Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Femoral Neck Prophylactic Surgery in Elderly Osteoporotic Patiens to Prevent Hip Fractures

The aim of our RCT was to evaluate safety and efficacy of a new device called Prevention Nail System (PNS) developed for the prevention of femoral neck fractures (FNFs) in patients with severe osteoporosis. The PNS is a titanium screw with a hydroxyapatite coating implanted in the femoral neck in order to reinforce it. We enrolled patients with: FNF; age ≥65 years; DXA of the noninjured hip with a T-score ≤ −2.5 SD. In the fractured hip patients received standard treatment while the contralateral hip was randomized either to receive PNS (group A) or not: control group (B). During each follow-up (FU) at 3, 12 and 24 months, DXA, CT and X-rays of the reinforced hip were performed. The mean age was 83 years and the preoperative DXA was −3.3 SD in both groups. The walking ability of patients with PNS were comparable to controls. The CT scan showed good integration of the PNS in the bone. At the longest available FU 23 patients reported one or more falls. 16 nonfemoral fractures were recorded: 10 (A) and 6 (B) and 6 contralateral hip fractures (CHFs): 3 in the PNS group and 3 in the control group. In A all CHFs occurred within 1 month after surgery and there was a difficult screw placement during surgery, in the control group the CHFs were consequence of a fall (6 months to 2 years after the first FNF). No statistical differences were reported between groups A and B. In conclusion, the device was well tolerated; CHFs in the PNS group should be considered a technical error due to the surgical instruments. Safety of the device can be increased by improving the instruments to reduce the risk of iatrogenic fractures

How Do Metal Ion Levels Change over Time in Hip Resurfacing Patients? A Cohort Study

Metal-on-metal hip resurfacing (MOM-HR) is offered as an alternative to traditional hip arthroplasty for young, active adults with advanced osteoarthritis. Nevertheless, concerns remain regarding wear and corrosion of the bearing surfaces and the resulting increase in metal ion levels. We evaluated three cohorts of patients with Birmingham hip resurfacing (BHR) at an average follow-up of 2, 5, and 9 years. We asked whether there would be differences in ion levels between the cohorts and inside the gender. Nineteen patients were prospectively analyzed. The correlation with clinical-radiographic data was also performed. Chromium, cobalt, nickel, and molybdenum concentrations were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Chromium and cobalt levels demonstrated a tendency to decrease over time. Such tendency was present only in females. An inverse correlation between chromium, implant size, and Harris hip score was present at short term; it disappeared over time together with the decreased ion levels. The prospective analysis showed that, although metal ion levels remained fairly constant within each patient, there was a relatively large variation between subjects, so mean data in this scenario must be interpreted with caution. The chronic high exposure should be carefully considered during implant selection, particularly in young subjects, and a stricter monitoring is mandatory

Evolving trends in the management of acute appendicitis during COVID-19 waves. The ACIE appy II study

Background: In 2020, ACIE Appy study showed that COVID-19 pandemic heavily affected the management of patients with acute appendicitis (AA) worldwide, with an increased rate of non-operative management (NOM) strategies and a trend toward open surgery due to concern of virus transmission by laparoscopy and controversial recommendations on this issue. The aim of this study was to survey again the same group of surgeons to assess if any difference in management attitudes of AA had occurred in the later stages of the outbreak. Methods: From August 15 to September 30, 2021, an online questionnaire was sent to all 709 participants of the ACIE Appy study. The questionnaire included questions on personal protective equipment (PPE), local policies and screening for SARS-CoV-2 infection, NOM, surgical approach and disease presentations in 2021. The results were compared with the results from the previous study. Results: A total of 476 answers were collected (response rate 67.1%). Screening policies were significatively improved with most patients screened regardless of symptoms (89.5% vs. 37.4%) with PCR and antigenic test as the preferred test (74.1% vs. 26.3%). More patients tested positive before surgery and commercial systems were the preferred ones to filter smoke plumes during laparoscopy. Laparoscopic appendicectomy was the first option in the treatment of AA, with a declined use of NOM. Conclusion: Management of AA has improved in the last waves of pandemic. Increased evidence regarding SARS-COV-2 infection along with a timely healthcare systems response has been translated into tailored attitudes and a better care for patients with AA worldwide

EVALITA Evaluation of NLP and Speech Tools for Italian - December 17th, 2020

Welcome to EVALITA 2020! EVALITA is the evaluation campaign of Natural Language Processing and Speech Tools for Italian. EVALITA is an initiative of the Italian Association for Computational Linguistics (AILC, http://www.ai-lc.it) and it is endorsed by the Italian Association for Artificial Intelligence (AIxIA, http://www.aixia.it) and the Italian Association for Speech Sciences (AISV, http://www.aisv.it)

Bone mineral density of the proximal femur recovers after metal-on-metal hip resurfacing

Bone resorption of the proximal femur is a frequent complication of total hip replacement. As hip resurfacing (HR) may load the bone more physiologically, we measured proximal femur bone mineral density (BMD) in 21 patients with HR. DEXA analysis was performed in the 7 Gruen zones and in the femoral neck pre-operatively and at 3, 9, and 24-months post-operatively. In Gruen zone-2 the BMD ratio decreased to 90±18.8% (p=0.0009) at 3-months and completely restored at 24-months to 100±17.7% (p=0.01). In Gruen zone-7 the BMD ratio decreased to 93±15.3% (p=0.05) by 3 months and surpassed the baseline to 105±14.8% (p=0.01) at 24-months. A positive correlation was observed between valgus positioning of the femoral component and BMD in Gruen zone-2 and 7 respectively. HR preserves the bone-stock of the proximal femur. When the femoral component is implanted in a valgus position BMD is further enhanced, thus potentially reducing the risk of femoral neck fractures

Surgical prevention of femoral neck fractures in elderly osteoporotic patients. A literature review

Fragility fractures of the femur are one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The incidence of new contralateral hip fractures in elderly osteoporotic patients ranges from 7 to 12% within 2 years after the first fracture. Secondary prevention can be divided in: pharmacological therapy based on the prescription of anti-osteoporotic drugs with different mechanism of action and nonpharmacological therapy which is based on modification of environmental risk factors, on a healthy diet with daily supplements of calcium and Vitamin D and calcium and on the use of hip protectors. Recently a new form of prevention is becoming achievable: surgical prevention; the rationale of surgical reinforcement is the need to increase the resistance of the femoral neck to the compression and distraction forces acting on it. In this paper we analyse all the experimental and "on the market" device available for the surgical prevention of femoral neck fracture

Osteosynthetic improvement of osteoporotic bone: prevention surgery

A prior osteoporotic femoral neck fracture (FNF) doubles the risk of a second, contralateral hip fracture. Pharmacological prevention of osteoporotic fractures is cost-effective but medication compliance and persistence rates are suboptimal

Atypical femoral fractures

Bisphosphonates (BPs) represent the most widely used therapy for osteoporosis. Recently, a relationship between long-term treatment with BPs and a subset of atypical femoral fractures (AFFs) from below the lesser trochanter to the sovracondilar line has been described. Many etiopathogenetic theories have been invoked to explain AFFs: reduced bone turnover and increased osteoblast bone apposition with accumulation of microdamage and decreased bone toughness with subsequent increased risk of micro-cracks and duration fractures, collagen fiber cross-linking and vascularization impairment. Based on published studies, a task force of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research has redacted the diagnostic criteria of AFFs by classifying them according to their major and minor criteria. The treatment for displaced AFFs is osteosynthesis, but there is a lack of evidence for undisplaced AFFs and the duration of fracture treatment. BPs have a proven efficacy in osteoporotic fracture reduction as well as in the treatment of other bone diseases caused by the downregulation of osteoclast activity. BPs have an excellent benefit-to-risk ratio; however, minor adverse events, such as AFFs, occur in a variable percentage of patients treated over a long period of tim