Explore the vast range of titles available.

Background Use of antibiotic-loaded acrylic bone cement to treat orthopaedic infections continues to remain popular, but resistance to routinely used antibiotics has led to the search for alternative, more effective antibiotics. We studied, in vitro, the elution kinetics and bio-activity of different concentrations of meropenem-loaded acrylic bone cement. Methods Meropenem-loaded bone cement cylinders of different concentrations were serially immersed in normal saline. Elution kinetics was studied by measuring the drug concentration in the eluate, collected at pre-determined intervals, by high-performance liquid chromatography. Bio-activity of the eluate of two different antibiotic concentrations was tested for a period of 3 weeks against each of the following organisms: Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 2593 (MSSA), Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, S. aureus ATCC 43300 (MRSA) and Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 700603 (ESBL). Results Meropenem elutes from acrylic bone cement for a period of 3–27 days depending on the concentration of antibiotic. Higher doses of antibiotic concentration resulted in greater elution of the antibiotic. The eluate was found to be biologically active against S. aureus ATCC 2593 (MSSA), P. aeruginosa ATCC 27853, E. coli ATCC 25922 and K. pneumoniae ATCC 700603 (ESBL) for a period of 3 weeks. Conclusions The elution of meropenem is in keeping with typical antibiotic-loaded acrylic bone cement elution characteristics. The use of high-dose meropenem-loaded acrylic bone cement seems to be an attractive option for treatment of resistant Gram-negative orthopaedic infections but needs to be tested in vivo.

Objective: Recent studies indicate that India is an endemic region for Burkholderia pseudomallei infection. We aimed to describe the clinical presentation of B. pseudomallei infection of the musculoskeletal system and summarise the various treatment modalities used in our clinical practice. Subjects and Methods: Patients with confirmed microbiological diagnosis of B. pseudomallei infection involving the musculoskeletal system treated from January 2007 to December 2016 with a minimum follow-up of 1 year were included. A retrospective review of medical records was carried out and patients’ demographic data, co-morbidities, clinical presentation, and details of medical and surgical treatment were documented. Results: Of 342 patients diagnosed with B. pseudomallei infection, 37 (9.2%) had musculoskeletal involvement; 26 patients (23 males) followed up for at least a year were included in the study. Four patients (15%) had multisystem involvement and 10 (37%) had multiple musculoskeletal foci of infection; 15 patients (58%) had osteomyelitis, 10 (38%) had septic arthritis with or without osteomyelitis, and 1 patient (4%) presented with only soft tissue abscess. All patients required surgical intervention in addition to medical management. Surgical treatment varied from soft tissue abscess drainage, arthrotomy for septic arthritis, decompression and curettage for osteomyelitis, and/or use of antibiotic (meropenem or ceftazidime)-loaded polymethylmethacrylate bone cement for local drug delivery. At final follow-up (average: 37 months, range: 12–120), all patients were disease free. Conclusion: We found the rate of musculoskeletal involvement in B. pseudomallei infection to be 9.2%. Appropriate surgical treatment in addition to medical management resulted in resolution of disease in all our patients.

In the realm of tissue engineering, it is extremely difficult to construct physiologically functional surgical implants that are also significantly resistant to bacterial infections. The current study investigates the influence of on the biomedical applications of tertiary silicate bioceramics (akermanite and merwinite). The sol–gel combustion process in conjunction with citric acid helped to speed up and lower the temperature of the bioceramics' synthesis. X-ray diffraction investigation validated the phase purity of akermanite and merwinite, while scanning electron microscopy demonstrated agglomerated surface morphology. Both the bioceramics were bactericidal at a very low concentration. Akermanite and merwinite revealed species-specific antibacterial activity. BMP2 protein expression of the cells seeded on merwinite on day 14 was noticeable but in the case of akermanite seeded cells, the expression was not detected. SEM, confocal images, and Alamar blue viability/proliferation assay of akermanite and merwinite revealed a good hBMSCs attachment and a significant proliferation. This demonstrates the biocompatibility of akermanite and merwinite.

Purpose Due to lack of cervical clearance consensus in literature and the devastating consequences of missed cervical injuries, Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the neurologically intact symptomatic patient with negative CT scan is frequently done to rule out disco-ligamentous injuries. This study retrospectively evaluates occult disco-ligamentous injuries detected by MRI in patients with no abnormalities detected by modern multi-detector CT scanning and postulates a new theory of ligamentous stability of cervical spine. Methods Cervical spine injury patients treated at a spinal trauma referral centre from 2010 to 2013 were retrospectively identified. Available clinical records and radiographic imaging were reviewed to find neurologically intact symptomatic patients with no identifiable acute cervical spine injury on CT scan but MRI evidence of isolated subaxial disco-ligamentous injuries. Patient demographics, injury profile, and treatment details were extracted. Subaxial Cervical Spine Injury Classification (SLIC) and Denis three-column spinal stability theory were adopted to assess stability of injuries. Result 316/566 cervical spinal admissions had CT and MRI scans. 11 (3.5%) CT negative patients were found to have occult discoligamentous injuries on MRI. The average age (51.1 years) was not significantly different to all cervical trauma admissions ( p  = 0.09). Eight had flexion type and three had extension type injuries. The most common mechanisms were sports and fall on flat surface. The average SLIC score was 3.1. Four patients were classified as having unstable or potentially unstable injuries (two patients each) and three of these patients were surgically managed. Subtle CT changes to indicate discoligamentous injury could be retrospectively identified in all four of these patients. Conclusion CT scans alone may be inadequate for clearing occult disco-ligamentous injuries of the subaxial cervical spine in trauma. Denis three-column stability theory may be beneficial in determining stability and guiding treatment along with the SLIC system for occult discoligamentous injuries of the subaxial cervical spine.