Publications by authors named "Pentti E Kallio"

Acute hematogenous calcaneal osteomyelitis characteristically affects children. A recent trend has emerged toward shorter courses of antibiotics. In our randomized, prospective treatment trial of children aged 3 months to 15 years, the intravenous antibiotic (clindamycin or a first-generation cephalosporin) was given only for the first 2 to 4 days and the remainder of the 20- to 30-day course was completed orally.

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Article Synopsis
  • Preceding trauma might influence the onset of hematogenous bone and joint infections in children, with 20% of affected kids reporting trauma before the infection.
  • Common types of trauma included blunt impacts, bruises, or scrapes, and the trauma rate was comparable to that in the general pediatric population.
  • However, the study found no significant differences in age, health markers, hospitalization duration, or recovery outcomes between children with trauma and those without, indicating trauma may not be a crucial factor.
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Background: Synovial fluid and blood cultures often remain negative in acute bone and joint infections of childhood even when characteristic symptoms, signs, and/or radiologic proof are present.

Methods: We analyzed 345 prospectively documented osteoarticular infections in children at age 3 months to 15 years. In 23% of the cases (N = 80), synovial, bone, and/or blood cultures remained negative.

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Article Synopsis
  • Bacteraemia is prevalent in children with acute bone and joint infections, requiring prompt treatment; established markers include CRP, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and WBC count, while the role of alkaline phosphatase is unclear.
  • In a study of 265 children with culture-positive infections, all four lab markers were tracked to determine their effectiveness in detecting bacteraemia.
  • Results showed that while 59% of patients had bacteraemia, only CRP levels were significantly higher in those patients, indicating that none of the markers could reliably diagnose bacteraemia on their own.
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Background: In recent decades the treatment of childhood acute bone and joint infections has shifted towards shorter antibiotic courses and rapid transition to oral therapy.

Methods: We prospectively collected 265 culture-positive cases of non-neonatal bone and joint infections in Finnish children during 1983-2005. The duration of antimicrobial treatment and the extent of surgery were defined in the study protocol, but for ethical reasons, the liaison clinician determined the time of discharge using normalization of the serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level as a yardstick.

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Frequent fractures in children may be a sign of impaired bone health, but it remains unestablished when and how fracture-prone children should be assessed. This prospective study elucidated skeletal characteristics and predisposing factors in children with recurrent fractures. Findings were used to establish guidelines for screening.

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Background: Acute hematogenous osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, and their combination are considered to warrant especially aggressive treatment if caused by Staphylococcus aureus.

Methods: Our prospective treatment trial of children aged 3 months to 15 years included 199 cases of S. aureus osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, or their combination.

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Fractures are common in children, and some studies suggest an increasing incidence. Data on population-based long-term trends are scarce. In order to establish fracture incidence and epidemiologic patterns, we carried out a population-based study in Helsinki, Finland.

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In our multicenter treatment study on pediatric nonneonatal osteoarticular infections we had 62 septic hip arthritides. All had confirmed joint effusion, were culture-positive, and Staphylococcus aureus was isolated in 71% of the cases. Sixty-one of the 62 had a diagnostic joint aspiration.

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Background And Purpose: Several mechanisms are responsible for patellar dislocation. We investigated how the primary pathomechanism relates to patient characteristics and the outcome.

Methods: 126 patients (81 females) with primary patellar dislocation reported the knee position before the episode, the movement during it, and whether the patella was locked in dislocation.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examined the effectiveness of laboratory markers, specifically ESR and CRP, in diagnosing and monitoring pediatric septic bone and joint infections in 265 children aged 3 months to 15 years.
  • On admission, 94% of patients had an ESR over 20 mm/hour and 95% had a CRP over 20 mg/L, with CRP normalizing faster than ESR, indicating a quicker recovery.
  • Combining both ESR and CRP measurements provided the highest diagnostic accuracy (98%), helping clinicians rule out acute infections effectively.
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Background: The treatment of acute patellar dislocation in children is controversial. Some investigators have advocated early repair of the medial structures, whereas others have treated this injury nonoperatively. The present report describes the long-term subjective and functional results of a randomized controlled trial of nonoperative and operative treatment of primary acute patellar dislocation in children less than sixteen years of age.

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Objectives: Industrial management principles could be used to improve the quality and efficiency of health care. In this study, we have evaluated the effects of a process management approach to trauma patient care. The major objective was to reduce the waiting times and increase the efficiency of the hospital.

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Background: The best treatment for primary patellar dislocation has been the subject of debate. Surgery has been recommended for all patients or for special subgroups to improve outcome. We have previously reported similar 2-year results after closed or open treatment.

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Background: Mean turnover times and the time spent in the operating room (OR) can be reduced by concurrent induction of anesthesia. Previous studies of anesthesia induction outside the OR have concentrated either on anesthesia-controlled time or turnover time. The goal of this study was to investigate the impact of an induction room model on the whole surgical process, its phases and delays between the phases, and the number of cases performed during the 7-h working day.

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