RheumatologyNetwork Staff

The factor that determines the fracture pattern in the ankle may be a combination of the external rotational moment and the abduction moment. Counterexamples to the Lauge-Hansen classification system show that a short oblique fracture of the distal end of the fibula may occur with the foot in the pronated position before medial injury, the latter preceding or following posterior ligament rupture or avulsion fracture of the posterior malleolus, and that lateral forces applied to the foot affect fracture type.

Survival is reduced significantly in patients who have systemic sclerosis (SSc) with pulmonary hypertension (PH) combined with advanced interstitial lung disease (ILD) compared with patients with SSc who have isolated pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The prognosis for patients in the former subset is extremely poor.

About 900 persons are killed and 567,000 others are injured in bicycle-related accidents each year, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). Wearing a bicycle helmet may reduce the risk of serious head and brain injury by up to 88% and more bicyclists than ever among the more than 80 million riders are doing so, but only half wear helmets all the time and about 43% never wear them. AAOS tips on helmet wearing and other aspects of bicycle safety-for bicyclists of all ages-include the following:

Close to half of hip replacements and three-fourths of knee replacements needed in the United States in 2016 will not be performed because patient demand will exceed the number of available orthopedic surgeons, according to a study presented at the recent American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) annual meeting held in Las Vegas. A major reason for predicted growth in patient demand for total joint replacement (TJR) is an increase in younger patients who need the surgery, a second study found.

O'Toole RV, Castillo RC, Pollak AN, et al, University of MarylandSchool of Medicine and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School ofPublic Health, Baltimore. Determinants of patient satisfactionafter severe lower-extremity injuries. J Bone Joint Surg. 2008;90A:1206-1211.

Many overweight and obese patients believe that they will be able to lose weight with symptom relief and increased activity after successful lumbar decompression surgery, but most maintain or increase their weight and body mass index (BMI). Weight loss may be an unrealistic expectation because obesity is an independent disease.

Corticosteroid injections into the flexor tendon sheath for the management of trigger finger are more effective in patients who do not have diabetes mellitus (DM) than in those who do.

Nishimagi E,Tochimoto A, Kawaguchi Y, et al,Tokyo Women’s Medical University School of Medicine and Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo. Characteristics of patients with early systemic sclerosis and severe gastro intestinal tract involvement.J Rheumatol. 2007;34:2050-2055.