Repeated intra-articular bleeding with subsequent development of chronic synovitis and cartilage changes, leading to haemophilic arthropathy, is one the most debilitating problems in haemophilic patients. Radiosynovectomy is a familiar therapeutic choice in management of chronic synovitis in haemophilia. We report the treatments results of synoviorthesis with (32)P chromic phosphate with emphasis on clinical aspects. Between 2002 and 2006 we performed 66 procedures in 53 patients. Seven patients were excluded. The remaining 46 patients were followed for an average of 31 months. The mean age of patients at the time of injection was 15.9 years (range: 6-28). There were three repeat injections. According to Fernandez-pallazi and Cavilgia clinical classification (Table 1) [23], nine joints were Stage II and 46 were Stage III. In latest follow-up, 77% of patients reported at least a 50% decrease in bleeding frequency after treatment (P < 0.0001). The need for antihaemophilic factor consumption dropped by about 74% postradiosynovectomy (P < 0.0001). In most of the injected joints, the range of motion remained stable or improved. A trend was found for the number of haemarthrosis to increase after a period of considerable improvement. Synoviorthesis using (32)P effectively reduces the intra-articular bleeding rate and factor concentrate use. Durability of the response seems to be unpredictable, perhaps attributable to the late intervention. An early radiosynovectomy might be more helpful in terms of stability of response to treatment.
Hepatobiliary scintigraphy is an important imaging technique in the diagnostic evaluation of infants with prolonged cholestatic jaundice. It is a convenient and reliable method of differentiating BA from NHS, with a diagnostic accuracy superior to that of US but slightly inferior to that of liver biopsy. Ultrasonography is the least sensitive and specific available modality and its findings should be confirmed by scintigraphy or liver biopsy.
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.