Steroid injection of the hip joint is a common procedure. Radiological confirmation of correct needle placement is believed to be necessary for a successful injection when commonly described approa...
INTRODUCTION Pneumatic tourniquets are used frequently in orthopaedic theatres to provide a bloodless field whilst operating on the extremities. Their use has given rise to complications and preventable damage due to over-pressurisation and prolonged application. We designed a questionnaire to assess the knowledge on tourniquet use among operating department assistants (ODAs) and specialist registrars (SpRs) in orthopaedic surgery. SUBJECTS AND METHODS A questionnaire was constructed using set guidelines from the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) for recommended practice of tourniquet application. This was distributed to orthopaedic registrars with varying levels of experience and ODAs from five different NHS hospitals. The unpaired, two tailed t-test was used to test for statistical significance of results. RESULTS A total of 54 completed questionnaires were collected for analysis. The study population included 29 orthopaedic SpRs and 25 ODAs. The mean score for the orthopaedic SpRs as a group was 41.3% (SD 6.85; range, 29.0–54.8%). The mean score for the ODAs was 46.7% (SD 9.64; range, 23.3–62.9%) with a P-value of 0.024. CONCLUSIONS Most surgeons are taught how to use pneumatic tourniquets by their senior colleagues as no formal teaching is given. Most of the complications are infrequent and preventable. However, their consequences can be devastating to the patient with medicolegal implications. Our results show suboptimal knowledge of tourniquets and their use among SpRs and ODAs. This study highlights the need for amendments in training to improve the knowledge and awareness of medical practitioners on the application and use of tourniquets to prevent adverse events and improve patient safety.
In the most widely accepted model of injuries to the carpus, scaphoid fracture and scapho-lunate dissociation are held to be mutually exclusive. Four cases in which they occurred together are reported, and the likely mechanism proposed.
Hip fractures accounts to about 86000 cases per annum in UK. AP and Lateral radiographs form an essential investigation in planning the management of these fractures. Recently it has been suggested...
Study Design. Retrospective review of magnetic resonance imaging and discography in patients investigated for low back pain before spinal fusion. Objective. To determine the sensitivity of magnetic resonance imaging in the detection of painful anular tears manifested by the high-intensity zone. Summary of Background Data. Two studies have produced results showing that magnetic resonance imaging has a high specificity for the detection of painful anular tears manifested by a high-intensity zone. However, in a recent study, results showed no significant correlation between the high-intensity zone and pain reproduction. The sensitivity of magnetic resonance imaging in identifying anular tears in a symptomatic population has not been determined. Methods. Anular tears were identified in magnetic resonance images by the presence of a high-intensity zone in the posterior anulus. The results were compared with the demonstration of painful anular tears on discogram, which has been considered the gold standard. Results. The study group comprised 58 patients (31 men, 27 women; mean age 42, range 21-63 years). One hundred and fifty-two discs were injected and examined by discography, and 108 were considered degenerate. Of these, 86 had anular tears (54 posterior, 6 anterior, 26 both). Seventy anular tears were associated with concordant pain provocation. Twenty-seven high-intensity zones were identified in magnetic resonance imaging, of which 24 were associated with pain reproduction by discography. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of magnetic resonance imaging in the diagnosis of concordantly painful posterior anular tears are therefore 26.7%, 95.2%, 88.9%, and 47%, respectively. Conclusion. These results confirm that the high-intensity zone is a marker of a painful posterior anular tear. However, the usefulness of this sign is limited by low sensitivity.
'%3e%3cpath fill='%23012169' d='M0 0v30h60V0z'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23fff' stroke-width='6' d='m0 0 60 30m0-30L0 30'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23C8102E' stroke-width='4' d='m0 0 60 30m0-30L0 30' clip-path='url(%23b)'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23fff' stroke-width='10' d='M30 0v30M0 15h60'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23C8102E' stroke-width='6' d='M30 0v30M0 15h60'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/svg%3e)