Publications by authors named "Giakas A"

Necrotising fasciitis (NF) is a severe, rapidly progressing infection of the muscular fascia and subcutaneous tissue. Monomicrobial NF from hypermucoviscous (hvKP-NF) is rare but highly virulent, most common in East Asia. This report reviews a unique case of hvKP-NF in a US male in his 40s with undiagnosed diabetes mellitus, presenting with severe sepsis, neck swelling and calf pain.

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Objective: A quarter of spine surgery patients take antidepressants. Basic science research has suggested serotonergic antidepressants impair platelet function. This has been supported by only a small number of works in the setting of spine surgery.

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High-intensity lasers require suppression of prepulses and other nonideal temporal structure to avoid target disruption before the arrival of the main pulse. To address this, we demonstrate that ionization gratings act as a controllable optical switch for high-power light with a temporal contrast improvement of at least 3×10^{5} and a switching time less than 500 fs. We also show that a grating system can run for hours at 10 Hz without degradation.

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Background: The optimal treatment for periprosthetic fracture (PPfx) around total knee arthroplasty (TKA) remains a topic of debate. Due to its low incidence, comparative studies analyzing arthroplasty and fixation are lacking in the literature. The purpose of this study was to compare the outcomes of distal femoral replacement (DFR) and open reduction and internal fixation open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) for distal femur PPfx.

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Background: Autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) and matrix-induced autologous chondrocyte implantation (MACI) are 2-stage procedures requiring an index full-thickness cartilage biopsy. Only a portion of patients ultimately undergo second-stage ACI/MACI.

Purpose: To identify patients with articular cartilage defects who underwent arthroscopic debridement with biopsy for ACI/MACI and compare those who did with those who did not proceed with implantation within 2 years after biopsy.

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The purpose of this study is to identify demographics, etiology, comorbidities, treatment, complications, and outcomes for older patients with open ankle fractures. Patients ≥60 years old who sustained an open ankle fracture between January 1, 2004 and March 31, 2014 at 6 Level 1 trauma centers were retrospectively reviewed. Univariate analysis using chi-squared or Student's t test was performed to identify associations between preoperative variables and 2 postoperative outcomes of interest: amputation and 1-year mortality.

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Study Design: Retrospective chart review.

Objective: To determine the effect of conservative measures on radiographic outcomes in those with isolated spondylolysis.

Summary Of Background Data: Spondylolysis is a common cause of low back pain in pediatric patients, affecting between 4.

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Background: Fragility analysis is a method of further characterizing outcomes in terms of the stability of statistical findings. This study assesses the statistical fragility of recent randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating robotic-assisted versus conventional total knee arthroplasty (RA-TKA versus C-TKA).

Methods: We queried PubMed for RCTs comparing alignment, function, and outcomes between RA-TKA and C-TKA.

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Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate associations between spine surgeon characteristics and different types of industry payments.

Summary Of Background Data: Industry funding has played an important role in research and technological innovation within spine surgery, and industry payments supporting research have risen significantly in comparison to funding from other sources.

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Objective: To evaluate how preoperative anemia severity affects 90-day outcomes of spinal fusion surgery.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on adult lumbar fusion patients at a tertiary medical center. Patients were classified by World Health Organization anemia severity definitions for comparisons.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to assess how intraoperative liposomal bupivacaine (LB) affects pain management after surgery in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients, measuring factors like opioid use, mobility, and hospital stay length.
  • 119 AIS patients were divided into two groups: one receiving LB along with standard pain management and the other receiving only standard care, with results showing significantly lower opioid consumption and shorter hospital stays in the LB group.
  • Findings indicated that LB led to less opioid use, quicker recovery (discharge on average by postoperative day 2), and better post-surgery ambulation without notable differences in pain scores or nausea.
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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the prevalence of asymptomatic peroneal tendinopathy in individuals without any reported ankle pain, emphasizing that early detection could prevent future issues.
  • A total of 170 participants underwent ultrasound exams of their peroneal tendons, revealing that 20% of the peroneus longus (PL) and 12% of the peroneus brevis (PB) tendons exhibited abnormalities, despite patients being asymptomatic.
  • The findings suggest a notable proportion of individuals may have underlying tendon issues, with particular abnormalities such as fluid accumulation and tendon thickening, and highlight the need for further assessment in asymptomatic cases.
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Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with varying dermatological findings. We review a unique presentation of SLE with a literature review. A previously healthy early adolescent female presented with painful, oral mucosal bullae filled with sanguineous fluid.

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Pediatric opsoclonus-myoclonus and ataxia syndrome (OMAS) is a neurologic disorder characterized by disturbances in eye movement, muscle jerks, ataxia, sleep, and mood. In approximately 50% of cases, it is a paraneoplastic syndrome associated with a neuroblastoma. In the remaining cases, it is believed that the tumor is occult, has involuted, or there is a preceding immune-stimulating event.

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Background And Objectives: The objective of this work was to examine the association between deployment-related traumatic brain injury (TBI) severity, frequency, and other injury characteristics with headache outcomes in veterans evaluated at a Veterans Administration (VA) polytrauma support clinic.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of 594 comprehensive TBI evaluations between 2011 and 2021. Diagnostic criteria were based on the Department of Defense/VA Consensus-Based Classification of Closed TBI.

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