The Use of Superselective Arteriography in the Evaluation of the Influence of Intracapsular Hip Joint Pressure on the Blood Flow of the Femoral Head

Electroacupuncture improves articular microcirculation and attenuates cartilage hypoxia in a male rabbit model of knee osteoarthritis

Background and aim

Hypoxia of the cartilage has been considered as a potential pathogenic factor in knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Studies have shown that impaired blood perfusion of joint leads to cartilage hypoxia. Electroacupuncture (EA) has proven effects on pain relief and improving microcirculation. This study aimed to explore the effect of EA on articular microcirculation and cartilage anoxic and the underlying mechanisms.

Procedures

Videman's method was used for 6 weeks to establish the KOA model. EA intervention was performed in four points around the knee for 3 weeks after KOA modeling. The Lequesne MG score was used to assess ethology. We recorded the oxygen tension of synovial fluid and the synovial microcirculation in vivo. HE-staining was used to assess cartilage morphology, and immunohistochemistry (IHC), Western blotting, and RT-PCR were used to assess expression of the major glycolytic enzymes glucosetransporter1 (GLUT1), pyruvate kinase M2(PKM2), and lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Elisa) was used to detect lactate content.

Results and conclusion

There was a significant decrease in Lequesne MG score and improvement in Mankin score after EA intervention (P < 0.01), a significant increase in synovial microcirculation (P < 0.05) and synovial fluid oxygen tension (P < 0.01), and there was significant decrease in the expression of GLUT1, PKM2 and LDHA (P < 0.01) and lactate (P < 0.05). This study suggested that EA ameliorate cartilage hypoxia and regulate glycolytic metabolism in chondrocytes in KOA model rabbits by improving articular microcirculation and oxygen tension.

[Midterm effectiveness of percutaneous compression plate for femoral neck fractures in young and middle-aged patients]

OBJECTIVE

To analyze midterm effectiveness of percutaneous compression plate (PCCP) for femoral neck fractures in young and middle-aged patients.

METHODS

The clinical data of 173 young and middle-aged patients with femoral neck fractures who met the selection criteria and were treated with PCCP internal fixation between January 2011 and March 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, there were 102 males and 71 females; the age ranged from 18 to 59 years, with an average age of 44.9 years. The injury causes included falling in 112 cases, traffic accident in 32 cases, falling from height in 21 cases, struck in 7 cases, and sprain in 1 case. According to Garden classification, there were 90 cases without displacement (51 cases of type Ⅰ and 39 cases of type Ⅱ) and 83 cases with displacement (51 cases of type Ⅲ and 39 cases of type Ⅳ). According to Pauwels classification, there were 10 cases of type Ⅰ, 88 cases of type Ⅱ, and 75 cases of type Ⅲ. The time from injury to operation was 1-14 days, with an average of 4.5 days. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, perioperative blood transfusion, and hospitalization stay were recorded; the fracture reduction was evaluated by Garden alignment index at 1 day after operation; fracture healing and complications were observed, and Harris score was used to evaluate the effectiveness at last follow-up.

RESULTS

The operation time was 34-130 minutes (mean, 78.6 minutes); the intraoperative blood loss was 10-250 mL (mean, 93.2 mL); 171 cases did not receive blood transfusion during perioperative period, 2 patients received blood transfusion of 400 mL and 800 mL respectively; the hospitalization stay was 3-19 days (mean, 11.3 days). All 173 cases were followed up 11-103 months, with an average of 42.6 months. Postoperative reduction quality was satisfactory in 170 cases and unsatisfactory in 3 cases. There were 13 cases of osteonecrosis of femoral head, 1 case of screw cutting out, 2 cases of screw withdrawal, 5 cases of femoral neck shortening, and no deep vein thrombosis in the lower extremity requiring surgical intervention. Fractures healed in 172 patients, and the healing time ranged from 3.0 to 7.5 months, with an average of 3.6 months; 1 case of nonunion occurred. Internal fixation was removed after fracture healing in 51 patients. At last follow-up, Harris score was excellent in 156 cases, good in 11 cases, fair in 3 cases, and poor in 3 cases, with an excellent and good rate of 96.5%.

CONCLUSION

The treatment of femoral neck fractures with PCCP has advantages of rigid fixation, immediate weight-bearing, and sliding compression, reducing the incidences of osteonecrosis of femoral head and nonunion.

Intraoperative monitoring of femoral head perfusion in adult femoral neck fractures

Objectives:

To validate a novel intraoperative method of quantifying femoral head perfusion in adult patients with femoral neck fractures and to determine whether the lack of a perfusion waveform correlates with the development of osteonecrosis, nonunion, or reoperation.

Design:

Prospective cohort.

Setting:

Level 1 trauma center.

Patients/Participants:

Nineteen patients with 20 acute femoral neck fractures treated with hip-preserving surgical fixation. All patients underwent intraoperative quantification of femoral head perfusion.

Intervention:

Intraoperative quantification of femoral head perfusion pressure and waveform utilizing an intracranial pressure monitor.

Main outcome measurements:

Radiographic union, avascular necrosis, revision surgery.

Results:

Nineteen patients (8 male, 11 female, average age 56 ± 21 years) with 20 femoral neck fractures were enrolled. Eight fractures were stable (Garden 1-2/OTA B1.1–1.3) and 12 were unstable (Garden 3-4/OTAB2.1–3.3). A waveform was present in 12 of 20 cases. The average pressures were systolic 36.8 mm Hg, diastolic 30.8 mm Hg, pulse pressure 6.0 mm Hg. A perfusion waveform was significantly associated with advanced age (P = 0.02) and accompanied by trend toward stable fracture patterns. There were 4 deaths during the 1-year follow-up period (20%), and there were 5 conversions to total hip arthroplasty (25%). There was no significant association between revision surgery or death with the absence of a waveform.

Conclusions:

Our study demonstrated the feasibility of a relatively low cost, minimally invasive, technique to quantify femoral head perfusion. In our limited sample, the absence of perfusion did not correlate with our main outcomes; however, the trend toward correlation with increased fracture displacement was as expected. A larger cohort of patients will be needed to detect a significant difference between those with and without a perfusion waveform with regards to our primary outcomes. Further study is needed to delineate the role such data may play in medical decision making at the time of index surgery.

Level of Evidence:

Prognostic Level II.

Development and validation of a predictive nomogram for postoperative osteonecrosis of the femoral head with cannulated screws fixation

Background

Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) remains a major complication of femoral neck fractures. Early interventions require preliminary prediction and detection. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the perioperative variables of postoperative ONFH in femoral neck fracture patients with closed reduction and cannulated screw fixation. We also established and validated an individualized nomogram for the prediction of postoperative ONFH.

Methods

We included 470 patients with ONFH from two hospitals [First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China (n=360) and Southern Branch of the First Affiliated Hospital of the University of Science and Technology of China (n=110)]. We evaluated the prognostic value of multiple perioperative variables using a Cox regression model in the training cohort. We developed a nomogram for the prediction of ONFH using a logistic regression model. We assessed the performance of this nomogram in a validation cohort and evaluated its clinical value.

Results

Of the 470 patients who met the inclusion criteria, 141 (30.0%) developed postoperative ONFH. We found alcohol use [odds ratio (OR), 1.743, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.042-2.901, P=0.033], cerebrovascular disease (OR, 5.357, 95% CI, 2.318-13.13, P<0.001), interval to surgery (OR, 5.273, 95% CI, 2.724-10.43, P<0.001), Garden classification (OR, 23.17, 95% CI, 6.812-145.3, P<0.001), Garden index (OR, 5.935, 95% CI, 2.670-14.184, P<0.001), interval to partial weight-bearing (OR, 0.053, 95% CI, 0.006-0.296, P=0.002), and six-month Harris hip score (OR, 0.856; 95% CI, 0.792-0.919, P<0.001) were independent predictors of postoperative development of ONFH. Based on these variables, we developed a nomogram that showed good discrimination in both the training [area under the curve (AUC) =0.865] and the validation cohort (AUC =0.877). The favorable performance of this nomogram was also confirmed in the validation cohort.

Conclusions

We developed and validated an easy-to-use nomogram for predicting postoperative ONFH. This nomogram can aid decision-making of intraoperative interventions and postoperative rehabilitation plans for patients, surgeons, and osteo-rehabilitative physicians.

Intracapsular pressure in children with septic arthritis of the hip

Elevated intracapsular pressure in the hip causes occlusion of the retinacular vessels and may result in avascular necrosis of the proximal femoral epiphysis (ANPFE) and growth disturbances. Our goal is to study intraarticular pressure in children with septic arthritis of the hip and its potential correlation with body weight, systemic blood pressure and the volume of synovial fluid aspirated from the joint. Thirteen septic arthritis of the hip were studied. Inclusion criteria: pain, limping, fever, leukocytosis, elevated C-reactive protein and ultrasonographic effusion >5 mm. Traumatic, inflammatory, rheumatic or tumoral origin were excluded. Mean age was 3.7 years. Girls were 58%. Mean time to articular drainage was 15 h. Arthrocentesis was performed. An STIC self-calibrating monitoring system with an error of ±1 mmHg was used. Measurements were taken: intracapsular pressure, volume of fluid aspirated, systolic and diastolic pressures and weight. Follow-up was 6.3 years. Descriptive and nonparametric tests were performed: U Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis. Statistical significance was P <0.05. Mean intracapsular pressure was 50.5 mmHg; fluid aspirated was 2.9 ml; systolic and diastolic pressures were 107.5 and 44.3 mmHg, respectively; weight was 16.2 kg. Intracapsular pressure exceeded 30 mmHg in eight children (61.5%) and was lower than 50 mmHg in 73%. Variables studied had no significance on intracapsular pressure. Complications: coxa magna in three patients (23%) and Harris lines in three (23%). Surgical drainage of septic arthritis of hip must be performed urgently, within the first 24 hours, to reduce the time with high intracapsular pressure and to avoid risk of ANPFE.