Zhouyuan Yang

The influence of diabetes mellitus on the post-operative outcome of elective primary total knee replacement: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Total knee replacement (TKR) is an effective method of treating end-stage arthritis of the knee. It is not, however, a procedure without risk due to a number of factors, one of which is diabetes mellitus. The purpose of this study was to estimate the general prevalence of diabetes in patients about to undergo primary TKR and to determine whether diabetes mellitus adversely affects the outcome. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis according to the Meta-analysis Of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) guidelines. The Odds Ratio (OR) and mean difference (MD) were used to represent the estimate of risk of a specific outcome. Our results showed the prevalence of diabetes mellitus among patients undergoing TKR was 12.2%. Patients with diabetes mellitus had an increased risk of deep infection (OR = 1.61, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.38 to 1.88), deep vein thrombosis (in Asia, OR = 2.57, 95% CI, 1.58 to 4.20), periprosthetic fracture (OR = 1.89, 95% CI, 1.04 to 3.45), aseptic loosening (OR = 9.36, 95% CI, 4.63 to 18.90), and a poorer Knee Society function subscore (MD = -5.86, 95% CI, -10.27 to -1.46). Surgeons should advise patients specifically about these increased risks when obtaining informed consent and be meticulous about their peri-operative care.

Icariin: A promising osteoinductive compound for repairing bone defect and osteonecrosis.

Icariin (Ica), the main active component of Herba Epimedii, has been identified as an osteogenic and angiogenic phytomolecule. To develop a bioactive scaffold for enhancing bone repair, Ica was loaded into porous tricalcium phosphate (TCP) scaffolds, and the obtained porous Ica/TCP composites were investigated for treating osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) in a rabbit model. ONFH was histopathologically confirmed at two weeks after methylprednisolone acetate injection, and the rabbits were treated with porous Ica/TCP scaffolds (group A), porous TCP scaffolds (group B), and autogenous cancellous bone graft (group C). At 12 weeks, the amount of newly formed bone in group A increased significantly compared with that in group B (P = 0.003). The mean histological and radiological scores for repaired defects in group A were significantly higher than those in group B (P = 0.007, P = 0.029, respectively), but were lower than those in group C (P = 0.032, P = 0.046, respectively). In addition, the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor by immunohistochemical testing and real-time polymerase chain reaction in group A was significantly higher than that in group B (P = 0.002, P = 0.001, respectively), but was lower than that in group C (P = 0.034, P = 0.005, respectively). Therefore, Ica can be a promising osteogenic and angiogenic compound for repairing bone defects and preventing the collapse of the femoral head in ONFH.

Subcutaneous administration of methotrexate at high doses makes a better performance in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis compared with oral administration of methotrexate: A systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES This study was conducted to determine whether subcutaneous (SC) methotrexate (MTX) makes better performance on bioavailability, clinical efficiency, side effects occurrence, and treatment failure in the treatment of RA compared with oral MTX. METHODS The databases PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library were systematically searched. Seven studies involving 1335 patients were eligible for data extraction and meta-analysis. The outcomes of meta-analysis were presented as mean difference (MD) or odd ration (OR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI). RESULTS Meta-analysis showed that SC MTX can significantly increase the AUC0-t (area under plasma concentration curve from administration to last observed concentration at time t) (MD = 506.84; 95% CI: 80.80-932.89), shorten the time to reach maximum observed concentration (Tmax) (MD = -0.13; 95% CI: -0.25 to -0.01) and the apparent terminal elimination half-life (t(1/2)) (MD = -0.39; 95% CI: -0.70 to -0.08), reduce the occurrence of nausea (OR = 0.53; 95% CI: 0.28-0.97) and diarrhea (OR = 0.43; 95% CI: 0.20-0.95), improve the American College of Rheumatology criteria for 20% improvement (ACR20) (OR = 1.68; 95% CI: 1.09-2.61) and ACR70 (OR = 1.52; 95% CI: 1.02-2.26), and relieve the pain (MD = -0.65; 95% CI: -0.93 to -0.37) compared with oral MTX. However, the differences in maximum plasma concentration (Cmax), the occurrence of headache, vomiting and dyspepsia, ACR50, treatment failure were not significant between the two groups. CONCLUSION SC route of MTX at high doses made better performance on improving the bioavailability and clinical efficacy, reducing the GI disorders, but it cannot decrease the treatment failure when compared with oral administration of MTX.

Antigen-free bovine cancellous bone loaded with recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 for the repair of tibial bone defects in goat model.

Antigen-free bovine cancellous bone has good performances of porous network structures and mechanics with antigen extracted. To develop a bioactive scaffold for enhancing bone repair and evaluate its biological property, rhBMP-2 loaded with antigen-free bovine cancellous bone was used to treat tibial bone defect. Twenty-four healthy adult goats were chosen to establish goat defects model and randomly divided into four groups. The goats were treated with rhBMP-2/antigen-free bovine cancellous bone scaffolds (group A), autogenous cancellous bone graft (group B), porous tricalciumphosphate scaffolds (group C) and nothing (group D). Animals were evaluated with radiological and histological methods at 4, 8 and 12 weeks after surgery. The gray value of radiographs was used to evaluate the healing of the defects, which revealed that the group A had a better outcome of defect healing compared with group C at 4, 8 and 12 weeks, respectively (p < 0.05), while the difference between groups A and B was without significance at each time (p > 0.05). The newly formed bone area was calculated from histological sections, and the results indicated that the amount of new bone in group A increased significantly compared with that in group C (p < 0.05) but was similar to that in group B (p > 0.05) at 4, 8 and 12 weeks, respectively. In addition, the expression of collagen I and vascular endothelial growth factor by real-time polymerase chain reaction at 12 weeks in group A was significantly higher than that in group C (p = 0.034, p = 0.032, respectively), but no significant differences were found when compared with that in group B (p = 0.36, p = 0.54, respectively). At the same time, group C presented better results than group D on bone defects healing. Therefore, the composites of antigen-free bovine cancellous bone loaded with rhBMP-2 have a good osteoinductive activity and capacity to promote the repair of bone defects.

Total Hip Arthroplasty for Failed Internal Fixation After Femoral Neck Fracture Versus That for Acute Displaced Femoral Neck Fracture: A Comparative Study

The outcome of total hip arthroplasty (THA) for failed internal fixation after femoral neck fracture (FNF) versus that for acute displaced femoral neck fracture is still controversial. This study retrospectively analyzed a consecutive series of 130 THAs for acute displaced FNF (64, group I) and for failed internal fixation (66, group II). Results showed THAs in group II were more technically demanding procedures with longer operative time and larger amounts of drainage compared to that in group I. Furthermore, multivariate analysis revealed that the associations between THAs (group II) and hip complications were notable (OR=4.15, P=0.017). These increased risks should be paid much attention to, not only for choosing the appropriate treatment option, but also for providing effective perioperative care.

Effect of intravenous corticosteroids on pain management and early rehabilitation in patients undergoing total knee or hip arthroplasty: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Corticosteroids are frequently used for the treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting, and have also been reported to have an effect on postoperative analgesia. This study was conducted to assess the pain management effect of perioperative intravenous corticosteroids in patients undergoing total knee or hip arthroplasty and evaluate their early rehabilitation.

Multiple Low Doses of Intravenous Corticosteroids to Improve Early Rehabilitation in Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract Low doses of corticosteroids have been proved to be effective in decreasing the inflammatory cytokines and relieving the pain. However, the optimal dosage of corticosteroids in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is undetermined. A total of 103 patients were randomly divided into three groups. Group A containing 32 patients received normal saline. Group B including 36 patients used two doses of 100 mg hydrocortisone, given 2 hours before and 8 hours after surgery. Group C involving 35 patients received four doses of 100 mg hydrocortisone, 8 hours apart. The level of interleukin 6 (IL‐6) and C‐reactive protein (CRP) were lower in group C than those in group A when detected at 12, 24, and 48 hours after operation and even lower than that in group B at 24 and 48 hours (p < 0.05, all). The visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores were significantly reduced by using two doses of hydrocortisone at the first 12 hours compared with group A (p > 0.05), but it did not show statistic difference 24 hours later (p > 0.05). For comparison, patients with multiple doses achieved continuously better outcomes on pain management than the blank control group within postoperative 36 hours at rest and at 24 hours with activity. In addition, patients using multiple doses of hydrocortisone achieved fewer occurrences of nausea and vomiting, fever, and sleeplessness, better knee function recovery, better patient satisfaction, and shorter length of hospital stays (p < 0.05, all). Multiple dose of hydrocortisone was benefit to the pain management and early rehabilitation in TKA and may be recommended to the clinical practice.

Repair of the calvarial defect in goat model using magnesium-doped porous hydroxyapatite combined with recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2

Hydroxyapatite (HA) is a representative bone repairing biomaterial for its similar composition to human bones and teeth. However, pure HA is limited in application for some unwanted characteristic, such as it is brickle and weakness in degradation. In this study, we modified HA by doping magnesium (Mg) to the material and studied its property in vitro. Besides, we also evaluated the calvarial defect repair effect using MgHA combined with rhBMP-2 in goat model. According to our outcomes, HA composited Mg made the scaffold smooth and the pore regular. In vitro study, Mg could increase the Ca releasing, which may reflect a faster degradation property modified by Mg. And then, MgHA improved the cell viability and proliferation. Furthermore, MgHA could increase the expression of ALP, Collagen I and VEGF protein compared with pure HA (p<0.5, respectively). In the vivo study, MgHA showed a better bone defect healing effect in computed tomography (CT) evaluation compared with HA (p<0.05), but it was inferior to the MgHA/rhBMP-2 (p<0.05). Besides, in the histological analysis, MgHA/rhBMP-2 showed the most effective bone formation outcome (p<0.05), and the MgHA group was significant better than the pure HA group on osteogenesis (p<0.05). Furthermore, Collagen I and VEGF mRNA expression at 12 week in MgHA/rhBMP-2 group were also significat higher than other two groups. In conclusion, Mg had effects on bone formation and angiogenesis, and MgHA/rhBMP-2 had improved the bone defect repair effect. It is worthy of being recommended to bone tissue engineering.

Home-based Compared with Hospital-based Rehabilitation Program for Patients Undergoing Total Knee Arthroplasty for Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Objective The aim of this study was to compare the effects of home-based with those of hospital-based rehabilitation on patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Design PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials; the studies were assessed with the modified Jadad scale. Ten trials involving 1240 patients were eligible for meta-analysis. Results The results revealed that home-based rehabilitation is not inferior to hospital-based rehabilitation according to the total Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis index score, physical function, stiffness, walk test, and Oxford Knee Score at 12 or 52 weeks after TKA (P > 0.05). Neither pain nor knee flexion range of motion differed between the groups in the first 12 weeks. Unexpectedly, the pain score in the hospital-based group was better than that in the home-based group (P < 0.05), whereas the knee flexion range of motion in the home-based group was superior to that in the hospital-based group (P < 0.05) at 52 weeks. The meta-analysis revealed that the 2 rehabilitation programs have similar costs (P > 0.05). Conclusion Home-based rehabilitation after primary TKA was comparable to hospital-based rehabilitation and thus is a significant alternative for patients.

Erythropoietin enhances bone repair effects via the hypoxia-inducible factor signal pathway in glucocorticoid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head

Background: This study aimed to determine whether erythropoietin could repair glucocorticoid‐induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head after the systemic or local administration of recombinant human erythropoietin. Materials and Methods: Gelatin microspheres were used to load recombinant human erythropoietin for local delivery. Forty‐eight Wistar rats were included in the glucocorticoid‐induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head model and randomly divided into the placebo, systemic erythropoietin and local erythropoietin groups. Eight weeks later, all rats were killed and their tissues were subjected to radiographic, histological, histometric, quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analyses. Results: Our results show that the use of recombinant human erythropoietin increased bone volume, trabecular number, trabecular thickness and trabecular separation compared with the placebo. Erythropoietin administration significantly improved the expression of runt‐related transcription factor 2, alkaline phosphates, hypoxia‐inducible factor‐1&agr; and vascular endothelial growth factor in the femoral head. We also found that the local injection of erythropoietin could better mediate hypoxia‐inducible factor‐1&agr;–controlled osteogenic and angiogenic factor expression and better repair the glucocorticoid‐induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head. Conclusions: The use of recombinant human erythropoietin exerted effects on improving the bone structures in glucocorticoid‐induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head and up‐regulated the expression of runt‐related transcription factor 2, alkaline phosphates, hypoxia‐inducible factor‐1&agr; and vascular endothelial growth factor. It provided a novel idea that erythropoietin administration could repair glucocorticoid‐induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head by improving bone formation and angiogenesis and may be associated with the hypoxia‐inducible factor‐1&agr; pathway. The sequential delivery of erythropoietin from gelatin microspheres seems worth recommending.