Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

The Editorial Committee wants to provide its readers with an update on the commonly used scales. The use of tables and scales is a widespread practice in Orthopedics and Traumatology. The measurement and quantification of clinical, functional, and radiographic aspects has become an essential tool for decision-making in different aspects of healthcare activity. We carry out a reviewof the most used scales, defining their use and including original and updated literature.

Introduction: Spinal injuries are common among young adult men. Recognizing kinematics can help reduce the number of late diagnoses, especially if there are consciousness disorders. Vertebral fractures can be single or multiple, and they are often associated with extravertebral injuries. Objectives: To examine the distribution of the lesion based on the mechanism of production, to characterize the neurological condition, to evaluate the lesion pattern and its relationship with extravertebral lesions, and to analyze the treatment. Materials and Methods: This was a multicenter, prospective study of patients admitted with post-traumavertebral injuries between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2020. Age, gender, kinematics, neurological condition, affected sector, pattern of injury, and associated extravertebral injuries were all examined. Results: There were 281 patients (60% men) evaluated, with 400 vertebral and 118 extravertebral lesions. The causes were as follows: polytrauma in 62 cases, falls from great heights in 147 patients, and traffic accidents in 98. ASIA E was the most frequently observed neurological picture (8 cases), which was not determined at admission. The T2-L5 sector was the most affected, mostly by compression injuries. Head and chest trauma were the most common extravertebral injuries; there was one case of SCIWORA and one early death. Conclusions: The most commonly affected spinal sectors were thoracolumbar, thoracic, and lumbar; the injuries are typically caused by falls from great heights and, in general, are isolated, with no neurological injuries. The treatment is determined by the stability and neurological condition.

Background: Sarcopenia is becoming increasingly significant in the research of various diseases to predict morbidity and mortality in the perioperative period. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the efficacy of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in measuring the psoas and paraspinal muscles and to compare these indexes with age, sex, and pathology. Materials and Methods: Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of outpatients were used. Muscle measurements were taken at the L3 and L4 pedicles. Results: The study included 18 CT and 34 MRI scans. The patients were divided into groups based on their age range, which was 15 to 80 years. In the overall averages, males were above the global average in both studies. Regarding age ranges, it was observed that the first group (15-29 years) had a higher muscle volume and Hounsfield units in the psoas compared to the >60 age group. Patients consulting for spondylolisthesis had less muscle mass than those with discopathy. Conclusions: There is no difference between magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography in measuring the paraspinal and psoas muscles. It is evident that the decrease in muscle volume is common in older patients and those with diseases that affect spinal balance.

Introduction: A pyogenic spinal epidural abscess is an infectious collection inside the spinal canal, outside the dural sac. The diagnosis is difficult and the consequences are devastating due to compression or vascular compromise. MRI has a high diagnostic sensitivity and specificity, which improves when a contrast medium is used. Objectives: To determine the inter- and intra-observer reproducibility, and to discriminate the different parameters and differences between specialties. Materials and Methods: Twenty-seven independent observers evaluated 5 parameters: region, location, involvement, association, and perivertebral, anterior, lateral, or posterior extravertebral abscess. The kappa coefficient was used to analyze 35 cases on three occasions. Results: The overall intra- and inter-observer global agreement level is kappa 0.76, with the following values obtained: region 0.94; location 0.88; involvement 0.55; association 0.67 and perivertebral abscess 0.77. The first three parameters indicate volume, while the final two indicate the presence of vertebral infectious foci outside the canal. Conclusions: The proposed morphological classification is simple to use and has high intra- and inter-observer reproducibility. The most reproducible parameters are region and location(>0.87).

El síndrome pospoliomielítico con déficit de la función del tendón tibial posterior puede presentarse con un pie equino flexible y marcha equina (steppage) en algunos pacientes. Se describe el caso de una paciente que solo conservaba la función muscular del tendón flexor hallucis longus y se decidió su transferencia al mediopié para obtener un pie plantígrado y restaurar la dorsiflexión.

Se han desarrollado distintas técnicas para estimular la consolidación ósea en las seudoartrosis de huesos largos, como el uso de injerto óseo molido o estructural, injertos vascularizados o la técnica de membrana inducida. En 2018, Barrera-Ochoa describió la anatomía de un injerto perióstico vascularizado de cúbito con eje vascular interóseo posterior, y mostró su experiencia clínica inicial en niños utilizándolo en una seudoartrosis atrófica de radio y un defecto óseo después de la exéresis de un tumor de Ewing. Presentamos nuestra experiencia con el injerto perióstico vascularizado de cúbito para el tratamiento de una seudoartrosis recalcitrante en la diáfisis de radio de un paciente adulto.

Las luxaciones del escafoides aisladas y sin fractura son poco frecuentes. Por lo general, se presentan asociadas a fracturas del escafoides o a diversos patrones de lesión de la columna lateral. Presentamos el caso de un paciente con luxación medial y plantar del hueso navicular y fractura conminuta del proceso anterior del calcáneo y subluxación calcaneocuboidea. En el Servicio de Urgencia, se procedió a la reducción cerrada y la estabilización con agujas de Kirschner y, como tratamiento diferido, se colocaron placas en puente astragalonaviculo-cuneiforme y calcaneocuboidea de 2,0 mm, en forma transitoria, y el material de osteosíntesis se retiró a los 5 meses. El puntaje de la escala de la AOFAS fue excelente al año de seguimiento. Conclusiones: Es necesario llegar a un diagnóstico adecuado descartando lesiones de la columna lateral y reducir esta lesión en la atención de urgencia. La estabilización con placas en puente es una opción válida que podría evitar la pérdida de la reducción que se observa al retirar los clavos de Kirschner y permite una carga precoz.

Objective: The purpose of this article is to examine the functional outcomes, complications, and medium-term survivorship of medial or lateral bilateral simultaneous unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (bUKA) for the treatment of bilateral knee osteoarthritis. Materials and Methods: Retrospective report of patients who underwent a medial or lateral bUKA for treatment of bilateral knee osteoarthritis between April 2004 and April 2020, with a minimum follow-up of 1 year. The KSS 2011 was used for the clinical-functional evaluation of each patient. The duration of surgery, length of hospital stay, and transfusion requirements were determined. The short-term and medium-term complications were analyzed, as well as the revision rate and the prosthesis survivorship. Results: We evaluated 86 bUKAs in 43 patients with a mean follow-up of 6.1 years. The clinical and functional KSS improved from 46.1 ± 10.2 to 80.9 ± 15.9 and 22.8 ± 11.9 to 89.8 ± 18.9 respectively. Postoperative maximal flexion improved from 106.3º ± 5.2º to 125.1º ± 4.2º and flexion contracture improved from 7.5º ± 2.2º to 2.3º ± 1.6º. The mean surgical time was 178.6 minutes and the hospital staym was 39.8 hours. Two patients required transfusions. The complication rate was 6.9%. Three knees (3.5%) required revision surgeryfor aseptic loosening after 7, 8.6 and 12 years. The survivorship rate was 96.5%. Conclusion: Simultaneous medial or lateral bUKA provides excellent clinical-functional outcomes with a low rate of complications in patients with bilateral knee osteoarthritis.

Introduction: The proper treatment of bone defects represents a challenge for the orthopedic surgeon given the difficulty in restoring limb alignment without discrepancy nor infections. Multiple techniques have been described for the reconstruction of these defects. These include bone grafting, whether autologous or from a bank, the induced membrane technique, distraction osteogenesis, and, recently, the use of trabecular titanium cylinders, but none has been shown to be significantly superior to another. Materials and Methods: Between 2018 and 2021, ten patients with tibial bone defects were treated by guided bone transport with intramedullary osteosynthesis. We carried out a descriptive retrospective study of this series, analyzing the magnitude of the defects, the transport time, the complications and additional surgeries that took place during the process, whether there was consolidation, and the residual deformities. The bone and functional ASAMI scores were measured at the end of the process. Results: The average length of the treated defects was 9.75 cm and the average external fixation index was 40.62 d/cm. At the end of the reconstructive process, 50% of the patients presented a good bone ASAMI score, 10% presented an excellent score, and 40% had a poor score. Regarding the functional ASAMI score, 20% were excellent, 30% were good, and 50% were poor. Conclusion: The use of fixators guided by intramedullary nails constitutes a reliable method to treat bone defects that allows treating the infection locally and systemically, shortens the times of external fixation and hospitalization, and reduces the need for reinterventions.

Background: We present the description of a supramalleolar ankle block technique and our experience using this technique in foot and ankle surgery. Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective observational study of the past 5 years of patients with foot and ankle pathology that had undergone the supramalleolar ankle block. We excluded patients with a history of previous foot surgery, bilateral surgeries, vascular disease, peripheral neuropathy, diabetes, smoking, or active surgical site infection. The supramalleolar ankle block was guided by anatomic landmarks and we used a solution of lidocaine 2% and bupivacaine 0.5%. We evaluated the duration of the ankle block, the visual analog scale (VAS) for pain 24 hrs after surgery, the time until the first analgesic dose, and the level of patient satisfaction. Results: 771 patients were included in this study, all of whom had complete analgesia for at least 12 hrs (mean 18 hrs) after surgery. The mean value on the VAS for pain after 24 hrs was 1.4. On average, the first analgesic dose was administered 16 hrs after surgery. The level of satisfaction about the pain perceived in the first 24 hrs after surgery was: very satisfied (89%), satisfied (10%), and dissatisfied (1%). There were no reports of permanent neurological sequelae, systemic toxicity, or surgical site infections. Conclusion: We consider the supramalleolar ankle block a simple, effective, and safe procedureto obtain long-lasting postoperative analgesia.