Publications by authors named "Niels Schep"

Article Synopsis
  • Chylothorax is a rare condition where lymphatic fluid leaks into the pleural space, often due to trauma, such as in a bicycle accident involving rib and spine fractures.
  • A 60-something male patient experienced this after a biking accident, leading to surgery for a fractured vertebra and subsequent complications requiring a chest tube and extensive fluid management.
  • Treatment involved dietary adjustments, surgical intervention to clip the thoracic duct, and ultimately resolved the chylous leakage over eight weeks.
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Several studies have described pathology in relation to transverse sigmoid notch morphology, using the Tolat transverse sigmoid notch classification. It is believed that the entire shape of a sigmoid notch can be described using Tolat sigmoid types. We hypothesised that the determination of the sigmoid notch shape (SNS) depends on the level of the transverse CT plane on the axial axis of the distal radius.

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Distal radioulnar joint instability is commonly seen after surgical fixation of a distal radial fracture, and surgeons' ability to reliably determine stability on examination is poor. Debate remains regarding whether to fix the ulnar styloid or reinsert the triangular fibrocartilaginous complex. Four surgeons with Level 5 expertise were asked to respond to questions surrounding this debate.

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Introduction: The distal Posterior Interosseous Nerve (PIN) plays an important part in the sensory innervation of the wrist joint. Introduction of the arthroscopy portals during wrist arthroscopy might injure the PIN. The anatomic variation in the trajectory of the PIN and the proximity to the dorsal arthroscopy portals have not yet been fully explored.

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Background: Currently, non- or minimally displaced distal radius fractures are treated by 3 to 5 weeks of cast immobilisation. Many patients with a distal radius fracture suffer from long-term functional restrictions, which might be related to stiffness due to cast immobilisation. Current literature indicates that 1 week of immobilisation might be safe; however, no level 1 evidence is available.

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Aims: It is not clear which type of casting provides the best initial treatment in adults with a distal radial fracture. Given that between 32% and 64% of adequately reduced fractures redisplace during immobilization in a cast, preventing redisplacement and a disabling malunion or secondary surgery is an aim of treatment. In this study, we investigated whether circumferential casting leads to fewer the redisplacement of fewer fractures and better one-year outcomes compared with plaster splinting.

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Article Synopsis
  • Observer reliability studies for fracture classification use Cohen's κ and absolute agreement to measure agreement among observers.
  • Cohen's κ ranges from 0 (no agreement) to 1 (perfect agreement), while absolute agreement indicates the percentage of times observers agree.
  • The Kappa Paradox occurs when studies report high absolute agreement alongside low κ values, and the article aims to explain this phenomenon and provide guidance to recognize and avoid it.
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  • The study compares two treatment methods for distal radial fractures: anterior locking plate fixation and cast immobilization.
  • After 5.3 years of monitoring, it found no significant differences in function between the two methods.
  • This suggests that both treatments are equally effective for long-term recovery in this type of fracture.
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 The purpose of this case series is to show our experiences with the Masquelet procedure in a variety of infected defects of the wrist.  All consecutive patients that were treated between 2015 and 2021 were included in this case series. Five patients were included with an infected defect of the wrist, involving the radiocarpal and/or the distal radioulnar joints (DRUJ).

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of a deep learning AI for detecting cervical spine fractures on CT scans, comparing it to the performance of attending radiologists and identifying fractures requiring stabilizing therapy.
  • A total of 2,368 scans were analyzed, revealing that AI had a sensitivity of 71.5% and detected many fractures missed by radiologists, while radiologists had a higher sensitivity of 88.2% but missed fewer fractures in need of stabilizing therapy.
  • The findings suggest that while the AI missed more fractures overall, it was able to identify some that radiologists missed, including several critical injuries needing intervention.
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Objectives: There is debate about when to start exercises in the nonoperative treatment of a proximal humerus fracture. This randomized trial compared immediate and one-month delayed shoulder exercises in the nonoperative treatment of fractures of the proximal humerus.

Methods: Twenty-six patients with a fracture of the proximal humerus who chose nonoperative treatment were randomized to start pendulum exercises within a few days and 24 were randomized to delayed exercises and started with active self-assisted stretching 1 month after fracture.

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Article Synopsis
  • Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is common, but proximal median nerve entrapments, like lacertus syndrome, are less recognized even though they show similar symptoms.
  • A 37-year-old male experienced persistent symptoms after multiple CTS releases, leading to a correct diagnosis of lacertus syndrome, which was confirmed through EMG and ultrasound.
  • The release of the lacertus syndrome resolved all symptoms, highlighting the need to check for other nerve compressions if CTS symptoms persist after surgery to avoid unnecessary treatments and costs.
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Article Synopsis
  • A new spinal immobilization protocol in the Netherlands raised concerns about increased non-immobilized spinal fractures (NISFs) and worse patient outcomes.
  • A pilot study analyzed trauma patient records from two periods (2013-2014 with strict protocol versus 2017-2018 with selective protocol) to evaluate adverse outcomes and assess if a larger study was viable.
  • Results showed no cases of neurological injury or mortality linked to NISFs in either period, suggesting that a larger study is unnecessary; future research should instead identify which patients benefit from spinal immobilization.
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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to determine if reducing immobilization time from six to four weeks after a distal radial fracture would improve outcomes by decreasing stiffness and pain.
  • In a multicenter trial, 100 adult patients were randomly assigned to either four or six weeks of cast immobilization, with their wrist function assessed using various scores after one year.
  • Results showed that while the shorter immobilization group had a slightly better PRWE score, the difference wasn't clinically significant, suggesting that four weeks of immobilization is just as safe and effective as six weeks.
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Instability of the distal radioulnar joint and scapholunate dissociation may cause pain, functional impairment and subsequent arthrosis. There is no consensus about whether these injuries should be treated acutely in patients undergoing surgery for distal radial fractures. We conducted a prospective cohort study to determine whether concomitant distal radioulnar joint instability or scapholunate dissociation negatively influence patient-related outcomes in these patients.

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Article Synopsis
  • Wrist arthroscopy is increasingly used by wrist surgeons for diagnosing and treating traumatic wrist injuries, but its impact on daily practice is not well understood.
  • An online survey of members of the International Wrist Arthroscopy Society revealed that while there's strong agreement on the diagnostic superiority of wrist arthroscopy over MRI for certain injuries, opinions on treatment approaches are divided.
  • The study highlights the necessity for standardized guidelines regarding the indications and procedures for wrist arthroscopy.
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Background: The aims of this study were to evaluate long-term patient-reported outcomes after revision carpal tunnel release (CTR); compare these outcomes with those of patients who had a single CTR and a comparable age, sex, race, type of initial surgery, and follow-up time; and assess which factors are associated with worse patient-reported outcomes after revision CTR.

Methods: The authors retrospectively identified 7351 patients who had a single CTR and 113 patients who had a revision CTR for carpal tunnel syndrome between January of 2002 and December of 2015 at five academic urban hospitals. Of these 113 revision CTR cases, 37 patients completed a follow-up questionnaire including the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ), the Numerical Rating Scale for Pain Intensity, and satisfaction score.

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Article Synopsis
  • Traumatic elbow injuries are common among children and often lead to emergency department visits; a validated decision rule may help reduce unnecessary X-rays and radiation exposure in pediatric patients.
  • This study is a multicentre prospective cohort design involving 400 children aged 2 to 17, where clinical parameters will be identified by experts and used to predict elbow fractures through patient history and physical exams.
  • The research will follow ethical guidelines, not requiring formal approval, and focus on developing the paediatric elbow trauma (PET) rules to determine how many X-rays can be avoided while analyzing potential cost savings.
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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical outcome of patients treated with a functional Lucerne Cast (LuCa) for different types of hand fractures. Static casting has traditionally been the preferred treatment for hand fractures. However, functional casting may lead to good functional outcomes, less stiffness, and earlier return to work.

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Purpose: To investigate whether the image quality of a specific deep learning-based synthetic CT (sCT) of the cervical spine is noninferior to conventional CT.

Method: Paired MRI and CT data were collected from 25 consecutive participants (≥ 50 years) with cervical radiculopathy. The MRI exam included a T1-weighted multiple gradient echo sequence for sCT reconstruction.

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Arthroscopy of the wrist has gained popularity among hand and wrist surgeons for diagnosing and treating wrist pathologies. In general, it is a minimally-invasive procedure which can be performed in day care surgery. It has a higher diagnostic accuracy compared to conventional imaging modalities such as CT or MRI.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to compare the accuracy of trained emergency physicians and radiologists in detecting cervical spine injuries using CT scans.
  • After targeted training, emergency physicians showed improved sensitivity and specificity for identifying injuries, but radiologists maintained higher specificity overall.
  • The results suggest that while both groups performed similarly in ruling out injuries, radiologists were better at avoiding false positives.
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