No abstract

The aim of this study was to compare and evaluate clinical results before and after vertebroplasty in the treatment of myeloma-induced vertebral fractures. Success of the surgery was defined by increased or reduced pain intensity before and after the treatment, as assessed using the visual analog scale (VAS). The study was designed as a retrospective-prospective study. The study included 26 patients, 14 women and 12 men. Data on patients treated for myeloma-induced vertebral fractures were collected at the Department of Orthopedics, Osijek University Hospital Centre. The following data were analyzed: gender, duration of illness, intensity of pain before and after treatment (using VAS), radiological changes before and after treatment, grade of vertebral fracture, and extracorporeal cement leakage from the vertebral body to the surrounding tissue during the procedure. Difference in pain intensity before and after the surgery was statistically significant. All patients complained of pain before the surgery (pain intensity median 8), whereas after the surgery, pain intensity decreased in all patients (pain intensity median 2). In conclusion, improvement in clinical results of the treatment of myeloma-induced vertebral fractures with vertebroplasty proved to be significant.

In this retrospective study, we examine the impact that Background employing a permanent derotation screw (DRS) has on the rate of revision for 2-hole dynamic hip screws (DHS, a.k.a. sliding hip screws), used for internal fixation of intracapsular neck of femur (NOF) fractures. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to examine the impact of using a derotation screw on DHS revision rate.: We obtained a list of 64 patients suffering intracapsular NOF fracture Methods treated with 2-hole DHS over a 5-year period, 28 of these were also treated with a DRS, forming our DRS group, 36 were not (non-DRS group). Fracture severity and patient demographics between the groups were compared to ensure homogeneity. The rate of revision to arthroplasty (total or hemi) of the two groups were compared.: The mean age in the DRS group was 70.79 years, 1.77 years lower Results than the non-DRS group (p=0.570). The DRS group had a rate of revision of 14%, in comparison with 39% in the non-DRS group (p=0.0299), corresponding with a number needed to treat of 4.06 derotation screws to prevent a single failure.: In this study, employing a permanent derotation screw alongside Conclusions a 2-hole DHS was associated with a significantly lower rate of revision to arthroplasty than using a 2-hole DHS alone. We would recommend this be further investigated with prospective randomized trials, to provide robust evidence and make clinical recommendations.