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<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Kidney transplantation is the treatment of choice for patients with renal failure. It is crucial to select which patients may benefit from renal transplantation and which are at high risk for post-transplant complications. Sarcopenia is associated with poor outcome in various conditions, including in chronic kidney disease patients. The gold standard for measuring sarcopenia is computed tomography (CT) imaging to estimate muscle mass and quality since it is objective, reproducible, and reflects the overall health condition. The data regarding those measurements among kidney transplant recipients are limited, therefore we aimed to describe it in patients before kidney transplantation, assess the parameters associated with sarcopenia, and evaluate the clinical significance of those markers on outcomes following transplantation. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We retrospectively analyzed 183 kidney transplant recipients who had a CT scan 90 days prior to transplant. Sarcopenia was assessed by measuring the cross-sectional area (CSA) and mean muscle density of the psoas muscle at the third and fourth lumbar vertebrae levels and paravertebral muscles at the 12th thoracic vertebra level. <b><i>Results:</i></b> There was a strong linear correlation between muscle size measured as CSA of the psoas muscle at the L3 and L4 vertebral body level and the CSA of the paravertebral muscles at the D12 vertebra level, and a moderate correlation to muscle density at those levels. Age was independently associated with risk of sarcopenia, defined as psoas CSA in the lowest tertile, with every year of age increasing the risk by 5%. CSA at the L3 level had a significant independent association with post kidney transplantation mortality, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 0.86 per cm². There was a significantly longer hospitalization period postoperation in kidney recipients in the lower tertile of psoas CSA and density. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Sarcopenia as measured by psoas CSA is associated with poor short- and long-term outcomes following kidney transplantation and should be included as part of the assessment of kidney transplantation candidates.

Objective To establish the prevalence of non-radiographic sacroiliitis within a real-life sample of patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), using pelvic radiographs and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of sacroiliac joints (SIJ). Methods This cross-sectional study included 107 consecutive adults with PsA (CASPAR criteria). Participants completed clinical and laboratory evaluation, pelvic radiographs scored for radiographic sacroiliitis according to the modified New York (NY) criteria, and noncontrast MRI of SIJ, scored by Berlin score and categorized into active sacroiliitis using the 2016 Assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society (ASAS) criteria and structural sacroiliitis. Results Radiographic sacroiliitis/NY criteria was detected in 28.7% (n=29), confirmed by MRIdetected structural lesions in 72.4% (n=21). Active sacroiliitis was detected by MRI in 26% (n=28) of patients, with 11% (n=11) qualifying for non-radiographic sacroiliitis. Patients with radiographic and non-radiographic sacroiliitis had similar clinical characteristics, except of a longer duration of psoriasis and PsA in the radiographic subgroup, 23.8±12.5 vs 14.1±11.7, p=0.032 and 12.3±9.8 vs 4.7±4.5 years, p=0.019, respectively. Inflammatory back pain (IBP) was reported in 46.4% (n=13) with active sacroiliitis and 27% (n=3) with non-radiographic sacroiliitis. The sensitivity of IBP for detection of non-radiographic was low (27%) and moderate for radiographic sacroiliitis (52%), whereas specificity ranged from 72 to 79%, respectively. Conclusion The prevalence of active sacroiliitis among a real-life population of patients with PsA was 26%. However, the prevalence of non-radiographic sacroiliitis was low (11%) compared to radiographic sacroiliitis (28.7%) seen in patients with longer disease duration. IBP was not a sensitive indicator for the presence of early stage sacroiliitis that was commonly asymptomatic.

Background: this pilot study aimed at determining whether the application of a novel new method of generating pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF), the Fracture Healing Patch (FHP), accelerates the healing of acute distal radius fractures (DRF) when compared to a sham treatment. Methods: 41 patients with DRFs treated with cast immobilization were included. Patients were allocated to a PEMF group (n = 20) or a control (sham) group (n = 21). All patients were assessed with regard to functional and radiological outcomes (X-rays and CT scans) at 2, 4, 6 and 12 weeks. Results: fractures treated with active PEMF demonstrated significantly higher extent of union at 4 weeks as assessed by CT (76% vs. 58%, p = 0.02). SF12 mean physical score was significantly higher in PEMF treated group (47 vs. 36, p = 0.005). Time to cast removal was significantly shorter in PEMF treated patients, 33 ± 5.9 days in PEMF vs. 39.8 ± 7.4 days in sham group (p = 0.002). Conclusion: early addition of PEMF treatment may accelerate bone healing which could lead to a shorter cast immobilization, thus allowing an earlier return to daily life activities and work. There were no complications related to the PEMF device (FHP).

Purpose: The aim of the study was to elaborate the incidence and type of skeletal involvement in a large cohort of patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer (PCa) referred for Ga-68 PSMA-11 PET/CT staging in a single center. Methods: Study cohort included 963 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed PCa referred Ga-68 PSMA-11 PET/CT study for staging. The incidence of bone involvement, type of bone metastases, extent of disease were determined and correlated with the ISUP Grade Group (GG) criteria, and PSA levels.Results: Bone metastases were found in 188 (19.5%) of 963 patients. Osteoblastic type metastases were the most common type of bone metastases presented in 133 of the patients with malignant bone involvement (70.7%). Slightly more than half of them (54.1%) had "pure" osteoblastic lesions, while the other 45.9% had also intramedullary and/or osteolytic type lesions. Intramedullary metastases were found in 97 patients (51.6%), while 41 (21.8%) of them were "pure" intramedullary lesions. Osteolytic metastases were detected in 36 patients (19.2%), of which 8 were "pure" osteolytic lesions. Bone metastases were found in 10.7% of patients with PSA<10 ng/dL and in 27.4% of patients with PSA>10 ng/dL; in 6.1% of patients with GG≤2/3 and in 8.9% of patients with GG 4/5. In 7.6% of the patients, skeletal involvement was extensive, while 11.9% of patients had oligometastatic disease. Conclusion: Although traditionally bone metastases of PCa are considered osteoblastic; osteolytic and intramedullary metastases are common, as identi ed on PET with labeled-PSMA.