Wound surveillance has been reported to result in a significant fall in the incidence of wound sepsis in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). However, there is currently little guidance on the definition of surgical wound infection that is best to be used for surveillance. The purpose of this study was to assess the agreement between three common definitions of surgical wound infection as a performance indicator in TKA; (a) the CDC 1992 definition, (b) the NINSS modification of the CDC definition and (c) the ASEPSIS scoring method applied to the same series of surgical wounds. A prospective study of 500 surgical wounds in patients who underwent knee arthroplasties between May 2002 and December 2004 from a single tertiary centre were assessed according to the different definitions of surgical wound infection.Introduction
Methods
Following amputation, residual stumps used to attach the external prostheses can be associated with sores, infection and skin necrosis. These problems could be overcome by off loading the soft tissues. Intraosseous transcutaneous amputation prostheses (ITAP) attach external implants directly to residual bone reducing these complications. However, a tight seal at the skin implant interface is crucial in preventing epithelial down-growth and infection. Fibronectin (Fn) and laminin 332 (Ln), enhance early cell growth and adhesion of keratinocytes. Silanization to titanium alloy (Ti) allows these proteins to bond to the metal directly. We hypothesize that silanized dual coatings of fibronectin and laminin (SiFnLn) will be more durable than absorbed proteins and that keratinocyte adhesion will be increased compared with Ti controls and single silanized proteins. 10 mm diameter Ti alloy discs were polished, sterilized and silanized. The kinetics of silanized single and dual protein coating attachment onto titanium alloy was quantified using radio-labelled Fn(125I-Fn) and Ln(125I-Ln). Coating durability was assessed when soaked in fetal calf serum (FCS) for 0, 1, 24, 48, 72hrs. Data was compared to un-silanized Ti discs with the same amount of adsorbed proteins. In order to study cell attachment 20 × 103 keratinocytes were seeded on the discs (n = 6): silanized (Si), silanized fibronectin (SiFn), silanized laminin (SiLn), silanized dual coating (SiFnLn) for 1, 4 and 24hrs. Adhesion of cells was assessed using mouse vinculin antibody for 2hrs and alexafluor for 1hr which stains focal adhesions responsible for attaching cells to surfaces. Axiovision Image Analysis software was used to measure cell area, vinculin markers per cell unit and per unit cell area on 15 cells per disc. Data was analysed in SPSS and significance was assumed at the 0.05 level.Introduction
Methods
Intraosseous transcutaneous amputation prostheses (ITAP) provide an alternative means of attaching artificial limbs for amputees. Conventional stump-socket devices are associated with soft tissue complications including; pressure sores and tissue necrosis. ITAP resolves these problems by attaching the exo-prosthesis transcutaneously to the skeleton. The aim of this study is to increase the attachment of dermal fibroblasts to titanium alloy in vitro. Fibronectin (Fn) and laminin 332 (Ln) enhance early cell growth and adhesion. We hypothesize that silanized dual coatings of fibronectin and laminin (SiFnLn) will be more durable when compared with adsorbed dual coating (AdFnLn), and will enhance early fibroblast growth and adhesion compared to single coatings. The kinetics of dual single and dual protein coating attachment onto titanium alloy was quantified on silanized 10mm diameter discs using radiolabelled Fn (125I-Fn) and Ln (125I-Ln). Sixty discs were polished, sterilized and silanized. Coating durability was assessed when soaked in fetal calf serum (FCS) for 0, 1, 24, 48 and 72hrs. Data was compared to un-silanized Ti discs with the same coatings. Five thousand human dermal fibroblasts were seeded on discs (n = 6) of Ti polished alone (Pol), Ti with adsorbed fibronectin (AdFn), Ti with adsorbed laminin (AdLn), Ti adsorbed dual coating (AdFnLn), Ti silanized (Si), Ti silanized with fibronectin (SiFn), Ti silanized with laminin (SiLn), Ti silanized with a dual coating (SiFnLn) for 24hrs. In order to measure cell adhesion fibroblasts were fixed, vinculin stained using mouse vinculin antibody and alexa fluor. Axiovision Image Analysis software was used to measure cell area, vinculin focal adhesion markers per cell and per unit cell area. Data was analysed in SPSS and significance was assumed at the 0.05 level.Introduction
Methods
Failure of a primary anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is associated with poor functional outcomes even after revision surgery. The aim of this study is to identify early predictors for failure, so that it may aid in recognition of at-risk patients. An observational study was conducted of 623 patients undergoing primary ACL reconstruction by a single surgeon over a 72 month period. Patient and procedure related parameters including age, gender, BMI, time to surgery, graft size, fixation methods, meniscal and chondral injuries, meniscal surgery, radiological parameters and post-operative IKDC scores. Logistic regression modeling was employed to identify those factors which were statistically significant for failure.AIM
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