Doo-Hyung Lee

Age-and region-dependent changes in three-dimensional microstructural properties of proximal femoral trabeculae

SummaryThis study investigated regional variations in the 3D microstructure of trabecular bone in human proximal femur, with respect to aging. The results demonstrate that age-related changes in trabecular microstructure significantly varied from different sub-regions of the proximal femur.IntroductionWe hypothesize that the age-related changes in trabecular bone microstructure appear to be varied from specific anatomic sub-regions of the proximal femur followed by non-uniform bone loss. The purpose of this study was therefore to explore regional variations in the 3D microstructure of trabecular bone in human proximal femur, with respect to aging.MethodsA total of 162 trabecular bone cores from six regions of 27 femora of male cadaver donors were scanned using micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). The following microstructural parameters were calculated: bone volume fraction (BV/TV), trabecular number (Tb.N), thickness (Tb.Th) and separation (Tb.Sp), structure model index (SMI), and degree of anisotropy (DOA).ResultsAge-related changes in trabecular microstructure varied from different regions of the proximal femur. There was a significant decrease in bone volume fraction and an almost identical decrease in trabecular thickness associated with aging at any region. Regional analysis demonstrated a significant difference in BV/TV, Tb.Th, Tb.Sp, Tb.N and DOA between superior and inferior neck, as well as a significant difference in BV/TV, Tb.Sp, Tb.N, SMI and DOA between superior and inferior trochanter.ConclusionsAge-related changes in bone loss and trabecular microstructure within the male proximal femur are not uniform in this cadaveric population.

Usefulness of Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MRI in Differentiating Between Septic Arthritis and Transient Synovitis in the Hip Joint

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to show the usefulness of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) and to determine the optimal time window in MRI for differentiating between septic arthritis and transient synovitis in painful hip joints. MATERIALS AND METHODS Eighteen patients who underwent DCE-MRI were enrolled, and the final diagnoses were septic arthritis (n = 7) and transient synovitis (n = 11). The enhancement patterns of DCE-MRI were dichotomized according to the shape of the time-signal intensity curves. The time at the maximal difference in the signal intensity between two time-signal intensity curves of both femoral heads was recorded. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy were calculated. Receiver operating characteristic curves were calculated. RESULTS Six of seven patients with septic arthritis in the hip joint had decreased enhancement during the early phase of DCE-MRI. The enhancement difference between the two patient groups was statistically significant (p = 0.0498). The time at the maximal difference in the signal intensity between two time-signal intensity curves of both femoral heads was approximately 3.5 minutes. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for predicting septic arthritis was 0.792. CONCLUSION DCE-MRI is useful in differentiating between septic hip arthritis and transient synovitis. If static contrast-enhanced coronal MRI is used, the optimal time for the acquisition of contrast-enhanced coronal MRI is approximately 3.5 minutes.

Prolotherapy for Refractory Rotator Cuff Disease: Retrospective Case-Control Study of 1-Year Follow-Up

OBJECTIVE To determine the efficacy of prolotherapy for refractory rotator cuff disease. DESIGN Retrospective case-control study. SETTING University-affiliated tertiary care hospital. PARTICIPANTS Patients with nontraumatic refractory rotator cuff disease (N=151) who were unresponsive to 3 months of aggressive conservative treatment. Of the patients, 63 received prolotherapies with 16.5% dextrose 10-ml solution (treatment group), and 63 continued conservative treatment (control group). INTERVENTIONS Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Visual analog scale (VAS) score of the average shoulder pain level for the past 1 week, Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) score, isometric strength of the shoulder abductor, active range of motion (AROM) of the shoulder, maximal tear size on ultrasonography, and number of analgesic ingestions per day. RESULTS Over 1-year follow-up, 57 patients in the treatment group and 53 in the control group were analyzed. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in age, sex, shoulder dominance, duration of symptoms, and ultrasonographic findings at pretreatment. The average number of injections in the treatment group is 4.8±1.3. Compared with the control group, VAS score, SPADI score, isometric strength of shoulder abductor, and shoulder AROM of flexion, abduction, and external rotation showed significant improvement in the treatment group. There were no adverse events. CONCLUSIONS To our knowledge, this is the first study to assess the efficacy of prolotherapy in rotator cuff disease. Prolotherapy showed improvement in pain, disability, isometric strength, and shoulder AROM in patients with refractory chronic rotator cuff disease. The results suggest positive outcomes, but one should still take caution in directly interpreting it as an effective treatment option, considering the limitations of this nonrandomized retrospective study. To show the efficacy of prolotherapy, further studies on prospective randomized controlled trials will be required.

Subacromial impingement syndrome secondary to scapulothoracic dyskinesia

The authors describe two cases of subacromial impingement syndrome of the shoulder secondary to scapular dyskinesia caused by a tumor in young adults. The two tumors, an osteochondroma and a ganglion, were located in the scapulothoracic joint and inhibited normal kinesis of the scapula during arm motion.

Evaluation of Adhesive Capsulitis of the Shoulder With Fat-Suppressed T2-Weighted MRI: Association Between Clinical Features and MRI Findings

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to examine the association between clinical features and MRI findings in adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study included 103 patients (41 men, 62 women) with adhesive capsulitis. The MRI findings were correlated with pain intensity, range of motion, and clinical stage. Joint capsule edema in the axillary recess, extracapsular edema, obliteration of the subcoracoid fat triangle, and effusion in the long head biceps tendon sheath were assessed by two radiologists using fat-suppressed T2-weighted images. Joint capsule thickness in the axillary recess and degree of external rotation during MRI were also measured. Intraclass correlation coefficient and kappa values were obtained. Associations between MRI findings and clinical features were assessed by statistical analyses. RESULTS Anterior extracapsular edema was associated with range of motion on external rotation and abduction (p < 0.01). Joint capsule edema in the humeral portion of the axillary recess was associated with range of motion on external rotation (p = 0.01). Joint capsule thickness in the humeral portion of the axillary recess and height of the axillary recess were associated with pain intensity (p < 0.05). Joint capsule edema in the humeral portion of the axillary recess and obliteration of the subcoracoid fat triangle were significantly more common in the early stages of adhesive capsulitis (p < 0.05). Joint capsule thickness in the humeral portion of the axillary recess at stage 1 (4.67 ± 1.73 mm) was significantly different from the thickness at the later stages (stage 2, 3.73 ± 1.49 mm; stages 3 and 4, 3.67 ± 1.44 mm) (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION MRI is useful for assessing clinical impairment and predicting the clinical stage of adhesive capsulitis.

Polydeoxyribonucleotide Injection in the Treatment of Chronic Supraspinatus Tendinopathy: A Case-Controlled, Retrospective, Comparative Study With 6-Month Follow-Up.

OBJECTIVE To determine the efficacy of polydeoxyribonucleotide (PDRN) injection for rotator cuff disease (RCD). DESIGN Case-controlled, retrospective, comparative study. SETTING Outpatient clinic at a university-affiliated tertiary care hospital. PARTICIPANTS Patients (N=106) with chronic nontraumatic refractory RCD who were unresponsive to at least 1 month of conservative treatment: 55 patients received PDRN injection (PDRN group) and 51 continued conservative treatment (control group). INTERVENTIONS Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Shoulder Pain and Disability Index, score on a visual analog scale of the average shoulder pain level, number of analgesic ingestions per day, isometric strength of shoulder abductor, active range of motion (flexion, abduction, internal rotation, external rotation), and maximal tear size of tendon on ultrasonography at pretreatment and 3 and 6 months postinjection. RESULTS There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in terms of age, sex, shoulder affected, duration of symptoms, and ultrasonographic findings at pretreatment. Compared with the control group, the treatment group showed a significant improvement in Shoulder Pain and Disability Index, visual analog scale score, and number of analgesic ingestions per day. However, there was no difference in isometric strength, active range of motion, and maximal tear size of tendon. No adverse events were reported. CONCLUSIONS To our knowledge, this is the first study to assess the efficacy of PDRN injection for patients with RCD. The PDRN injection group showed improvement in pain and subjective disability in patients with RCD and continued to show improvement for 3 months thereafter; the PDRN injection can be an optional treatment for patients with chronic RCD who show no response to other treatments.

Intraneural ganglion in the digital nerve of the thumb: A case report

Intraneural ganglion cysts of the peripheral nerve in the upper extremity are uncommon and usually originate within the epineurium of the peripheral nerve. The current report discusses a 57-year-old woman with a neuropathic nodular mass on the thenar area of the left hand. Magnetic resonance images showed a lobulated, homogeneous mass of high signal intensity on T2-weighted images and low signal intensity with peripheral enhancement on T1-weighted images. Excisional biopsy and histopathologic examination confirmed an intraneural ganglion cyst of the digital nerve of the thumb. A successful result was obtained by surgical treatment, and there was no recurrence of abnormal sensation and paraesthesia during the 3-year follow-up period.

Capsule-Preserving Hydrodilatation With Corticosteroid Versus Corticosteroid Injection Alone in Refractory Adhesive Capsulitis of Shoulder: A Randomized Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVE To determine whether capsule-preserved hydrodilatation with corticosteroid improves pain and function in patients with refractory adhesive capsulitis (AC) better than intra-articular corticosteroid injection (IACI) alone. DESIGN Prospective randomized controlled study. SETTING University-affiliated tertiary care hospital. PARTICIPANTS Subjects with primary AC (N=64) with shoulder pain level of visual analog scale (VAS) score ≥5, even after the initial administration of IACI alone. INTERVENTIONS Participants randomly received ultrasound-guided IACI alone with 1mL of 40mg/mL triamcinolone acetonide and 3mL of 1% lidocaine (n=32) or ultrasound-guided capsule-preserved hydrodilatation with corticosteroid with a mixture of 1mL of 40mg/mL triamcinolone acetonide, 6mL of 1% lidocaine, and normative saline (n=32). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The primary outcome measure was the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index score. Secondary outcomes were the VAS of shoulder pain level and angles of shoulder passive range of motion, including flexion, abduction, extension, external rotation, and internal rotation at pretreatment and weeks 3, 6, and 12 of posttreatment. RESULTS There were no significant differences between the 2 groups in terms of demographic characteristics (age, sex, duration of symptoms, shoulder affected, and body mass index) at baseline. Repeated-measures analysis of variance showed significant effect of time in all outcome measurements in both groups. However, group-by-time interactions were not significantly different for any of the outcomes between groups. CONCLUSIONS This study shows that compared with pretreatment, all outcome measures improved significantly in both groups by time; however, there was no significant difference between the 2 groups. Therefore, we recommend IACI alone over capsule-preserved hydrodilatation with corticosteroid when considering the corticosteroid injection as a secondary option after the initial IACI fails to improve symptoms for patients with refractory AC.

Relationship of ABO Blood Type on Rotator Cuff Tears

ABO blood groups are associated with various diseases. A relationship between Achilles tendon ruptures and blood type O has been reported, although its pathogenesis was not clear. To the best of our knowledge, there is no published study describing the relationship between blood type and rotator cuff tendon tears.

Which additional augmented fixation procedure decreases surgical failure after proximal humeral fracture with medial comminution: fibular allograft or inferomedial screws?

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to compare clinical and radiologic results between treatment with locking plate fixation and fibular allograft augmentation (FA) and treatment with locking plate fixation and additional inferomedial screws (IMSs) in 3- or 4-part proximal humeral fractures with medial comminution in geriatric patients. METHODS We enrolled 164 patients with 3- or 4-part proximal humeral fractures with medial comminution who were treated with locking plates. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to additional augmented fixation procedures. The IMS group was composed of patients treated with additional IMSs (80 patients), whereas the FA group was treated with an additional fibular allograft (84 patients). On the basis of fracture classification, the IMS group was subdivided into those with 3-part fractures (52 patients) and those with 4-part fractures (28 patients) and the FA group was subdivided into those with 3-part fractures (55 patients) and those with 4-part fractures (29 patients). Clinical and radiographic results were compared and analyzed. RESULTS In patients with 3-part fractures, no differences in clinical outcomes were found regardless of additional procedures. However, the FA group showed superior clinical outcomes in patients with 4-part fractures (P = .038 for Constant score and P = .045 for visual analog scale score). The postoperative neck-shaft angle was maintained in the FA group compared with the IMS group with both fracture types at the last follow-up (P = .048 for IMS vs FA with 3-part fractures and P = .023 for IMS vs FA with 4-part fractures). The number of complications was significantly higher in the IMS group (5.5%) than in the FA group (1.2%) (P = .001). CONCLUSION An FA technique is considered a primary additional procedure for medial support in patients with 4-part proximal humeral fractures involving medial metaphyseal comminution when treated with locking plate fixation.