Do chronic pain syndromes in lower limb amputees have an effect on the use of prostheses?

BACKGROUND: The use of a prosthesis is critical to regain the ability to walk in lower limb amputees but the relationship between the use of a prosthesis and chronic pain syndromes (PLS, PLP, RLP), common in amputees patients, is still poorly understood. OBJECTIVE: This long-term follow-up study investigates the possible correlation between prosthesis use and the presence of PLP, PLS and RLP in lower limb amputees. METHODS: Patients undergoing transtibial, transfemoral or hemipelvectomy amputation of any aetiology at the Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute from 2008 to 2018 were included. The Houghton scale was used to assess functional use of the prosthesis. RESULTS: The results show that, in lower limb amputees, prosthesis use is greater in individuals with below-the-knee amputation and in those who were younger at the time of amputation. No significant correlation between the presence of pain syndromes (PLS, PLP, RLP) and the various items on the Houghton scale was found. CONCLUSIONS: The study found no significant correlation indicating that phantom limb pain syndromes affect amputee use of a prosthesis.

A Bibliometric Analysis and Visualisation of Research Trends in Orthopaedic Implants

Several metals are used for orthopaedic implants. The bibliometric analysis had been conducted to understand the active authors, organizations, journals, and countries involved in the research domain of “orthopaedic implants”. All published articles related to “orthopaedic implants” from “Scopus”, were analyzed using the VOS viewer to develop analysis tables and visualization maps. This article had set the objective to consolidate the scientific literature regarding “orthopaedic implants” and also to find out the trends related to the same. The most active journals in this research domain were the Biomaterials. The most active country was the United States of America. The leading organization engaged in research regarding Orthopaedic implants was the IRCCS Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute, Bologna of Italy. The most active authors who had made valuable contributions related to dental implants were Arciola C.R and Webster T.J.

Reviewer Acknowledgements for Cancer and Clinical Oncology, Vol. 6, No. 1

Cancer and Clinical Oncology wishes to acknowledge the following individuals for their assistance with peer review of manuscripts for this issue. Their help and contributions in maintaining the quality of the journal is greatly appreciated.Cancer and Clinical Oncology is recruiting reviewers for the journal. If you are interested in becoming a reviewer, we welcome you to join us. Please find the application form and details at http://www.ccsenet.org/reviewer and e-mail the completed application form to [email protected] for Volume 6, Number 1Aditya R Bele, University Of Florida, UsaAnand Kumar, Banaras Hindu University, IndiaDonghui Zhou, Iupui, United StatesHemendra Mod, Aaruni Hospital Pvt Ltd, IndiaJuan Luis Callejas Valera, Ucsd/Moores Cancer Center, United StatesJulita Kulbacka, Wroclaw Medical University, PolandMarco Gambarotti, Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute, ItalyMohammed Abdelmoneam Osman, General Organization for Teaching Hospitals, EgyptMona Mostafa Mohamed, Cairo University, EgyptNorma Varela, Mcmaster University, CanadaRakesh Ponnala, Zoetis Inc, UsaRuofeng Qiu, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, United StatesSarandeep S S Boyanapalli, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc, UsaSoumitra Ghosh, Washington Univ @ St. Louis, United StatesSourav Banerjee, University Of California San Diego, Usa

Panton-Valentine Leukocidin Gene Detected in a Staphylococcus Aureus Strain Isolated from a Knee Arthroprosthesis Infection

This report focuses on the molecular characterization of a Staphylococcus aureus strain isolated from a knee arthroprosthesis infection and recognized retrospectively as a carrier of the Panton-Valentine leukocidin gene. The stored microbiological isolate, which belonged to the strain collection of the Research Unit on Implant Infections of the Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute, was retrieved for molecular analysis. Genotyping was carried out, revealing an interesting profile. In addition to the positivity for the Panton-Valentine toxin gene, the results indicated that the isolate belonged to the agr III group and was endowed with bbp and cna genes, both encoding for staphylococcal adhesins that bind bone proteins. The strain had the mecA gene for methicillin resistance, even though it was unable to resist any of the β-lactam or other antibiotics. Its gene configuration matched that of other community-acquired methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA and CA-MSSA) strains which have recently been reported worldwide. As far as we know, this is the first report on a PVL-positive S. aureus strain associated with an orthopedic implant (knee arthroprosthesis) infection.

Autotransfusion: 15 Years Experience at Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute

The program of blood saving, result of 15 years of experience, includes predeposit (1977) hemodilution (1979) intra (1984) and postoperative (1985) salvage, careful intra and postoperative bleeding control, use of homologous transfusion only in case of intolerated anaemia even for 7-8g/dl Hb values. The use of autologous compared to homologous transfusion passed from 19% in 1984 to 62% in 1992. In 1992 in the surgical division of the 1st Anaesthesia and Intensive Care unit, 414 patients underwent prosthetic hip and knee surgery, 8% of these patients were homologously transfused.