Bulletin of the NYU hospital for joint diseases最新文献

The use of biological agents in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has grown constantly since the approval of the first therapeutic monoclonal antibody against tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) in 1996. While these agents transformed RA treatment, not all patients respond to these agents. Moreover, the cost of these agents is high, and some patients may suffer from adverse events. Thus, the prediction of individual response to biological treatment has become a major clinical challenge in RA. Recent studies have provided evidence that biomarkers may be identified predictive of the response to therapy with these agents. This article will review some of the recent advances in the biomarkers and therapeutic drug monitoring as predictors of response to TNF inhibitor therapies in patients with RA.

New data published or presented in the past year has expanded our understanding of the clinical use of interleukin 6 (IL-6) inhibitors and their role in the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other rheumatic diseases. Data has become available on the use of tocilizumab (TCZ) in comparison to adalimumab, as therapy in RA patients with an inadequate response to TNF inhibitors and on its role as monotherapy. Early data on the efficacy and safety of subcutaneously administered TCZ suggests a potential role for this formulation of the drug. Extension studies of the use of TCZ in systemic juvenile inflammatory arthritis have confirmed the long-term efficacy of the drug in this illness, while studies on the use of TCZ and other IL-6 inhibitors in spondyloarthropathies has been less encouraging. Finally, new agents targeting the IL-6 pathway have entered late stage clinical trials, and the early results are promising.

Incidental bone tumors are, by definition, asymptomatic lesions that are discovered through routine radiographs obtained for other reasons. Generally, these lesions are benign and latent, requiring no further intervention except observation. However, occasionally these radiographs will detect benign aggressive processes or even malignant lesions that do require further treatment and referral to a tumor specialist. Oftentimes, there are characteristic findings on radiographs that are pathognomonic. Knowledge of these findings can simplify the treatment algorithm for a practicing general orthopaedist. This article will describe radiographic characteristics of benign and malignant bone lesions and their typical presentations. It will then focus on the types of bone lesions that are often found incidentally by routine radiography. Specific recommendations, including recommendation for referrals to orthopaedic tumor specialists, will be noted for lesions described. Most malignant lesions will present with pain and a constellation of history and physical exam findings that will signal the patient to seek medical care; although they will be mentioned for the sake of comparison and completeness, they will not be the focus of this review.

The footprint is thought to be an important fact in rotator cuff repairs and has been used to compare various cuff fixation techniques. The following experiment used two different measurement sensors to evaluate the footprint as it is affected by suture tensions in a transosseous equivalent suture bridge repair. It was found that suture tension has a direct effect on footprint contact area and pressure and thus could affect healing and fixation stability and should be characterized in any study of comparative fixation techniques.

Although bilateral anterior dislocation of shoulder is not that uncommon, there have been only 12 published reports on bilateral anterior fracture dislocation of shoulder. The associated fractures have mostly been greater tuberosity fractures with bilateral three part fractures being reported in only two cases. To our knowledge, a bilateral four part anterior fracture dislocation of the shoulder has not yet been reported in the English literature. We here report a case of bilateral anterior fracture dislocation with four part fracture of both proximal humeri in a 60-year-old male due to electrocution. Considering the comparatively old age of the patient and excessive comminution of both the fractures, a bilateral hemiarthroplasty was done. At the last follow-up after more than 2 years, the patient was pain free with ability to comfortably carry out most of the activities of daily life. Through our case report, we highlight the rarity of the condition and review the available literature on the subject. We also emphasize the importance of meticulous perioperative planning when dealing with such cases to ensure a satisfactory long-term outcome.

Wire breakage and migration is a known complication of using a wire tension band construct to treat displaced patella fractures. We report a case of a broken K-wire that migrated from the patella completely into the proximal tibia without complication 9 years after the index surgery. This report highlights the fact that wire migration can occur long after fracture healing and be relatively asymptomatic. But because the complications of wire migration can be deadly, it requires diligence on the part of the physician to educate the patient that new knee pain after operative fixation requires formal evaluation by the treating surgeon.

Osteochondral defects of the femoral head are rare and principles of treatment include anatomic reduction, rigid fixation, enhancement of blood supply, and restoration of articular congruity. In this report, we present a case where the defect of the femoral head was treated with surgical dislocation of hip anteriorly and mosaicplasty. At 3-year follow-up, the patient was symptom free with near complete incorporation of the graft radiographically. Our observations in this case suggest that mosaicplasty with an open approach is an alternative treatment in the osteochondral defects of the femoral head.

Purpose: Accurate prediction of autograft size for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction can assist in preoperative planning and decision-making regarding graft choices. This study seeks to determine the accuracy of MRI measurements by comparing intraoperative measurements of the patella, semitendinosis, and gracilis tendons while correlating these measurements with patient anthropometric data such as gender, height, and weight.

Methods: A series of 20 consecutive patients were enrolled who underwent a magnetic resonance imaging study of the knee and proceeded with surgical reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament. Intraoperative measurements of the diameter of semitendinosis and gracilis tendons or width of patella tendon were compared to radiographic measurements obtained on the MRI. These measurements were analyzed using a paired t-test as well as regression analysis to evaluate strength of correlation between measurements and also to determine correlation with height, weight, and gender.

Results: There was no statistical difference between intraoperative and radiographic measurements (p > 0.05). There was strong correlation (Pearson r = 0.98, p = 0.00) found between intraoperative and radiographic measurements of the autograft tendons. Weaker correlation was seen with gender, height, and weight with intraoperative measurements.

Conclusions: Measuring the diameter of the semitendinosis and gracilis tendons and patellar width on MRI can give an accurate prediction of actual intraoperative sizes of these anatomic structures. Height, weight, and gender were also correlated with tendon sizes implying that a patient of female gender or of smaller stature in height or weight may have smaller tendon sizes. Routine use of preoperative MRI measurements can guide surgeons with specific graft preferences to other surgical options if the graft is measured to be insufficient in size.

Recent resurgence in the interest of barbed suture has extended its application to wound closures in total joint surgery. Improved suture biomaterials and barb geometry has lead to consideration for its use in various orthopedic procedures including arthroplasty. The reported superior wound tensile stress distribution, no need for knots, and ability to close multiple layers with one suture make it an attractive option for deep wound closure after total joint surgery. However, inherent to the design of this suture are barbs that pose a risk of glove perforation and the potential for the transmission of blood borne pathogens. This study reports no increase in the incidence of glove perforation with use of barbed suture for deep wound closure after total joint arthroplasty.

Patient registries are very popular. On the other hand, scientific data collections in registries are commonly observational and retrospective and, in many instances, are prone to biases. Same thing is true of administrative data bases. The selection of the control group(s) is probably the Achilles heel of scientific data collection in observational studies, and there are historical examples of how a properly chosen control group can help or its absence deceive us. Somewhat more recently recognized biases are the wandering comparisons of risk, confounding by disease severity, channeling bias, depletion of the susceptible, and the immortal time bias. The last bias can especially be deceiving and give us false hopes of new remedies. A particularly important selection bias we have come across is what we call the "mortality bias." This is where the mortality in a mother population lessens the mortality in the registry that stems from this mother population simply because deaths in the former cannot be represented in the latter.