Focal Spot, Fall/Winter 1991

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Implant-prosthetic therapy failure in smoker and nonsmoker patients

Introduction: Implant-prosthetic therapy has predictable success, and the complications are associated with a lot of factors. Smoking cigarettes is reason for different oral diseases, bone loss, loss of soft tissue and teeth, appearance of periimplantitis and implant loss. The corellation of smoking and implant-prosthetic therapy failure was examined in the clinical study. Materials and method: Fifty patients with FDP on 61 implants in frontal and molar region were investigated. They were divided in two groups: smokers and nonsmokers. Thirty four patients were smokers, and sixteen didn’t smoke cigarettes in the last two years. Criteria data for the success of the therapy were mobility of the implant, pain, peri-implant bone loss higher than 1.5 mm, absence of technical complications and function and aesthetics appeal. Control checkups were made after six months, one and two years. Patients had questionnaires, clinical examination and X-ray. Results: There is a statistically significant difference between smokers and nonsmokers in the failure rates of dental implants. During first year 0,5 mm of bone was lost around eleven implants, and 0,05 mm next years.Total seven implants failed, five in smoker group at the beginning of the first year, and 2 in nonsmoker group during second year. Conclusion: Results showed that smoking habit can increase the risk of early implants loss two times more often in smokers. For some complications like periimplantitis, local factors have greater influence. Smoking does not increase the risk of late implant loss, but the implants at patients with smoking habit, in correlation with several different local risk factors, is contraindicated. Early complications are results of smoking, while quality and quantity of surrounding bone are responsible for late complications.The results from the investigation, also give informations for proper treatment planning, and patient education for quiting their harmfull habit. Keywords Implants, therapy failure, smoking, periimplantitis

The Effect of Telephone Follow-Up on Pain Experienced by Patients After Knee Replacement Surgery

Hospital length of stays are decreasing throughout the U.S. in an effort to contain healthcare costs, but these measures can be detrimental to patients. Those who get knee replacement surgery are finding their length of stay reduced from an average of 3 to 4 days to 24 to 48 hours, which can affect pain control and interfere with rehabilitation and recovery. This affects many people, as more than 632,000 knee replacements occur each year (American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, 2008). The purpose of this evidence-based project was to evaluate the effect of telephone follow-up on pain experienced by knee replacement patients the first four weeks post-operatively. Orem’s Self Care Deficit Theory and the Stetler’s Model of evidence utilization were used to guide the project. Patients undergoing knee replacement were randomly assigned to the Intervention group or Usual Care group. The Intervention group received a scheduled telephone call each week for the first 4-weeks postoperatively and a completion call in week five. Those in the Usual Care group received one telephone call following the 4-week postoperative period. Each telephone call included the completion of a standardized questionnaire developed by the project coordinator. Pain coaching was offered to each patient by the project coordinator. Data were collected regarding the assessment of pain, the use of pain medication, and secondary concerns such as constipation, nausea, or edema. An independent-sample t test comparing the mean scores of the Intervention and Usual Care groups found a significant difference between the means (t (23)=-2.578, p \u3c .05), with the Intervention group reporting less pain. Data collected on secondary outcomes indicated constipation accounted for 24% of patient concerns and edema accounting for 5%. Telephone follow-up for post-operative patients is being adopted at the clinical site where the EBP project was completed

Campus & alumni news

Boston University Medicine was published by the Boston University Medical Campus, and presented stories on events and topics of interest to members of the BU Medical Campus community. It followed the discontinued publication Centerscope as Boston University Medicine from 1991-2005, and was continued as Campus & Alumni News from 2006-2013 before returning to the title Boston University Medicine from 2014-present

Radiation exposure to the hand

Study Design: Prospective study. Purpose: During fluoroscopically guided spinal procedure, the hands of spinal surgeons are placed close to the field of radiation and may be exposed to ionizing radiation. This study directly measured the radiation exposure to the hand of a spinal interventionalist during fluoroscopically guided procedures. Overview of Literature: Fluoroscopically guided spinal procedures have been reported to be a cause for concern due to the radiation exposure to which their operators are exposed. Methods: This prospective study evaluated the radiation exposure of the hand of one spinal interventionalist during 52 consecutive fluoroscopic spinal procedures over a 3-month period. The interventionalist wore three real-time dosimeters secured to the right forearm, under the lead apron over the chest, and outside the lead apron over the chest. Additionally, one radiophotoluminescence glass dosimeter was placed under the lead apron over the left chest and one ring radiophotoluminescence glass dosimeter was worn on the right thumb. The duration of exposure and radiation dose were measured for each procedure. Results: The average radiation exposure dose per procedure was 14.9 µSv, 125.6 µSv, and 200.1 µSv, inside the lead apron over the chest, outside the lead apron over the chest, and on the right forearm, respectively. Over the 3-month period, the protected radiophotoluminescence glass dosimeter over the left chest recorded less than the minimum reportable dose, whereas the radiophotoluminescence glass ring dosimeter recorded 368 mSv for the thumb. Conclusions: Our findings indicated that the cumulative radiation dose measured at the dominant hand may exceed the annual dose limit specified by the International Commission on Radiological Protection. Spinal interventionalists should take special care to limit the duration of fluoroscopy and radiation exposure

Outlook Magazine, Winter 2016

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Magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance arthrography of the shoulder: dependence on the level of training of the performing radiologist for diagnostic accuracy

Purpose: Discrepancies were identified between magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and clinical findings in patients who had MR imaging examinations evaluated by community-based general radiologists. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of MR imaging examinations of the shoulder with regard to the training level of the performing radiologist. Methods: A review of patient charts identified 238 patients (male/female, 175/63; mean age, 40.4years) in whom 250 arthroscopies were performed and who underwent MR imaging or direct MR arthrography in either a community-based or hospital-based institution prior to surgery. All MR imaging and surgical reports were reviewed and the diagnostic performance for the detection of labral, rotator cuff, biceps, and Hill-Sachs lesions was determined. Kappa and Student's t test analyses were performed in a subset of cases in which initial community-based MR images were re-evaluated by hospital-based musculoskeletal radiologists, to determine the interobserver agreement and any differences in image interpretation. Results: The diagnostic performance of community-based general radiologists was lower than that of hospital-based sub-specialized musculoskeletal radiologists. A sub-analysis of re-evaluated cases showed that musculoskeletal radiologists performed better. κ values were 0.208, 0.396, 0.376, and 0.788 for labral, rotator cuff, biceps, and Hill-Sachs lesions (t test statistics: p = <0.001, 0.004, 0.019, and 0.235). Conclusions: Our results indicate that the diagnostic performance of MR imaging and MR arthrography of the shoulder depends on the training level of the performing radiologist, with sub-specialized musculoskeletal radiologists having a better diagnostic performance than general radiologist

Patterns of injury and violence in Yaoundé Cameroon: an analysis of hospital data.

BackgroundInjuries are quickly becoming a leading cause of death globally, disproportionately affecting sub-Saharan Africa, where reports on the epidemiology of injuries are extremely limited. Reports on the patterns and frequency of injuries are available from Cameroon are also scarce. This study explores the patterns of trauma seen at the emergency ward of the busiest trauma center in Cameroon's capital city.Materials and methodsAdministrative records from January 1, 2007, through December 31, 2007, were retrospectively reviewed; information on age, gender, mechanism of injury, and outcome was abstracted for all trauma patients presenting to the emergency ward. Univariate analysis was performed to assess patterns of injuries in terms of mechanism, date, age, and gender. Bivariate analysis was used to explore potential relationships between demographic variables and mechanism of injury.ResultsA total of 6,234 injured people were seen at the Central Hospital of Yaoundé's emergency ward during the year 2007. Males comprised 71% of those injured, and the mean age of injured patients was 29 years (SD = 14.9). Nearly 60% of the injuries were due to road traffic accidents, 46% of which involved a pedestrian. Intentional injuries were the second most common mechanism of injury (22.5%), 55% of which involved unarmed assault. Patients injured in falls were more likely to be admitted to the hospital (p &lt; 0.001), whereas patients suffering intentional injuries and bites were less likely to be hospitalized (p &lt; 0.001). Males were significantly more likely to be admitted than females (p &lt; 0.001)DiscussionPatterns in terms of age, gender, and mechanism of injury are similar to reports from other countries from the same geographic region, but the magnitude of cases reported is high for a single institution in an African city the size of Yaoundé. As the burden of disease is predicted to increase dramatically in sub-Saharan Africa, immediate efforts in prevention and treatment in Cameroon are strongly warranted

Abstracts of the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA) 19th Annual General Meeting and International Scientific Conference

Conference Abstract