No large multicentre studies have yet been published on tension-band-like implants such as the Eight Plate to treat limb-length discrepancies and varus valgus deformities in children. Therefore, we carried out a retrospective international multicentre study including 126 patients to assess outcomes and to reliably quantify the incidence of implant-related and growth-plate related adverse events (AEs). Correction was achieved in 66% of varus valgus deformities and in 59% of limb-length discrepancies and maintained in 85%. Twenty (18%) patients experienced 43 AEs, which were primarily screw-related. The AE rate of the Eight Plate is low; however, many of them could be avoided through tighter monitoring.
To study the potential influence of long-term, high-intensity physical training on premature osteoarthrosis of the ankle joint, we re-examined former members of the Swiss National team from 1973 in retrospective cohort study in 1988. Twenty-seven track and field long-distance runners and orienteers (mean age 42 [95% confidence interval 41-43] years), 9 bobsledders (42 [39-46] years) and a control group of 23 healthy normal men (35 [33-36] years) were investigated. Physiological and exercise characteristics of all subjects had been recorded in 1973, and in 1988 these measurements were repeated together with a rheumatological and radiological examination of the ankle joint. A four-point scale of radiological joint state was used, taking into account the degree of subchondral sclerosis, osteophyte formation and joint space narrowing. In univariate analysis, the long-distance runners, and among them especially the orienteers (n = 10), showed significantly (both p less than 0.05) more radiological signs of degenerative ankle disease than controls. After adjustment for age, this difference disappeared. Age was itself significantly and positively related to radiological degenerative ankle disease (r less than 0.38; p less than 0.01). Orienteers reported significantly more frequently (60 vs 12%; p less than 0,01) functional instability of the ankle joint than track and field runners. Functional and mechanical (clinical) instability were interrelated in our material (r = 0.33; p less than 0.05) but neither of them was significantly related to radiological signs of degenerative ankle disease.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.