Publications by authors named "Axel Ekkernkamp"

Introduction: Amongst low- to middle income countries (LMIC), outdated and poorly documented orthopedic interventions may pose patients at risk for complications, serious adverse events (SAE) and unsatisfactory results, contradicting the World Health Organization's (WHO) Safe Surgery mandates. Use cases of conditions managed inadequately in LMIC environments are necessary to increase awareness of stakeholders and overcome deficiencies in collaboration with high-income countries (HIC).

Materials And Methods: Methodological and clinical experts from the BG Kliniken and the Charité, Berlin, Germany, were invited to investigate established processes for musculoskeletal disorders and injuries in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

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Introduction: Hallux valgus (HV) is the most common forefoot deformity. Surgical correction of HV aims to reduce pain, preserve joints, and re-establish foot function while restoring the hallux valgus angle (HVA) and intermetatarsal angle (IMA). Many surgical procedures have been proposed, including open and minimally invasive (MI) techniques.

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The abrupt onset of the situation after a traumatic amputation and the preparatory discussions following unsuccessful attempts to preserve limbs with necessary amputation require a high level of empathy, attention and well-founded information individually tailored to the affected individuals. Optimization of the treatment process can only be achieved by considering these aspects.The self-motivation and cooperation of the patient should be encouraged.

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Purpose: To assess utility, benefits, and risks of 4th-generation alumina-zirconia ceramic pairings in elective total hip arthroplasty (THA).

Methods: A comprehensive mixed-methods best-evidence synthesis using data from systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials (RCTs), prospective and retrospective cohort studies, as well as joint replacement registries, was conducted to estimate overall revision and survival rates, periprosthetic infection, bearing fractures, and noise phenomena with 4th-generation alumina-zirconia ceramic versus other tribological couplings in elective THA. The systematic review part across multiple databases was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42023418076), and individual study data were extracted for statistical re-analysis.

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The clavicle remains one of the most fractured bones in the human body, despite the fact that little is known about the MR imaging of it and the adjacent sternoclavicular joint. This study aims to establish standardized values for the diameters of the clavicle as well as the angles of the sternoclavicular joint using whole-body MRI scans of a large and healthy population and to examine further possible correlations between diameters and angles and influencing factors like BMI, weight, height, sex, and age. This study reviewed whole-body MRI scans from the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP), a German population-based cross-sectional study in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examined delayed diagnosed injuries (DDI) in severely injured patients, finding that 9.2% of a large trauma cohort experienced DDIs, mostly involving head, extremity, and thoracic injuries.
  • Factors like higher injury severity scores, unconsciousness, and extensive blood transfusions were linked to an increased risk of DDI, leading to the development of the 'Risk for Delayed Diagnoses' (RIDD) score.
  • This score can help medical staff identify patients at higher risk of DDIs, emphasizing the need for thorough physical examinations and follow-up assessments to reduce the chance of missed injuries.
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Spondylodiscitis is a rather rare condition with an annual incidence of 1-7 per 100,000. Thus, empirical data on the treatment of this disease are limited. In 2020, the first German guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of spondylodiscitis was published.

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Background: Compared to Anglo-American countries, physician assistants (PA) remain an underrepresented professional group within the German healthcare system. In the surgical disciplines, PAs may relieve the administrative burden of doctors by taking on delegable routine tasks, thus creating time and resources for advanced surgical training.

Objective: According to interprofessional experts, can the use of PA lead to an optimization of surgical training and a gain in time for surgical qualification in Germany?

Material And Methods: After searching for systematic reviews of the current state of knowledge, an online survey was initiated among surgeons and PAs via social networks to determine current and desired clinical areas of activity for PAs in surgery and their future influence on specialist training in Germany.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Cold physical plasma (CPP) shows promise as a complementary treatment, potentially enhancing the effects of non-standard chemotherapy drugs like methotrexate and cisplatin in targeting ES.
  • * The study demonstrated that combining CPP with these chemotherapy agents improved treatment outcomes by reducing cell growth and increasing cell death in ES cell lines, suggesting a new approach for more effective cancer therapy.
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Shoulder pain is a common issue often linked to conditions such as subacromial impingement or rotator cuff lesions. The role of the acromion in these symptoms remains a subject of debate. This study aims to establish standardized values for commonly used acromion dimensions based on whole-body MRI scans of a large and healthy population and to investigate potential correlations between acromion shape and influencing factors such as sex, age, BMI, dominant hand, and shoulder pain.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Judo, an Olympic sport, can cause repetitive injuries to the head and ears, leading to a condition known as cauliflower ear, which can be painful and disrupt training.
  • - A study evaluated profile pictures of 1,632 top judo athletes, finding that 55.5% had ear deformities, with male athletes being more affected and more severely impacted than females.
  • - The research, which is the largest of its kind, indicates a correlation between age, world ranking, and the presence of ear deformities, highlighting the need for further studies on the health impacts of these injuries on judo athletes.
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Infections are prevalent after spinal cord injury (SCI), constitute the main cause of death and are a rehabilitation confounder associated with impaired recovery. We hypothesize that SCI causes an acquired lesion-dependent (neurogenic) immune suppression as an underlying mechanism to facilitate infections. The international prospective multicentre cohort study (SCIentinel; protocol registration DRKS00000122; n = 111 patients) was designed to distinguish neurogenic from general trauma-related effects on the immune system.

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Background: In the event of emergency response to large-scale incidents, such as a mass casualty incident (MCI) or a mass casualty incident-infectious disease (MCI-ID), regular training is essential in order to have experienced emergency personnel available in the event of an incident. Due to the pandemic drills often had to be cancelled or were only possible with small groups of people. It was often not possible to simulate a large-scale emergency with actors, so that the trainees could not be offered realistic scenarios of a mass casualty or disease incident.

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Although Ewing's sarcoma (ES) is a rare, but very aggressive tumor disease affecting the musculoskeletal system, especially in children, it is very aggressive and difficult to treat. Although medical advances and the establishment of chemotherapy represent a turning point in the treatment of ES, resistance to chemotherapy, and its side effects, continue to be problems. New treatment methods such as the application of cold physical plasma (CPP) are considered potential supporting tools since CPP is an exogenous source of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, which have similar mechanisms of action in the tumor cells as chemotherapy.

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About a quarter of a century after the introduction of the concept and principles of evidence-based medicine (EbM), some healthcare providers are still adamant that these are incompatible with knowledge gained through experience. Across the surgical disciplines, it is often argued EbM underestimates or neglects the importance of intuition and surgical skills. To put it bluntly, these assumptions are wrong and often characterized by a misunderstanding of the methodology of EbM.

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Article Synopsis
  • * WBCT was associated with a higher Injury Severity Score and longer diagnosis times compared to WBMR, but both methods showed no significant difference in mortality rates.
  • * WBMR is recommended as a radiation-free alternative, particularly for younger patients, although it requires more in-hospital sedation compared to WBCT, indicating the need for further research on its use and effectiveness.
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Background: The use of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) in oncology has been intensively investigated over the past 15 years as it inhibits the growth of many tumor cells. It is known that reactive oxidative species (ROS) produced in CAP are responsible for this effect. However, to translate the use of CAP into medical practice, it is essential to know how CAP treatment affects non-malignant cells.

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Objective: To determine the effect of additional mobile stroke unit (MSU) dispatch on functional outcomes among the full spectrum of stroke patients, regardless of subtype or potential contraindications to reperfusion therapies.

Methods: We used data from the nonrandomized Berlin-based B_PROUD study (02/2017 to 05/2019), in which MSUs were dispatched based solely on availability, and the linked B-SPATIAL stroke registry. All patients with final stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) diagnoses were eligible.

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Blunt high-energy chest trauma is often associated with thoracic and abdominal organ injuries. Literature for a hyperextension-distraction mechanism resulting in a costal arch fracture combined with a thoracic spine fracture is sparse. A 65-year-old male suffered a fall from a height of six meters.

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Comorbidity scores are important predictors of in-hospital mortality after traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI), but the impact of specific pre-existing diseases is unknown. This retrospective cohort study aims at identifying relevant comorbidities and explores the influence of end-of-life decisions. In-hospital mortality of all patients admitted to the study center after acute tSCI from 2011 to 2017 was assessed.

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Introduction: This study on pyogenic spinal infections with intraspinal epidural involvement (PSI +) compared the outcome of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) to those without (noSCI) taking diagnostic algorithm, therapy, and complications into account.

Methods: Patients were enrolled in an ambispective study (2012-2017). Diagnostic and therapeutic algorithms, complications, and neurological outcome were analyzed descriptively.

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The pandemic of COVID-19 led to restrictions in all kinds of music activities. Airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 requires risk assessment of wind instrument playing in various situations. Previous studies focused on short-range transmission, whereas long-range transmission risk has not been assessed.

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Background/aim: The typical insulin deficiency in type 1 diabetes mellitus has general effects on metabolism and also affects bone quality.

Materials And Methods: Two diabetic rat lines (BB/OK; BB.6KWR) and two non-diabetic rat strains (KWR and BB.

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The following case report shows a young male patient with a complex pelvic trauma due to a traffic accident. In addition to the pelvic ring fracture, he also suffered a severe accompanying injury to the efferent urinary tract in combination with extensive damage of the lumbosacral plexus. Multiple extensive operations were necessary to address the C3 fracture of the pelvic ring and the bladder injury.

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