Journal of orthopaedics and traumatology : official journal of the Italian Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology
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An increasing number of elderly patients are managed with long-term antiplatelet therapy. Such patients often present with hip fracture requiring surgical intervention and may be at increased risk of perioperative bleeding and complications. The aim of this study was to ascertain whether it is necessary to stop clopidogrel preoperatively to avoid postoperative complications following hip hemiarthroplasty surgery in patients with intracapsular hip fracture. ⋯ Continuing clopidogrel therapy throughout the perioperative period in patients with intracapsular hip fracture is not associated with an increased risk of complications following hip hemiarthroplasty surgery.
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Large bony defects in the middle or distal third of the tibia resulting from surgical resection of malignant bone tumors present a difficult reconstructive challenge. Various methods of reconstruction are available, such as allografts, vascularized fibular graft (either free or pedicled), or endoprothesis replacement for distal defects. ⋯ Reconstruction of bony defects of the middle or distal tibia after bone tumor resection using pedicled vascularized fibula is a useful limb salvage procedure. The procedure can be performed relatively quickly and inexpensively and has a low rate of late complications. It leads to a good outcome regarding the union, hypertrophy, and function.
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Pharmacological prophylaxis for preventing venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a worldwide established procedure in hip and knee replacement surgery, as well as in the treatment of femoral neck fractures, but few data exist in other fields of orthopaedics and traumatology. Thus, no guidelines or recommendations are available in the literature except for a limited number of weak statements about knee arthroscopy and lower limb fractures. ⋯ The Italian Society for Studies on Haemostasis and Thrombosis (SISET), the Italian Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (SIOT), the Association of Orthopaedic Traumatology of Italian Hospitals (OTODI), together with the Italian Society of Anesthesia, Analgesia, Resuscitation and Intensive Care (SIAARTI) and the Italian Society of General Medicine (SIMG) have set down easy and quick suggestions for VTE prophylaxis in a number of surgical conditions for which only scarce evidence is available. This inter-society consensus statement aims at simplifying the approach to VTE prophylaxis in the single patient with the goal to improve its clinical application.
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Patients with low back pain frequently demonstrate recumbent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) alterations not always related to homogeneous clinical symptoms. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and quantify the statistical significance of variations of some anatomical parameters of the lumbosacral spine and reveal occult disc pathologies from recumbent to upright position in patients with acute and chronic low back pain. ⋯ Dynamic MRI with an open-configuration, low-field tilting MRI system is a feasible and promising tool to study degenerative pathology of the spine. Moreover, in cases of low back pain with negative MRI in the recumbent position or in patients with pain in the upright position only, tilting MRI permits visualization of occult spine and disc pathologies in patients with acute or chronic low back pain.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Fibrin tissue adhesive reduces postoperative blood loss in total knee arthroplasty.
Blood transfusion is often required in total knee replacement; various methods of blood preservation have been studied. The best solution is to reduce the loss of blood during and after surgery. ⋯ Fibrin tissue adhesive reduced blood loss in TKR and seemed to significantly reduce the need for blood transfusion. Fibrin tissue adhesive can be an appropriate solution to enhance hemostasis and vessel sealing at the operative site in TKR, in order to reduce blood loss after surgery and the risk of complications.