Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J M Fox

Publications and source records attributed to J M Fox.

135 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

Four to ten year followup of unreconstructed anterior cruciate ligament tears.

Both operative and nonoperative methods have been advocated for the treatment of ACL tears. However, the optimum management of this injury remains controversial. In the present study, patients treated nonoperatively were evaluated retrospectively 4 to 10 years after ACL tears were documented by arthroscopy and by mild to moderate pivot shifts under anesthesia. Forty-nine patients who underwent arthroscopic evaluation of the knee between 1976 and 1982 were found to have complete tears of the ACL. A mild to moderate pivot shift was present under anesthesia. One or both menisci were torn in two-thirds of the knees, requiring partial meniscectomies. The average age of the patients was 27 years (range, 16 to 46 years). Because of persistent disabling instability, 9 patients (18%) underwent late ACL reconstruction. The remaining 40 patients were evaluated at an average of 5.6 years after documentation of the tear (range, 4 to 10 years). At followup, 25 (62%) of the 40 patients had satisfactory subjective results. Eight of the patients (20%) had returned to their preinjury level of athletic activities without restrictions, and 10 (25%) functioned at the same level but with symptoms, some patients requiring bracing. Seventeen patients (43%) had diminished their level of sports activities, while 5 patients (12%) had given up all sports. Only 2 patients required late meniscectomies. On physical examination, 27 patients (87%) had pivot shifts. Instrumented laxity testing revealed an injured to normal difference of 3.1 mm with a 20 pound force. Radiographic studies were interpreted as normal in 35% of the knees, whereas 65% demonstrated mild degenerative changes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗

Arthroscopically assisted anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with the pes anserine tendons. Comparison of results in acute and chronic ligament deficiency.

Fifty anterior cruciate ligament-deficient knees treated consecutively with arthroscopically assisted reconstruction using a pes anserine tendon autograft were retrospectively studied. The mean followup was 36.7 months (range, 26 to 58). All patients had reconstruction with a double-stranded graft. The mean injury to surgery interval was 9.6 days in 22 patients (acute group) and 22.5 months in 28 patients (chronic group). Objective outcome, which was noted to be more optimal in the acute group, was better than subjective outcome in either group. Examination revealed 95% of patients treated acutely and 82% of those treated later to have 1+ or less Lachman test result (P < 0.036) and 96% of the acute group and 82% of the chronic group to have an absent pivot shift (P < 0.036). Eighty-eight percent of acutely treated patients had a KT-1000 result of < or = 3 mm, as compared to 61% of chronically treated patients (P < 0.001). Loss of range of motion was significantly greater in the acute group (P < 0.018). Using a strict overall rating system, patients reconstructed earlier were noted to have a better outcome compared to those after delayed reconstruction (P < 0.021). Cumulative meniscal injury appears to be the most significant contributing factor.

Acute Disease↗

Critical analysis of knee ligament rating systems.

Sixty-five patients who consecutively underwent anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction were studied using four individual, categoric, knee score rating systems. Different results were noted at followup (mean, 35 months; range, 24 to 58) depending on the rating method used. Ali patients were graded using the Hospital for Special Surgery, Lysholm, Tegner activity, and Cincinnati Knee Ligament rating systems. The Cincinnati Knee Ligament rating individual scores were noted to be lower than the Hospital for Special Surgery and Lysholm scores for subjective and objective outcome assessment. The Hospital for Special Surgery and Lysholm scores did not correlate highly with the Cincinnati Knee Ligament rating final rating, but they did correlate with each other. The use of ligament rating scores tended to inflate results, particularly when raw scores were converted to overall categoric ratings (e.g., excellent, good). The Cincinnati Knee Ligament rating system correlates more highly with individual grading and most precisely defines outcome in athletically active patients. Sources of error may be introduced by a disproportionate combination of unrelated scores or by overrating low-activity-level individuals who avoid stressing their knees. Avoidance of data generalization remains the optimal method for studying anterior cruciate ligament surgery outcome.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Use of analgesics in self-medication.

Self-medication with analgesics is common and accepted and even recommended by health systems in order to avoid reimbursement. Self-medication, nevertheless, is not an easy task, since making choices is difficult for patients on the basis of the available standard information. Guiding information for patients has to be improved, but also physicians need to be trained how to handle self-medication of their patients. Special attention should be paid to the approval of combination analgesics for the treatment of headache and migraine. There were two major points of discussion during the last decades: possible risks of nephropathy and possible drug-induced overuse. According to a very recent evaluation, analgesic-associated nephropathy appears to have been primarily caused by phenacetin rather than any other single or combination analgesics. Analgesic-induced overuse is also caused by the psychotropic actions of phenacetin in presentations providing rapid absorption, such as powders, rather than by other analgesics or caffeine.

Analgesics, Non-Narcotic↗

Single lung transplantation for severe emphysema.

UNLABELLED: Lung transplantation is effective therapy for patients with severe obstructive lung disease. We reviewed seven patients with severe emphysema (age, 48 +/- 5 years; forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1] 0.76 +/- 0.26 liters) who received single-lung transplants (SLT) at our institution between August 1989 and September 1990. Studies to assess the adequacy of cardiac function before transplantation showed moderately reduced right ventricular function (by multiple gated acquisition, 34 +/- 6%), moderately elevated pulmonary artery pressure (25 +/- 3 mm Hg), and normal left ventricular function (by multiple gated acquisition 65% +/- 12%) and coronary arteriograms. Time on the waiting list before transplantation was reduced compared with heart-lung transplant (HLT) recipients (waiting time, 2.9 +/- 1.5 months for SLT, 9.6 +/- 10.2 months for HLT). Six of the SLT recipients are currently alive (after transplantation interval, 17 +/- 5 months); the remaining recipient died of pulmonary embolism 21 days after SLT. Number of ventilator days, intensive care unit days, and days to hospital discharge after transplantation did not differ significantly from HLT recipients. Cardiopulmonary bypass was necessary in four SLT recipients. Pulmonary function was markedly improved after SLT (FEV1, 1.78 +/- 0.73 L/min after SLT versus 0.75 +/- 0.3 L/min before SLT; p less than 0.01), and functional status is correspondingly improved. CONCLUSIONS: SLT constitutes effective therapy for patients with severe emphysema, including those with moderate reduction of right ventricular function; and SLT offers distinct advantages over HLT, including decreased waiting time before transplantation, improved donor organ utilization, and less frequent need for cardiopulmonary bypass.

Female↗

The Synovial shelf syndrome.

A syndrome complex mimicking a tear of the anterior horn of the medial meniscus consists of absence of effusion with negative arthrographic and arthroscopic examinations. Because of a thickened band of the medial synovial shelf this entity is termed the "medial synovial shelf syndrome."

Adolescent↗

Preliminary results with abrasion arthroplasty in the osteoarthritic knee.

A retrospective survey of 110 patients treated by arthroscopic debridement of the knee joint was conducted; 73 of 100 operations included abrasion arthroplasty. The average follow-up period was one year. All patients had Grade IV articular changes. Overall, 60% of the patients who underwent abrasion arthroplasty showed improvement, while the knee was unchanged in 34% and worse in 6%. The results were best in patients younger than 40 years of age. Forty-one patients had medial compartment abrasion in concert with pathologic medial meniscal conditions; 53% of these patients were improved. In a comparable group of 37 patients treated by medial compartment debridement and medial meniscectomy without abrasion only 32% showed improvement. Thus, tentative results in this small series of patients treated by abrasion arthroplasty are encouraging. Further investigations in a larger series are warranted to determine the long-term results of the procedure.

Adult↗

Extra-articular stabilization of the knee joint for anterior instability.

The results after one year or longer were evaluated in 76 patients with extra-articular reconstruction for functionally disabling anterior instability of the knee joint. The reconstruction was performed by a modification of the Ellison procedure for treatment of anterolateral rotatory instability. The various superimposed components of knee instability were managed by a variety of methods. Postoperatively,objective stability correlated well with subjective improvement. Patients with 2+ or greater anterior instability preoperatively had disappointing results in both subjective symptoms and objective signs. although extra-articular reconstruction may be sufficient for lesser grades of functionally disabling instability, knees with grade 2-3+ instability may require direct anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in addition to the extra-articular surgical procedure.

Evaluation Studies as Topic↗

Paramyxovirus infection in lung transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND: Respiratory infections are common after lung transplantation. The significance of respiratory paramyxoviruses, respiratory syncytial virus, and parainfluenza virus in lung transplant recipients has not been determined. METHODS: In a retrospective fashion, we examined the incidence and clinical characteristics of paramyxovirus infection in 84 consecutive lung transplant recipients at the University of Minnesota Hospital and Clinics from 1986 through 1993. RESULTS: We identified 19 cases of paramyxovirus infection in 18 patients (21% of all transplant recipients). All patients had symptoms with lower respiratory tract involvement, and nine (47%) had coexisting upper respiratory involvement. Symptom onset was 24 to 2056 days after transplantation (median = 260 days). Respiratory syncytial virus infection was seasonal (January through June), but parainfluenza virus infection occurred throughout the year. Six patients showed a decline in spirometry (26% +/- 2.8% decrease in forced expiratory volume in 1 second); four returned to baseline. Diagnosis was made by bronchoalveolar lavage in 15 cases, nasopharyngeal swab in three cases, and sputum in one case. Most patients (74%) were treated with ribavirin, and all but one treated patient recovered fully. In untreated patients, respiratory syncytial virus contributed to one death and one parainfluenza virus infection resulted in a persistent reduction in spirometry. Age was the strongest predictor of infection, with a higher incidence in patients under 18 years old (57%, p < 0.05). Preexisting obliterative bronchiolitis did not correlate with an increased incidence of paramyxovirus infection (20% with obliterative bronchiolitis, 22% without obliterative bronchiolitis; p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Lower respiratory tract infection with paramyxovirus is common in lung transplant recipients and capable of causing death or a permanent reduction in pulmonary function.

Adolescent↗