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Although, both bisphosphonates and denosumab are effective in reducing the risk of skeletal-related events in patients with metastatic bone disease, many concerns were being raised about the possible association between their use and atypical femoral fractures. A case of an atypical femoral fracture in a metastatic bone disease patient, six months after discontinuation of long-term zoledronic acid therapy and sequential treatment with denosumab is reported. After extensive laboratory and imaging examination, the fracture was classified as atypical and it was finally treated with discontinuation of denosumab, long cephalomedullary interlocking nailing and vitamin D administration. Sequential treatment with bisphosphonates and denosumab in patients with metastatic bone disease, may lead to an overlapping treatment effect, increasing bone suppression and the risk of atypical femoral fracture. In addition, discontinuation of denosumab may activate bone remodeling units in an area with microdamage accumulation in cortical bone caused by the previous bone suppression from the antiresorptive treatment. The activation of bone remodeling units may accelerate the occurrence of the atypical femoral fractures.

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AIM: The aim of the present review was to examine the evidence of the relationship between self-reported or perceived fatigue and falls among older adults. METHODS: A systematic review, following the PRISMA recommendations, was performed. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cinahl were searched from February 2021 until March 2021, without any limitation on publication date. The methodological quality of the recruited studies was assessed with the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. RESULTS: Of the 2,296 initially retrieved records, 20 met the inclusion criteria; 11 cohort and 9 cross-sectional studies. They were classified as "good or very good" studies. Data on 59,852 older adults was reported. Most studies reported a strong association between fatigue and incidence or risk of falls, with odds ratios ranging from 1.04 to 3.53. Evidence obout the relationship between fatigue and recurrent, as well as injurious, falls is limited. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported or perceived fatigue is associated with the incidence of falls or risk of falling among older adults. Nurses could contribute to decreasing the inicdence of falls through prevention and proper geriatric assessment, including the management of fatigue in their daily clinical practice. The evidence about the potential effect of fatigue on falls-related injuries is inconclusive and on recurrent falls remains to be further defined.

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PURPOSE: To examine the relationship between sleep quality and duration and muscle strength among community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted from March 2020 until May 2020. Searches were done for peer-reviewed and English-written articles reporting results of studies in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and in article references lists. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses was used as well as the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) to appraise the methodological quality. RESULTS: Twenty-one cross-sectional, three prospective studies and a total of 92,363 subjects were included. The majority of the included studies are classified as "high quality". Handgrip strength is the main method of muscle strength assessment. Sleep assessment is usually conducted using subjective measures, such as validated sleep scales or self-reported questionnaires. Actigraphy, as an objective measure, is used less often. Most studies support strong evidence on the association between weak muscle strength and poor sleep quality and duration among middle-aged and older adults; whereas the results for the gender-specific association and the impact of short or long sleep duration were inconclusive. CONCLUSION: This review has identified strong evidence on the relationship between sleep quality and duration and muscle strength among middle-aged and older adults. Health professionals should consider this relationship as a component of geriatric assessment in community practice and geriatric settings. Future rigorous research with a combination of subjective and objective measurements is needed to explore whether gender and specific sleep duration are related to muscle strength.

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Purpose The purpose of this clinical study was to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of ultrasound (US)-guided platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections versus US-guided corticosteroid injections (CSI) in the treatment of greater trochanteric pain syndrome (GTPS). Methods Between January 2015 and December 2016, 24 patients with GTPS were enrolled and randomized in two groups (A and B). Group A (study group) patients received US-guided PRP injection treatment, while group B (control group) patients received US-guided CSI treatment. Clinical outcomes in both groups were evaluated and compared using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) of pain, the Harris Hip Score (HHS) and the presence or absence of complications at 4, 12, and 24 weeks post-injection. The level of significance was set at p<0.05. Results Both groups showed improved scores (VAS and HHS) compared to the pre-injection period, but patients in group A had a statistically significant (p <0.05) decrease in VAS score and a significantly increased HHS at the last follow-up (24 weeks post-injection). No complications were reported. Conclusions In conclusion, patients with GTPS present better and longer-lasting clinical results when treated with US-guided PRP injections compared to those with CSI. Further studies are needed to optimize the technical preparation of PRP, the sample concentration, the number of injections and the time intervals between them, in order to achieve the maximum desired results.

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Nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates (N-BPs) are pharmaceutical agents that have been used for many years to treat osteoporosis, multiple myeloma, Paget's disease, metastatic bone disease, and a variety of other diseases in which bone mineral density is reduced. Given that N-BPs inhibit bone resorption, an important stage in the fracture healing process, they have been extensively studied in preclinical models for their activity. In animal models, treatment with N-BPs is associated with a larger callus formation in fracture area and delay in remodeling from primary woven bone to lamellar bone, but there is no delay in formation of the fracture callus. In humans, all existing evidence suggest that initiating treatment with N-BPs, after upper and lower limb fractures, does not appear to have a significant effect on fracture healing. Rarely, patients with long-term use of N-BPs may develop "atypical fractures" and delay in their healing. Therefore, this clinical condition is not fully understood and many questions remain unanswered. Similarly, there are few studies about the benefits of stopping a long-term treatment with them, if a fracture occurs. Although most studies support that chronic N-BP therapy may lead to fracture healing delay, this is not fully documented. On the other hand, there are studies that are in complete disagreement with them. All of the above suggest that there is a need for more detailed future research into larger patient populations and different types of fractures, with sufficient data on the type, dosage, route and duration of administration of N-BPs, and the control methods of fracture healing, in order to have a safe final conclusion on the effect of their long-term administration in this highly complex process.

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INTRODUCTION: Reconstruction of bone defects is a long, challenging process both for the patient and for the treating surgeon. Bone defects frequently occur as a result of aggressive surgical debridement and bone resection in case of acute trauma, open fractures, chronic bone infections, tumors and non-unions. Early amputation is often superior to prolonged attempts at salvage because they can create serious problems in the patients' lives. There are numerous alternative methods of limb-salvage nowadays. CASE REPORT: We report a case of a fifty-year-old man with a distal femoral non-union and a co-existing failure of the knee extensor mechanism, who was treated using an intramedullary segmental defect bridging knee arthrodesis system (Osteobridge). At the final check-up twenty four months later, he had excellent clinical, functional and radiological results. CONCLUSION: Osteobridge is an excellent knee arthrodesis system, which is preferable to other methods in case of resection of the distal femur along with the failure of the knee extensor mechanism.

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AIM: To evaluate the management of aseptic non-unions of the distal third of the tibial diaphysis, using static interlocking intramedullary nailing. METHODS: Between January 2005 and November 2012, a total number of 42 patients who underwent surgery at our hospital for aseptic non-unions of the distal third of the tibial diaphysis, were included in our study. Preoperatively, all the patients were tested for the presence of infection of non-union. The post-operative follow up was based on clinical and radiological findings. RESULTS: Union was achieved in 41 (98%) patients, at a mean time of 5.8 months (four-eight months). One (2%) patient developed infection of the wound four weeks after the operation. A small decrease of the tibial length, of about one cm was seen in three (7%) patients. Pain of the patellar tendon, at the entry point of the nail, was observed in six (14%) patients, without impacting the range of motion of the knee. In two (5%) patients, a decrease in dorsiflexion of the ankle joint occurred, of about ten degrees angle. CONCLUSION: Static interlocking intramedullary nailing is the preferable technique in the management of aseptic non-unions of the distal third of the tibial diaphysis, because it provides high union rate and few postoperative complications. A good preoperative evaluation for infections, use of proper surgical technique with respect to soft tissues, use of autogenous bone grafts and early mobilization of patients, are the keys to success of this method.

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