1/7. malpractice and avascular necrosis: legal outcomes.Every physician, but particularly specialists, have reason to be concerned about medical legal issues. Avascular necrosis has been established as a possible serious complication of steroid treatment in inflammatory bowel disease. Two specific Canadian cases illustrating the sequence of medical history, time, expert testimony and legal outcomes are presented. Awards plus costs in the order of $1 million or more were the result of these legal proceedings. The courts stated the major factors in finding liability against doctors were the failure to show the patient had been fully informed of treatment options. There was considerable weight given to expert testimony and the patient recollection of events to support their contentions. Adequate contemporaneous record keeping was absent to contradict evidence of the patients. The judges in both illustrative examples leaned heavily on Supreme Court of canada guidelines whereby the patient must be informed at all stages of the medical process.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physician (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/7. Transient osteoporosis of the hip misdiagnosed as osteonecrosis on magnetic resonance imaging.A 34-year-old man developed idiopathic, bilateral, asynchronous transient osteoporosis of the hip. The symptoms included hip pain with activity, and roentgenography revealed osteoporosis of the femoral head and neck. Radionuclide bone scans showed increased uptake of the involved femoral head. magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) early after the onset of right-side symptoms was characterized by decreased signal intensity on T1-weighted images and patchy areas of increased and decreased signal intensity on T2-weighted images; this was initially interpreted as being consistent with osteonecrosis. Despite evaluation by multiple physicians and imaging methods, including MRI, the correct diagnosis of transient osteoporosis of the hip was delayed until after resolution of the syndrome. Transient osteoporosis of the hip should be included in the differential diagnosis of hip pain.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physician (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/7. male infertility and avascular necrosis of the femoral head.Corticosteroids are an important part of the pharmacological armamentarium against a wide spectrum of diseases. They are powerful drugs that effect all aspects of human metabolism and, although often life-saving, they have a plethora of important side-effects and a narrow therapeutic window. Most side-effects are well known to physicians but we would like to highlight the problem of avascular necrosis associated with cyclical steroid therapy of short duration using moderate doses for an unusual indication.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physician (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/7. Metachondromatosis and avascular necrosis of the femoral head: a radiographic and histologic correlation.We report the case histories, radiographic and computed tomographic studies, and histologic findings of two children with metachondromatosis who developed avascular necrosis (AVN) of the femoral ossific nucleus. The first was a 9-year-old boy with involvement of both femoral heads; the second was an 8-year-old girl with involvement of her right femoral head. The changes were associated with either exostoses or enchondromalike lesions of the femoral neck. Interference with the integrity of the lateral epiphyseal vessels by these lesions would explain the avascular changes that occurred. The findings in these cases and other reports associating AVN with skeletal dysplasia should encourage treating physicians to analyze carefully a sudden increase in hip pain or rapid radiographic development of femoral head collapse in a child with a skeletal dysplasia. Recognition of true AVN, in contrast to the gradual evolution of head shape change in typical skeletal dysplasia, may change treatment recommendations and prognosis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physician (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/7. Abduction treatment in late diagnosed congenital dislocation of the hip. Follow-up of 1,010 hips treated with the Frejka pillow 1967-76.There are many countries such as poland where treatment of congenital hip dislocation is started late. The purpose of this work was to report our results in this group of children. 1010 hips in 780 children with congenital dislocation of the hip were treated with the Frejka pillow. The early results were evaluated in 830 hips at 15-36 months of age and the late results in 527 hips at a mean age of 14 (10-21) years. 90 percent of the children were treated by the same physician. The age at the onset of the treatment varied from 2 weeks to 24 months, with 12 percent younger than 3 months and 28 percent older than 6 months. The initial degree of dislocation was determined with our own index. Radiographic results were evaluated with a scoring based on four or six parameters. There were 6 percent failures, including lack of reduction or redislocation at the time when the child started to walk. Ischemic necrosis was observed in 14 percent of the hips, with significant permanent sequelae in 5 percent. Indications for surgical treatment of residual dysplasia were found in 4 percent of the hips evaluated early; and in the group evaluated late, still 5 percent of the hips required operation. There was good ability for spontaneous remodeling between the age of 3 and 7 years, whereas around the age of 10, the radiographic appearance of the hip became stabilized. At the end of treatment and at the time when the children started to walk, 59 percent of the early evaluated hips were still insufficiently remodeled; but in cases evaluated late, 95 percent of them had a normal or almost normal radiographic appearance. At that time, the clinical state of the children was satisfactory. The results of treatment depended on the initial degree of displacement. Only when treatment was begun after 5 months of age did the patient's age affect the treatment results. The Frejka pillow successfully reduced and stabilized these hips.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physician (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/7. NSAID induced avascular necrosis and arthropathy of femoral head.The authors present the case of an 81-year-old woman with pain in her left hip. X-ray showed moderate osteoarthritic changes. The patient was prescribed diclofenal sodium (Voltaren), a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). The patient continued use of the drug and returned 18 months later complaining of severe hip pain and difficulty in walking. X-ray, at that time, showed necrosis of the femoral head with subluxation and formation of a pseudoacetabulum. Total hip replacement was performed and the patient resumed normal daily activity. The authors point out that avascular necrosis of the femoral head, a known complication of steroid therapy, can also be caused by NSAID therapy and urge physicians to be aware of this complication.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physician (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/7. osteonecrosis as a complication of steroid dependent asthma: a case report and review.Corticosteroid associated osteonecrosis is a complex disease requiring high physician suspicion to make an early diagnosis. Although the exact cause is not completely known, it appears that systemic illness, anatomic location and elevated interosseous pressures interact to produce this lesion. Plain film and technetium bone scan are most commonly used for diagnosis, but occasionally, invasive procedures are required. Surgical treatment, ranging from decompression to total hip replacement, is most commonly, but not always recommended.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physician (Clic here for more details about this article) |