Dr BERNARD de DOMPSURE Régis

Objective: The aim of our study was to evaluate screw placement accuracy, safety, complications, and clinical outcomes including functional and pain score, in 32 patients treated with CT-guided pelvic ring fixation after high-energy trauma.

Materials and methods: Consecutive patients who were treated by CT-guided fixation of sacral or acetabular fractures after high-energy trauma were included. All procedures were performed under general anesthesia, with dual CT and fluoroscopic guidance, by interventional radiologists. Fractures were minimally displaced or reduced unstable posterior pelvic ring disruptions, with or without sacroiliac disjunction (Tile B or C) and minimally displaced acetabular fractures. The primary outcome evaluated was screw accuracy. Secondary outcomes included patient radiation exposure, duration of the procedure, complications, clinical functional score (Majeed score), and pain scale (VAS, visual analog scale) evaluation during a follow-up period from 4 to 30 months postoperatively.

Results: Thirty-two patients were included (mean age 46) and 62 screws were inserted. Screw placement was correct in 90.3% of patients (95% of screws). Mean procedure duration was 67 min and mean patient radiation exposure was 965 mGy cm. Mean follow-up was 13 months and no complications were observed. The mean Majeed score at final follow-up was 84/100 and the mean VAS was 1.6/10.

Conclusion: This technique is an effective and safe procedure in specific cases of pelvic ring and acetabulum fractures. It allows accurate screw placement in a minimally invasive manner, leading to effective management of poly-traumatized patients.

Key points: • CT-guided pelvic ring fixation, including sacroiliac and acetabular fractures, is an effective and safe procedure. • It allows accurate and minimally invasive screw placement, leading to effective management of poly-traumatized patients. • Multidisciplinary cooperation is essential to ensure efficiency and safety.

Background: Advantages of performing bilateral total hip arthroplasty (THA) in one stage include a single hospital stay, a single exposure to anaesthesia risks, and expedited rehabilitation. Controversy persists however, regarding safety, notably morbidity and mortality rates. Importantly, few studies have compared the anterior to the posterior approach for single-stage bilateral THA (1B-THA). The objective of this retrospective study in a uniform patient population was to compare the anterior and posterior approaches for 1B-THA in terms of: 1) early mortality rates, 2) early complications, 3) and 90-day re-admission rates, hospital stay lengths, and blood loss.

Hypothesis: 1B-THA in patients younger than 80 years who have an ASA score of 1 or 2 is associated with no early mortality and with low early morbidity rates regardless of whether the anterior or posterior approach is used.

Material and methods: A single-centre retrospective comparative design was used to assess 90-day mortality and morbidity rates in consecutive patients who underwent 1B-THA between 2004 and 2018. The groups managed with the anterior approach (AA) without traction table and posterior approach (PA) were compared. The ASA score was ≤2 and age ≤80 years in all patients. The groups were comparable for age, sex distribution, ASA score, pre-operative haemoglobin level, and reason for THA.

Results: We included 55 patients managed via the AA and 82 managed via the PA. No patients died in either group. Early complications occurred in 3 patients in the AA group and 6 in the AP group (p=0.74). No differences were noted between the two groups for each type of complication. In the AA group, 3 patients experienced major complications (p=0.06) (2 cerebrovascular events and 1 peri-prosthetic fracture). In the PA group, 6 patients experienced minor complications (1 case each of dislocation, piriformis syndrome, sacral pressure sore, and deep vein thrombosis and 2 cases of ilio-psoas irritation; p=0.08). Operative time was 144minutes (range, 110-195minutes) in the AA group and 171minutes (range, 108-255minutes) in the PA group (p<0.001). Mean hospital stay length was 7.6 days (range, 3-13 days) overall, 6.7 days (range, 5-11 days) in the AA group, and 8.2 days (range, 3-13 days) in the PA group (p<0.001). The early re-admission rate was 2.9% overall, with no difference between the AA group (3.6% [2/55]) and the PA group (2.4% [2/82]) A post-operative blood transfusion was required by 34/137 (24.8%) patients overall, 15/55(27.3%) patients in the AA group and 19/82 (23.2%) patients in the PA group (p=0.58).

Discussion: In selected patients (ASA score 1 or 2 and age ≤80 years), 1B-THA was not followed by any early deaths in the patients managed using the anterior or posterior approach. Total early morbidity rates were low. Neither the types of complications nor the early re-admission rates differed between the AA and PA groups. The shorter operative time in the AA group is ascribable to change in patient installation between the two arthroplasties when the PA is used.

Level of evidence: III, comparative study of consecutive patients.

Clostridium indolis is an anaerobic spore-forming Gram-positive bacillus belonging to the Clostridium saccharolyticum group. Its clinical significance in human remains poorly known. We describe the first case of osteitis related to C. indolis, identified by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and provide a literature review of human infections related to C. saccharolyticum group species.

Chronic bone infection is associated with bone resorption. From animal studies, CD3/CD28-activated T cells are known to enhance osteoclastogenesis and bone resorption. Because CD28 is expressed constitutively on T cells and its expression is down-regulated by chronic exposure to the inflammatory environment, we characterized co-stimulatory molecule expression on T cells from chronically infected patients. We used cytofluorometric techniques to phenotypically characterize T cells, its co-stimulatory molecules and perforin secretion from infected and non-infected human bones. Chronic bone infection was defined as infection lasting for more than a month. We show a higher T cell activation [human leucocyte antigen D-related (HLA-DR⁺)] in infected compared to non-infected bones: median being 16 versus 7%, P = 0·009 for CD4 T cells, and 33 versus 15%, P = 0·038 for CD8 T cells, respectively. However, T cell proliferation (Ki67⁺) was lower for CD8 T cells in infected bones: 26 versus 34%, P = 0·045. In contrast, we detected no difference in apoptosis and regulatory T cells. In infected bone, we found higher CD28-negative CD4⁺ T cells compared to non-infected bone: 20 versus 8%, respectively (P = 0·005); this T cell subset had higher CD11b expression and perforin secretion. Chronically infected human bones are characterized by an increase of CD28-negative CD4⁺ T cells, indicating long-term activated cells with cytotoxic ability. Therefore, this alteration of co-stimulatory molecules may modify interactions with osteoclasts and impact bone resorption.