OBJECTIVE: To test the reliability and absolute agreement of common degenerative findings in standing positional magnetic resonance imaging (pMRI).

METHODS AND MATERIALS: Low back pain patients with and without sciatica were consecutively enrolled to undergo a supine and standing pMRI. Three readers independently evaluated the standing pMRI for herniation, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, HIZ lesions and facet joint effusion. The evaluation included a semi-quantitative grading of spinal stenosis, foraminal stenosis and spinal nerve root compression. The standing pMRI images were evaluated with full access to supine MRI. In case lower grades or the degenerative findings were not present in the supine images, this was reported separately as position-dependent changes. A subsample of 20 pMRI examinations was reevaluated after two months. The reproducibility was assessed by inter- and intra-reader reliability (kappa statistic) and absolute agreement between readers.

RESULTS: Fifty-six patients were included in this study. There was fair-to-substantial inter-reader reliability (κ 0.47 to 0.82) and high absolute agreement (72.3% to 99.1%) for the pMRI findings. The intra-reader assessment showed similar reliability and agreement (κ 0.36 to 0.85; absolute agreement: 62.5% to 98.8%). Positional changes between the supine and standing position showed a fair-to-moderate inter- and intra-reader reliability (κ 0.25 to 0.52; absolute agreement: 97.0% to 99.1).

CONCLUSION: Evaluation of the lumbar spine for degenerative findings by standing pMRI has acceptable reproducibility; however, positional changes from the supine to the standing position as an independent outcome should be interpreted with caution because of lower reliability, which calls for further standardisation.

BACKGROUND: A recent systematic review found that 87% of athletes return to sport after hip surgery for femoroacetabular impingement syndrome. However, the proportion of athletes returning to preinjury sport at their preinjury level of sport is less clear.

PURPOSE: The main purpose of this study was to determine the rate of athletes returning to preinjury sport at preinjury level including their associated sports performance after hip arthroscopy for femoroacetabular impingement syndrome. Furthermore, self-reported hip and groin function was investigated.

STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3.

METHODS: Eligible subjects were identified in the Danish Hip Arthroscopy Registry. A self-reported return to sport questionnaire was used to collect data after hip arthroscopy. If athletes reported they were engaged in preinjury sport at their preinjury level, the associated sports performance and participation were assessed as either (1) optimal sports performance including full sports participation; (2) impaired sports performance, but full sports participation; or (3) impaired sports performance including restricted sports participation. Self-reported hip and groin function was assessed for all athletes by use of the Copenhagen Hip and Groin Outcome Score.

RESULTS: The study included 189 athletes (mean ± SD age at follow-up, 26.9 ± 3.4 years) at a mean ± SD follow-up of 33.1 ± 16.3 months after surgery. At follow-up, 108 athletes (57.1%) were playing preinjury sport at preinjury level, whereas the remaining 81 athletes (42.9%) failed to return to preinjury sport at preinjury level. Of the 108 athletes engaged in their preinjury sport at preinjury level at follow-up, 32 athletes (29.6%) reported optimal sports performance including full sports participation, corresponding to 16.9% of the study sample. Better self-reported hip and groin function was observed in athletes who were engaged in preinjury sport at preinjury level compared with athletes who were not.

CONCLUSION: Fifty-seven percent of athletes returned to preinjury sport at their preinjury level. This is considerably lower than a previously reported return to sport rate of 87% and may reflect that the present study used a clear and strict definition of return to sport. Of note, only one-third of athletes who returned to preinjury sport at preinjury level reported their sports performance to be optimal, corresponding to 16.9% of the study sample. Better self-reported hip and groin function was observed in athletes who were playing preinjury sport at preinjury level compared with athletes who were not.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Manifest cancer is associated with increased risk of stroke. The risk of stroke in people with occult cancer in comparison to the risk in the background population without cancer has not been investigated. Smoking is a risk factor for both cancer and stroke, but the role of smoking for the risk of stroke in cancer has not been investigated.

METHODS: We identified all incident cases of cancer in Denmark 2003 to 2012 (n=264.376) from the Danish Cancer Registry. Each person with cancer was matched by age, sex, and income with 10 randomly selected persons without cancer at index date (n=2.571.260). Linking data to the Danish Stroke Registry, we studied risk of ischemic/hemorrhagic stroke the year before (occult cancer) and after cancer diagnosis was established in the Danish Stroke Registry (manifest cancer) and stratified into the 15 most common cancer types related (lung, colon, bladder, rectum, pancreas, kidney, stomach, and head and neck cancer) and unrelated (non-Hodgkin lymphoma, breast, prostate, melanoma, central nervous system, ovary and endometrial) to smoking.

RESULTS: Risk of ischemic/hemorrhagic stroke was increased for both occult (relative risk, 1.75/2.00) and manifest cancers (relative risk, 1.30/1.41). For occult cancer, risk of ischemic stroke was increased for all of the smoking-related cancers, but among cancers unrelated to smoking, only lymphoma, central nervous system, and endometrial cancer were associated with increased risk of stroke; breast, prostate, melanoma, and ovarian cancers were not. For occult cancer, risk of hemorrhagic stroke was generally increased for smoking-related cancers while not for cancers unrelated to smoking. For manifest cancer, risk of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke was generally increased for cancers related to smoking while not for cancers unrelated to smoking.

CONCLUSIONS: Cancer, occult and manifest, is associated with increased risks for stroke. The increased risk is linked mainly to cancers related to smoking.

Muscle strain injuries disrupt the muscle-tendon unit, early rehabilitation is associated with a faster return to sports (RTS), but the time course of tissue healing remains sparsely described. The purpose was to examine tissue regeneration and the effectiveness of early versus delayed rehabilitation onset on functional and structural recovery after strain injuries. A total of 50 recreational athletes with a severe acute strain injury in their thigh or calf muscles were randomized to early or delayed rehabilitation onset. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was obtained initially, 3 and 6 months postinjury, and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) estimated tissue inflammation initially and after 6 months. Muscle strength was determined 5 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months postinjury, and a questionnaire determined soreness, pain, and confidence. DCE-MRI microvascular perfusion was higher in the injured compared to an uninjured muscle acutely (P < 0.01) and after 6 months (P < 0.01), for both groups (P > 0.05) and unrelated to RTS (P > 0.05). Total volume of the injured muscle decreased from the acute to the 3-month scan, and to the 6-month scan (P < 0.01) in both groups. Muscle strength was similar in both groups at any time. There was a nonsignificant trend (P ≤ 0.1) toward less pain and higher confidence with early rehabilitation. One reinjury was recorded. In conclusion, our data showed prolonged tissue repair with the initial response linked to muscle atrophy but did not explain why early rehabilitation onset accelerated recovery considering that structural and functional recovery was similar with early and delayed rehabilitation.

INTRODUCTION: Implant performance of cementless THA is often evaluated by radiolucency on plain radiographs, often classified as interference gaps on direct post-operative radiographs. However, the diagnostic performance is unknown. The aim was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of radiographic assessment of post-operative gaps after primary THA by comparing it with CT confirmed gaps, and secondary to define optimal cut-off criteria for assessing gaps on plain radiographs compared with CT.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Patients (N = 40) with a primary cementless THA performed between July 2015 and March 2016 were enrolled in the study. Radiolucency was assessed on post-operative AP pelvic digital radiographs by two observers independently. Maximum width and percentage of coverage per zone were reported. Gap volume was measured by manual segmentation on CT images.

RESULTS: When defining a gap as a radiolucency extending through >50% of a zone, the interrater agreement Kappa was 0.241. Sensitivity was 65.8% for observer 1 (Kappa = 0.432), and 86.8% for observer 2 (Kappa = 0.383). When defining a gap as a radiolucency with a width >1 mm, the interrater agreement Kappa was 0.302. Sensitivity was 55.3% and 50% for observer 1 and observer 2, respectively. The ROC-curve resulted in an optimal threshold of 0.65 mm (AUROC = 0.888) and 0.31 mm (AUROC = 0.961) for the two observers.

CONCLUSION: The diagnostic performance of observers detecting interference gaps on radiographs showed low sensitivity. Further on, the inter-rater agreement is too low to do a general recommendation about thresholds for defining gaps. Evaluating progression of radiolucency on radiographs should be performed in the light of these findings.

An inappropriate immunological response to an unknown antigen has been suggested to play a role in the pathogenesis of hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). Studies have identified elevated levels of several proinflammatory cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-17A and tumour necrosis factor-α, nominating these as possible therapeutic targets.1 Secukinumab is an IL-17A monoclonal antibody, which binds to IL-17A and inhibits the cytokine interaction with the IL-17 receptors, inhibiting the inflammatory cascade. Here we report a case of a 47-year-old man, with Hurley stage III lesions on the neck, axillae, breasts, genital skin and buttocks, who had experienced only temporary benefit from different medical treatments over several years. After 12 weeks of treatment with secukinumab, the number of lesions reported by the patient within the period of the last 4 weeks was reduced from 23 to seven, his pain visual analogue scale (VAS) score was reduced from 5 to 3 and pain/utility/handicap VAS score was reduced from 7 to 4. These results may be taken to imply that IL-17 blockade could provide a possible therapeutic approach in the treatment of HS.

Objectives: Health promotion is on the global agenda. The risks targeted include smoking, hazardous alcohol consumption, nutrition and insufficient physical activity. Implementation of clinical health promotion, however, remains a major challenge. While several processes, models and frameworks for strategic implementation exist, very few have been tested in randomized designs. Testing a strategic implementation process for clinical health promotion was only recently attempted via a randomized clinical trial on the World Health Organization Health Promotion Hospitals Recognition Process. The randomized clinical trial showed that the process improved central parts of implementation. To complement these findings, this nested qualitative study aimed to explore experiences and perceptions of staff and managers, who had completed the process, and generate hypotheses for improvements.

Methods: We interviewed a purposeful sample of 45 key informants from four countries, who worked at clinical departments and had undertaken the World Health Organization Health Promotion Hospitals implementation process. The informants included 14 managers, 14 medical doctors, 13 nurses and 4 other clinical staff. Interview transcripts were analyzed using qualitative content analysis and an inductive approach to coding and categorization supported by QSR NVivo.

Results: The informants' experiences and perceptions centered around four global themes concerning (1) awareness, cultural re-orientation and integration; (2) learnings; (3) normalization and legitimacy and (4) a more evidence-based, structured and systematic approach to clinical health promotion. Informants were positive toward the implementation process, although it was sometimes challenging. The suggested improvements to increase acceptability related to the patient survey, time consumption, translation, tailoring to local circumstances and in-advance training.

Conclusions: Managers and staff were positive toward the World Health Organization Health Promotion Hospitals process, which was perceived to bring about positive changes and learnings. The findings also suggest that the implementation process may be improved by minor adjustments to process elements and design. It is our recommendation to use the process in clinical departments to further implementation of clinical health promotion.

OBJECTIVES: Most studies show that marriage conveys a survival advantage. Whether this is valid also for stroke patients is unclear. Results of studies have been inconsistent and conflicting.

MATERIAL & METHODS: We studied 1-week and 1-month stroke case-fatality in relation to marital status (married, unmarried, divorced, and widowed) in all patients admitted to hospital for incident stroke in Denmark during 2003-2012. We used information from Danish registries on stroke merged to information on age, sex, marital status, stroke severity, stroke subtype, socioeconomic status, cardiovascular risk profile, and causes of death. We studied deaths due to the index stroke within the first week and month after stroke. Multivariate Cox regression models were applied to estimate cause-specific hazards and relative risks.

RESULTS: We included 60507 patients with an incident stroke of which 51.19% were married, 9.47% were unmarried, 13.29% were divorced, and 26.05% were widowers. Death within the first week and first month was caused by stroke in 2110 (3.5%) and 3423 (5.7%) patients, respectively. Compared to married stroke patients, 1-week/1-month case-fatality (by stroke) was lower for the unmarried (HR (hazard ratio):0.69/0.74), divorced (HR:0.69/0.72), and widowed (HR:0.80/0.74) men and the unmarried (HR:0.84/0.86), divorced (HR:0.82/0.80), and widowed (HR:0.87/0.88) women with stroke.

CONCLUSIONS: One-week and one-month case-fatality by stroke was lower among the unmarried, divorced, and widowed than among the married stroke patients. Selection by so-called mortality displacement linked to shorter life expectancy among divorced, widowed, and singles may explain our findings.