Lower Extremity Review
To achieve the best outcomes for patients with venous leg ulcers (VLU), a definitive and accurate diagnosis must be achieved. Many papers regarding VLU management assume a simplicity in the diagnosis given the relative commonality, neglecting the associated lymphatic…
By M. Mark Melin, Caroline Fife, Marlin Shul, Monika Gloviczki, Adelaide Herbert, Heather Barnhart (Hettrick), Amy Kaufman, Karen Andrews, Sandra Rosenberg
Material selection can strongly impact medical device performance and patient experience. Selection of the optimum materials in combination with the design, will influence how the device performs in promoting recovery, increasing lymphatic fluid, regulating moisture and…
By Cristina Acevedo, PhD; Ian Crane; Rohit Kankaliya; Rajib Mondal, PhD; Albert Ortega; Kevin Urman, PhD
Case Report: 70-year-old man with a BMI of 57.1 presenting with bilateral symptomatic tributary varicose veins, chronic lipodermatosclerosis and venous ulcers of both lower limbs. There was no history of DVT or PE. He has central obesity with overhanging anterior abdominal wall.
By Preshy Varghese, MBBS, MMed, FRCS, FRACGP
The cost of treatment, such as nursing time required for application of products and the number of clinical visits, is a significant expense in venous leg ulcer (VLU) care. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of an innovative compression technology that delivers a well-defined pressure, invariant of applier skills, leg shape, and without the need for reapplications due to edema reduction.
By Andreas Nilsson and Josefin Damm
In an effort to establish an optimal antihypertensive exercise prescription, researchers from Kent, England, conducted a large-scale pairwise and network meta-analysis on the effects of various exercise modes on resting blood pressure. They looked at 270 randomized controlled trials with more than 15,800 patients.
This meta-analysis of 10 studies with 785 patients confirmed the significant association between diabetic foot infection and 3 inflammatory markers: white blood cell (WBC) count, C-reactive protein (CRP) level, and procalcitonin (PCT) level. The meta-analysis indicated that mean WBC count (standardized mean differences…
In a unique combined study, researchers from multiple institutions across the United Kingdom compared a removable boot with plaster cast for the treatment of ankle fractures 2 weeks after surgery with weight bearing as able. They used data from 243 trial participants and reviewed medical notes to estimate costs from both the National Health Service (NHS) and…
In a chart review that spanned 2000-2017, researchers from Duke University looked at 58 patients who underwent primary total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) (average age at surgery 43.3 years) and had minimum clinical follow-up of 5 years. They found that 11 required additional surgery related to the TAA; 6 patients (10.3%) required bone grafting of peri-implant…
In the age of personalized medicine, clinicians are trying to better understand not only patient preferences and values, but expectations as well. This systematic review examined 18 studies involving 17,240 patients with prediabetes to spot trends to facilitate clinical decision-making about how best to prevent disease progression.
The incidence of venous thromboembolism after ablation of superficial varicose veins is 3.4%, predominantly due to asymptomatic endovenous heat-induced thrombosis (EHIT) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and significantly correlates with the Caprini Risk Score.
Stack height is the amount of material between one’s foot and the ground. As stack height, by definition, speaks to the amount of organized material between a 3-dimensional foot of limited mass and the relatively unlimited mass of any 2-dimensional support surface on which it functions, it will have…
By Jay Segel, DPM, & Sally Crawford, MS
Background: Between two and three million work-related injuries occur in the United States (US) each year. A portion of these injuries involve the lower extremity. The US Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) collects information on work-related injuries and provides the information in several data sources.
By Mathias B. Forrester, BS
Falls and falls-related injuries are a problem in individuals with chronic ankle symptoms. At last year’s Academy meeting, there was a great paper that talked about how they’re now developing outcome measures for lower limb orthotics, something we’ve had for a while in prosthetics. The author looked at his data and also data from the…
By Gary Bedard, CO, FAAOP(D)
Research has shown that more than half of people with multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease will fall within a 3- or 6-month period, respectively, while nearly 75% of stroke survivors fall within a year of the stroke occurring. Clinical trials evaluating the effectiveness of falls prevention interventions for…
By Nicola O’Malley, Susan Coote, Fiona McCullough Staunton, Eileen O’Connor, and Amanda M. Clifford
Muscle contraction hardening is essential for enhancing strength and also enables rapid reactions in living organisms. Taking inspiration from nature, researchers at Queen Mary’s School of Engineering and Materials Science in London have successfully created an artificial muscle that seamlessly transitions between soft and hard states while also…
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