria. High-level evidence demonstrated efficacy of nonopioid interventions for pain management following AHS (levels I and II evidence). Results provided evidence-based guidelines for recommendations of nonopioid treatment protocols and opioid-sparing strategies (levels I and II evidence).

Conclusions: Our review demonstrated nonopioid interventions are adequate in multiple aspects of pain management compared with opioid treatments. Recommendations were established for two nonopioid treatment protocols, and for an opioid-sparing intervention (levels I and II evidence). The evidence provided in this review should be strongly considered for pain management guidance following AHS and provides a means to decrease opioid overprescribing in the United States.

Background: Posterolateral rotatory instability (PLRI) results from lateral ulnar collateral ligament (LCL) deficiency. The lateral pivot shift test is used to diagnose PLRI but can be difficult to perform and is poorly tolerated. We present a new maneuver, the Posterior Radiocapitellar Subluxation Test (PRST), that we believe is easier to perform. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy and reproducibility of the PRST with the lateral pivot shift test.

Methods: We obtained 10 cadaveric upper extremity specimens, performed a Kocher approach on each, released the LCL origin in 5, then closed. The specimens were randomized, and 3 attending orthopedic surgeons and 1 resident blindly performed the PRST then the lateral pivot shift test after re-randomization and assessed presence or absence of PLRI. This process was repeated the following day. The data for each test were analyzed for sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy.

Results: For the blinded testing when comparing PRST with the pivot shift test, overall accuracy was 77.5%, compared with 67.5% (P = .03), sensitivity was 75.0%, compared with 50.0% (P = .003), and specificity was 80.0%, compared with 85.0% (P = .55). Conclusions: The PRST appears to be at least as accurate as the lateral pivot shift test, with comparable intraobserver and interobserver reliability.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between timing of nerve repair and the ability to perform a primary nerve repair versus a bridge repair requiring the use of allograft, autograft, or a conduit in lacerated upper extremity peripheral nerve injuries.

Methods: This is a retrospective case-control study of patients who underwent upper extremity nerve repair for lacerated peripheral nerves identified by Current Procedural Terminology codes. Timing of injury and surgery, as well as other information such as demographic information, mechanism of injury, site of injury, and type of nerve repair, was recorded. The odds of a patient requiring bridge repair based on the duration of time between injury and surgery was evaluated using logistic regression.

Results: A total of 403 nerves in 335 patients (mean age 35.87 ± 15.33 years) were included. In all, 241 nerves were primarily repaired and 162 required bridge repair. Patients requiring bridge repair had a greater duration between injury and surgery compared with patients who underwent primary repair. Furthermore, the nerves requiring bridge repair were associated with a greater gap compared with the nerves repaired primarily. Based on logistic regression, each 1-day increase in duration between injury and surgery was associated with a 3% increase in the odds of requiring bridge repair.

Conclusions: There is no defined critical window to achieve a primary nerve repair following injury. This study demonstrated that nerve injuries requiring bridge repair were associated with a significantly greater delay to surgery.

Background: Steroid injections are a common treatment option in the management of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). This study assesses various prognostic factors for progression to carpal tunnel release (CTR) after a first-time steroid injection for CTS with specific focus on concomitant ulnar nerve compression (UNC).

Methods: This is a retrospective study of 426 hands with CTS treated with a first-time steroid injection in the Long Island region of New York. The main predictor variable was UNC measured in two analytical models of positive UNC and location of UNC (wrist or elbow). Multivariate logistic regression analyses adjusted for demographic, medical, and CTS-related variables for 2 study outcomes occurring within 1 year: (1) CTR; and (2) steroid reinjection.

Results: Overall progression to CTR within 1 year of steroid injection was 23.0%. Ulnar nerve compression was present in 16.7% of patients and was significantly associated with increased odds for CTR but not with steroid reinjection. These results were further localized to be specific for UNC at the elbow. A moderate or severe result on electrodiagnostic studies was associated with increased odds for CTR. Increased age was associated with slightly increased odds of steroid reinjection while a history of distal radius fracture was associated with decreased odds of steroid reinjection.

Conclusions: Carpal tunnel syndrome patients with UNC may benefit from earlier definitive treatment with CTR rather than attempting steroid injections, as they are more likely to seek reintervention within 1 year of their initial injection.