Quantitative ultrasound measurements in premature infants at 1 year of age: the effects of antenatal administered corticosteroids.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of antenatally administered glucocorticoids on bone status of preterm infants at 1 year corrected age. The study population consisted of 32 preterm infants with a gestational age of 24-34 weeks. The infants were divided into two groups according to antenatal exposure to corticosteroids.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus osteomyelitis and septic arthritis in neonates: diagnosis and management.

Acute osteomyelitis (AO) in neonates, although rare, represents a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. A high index of suspicion is necessary to make an early diagnosis, and the observation of clinical signs is crucial. The increasing prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an emerging problem in pediatrics.

Levels of bone collagen markers in preterm infants: relation to antenatal glucocorticoid treatment.

Although the beneficial effects of antenatally administered glucocorticoids are well documented, data on the potential of adverse consequences are limited. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of antenatally administered glucocorticoids on biochemical markers of bone metabolism of 55 preterm infants with a gestational age of 24-34 weeks who were enrolled in the study. Neonates were divided into two groups according to antenatal exposure to corticosteroids.

Treatment of closed unstable metacarpal fractures using percutaneous transverse fixation with Kirschner wires.

Background: The vast majority of metacarpal bone fractures are stable and are treated conservatively; however, when surgical intervention is to be preferred, many different operative procedures have been described. The purpose of this prospective study was to assess the anatomic and functional outcome of percutaneous transverse fixation with Kirschner wires (K-wires) of closed metacarpal neck, shaft. and intra-articular fractures of the base of the fifth metacarpal.

Functional evaluation after primary flexor tendon repair in zone II.

The purpose of this prospective study was to evaluate the results of primary treatment of flexor tendon laceration in zone II according to Verdan's zone system. Special emphasis was given to the postoperative rehabilitation program. Nineteen patients (23 fingers) with laceration of the flexor tendons in zone II were treated operatively.

Complications and problems related to pedicle screw fixation of the spine.

This retrospective study analyzes the complications and the problems developed during and after pedicle screw fixation in patients with spinal disorders and trauma. One hundred twelve patients were treated using the Cotrel-Dubousset pedicle screw fixation system for degenerative disease (57 patients), trauma (42 patients), infection (eight patients), and tumor (five patients) of the lumbar or thoracolumbar spine. The average age of the patients was 47 years and the average followup was 35 months.

Gertzbein and load sharing classifications for unstable thoracolumbar fractures.

From 1996 to 1998, 30 consecutive patients with Level 1 thoracolumbar spinal injury were classified and treated according to the Gertzbein classification and the load sharing classification. A posterior short segment pedicle screw implant was used in 21 patients; anterior decompression with strut grafting and application of the Kaneda device was used in three patients; and six patients were treated with short posterior instrumentation and an anterior strut graft. The average followup was 32 months (range, 24-50 months).

Peroneal nerve palsy: a complication of umbilical artery catheterization in the full-term newborn of a mother with diabetes.

Umbilical artery catheters are an essential aid in the treatment of newborn infants who have cardiopulmonary disease. However, it is well-known that umbilical artery catheterization is associated with complications. The most frequent visible problem in an umbilical line is blanching or cyanosis of part or all of a distal extremity or the buttock area resulting from either vasospasm or a thrombotic or embolic incidence.