Incidence estimates of hand and upper extremity injuries in Italy

Objective. The purpose of this investigation is to estimate the incidence rates of upper extremity injuries and to give an overview of the most frequent diagnoses.Materials and methods. Two population databases were queried for all injuries in the upper extremities, the SINIACA-IDB (S-IDB: Emergency Department Injury Database in Italy) and the Hospital Discharge Register (HDR). The diagnoses codes of hand trauma were selected from both databases in order to estimate the national incidence rate.Results. According to the S-IDB data of year 2011, total 1,479,510 ED attendances per year in Italy were estimated with an upper extremity injury (incidence rate: 2,491 per 100,000 persons/year). About 880,816 Emergency Department (ED) attendances per year are due to hand injuries, while over 653,336 attendances per year concern arm injuries. The incidence rates are 1,483 and 1,100 per 100,000 person/year respectively. About 201,940 hospitalizations are observed in the HDR because of upper extremity injuries (incidence rate: 340 per 100,000 persons/year). Males have higher incidence rate (387 vs. 280 per 100,000 persons per year). The trend in the incidence rates for the age group of inpatients shows two peaks: at age 12 (400 cases per 100,000 persons/year), and in the older age groups (700 cases per 100,000 persons/year)

Outpatient paediatric hand surgery: strategy in healthcare implementation and cost-efficient manner

The increasingly cost of health care is a relevant problem as well as prolonged waiting time for admission also in emergencies. Effective cost containment measures and expenditure controls are needed to achieve and maintain clinical and organizational appropriateness. Outpatient management has proven to be the most useful method for lower-cost treatment in less severe pathologies, requiring surgery without hospitalization. The current study provided to evaluate how this model was successfully applied also to the paediatric population in hand surgery. Methods. A retrospective cohort study of 645 patients from 8 to 18 years (mean age 14.9) was performed in children treated in outpatient setting from 2015 to 2019. The direct costs were evaluated as well as the mean waiting time for surgery, comparing the data with the previous five-year period. The mean reduction in waiting time for children emergencies was 57% (from 72 to 31 h) due to the Outpatient setting into a dedicated Day-Surgery Service organizational model. The visual graphed data showed a general clear growing trend towards outpatient surgery in adults and children. The overall effect was a 29.2% of reduction in spending between expected and achieved costs, recovering resources toward the increasing technology and innovation expenditures. Outpatient paediatric hand surgery was an effective and attractive option which leaded to decreased individual and social costs, with increased clinical and organizational appropriateness. Thus, reduced delay in treatment and provided benefits for children and familiars

Intra-articular osteoid osteoma of the lower extremity: Diagnostic problems

We report five cases of intra-articular osteoid osteoma. Physical findings of osteoid osteoma vary with the site of the tumor. Juxta- and intra-articular osteoid osteomas present various atypical and nonspecific features. They are recorded both for their rarity and for the unusual clinical and roentgenographic findings that may delay diagnosis or induce misdiagnosis. Specialized imaging techniques may hasten diagnosis, but only an accurate clinical history, with a high index of suspicion, can allow for a proper diagnosis. When the diagnosis is suspected, we suggest that the most sensitive test is a "three-phase" technetium-99m bone-scan followed by computerized tomographic-scanning. Detailed evaluation of the suspected area, using thin sections is required to prevent misinterpretation, especially in a diagnosis involving first sprain of an ankle. The following cases of intra-articular osteoid osteoma illustrate the problems encountered in their diagnosis

Bedeutung des FESSH Hand Trauma Komitees in Europa

In Europe the need for clear definitions of hand surgery facilities regarding trauma is becoming really important to guarantee a correct and up-dated treatment of lesions more and more frequent and complex. The goal for European patients should be to have similar treatment based on appropriate referral and assistance in centres officially accredited for hand surgery. The target for the European countries, giving the correct support to the centres and surgeons treating these problems, should also be to save the costs of residual invalidities. These are some of the reasons for the European Federation of Societies for Surgery of the Hand (FESSH) decided to form a committee (Hand Trauma Committee) devoted to study this problem, trying to give common guidelines and forming an European net of accredited centres. The first step was to collect data through a network of national representatives. Covering a 487 millions population, 309 centres were recorded, including 1 797 surgeons and 20 363 patients treated during January 2006, then having a clear situation of hand trauma treatment through Europe. Next, the HTC worked on 3 definitions: hand trauma, hand trauma surgeons and hand trauma centres and started to accredit centres applying to these well defined criteria. The HTC is now working on scientific consensus on some traumatic lesions but also on the important topic of prevention of hand traumas. This work is expected to improve an homogenous situation throughout Europe focusing on the better use of the given resources for the prevention and the treatment of these traumatic lesions. \ua9 Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart \ub7 New York