We hypothesised that the anterior and posterior walls of the body of the first sacral vertebra could be visualised with two different angles of inlet view, owing to the conical shape of the sacrum. Six dry male cadavers with complete pelvic rings and eight dry sacrums with K-wires were used to study the effect of canting (angling the C-arm) the fluoroscope towards the head in 5° increments from 10° to 55°. Fluoroscopic images were taken in each position. Anterior and posterior angles of inclination were measured between the upper sacrum and the vertical line on the lateral view. Three authors separately selected the clearest image for overlapping anterior cortices and the upper sacral canal in the cadaveric models. The dry bone and K-wire models were scored by the authors, being sure to check whether the K-wire was in or out. In the dry bone models the mean score of the relevant inlet position of the anterior or posterior inclination was 8.875 (standard deviation (sd) 0.35), compared with the inlet position of the opposite inclination of -5.75 (sd 4.59). We found that two different inlet views should be used separately to evaluate the borders of the body of the sacrum using anterior and posterior inclination angles of the sacrum, during placement of iliosacral screws.

Background Osteochondral lesions of talus (OLT) are among the most common ankle problems. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and prolotherapy (PrT) are 2 successful injection-based techniques for treatment of chronic musculoskeletal problems. The aim of the present study was to compare PRP and PrT injections for the management of OLT. Material/Methods This was a retrospective cohort study of 49 patients with OLT symptoms of more than 6 months who had been refractory to 3 months of treatment using conservative methods. The patients were divided into 2 groups: PrT injections (PrT group, n=27) or PRP injections (PRP group, n=22). The patients were given 3 injections of 4 mL solution into periarticular and intra-articular ankle joint spaces. After treatment, patients were evaluated via Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society Score (AOFAS), and Ankle Osteoarthritis Scale (AOS) at baseline and 21-, 90-, 180-, and 360-day follow-up periods. Results Both PRP and PrT treatments resulted in greater improvement in pain and ankle functions at follow-up periods extending to 1 year ( P <0.001) and there was no difference between the groups for the outcomes at follow-up periods ( P >0.05). Excellent or good outcomes were reported by 88.8% of the patients in PrT group and 90.9% of the patients in PRP group. Conclusions Both PRP and PrT are efficient and safe methods in treatment of OLT. PrT offers advantages of less cost and minimal invasiveness.

Departmental sources Background: Osteoarthritis secondary to developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is one of the major causes of hip pain and disability. The aim of the study was to compare the effectiveness of prolotherapy (PrT) injections versus exercise protocol for the treatment of DDH. Material/Methods: There were 46 hips of 41 patients who had osteoarthritis secondary to DDH included in this study. Patients were divided into 2 groups: treated with PrT (PrT group; n=20) and exercise (control group; n=21). Clinical outcomes were evaluated with visual analog scale for pain (VAS) and Harris hip score (HHS) at baseline, 3 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and a minimum of 1-year follow-up. In PrT group clinical results were also compared in Crowe type I-IV hips. Results: Between group analysis revealed no significant between group differences at baseline. Dextrose injection recipients out performed exercise controls for VAS pain change score at 6 months (-4.6±2.6 versus-2.8±2.5; P=0.016), and 12 months (-4.5±2.4 versus-2.9±2.5; P=0.017) and for HHS at 6 months (24.2±14.0 versus 14.8±12.4; P=0.007) and 12 months (24.3±13.4 versus 16.5±11.3; P=0.018). Conclusions: To our best knowledge, this study is the first regarding the effects of an injection method in the treatment of osteoarthritis secondary to DDH. According to our study, PrT is superior to exercises. PrT could provide significant improvement for clinical outcomes in DDH and might delay surgery.

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