This study was undertaken to find out the relationship between various body parameters to identify the measurement that correlates most closely to stature. Sitting height, standing height, arm span and leg lengths of 505 healthy women between the ages of 20 and 29 were measured. The relationship between the parameters was determined by computing correlation coefficients and 95% confidence intervals. The correlation between sitting height, arm span and leg length were poor (r=0.56 and 0.29 respectively), while the correlation of arm span and leg length with standing height were good (r=0.82 and 0.84 respectively). These estimations can be of use in quantifying the age related loss in stature and in identifying individuals with disproportionate growth abnormalities and skeletal dysplasias. It can also be useful to find out the alterations in the height of an individual that may occur due to progressive deformities of the spine. The adequacy of the correction of spinal deformities may also be facilitated by computing the ratio of arm span to standing height.

SummaryTwo hundred eighteen patients with spinal injury treated in a general hospital in rural India are analysed. One hundred and twenty-five of them had neurological deficit. The commonest cause for spinal injury was falling from trees (55, 2° 0 ) ' Rescue and retrieval systems for these patients were inadequate and knowledge regarding precautions to be taken when transporting the patint was lacking. The frequency of decubitus ulceration and of urinary tract infections were unacceptably high. A high percentage of patients with cervical spine injury expired. The study highlights the necessity for appropriate preventive measures, and also reemphasises the short comings of treatment of spinal cord injury patients in general hospitals.

Study design: Prospective study. Objectives: Forty-®ve consecutive cases of thoracolumbar and lumbar burst fractures treated non-operatively were analyzed to correlate the extent of canal compromise at the time of injury with (i) the initial neurologic de®cit and (ii) with the extent of neurological recovery at 1 year. The eect of spinal canal remodeling on neurological recovery was also analyzed. Setting: University teaching hospital in south India. Methods: The degree of spinal canal compromise and canal remodeling were assessed from computed tomography scans. The neurologic status was assessed by Frankel's grading. Results: The mean canal compromise in patients with neurologic de®cit was 46.2% while in patients with no neurological de®cit it was 36.3%. The mean spinal canal compromise in patients with neurological recovery was 46.1% and 48.4% in those with no recovery. The amount of canal remodeling in patients who recovered was 51.7% and 46.1% in the patients who did not recover. None of these dierences was statistically signi®cant. Conclusion: This study shows that there is no correlation between the neurologic de®cit and subsequent recovery with the extent of spinal canal compromise in thoracolumbar burst fractures.

Purpose. To assess the use of antibiotic-loaded polymethyl methacrylate beads in the management of chronic osteomyelitis of different aetiologies: infected osteosynthesis, infected open fractures, and haematogenous osteomyelitis. Methods. Records of 49 patients with chronic osteomyelitis who were treated at Department of Orthopaedics, Kasturba Medical College, from 1995 to 1999 were studied retrospectively. The diagnosis of chronic osteomyelitis was made on the basis of clinical and radiographic features. Of the 49 patients, 4 had haematogenous osteomyelitis, which later proved to be tuberculosis, and were thus excluded. Antibiotic-loaded acrylic beads were implanted in the remaining patients after thorough debridement. The implant was removed primarily in 16 patients with infected osteosynthesis, who then underwent decompression and sequestrectomy. All wounds were closed primarily. Peri-operative antibiotics were given for 7 days. Beads were removed at the end of 3 weeks followed by bone grafting in 26 patients. Patients were followed up for an average period of 3.7 years. Results. The infective organisms were sensitive to gentamycin in 26 cases and resistant in 19 cases; 14 cases were sensitive to cefuroxime, 11 to cloxacillin, 8 to ampicillin, and 5 to cotrimoxazole. Seven cases were resistant to all antibiotics tested. Of the 19 patients with gentamycin-resistant infection, only one had a poor result. No adverse systemic side-effects such as ototoxicity or nephrotoxicity were seen. Infection did not recur in 39 patients, but 6 patients had low-grade persistent infection at the last follow-up visit. Conclusion. In chronic infections, especially those following osteosynthesis, antibiotic beads are a valuable adjuvant. The most valuable advantage is that the wound can be closed primarily, thereby reducing the incidence of nosocomial infections and requirement of nursing care.

Hips with AVN in the precollapse stage can be salvaged by core decompression with or without fibular grafting. Multiple small diameter drilling is relatively simple and carries less morbidity and hence preferred in stages I and II. However, in stage III disease, core decompression with fibular strut grafting gives better results.