Photo quiz. Infection due to Exophiala jeanselmei.
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Aged↗
Biomedical subjects
J E Blank
Publications and source records attributed to J E Blank.
Evaluation of the Neer system of classification of proximal humeral fractures with computerized tomographic scans and plain radiographs.
The intraobserver reliability and inter-observer reproducibility of the Neer classification system were assessed on the basis of the plain radiographs and computerized tomographic scans of twenty fractures of the proximal part of the humerus. To determine if the observers had difficulty agreeing only about the degree of displacement or angulation (but could determine which segments were fractured), a modified system (in which fracture lines were considered but displacement was not) also was assessed. Finally, the observers were asked to recommend a treatment for the fracture, and the reliability and re-producibility of that decision were measured. The radiographs and computerized tomographic scans were viewed on two occasions by four observers, including two residents in their fifth year of postgraduate study and two fellowship-trained shoulder surgeons. Kappa coefficients then were calculated. The mean kappa coefficient for intraobserver reliability was 0.64 when the fractures were assessed with radiographs alone, 0.72 when they were assessed with radiographs and computerized tomographic scans, 0.68 when they were classified according to the modified system in which displacement and angulation were not considered, and 0.84 for treatment recommendations; the mean kappa coefficients for interobserver reproducibility were 0.52, 0.50, 0.56, and 0.65, respectively. The interobserver reproducibility of the responses of the attending surgeons regarding diagnosis and treatment did not change when the fractures were classified with use of computerized tomographic scans in addition to radiographs or with use of the modified system in which displacement and angulation were not considered; the mean kappa coefficient was 0.64 for all such comparisons. Over-all, the addition of computerized tomographic scans was associated with a slight increase in intraobserver reliability but no increase in interobserver reproducibility. The classification of fractures of the shoulder remains difficult because even experts cannot uniformly agree about which fragments are fractured. Because of this underlying difficulty, optimum patient care might require the development of new imaging modalities and not necessarily new classification systems.
Decision Making↗
The distal radioulnar joint in rheumatoid arthritis.
This article outlines the relevant pathoanatomy and kinematics, clinical and radiographic findings, and treatment alternatives for the rheumatoid distal radioulnar joint. A summary of the authors preferred techniques is presented.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
Metastatic retinoblastoma. Recent progress of interest to orthopaedic surgeons.
Retinoblastoma is the most common malignant intraocular neoplasm of childhood. Distant metastases to bone and bone marrow occur. The authors report on a retinoblastoma patient with metastases to the extraaxial skeleton. Implications for the orthopaedic surgeon and alternative diagnostic modalities are discussed. The case presented here exemplifies the potential role for the orthopaedic surgeon in making such a diagnosis in a child previously treated for retinoblastoma. Secondary nonocular malignant tumors should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with a history of retinoblastoma who have a painful extremity. Radiation treatment of the primary tumor increases the risk for nonocular secondary neoplasms. The structural alterations in the retinoblastoma gene in patients with osteosarcomas and the possible role of the retinoblastoma gene in the origin of osteosarcomas are also discussed.
Bone Neoplasms↗
Perinatal limb ischemia: orthopaedic implications.
Fifteen patients (16 ischemic limbs) who ultimately required amputation for perinatal limb ischemia were treated at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children in Philadelphia between 1980 and 1993. The average birth weight of these patients was 1,870 g, and the average gestational age was 30.8 weeks. Ischemic events occurred at an average postnatal age of 5.4 weeks. The causes of the ischemia included (a) arterial thrombosis as a complication of arterial catheterization (eight patients), (b) thromboembolism resulting from a hypercoagulable state (five patients), (c) intravenous infiltrate (one patient), and (d) in utero arterial thrombosis (one patient). Amputation was required at an average postnatal age of 8.5 weeks. The final patient, with concurrent ischemia involving the right hand and left leg, had complete resolution of the ischemic hand with fibrinolytic therapy alone and required only an amputation of the lower extremity. Eleven of the 15 patients were available for follow-up (two dead, two lost to follow-up), at an average of 4.5 years. Nine of these 11 patients (six lower and three upper extremities) are functioning well in prostheses. The two remaining patients are infants who will be fitted for lower-extremity prostheses when they begin to attempt to walk.
Amputation, Surgical↗