3 research outputs found
Conservative Treatment of Ankle Osteoarthritis: Can Platelet-Rich Plasma Effectively Postpone Surgery?
Osteoarthritis is the most common and disabling of the orthopedic diseases. Currently, the conservative treatment of osteoarthritis is limited to symptomatic treatment, whose goal is to improve function and pain control. Ankle osteoarthritis is relatively uncommon, in contrast to osteoarthritis of the hip and knee, and the therapeutic options (both pharmacologic and surgical) are limited, with surgery providing poorer and less predictable results. The effectiveness of platelet-rich plasma injections for osteoarthritis is still controversial, especially so for ankle arthritis, owing to the lack of evidence in the present data. We retrospectively evaluated the mid- to long-term clinical results (mean follow-up of 17.7 months) for platelet-rich plasma injections in 20 patients (20 ankles) with ankle osteoarthritis. We evaluated the presence of pain using the visual analog scale, function using the Foot and Ankle Disability Index, and subjective satisfaction. The pre- and post-treatment scores, obtained from the clinical records and from telephone interviews during the follow-up period, were compared using the Student t test. We found a strong positive effect for 4 platelet-rich plasma injections (injected once a week) on pain (p = .0001) and function (p = .001), with 80% of patients very satisfied and satisfied, and only 2 patients (10%) required surgery because of early treatment failure. These results suggest that the use of platelet-rich plasma injection is a valid and safe alternative to postpone the need for surgery
Autologous US-guided PRP injection versus US-guided focal extracorporeal shock wave therapy for chronic lateral epicondylitis: A minimum of 2-year follow-up retrospective comparative study
Exploring the cost-effectiveness of high versus low perioperative fraction of inspired oxygen in the prevention of surgical site infections among abdominal surgery patients in three low- and middle-income countries
Background: This study assessed the potential cost-effectiveness of high (80–100%) vs low (21–35%) fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) at preventing surgical site infections (SSIs) after abdominal surgery in Nigeria, India, and South Africa. Methods: Decision-analytic models were constructed using best available evidence sourced from unbundled data of an ongoing pilot trial assessing the effectiveness of high FiO2, published literature, and a cost survey in Nigeria, India, and South Africa. Effectiveness was measured as percentage of SSIs at 30 days after surgery, a healthcare perspective was adopted, and costs were reported in US dollars (216 compared with 6 (95% confidence interval [CI]: −1) difference in costs. In India, the average cost for high FiO2 was 195 for low FiO2 leading to a −15 to −1164 compared with 93 (95% CI: −65) difference in costs. The high FiO2 arm had few SSIs, 7.33% compared with 8.38% for low FiO2, leading to a −1.05 (95% CI: −1.14 to −0.90) percentage point reduction in SSIs. Conclusion: High FiO2 could be cost-effective at preventing SSIs in the three countries but further data from large clinical trials are required to confirm this. © 2023 The Author
