Congenital syphilis with bone lesion: case report

ABSTRACT The authors report a case of congenital syphilis in a newborn with a bone lesion, resulting in left ankle periostitis

Lead Toxicity Risks in Gunshot Victims

<div><p>Background</p><p>Gunshot wounds require surgeons to decide whether to remove or leave bullet fragments in the body. Surgeons also decide how to follow up with patients who have lead fragments retained in their body. Current literature recommends to remove only intra-articular fragments without the need for a follow-up for patients with the metal retained. Therefore, this study investigates chronic lead toxicity for gunshot wounds.</p><p>Methods</p><p>The study was performed in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro/Brazil, between 2013 and 2015. It was a case-control study that included 45 victims of gunshot lesions with metallic fragments retained for more than 6 months. The 45 controls were matched for gender, age, and race. We compared the lead blood levels and frequency of symptoms.</p><p>Results</p><p>The control group had average blood lead levels of 2.17 μg/dL (95% Confidence Interval [CI]; 1.71–2.63) and median 2.1 μg/dL. The case group had average values of 9.01 μg/dL (CI; 6.07–11.96) and median values of 6.5 μg/dL with p-values < = 0.001. The case group reported the following more frequently: irritancy, bad mood, headache, memory losses, daylight drowsiness, myalgia, weakness, abdominal pain, joint pain, trembling, tingling limbs. There was statistical significance for the differences of symptoms frequencies and for odds ratio between groups.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Although the mean lead levels found were lower than the current laboratory references, low levels have been associated with both rising morbidity and mortality. The WHO stated: “There is no known level of lead exposure that is considered safe”. In conclusion, this work showed that bullets retained in the body are not innocuous. There are impacts in the blood lead levels and symptoms related to it, even with few fragments, extra-articular located or existing with low blood lead levels.</p></div

Posterior dislocation of the sternoclavicular joint: report of two cases

ABSTRACT The authors report the cases of two young patients who had suffered a sporting accident with posterior traumatic dislocation of sternoclavicular joint. In one of the patients closed reduction was accomplished by keeping the limb in a sling. The second patient, after reduction was done, presented recurrence of the dislocation, thus requiring surgical treatment. It is important to observe the relevance of computed tomography to help diagnosing, as well as monitoring the reduction procedure. The objective of this study was to demonstrate two different types of treatment in a rare injury such as the posterior dislocation of sternoclavicular joint

Posterior dislocation of the sternoclavicular joint: report of two cases

ABSTRACT The authors report the cases of two young patients who had suffered a sporting accident with posterior traumatic dislocation of sternoclavicular joint. In one of the patients closed reduction was accomplished by keeping the limb in a sling. The second patient, after reduction was done, presented recurrence of the dislocation, thus requiring surgical treatment. It is important to observe the relevance of computed tomography to help diagnosing, as well as monitoring the reduction procedure. The objective of this study was to demonstrate two different types of treatment in a rare injury such as the posterior dislocation of sternoclavicular joint

Examples of volunteers with different number of bullets fragments retained and their respective blood lead levels.

<p>Examples of volunteers with different number of bullets fragments retained and their respective blood lead levels.</p

A box plot to represent the samples distribution for blood lead levels.

<p>A box plot to represent the samples distribution for blood lead levels.</p

Characterization and Applicability of a Bone Spheroid Model for the Evaluation of Cytocompatibility of Bone Substitutes

In vitro cell-based tests are an important preclinical step for the safety assessment of biomaterials and drugs. Three-dimensional cell culture models (3D) may improve the limitations of the usual 2D models, as they better simulate a physiological environment. This work describes the characterization of a 3D spheroid model of MC3T3-E1 murine preosteoblasts for the testing of bone-substitute materials and investigates its adequacy to some of the most employed cell viability tests. The spheroids presented structural stability for 28 days in culture, with a regular spheroidal aspect, compact surface, and dense inner structure, with high potential for mineralization, but a time-dependent reduction in size. The use of colorimetric tests (MTT, XTT, and NRU) did not achieve satisfactory optical densities and did not correlate with cell density in the 3D model, as the aggregates remain strongly stained even after dye extraction steps. On the other hand, the LDH test achieved appropriate optical density and a high correlation with cell density (r2 = 0.77) and identified a dose&ndash;response for a well-known cytotoxic polymer (latex), while no toxicity was identified for biocompatible PLA wires. These results indicate that material testing with 3D bone cell models requires a careful choice of test methods and parameters

Descriptive statistics for blood lead levels (μg/dL).

<p>Descriptive statistics for blood lead levels (μg/dL).</p

Associations of symptoms and the presence of bullets retained.

<p>* <b>Fisher exact test.</b></p><p>Associations of symptoms and the presence of bullets retained.</p