Long Bone Fractures (long + bone_fractures)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Estimating the Timing of Long Bone Fractures: Correlation Between the Postmortem Interval, Bone Moisture Content, and Blunt Force Trauma Fracture Characteristics,

JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES, Issue 5 2008
Danielle A.M. Wieberg M.A.
Abstract:, There is very limited knowledge about how long perimortem fracture characteristics persist into the postmortem interval (PMI). Therefore, in this study, 60 porcine long bones were exposed to natural taphonomic conditions and fractured with a steel bone breaking apparatus every 28 days throughout a 141-day period. Differences between macroscopic blunt force trauma fracture characteristics (fracture angle, surface morphology, and outline) were examined to determine if they varied over time or in relationship to bone moisture content (ash weight) and overall assessment. There are significant relationships between (1) PMI and percent ash weight (%AW), fracture surface, and fracture angle and (2) %AW and fracture surface and fracture angle. Bone moisture content correlates significantly with fracture morphology and other characteristics commonly used by forensic anthropologists to determine the timing of traumatic injuries. However, fracture characteristics normally associated with perimortem trauma can persist long into the PMI. [source]


The National Trend in Quality of Emergency Department Pain Management for Long Bone Fractures

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 2 2007
PA-C, Tamara S. Ritsema MPH
Background Despite national attention, there is little evidence that the quality of emergency department (ED) pain management is improving. Objectives To compare the quality of ED pain management before and after implementation of the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations' standards in 2001. Methods The authors performed a retrospective cohort study by using the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from 1998,2003. Patients who presented to the ED with a long bone fracture (femur, humerus, tibia, fibula, radius, or ulna) were compared. The authors extracted data on patient, visit, and hospital characteristics. The primary outcomes were the proportion of patients who received assessment of pain severity and who received analgesic treatment. Results There were 2,064 patients with a qualifying fracture in the study period, 834 from 1998,2000 and 1,230 from 2001,2003. Compared with the early period, a higher proportion of patients in the late period had their pain assessed (74% vs. 57%), received opiates (56% vs. 50%), and received any analgesic (76% vs. 56%). Patients in the late period had higher odds of receiving any analgesia (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.43) and opioid analgesia (adjusted OR, 1.27) compared with the early period. Patients in the middle age group (adjusted OR, 2.28) or those seen by physician assistants (adjusted OR, 2.05) were more likely, whereas those with Medicaid (adjusted OR, 0.58) and those in the Northeast were less likely, to receive opiates. Conclusions Although the quality of ED pain management for acute fractures appears to be improving, there is still room for further improvement. [source]


Long bone fractures in children under 3 years of age: Is abuse being missed in Emergency Department presentations?

JOURNAL OF PAEDIATRICS AND CHILD HEALTH, Issue 4 2004
J Taitz
Objective: Distinguishing injuries due to accidents from those due to child abuse in young children is important to prevent further abuse. We aimed to study the presenting features, mechanism of injury, type of fracture and indicators of possible abuse in children under 3 years of age, presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) of a tertiary referral Children's Hospital, to see whether those injuries that were more likely abusive were distinguished from those that were more likely accidental. Methods: We analysed the medical records from the Emergency Department Information System of all children below 3 years of age, who were treated for a long bone fracture at the Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, NSW, over a 1-year period. Demographic details, presenting complaint, mechanism of injury, type of fracture, other historical and examination data and action taken were noted. Nine indicators that raise suspicion of abuse were developed from the literature. Using these indicators, patients' ED notes were reviewed to establish whether long bone fractures suspicious for abuse had been referred for further evaluation. Results: One hundred patients with a total of 103 fractures presented during the study period. No child had multiple fractures at a single visit. The fractures included 36 radius/ulna, 27 tibia/fibula, 20 humeral, 17 clavicular and three femoral. The mean age of patients was 21.6 months (range 13 days , 35 months). Fourteen patients were younger than 12 months. Review of the notes revealed 31 children with indicators suspicious for abuse, of whom 17 children had one indicator, 11 children had two indicators, and three children had three indicators. Only one child was referred for further evaluation to child protection. Conclusion: Abuse cannot usually be determined by fracture type alone. Doctors in the ED miss indicators for abuse because they do not look for these indicators in the history and examination. Knowledge of indicators that raise suspicion of abuse is needed for a further forensic assessment to occur. The development of specific referral guidelines, ongoing education and a comprehensive injury form may improve referral of children from the ED to child protection. [source]


Y-position cysteine substitution in type I collagen (,1(I) R888C/p.R1066C) is associated with osteogenesis imperfecta/Ehlers-Danlos syndrome phenotype,,

HUMAN MUTATION, Issue 4 2007
Wayne A. Cabral
Abstract The most common mutations in type I collagen causing types II,IV osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) result in substitution for glycine in a Gly-Xaa-Yaa triplet by another amino acid. We delineated a Y-position substitution in a small pedigree with a combined OI/Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) phenotype, characterized by moderately decreased DEXA z-score (,1.3 to ,2.6), long bone fractures, and large-joint hyperextensibility. Affected individuals have an ,1(I)R888C (p.R1066C) substitution in one COL1A1 allele. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) of [3H]-proline labeled steady-state collagen reveals slight overmodification of the ,1(I) monomer band, much less than expected for a substitution of a neighboring glycine residue, and a faint ,1(I) dimer. Dimers form in about 10% of proband type I collagen. Dimer formation is inefficient compared to a possible 25%, probably because the SH-side chains have less proximity in this Y-position than when substituting for a glycine. Theoretical stability calculations, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) thermograms, and thermal denaturation curves showed only weak local destabilization from the Y-position substitution in one or two chains of a collagen helix, but greater destabilization is seen in collagen containing dimers. Y-position collagen dimers cause kinking of the helix, resulting in a register shift that is propagated the full length of the helix and causes resistance to procollagen processing by N-proteinase. Collagen containing the Y-position substitution is incorporated into matrix deposited in culture, including immaturely and maturely cross-linked fractions. In vivo, proband dermal fibrils have decreased density and increased diameter compared to controls, with occasional aggregate formation. This report on Y-position substitutions in type I collagen extends the range of phenotypes caused by nonglycine substitutions and shows that, similar to X- and Y-position substitutions in types II and III collagen, the phenotypes resulting from nonglycine substitutions in type I collagen are distinct from those caused by glycine substitutions. Hum Mutat 28(4), 396,405, 2007. Published 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Treatment of Idiopathic Hyperphosphatasia With Intensive Bisphosphonate Therapy

JOURNAL OF BONE AND MINERAL RESEARCH, Issue 5 2004
Tim Cundy MD
Abstract In a family with IH, a rare high turnover bone disease, two older siblings were wheelchair-bound with severe skeletal deformity by age 15. Their youngest affected sibling was treated intensively with intravenous bisphosphonates for 3 years. The treatment was well tolerated and prevented the development of deformity and disability. Introduction: Idiopathic hyperphosphatasia (IH, also known as juvenile Paget's disease) is a rare genetic bone disease characterized by very high bone turnover and progressive bony deformity. Inhibitors of bone resorption have been used to suppress bone turnover in the short term, but there is no published data on long-term efficacy. Materials and Methods: An 11-year-old girl with IH, who had two severely affected older siblings, presented with progressive deformity and deafness and long bone fractures. Conventional pediatric doses of pamidronate had failed to prevent clinical deterioration or suppress bone turnover completely. Intensive bisphosphonate therapy (frequent 5-mg ibandronate infusions) was given to try and arrest progression of the skeletal disease. Growth and development, pure tone audiometry, biochemistry, radiology, densitometry (DXA), and bone histology were monitored. Results: A total of 45 mg ibandronate was given over 3 years until skeletal maturity was reached (20, 15, and 10 mg for years 1,3, respectively). Ibandronate treatment was well tolerated, and biochemical markers of bone turnover suppressed to within the age-appropriate normal range There was some progression of her thoracic kyphosis, but she had no further fractures and remained mobile and active at an age when her siblings had become wheelchair-bound. A significant recovery of hearing (p < 0.01) was documented, particularly at low frequencies. Radiographs showed improvement in spinal osteoporosis and cortical bone dimensions and arrest of progressive acetabular protrusion. Areal bone density increased substantially (lumbar spine z-score from ,2.2 to + 1.8). Tetracycline-labeled bone biopsy specimens were taken before and after 18 months of intensive treatment. The second biopsy showed suppression of bone turnover and a doubling of trabecular thickness, with no mineralization defect, and no osteopetrosis. Conclusions: Intensive bisphosphonate treatment prevented the development of deformity and disability and improved hearing in this child with IH. The dose of bisphosphonate, which is substantially greater than is usually used in pediatric bone disease, had no adverse effects, in particular on bone mineralization. [source]


Positive Linear Growth and Bone Responses to Growth Hormone Treatment in Children With Types III and IV Osteogenesis Imperfecta: High Predictive Value of the Carboxyterminal Propeptide of Type I Procollagen,

JOURNAL OF BONE AND MINERAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2003
Joan C Marini MD
Abstract Extreme short stature is a cardinal feature of severe osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), types III and IV. We conducted a treatment trial of growth hormone in children with OI and followed linear growth velocity, bone metabolism markers, histomorphometrics, and vertebral bone density. Twenty-six children with types III and IV OI, ages 4.5,12 years, were treated with recombinant growth hormone (rGH), 0.1,0.2 IU/kg per day for 6 days/week, for at least 1 year. Length, insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I), insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP-3), bone metabolic markers, and vertebral bone density by DXA were evaluated at 6-month intervals. An iliac crest biopsy was obtained at baseline and 12 months. Approximately one-half of the treated OI children sustained a 50% or more increase in linear growth over their baseline growth rate. Most responders (10 of 14) had moderate type IV OI. All participants had positive IGF-I, IGFBP-3, osteocalcin, and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase responses. Only the linear growth responders had a significant increase in vertebral DXA z-score and a significant decrease in long bone fractures. After 1 year of treatment, responders' iliac crest biopsy showed significant increases in cancellous bone volume, trabecular number, and bone formation rate. Responders were distinguished from nonresponders by higher baseline carboxyterminal propeptide (PICP) values (p < 0.05), suggesting they have an intrinsically higher capacity for collagen production. The results show that growth hormone can cause a sustained increase in the linear growth rate of children with OI, despite the abnormal collagen in their bone matrix. In the first year of treatment, growth responders achieve increased bone formation rate and density, and decreased fracture rates. The baseline plasma concentration of PICP was an excellent predictor of positive response. [source]


Use of intrapulmonary percussive ventilation (IPV) in the management of pulmonary complications of an infant with osteogenesis imperfecta

PEDIATRIC PULMONOLOGY, Issue 11 2009
Gustavo Nino MD
Abstract Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a genetic disorder characterized by abnormal collagen formation and short stature. These patients present with frequent vertebral, rib, and long bone fractures. There are many respiratory complications associated with OI including pneumonia, the most common cause of mortality in the severe forms of the disease. We present a case of an infant with OI (type III/IV) and significant tracheobronchomalacia who had required multiple hospitalizations for recurrent atelectasis and respiratory failure in the setting of acute respiratory infections. External chest percussion and vibration were avoided because of the risk of rib fractures. intrapulmonary percussive ventilation (IPV) was initiated during an acute illness with good effect, and continued successfully after discharge from hospital. We conclude that IPV represents a safe and effective alternative to airway clearance in infants with OI. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2009; 44:1151,1154. ©2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Conception of a navigation system controlling diaphyseal fracture reduction treated with external fixation

THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ROBOTICS AND COMPUTER ASSISTED SURGERY, Issue 1 2009
T. Leloup
Abstract Background The reduction of long bone fractures treated with external fixation is usually performed with fluoroscopic images, which include several disadvantages: 2D information, distortions, and irradiation to the patient and the surgical team. This article presents a new navigation technique to control the reduction of such fractures while minimizing the irradiation. Methods Optically tracked markers are fixed to pins inserted into the bone fragments. These last are modelled using two initial calibrated radiographs. The models can be improved with several types of anatomical data and are displayed in real time. Results This navigation system was tested on dry bones and an anatomical specimen leg. Conclusions This new technique allows the visualization of the fracture in real time and from any viewpoint during the reduction. Irradiation is minimized using only two X-ray images. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]