Does image guidance improve accuracy of core needle biopsy in diagnosis of soft tissue tumours?

The aim of this study was to compare accuracy of an image guided percutaneous core needle biopsy (PCNB), using ultrasound or computed tomography, to PCNB without image guidance in the diagnosis of palpable soft tissue tumours. One hundred forty patients with a suspected soft tissue sarcoma underwent a percutaneous core needle biopsy with or without image guidance. One hundred eleven patients had subsequent surgical excision.

Growth hormone: does it have a therapeutic role in fracture healing?

Background: The role of growth hormone (GH) in augmenting fracture healing has been postulated for over half a century. GH has been shown to play a role in bone metabolism and this can be mediated directly or indirectly through IGF-I.

Objectives: The use of GH was evaluated as a possible therapeutic agent in augmenting fracture healing.

Prostaglandin EP2 and EP4 receptor agonists in bone formation and bone healing: In vivo and in vitro evidence.

Background: Using agonists that selectively stimulate PGE2 receptors, the adverse effects that have limited the clinical utility of PGE2 can be avoided and there may be potential for their use as therapeutic agents in the treatment of bone loss in humans.

Objective: A comprehensive review of the recent literature on the effect of prostaglandins and their agonists on bone mineral density and fracture healing.

Methods: In vitro and in vivo evidence was collected using medical search engines MEDLINE (1950 to March 2008) and EMBASE (1980 to March 2008) databases.

Through-the-nail technique.

Ipsilateral fractures of the neck of the femur and the femoral shaft are uncommon injuries and they present considerable challenge as the concurrent survival of the femoral head and union of the femoral shaft fracture is of paramount importance. We present a young male patient who sustained a Garden IV fracture of the neck of his right femur following a road traffic accident, with the fracture being adjacent to an ipsilateral intramedullary nail inserted 10 years previously for a midshaft femoral fracture; the nail was broken, with its proximal fragment lying behind the greater trochanter. The patient was operated on within 6 hours from the injury.