[Management of a patient with severe limb trauma]

The management of a patient with limb trauma begins with a rapid assessment of the lesions in order to prioritise the treatment of life-threatening lesions, primarily haemorrhage. Severe limb trauma is defined by the presence of specific severity criteria and requires the injured person to be referred to a specialised severe trauma centre. The prognosis is twofold, both vital and functional, based on the speed as well as the quality of immediate pre-hospital care, specific hospital care and the prevention of secondary complications.

[Aseptic nonunion of patella at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Bocar Sidy Sall de Kati about 25 cases]

OBJECTIVE

The objective of Our study was to describe the epidemiological, clinical, therapeutic and prognostic aspects of Nonunion of patella fractures.

PATIENTS METHODS

It was a retrospective study done concerning 25 patients treated fromJanuary 2005 to December 2015 in the orthopedic trauma service CHU Bocar Sidy SALL Kati.

RESULTS

We gather together 25 cases of Nonunion of patella fractures disease among 28 caseswhich was about 89.28%. Our patients were divided into 20 men and 5 women, mean age was 36 years, ranging from ages 22 to 75 years. Posttraumatic period was 6-18 months. The initial fracture was neglected in 21 cases and treated in 4 cases. Physical examination revealed lameness in 92% of cases, atrophy of the quadriceps in 56% of cases, joint stiffness, 56% and an inter-fragmentary gap in 92% of patients. The radiographic data were consistent with pseudoarthrosis in all cases. The inter-fragmentary gap was 36 mm on average. The care of our patients was based on plugging and guy-wiring in 64 % of cases and strapping pre- and peri patella in 12% of cases. A partial patellectomy was practiced in 2 cases. A VY plasty of the quadriceps was recommended in 4 cases.The patients were reviewed after a mean of 10 months (8 months- 24 months). Functional outcomes analyzed using Bostman scores were excellent in 4 cases (16%), good in 18 cases (72%) and poor in 3 cases (12%).

CONCLUSION

Nonunion of the patella is mostly due to the lack of treatment or wrong treatment leads. Treatment with plugging and guy-wiring seems the most appropriate method.

[Long bone fractures in cattle: A retrospective study of treatment and outcome in 194 cases]

INTRODUCTION

The present retrospective study investigated the localization, cause, treatment and healing of long bone fractures in cattle. Over a period of ten years, medical records of 194 cattle of all ages with a long bone fracture, presented at the Clinic for Ruminants with Ambulatory and Herd Health Services at LMU Munich, were evaluated. The majority of patients (n = 131, 67.5%) were younger than two weeks of age. Of these, 118 calves sustained the fracture on the day of birth (60.8%). An obstetrical assistance was found in 57.4% (n = 58) of birth-related cases as a fracture cause. The femur was most frequently affected in calves aged up to two weeks (n = 35; 26.7%). The second most frequent fractures occurred in the metacarpus (n = 31; 22.9%) in this age group, followed by metatarsus (n = 28; 21.4%) and tibia (n = 27; 20.6%). Fractures of the antebrachium (n = 9; 6.9%) and the humerus were rare (n = 1; 0.8%). A total of 194 patients were diagnosed with 50 femur fractures (25.8%), 53 metacarpal fractures (27.3%), 43 metatarsal fractures (22.2%), 30 tibial fractures (15.5%), 11 antebrachial fractures (5.7%) and 7 humeral fractures (3.6%). Of the 194 animals, 78 (40.2%) had to be euthanized, 42 of them (53.8%) without treatment. In 150 patients, treatment was initiated, of which 110 patients (73.3%) were dismissed healthy from the clinic. Among the conservative treatment methods were stall rest, casts, casts combined with a U-shaped metal rail (walking casts) and the Thomas splint. Surgical therapy (internal fixation with plates or screws, transfixation pin casts) was used to treat 65 animals (33.5%). While 86.9% (74 out of 85) of the conservatively treated animals left the clinic alive, it were only 58.1% (36 out of 65) animals after surgical treatment. In the newborn calves, colostrum supply had a significant effect on the success of the treatment. If the gamma-glutamyl transferase concentration was below 200 IU/L in the calves aged under 4 days, the healing rate was significantly different from the cure rate of sufficiently immunized patients (26.9% (7 out of 26) vs. 65.3% (47 out of 72), P = 0.001).