RESUMO
BACKGROUND: We describe a follow-up program for patients undergoing surgical procedures with documented results from short-term surgical mission trips to the developing world. The surgical procedures were all performed at a government hospital in Pucallpa, Peru, a remote city in the Amazon. METHODS: Between July 2007 and January 2012, ten surgical mission trips were completed with a mean time of six days on location and a mean number of 2.3 surgeons (range, two to five surgeons) per trip. A Peruvian general surgeon conducted postoperative visits at time intervals of two to four weeks, five to sixteen weeks, four to seven months, and eight to twelve months. Each visit included the completion of a patient outcome form, radiographs, and functional range-of-motion photographs. Patient demographic characteristics; type of surgical procedure; completed follow-up; complications including infection, malunion, or nonunion; and clinical results were analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 127 patients eligible for analysis, twenty-three patients were lost to follow-up, leaving a follow-up rate of 81.9% (104 of 127 patients). Patients were predominantly male (63.5%) and had a mean age of 37.0 years (range, ten months to 93.4 years). The mean length of follow-up was 11.8 months, with a mean number of 3.7 postoperative encounters. Orthopaedic trauma fixation was the predominant surgical procedure (57%), with forty-two procedures (40%) being open reduction and internal fixation. In the 104 patients, successful wound-healing occurred in 101 (97%) and 100 (96%) had a functional outcome deemed to be good or fair by the in-country physician. The infection rate was 2.9% (three patients), with 97% (fifty-seven of fifty-nine) of fractures united. There was one nerve injury in a pediatric patient treated for supracondylar humeral malunion, and two cases of prominent implant necessitating removal. The mean direct cost of the follow-up program was $20,041 in U.S. dollars per year. CONCLUSIONS: It is possible to develop a sustainable surgical patient follow-up program with robust results and to achieve acceptable outcomes for orthopaedic conditions, even in an austere medical environment.
Assuntos
Seguimentos , Missões Médicas , Procedimentos Ortopédicos , Adolescente , Adulto , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Países em Desenvolvimento , Feminino , Controle de Formulários e Registros , Humanos , Lactente , Masculino , Prontuários Médicos , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Peru , Procedimentos Cirúrgicos Operatórios , Adulto JovemRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Several studies have suggested that back pain in the majority of pediatric patients does not have an identifiable cause. Many children undergo extensive diagnostic workup that ultimately results in a nonconfirmative diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to (1) describe the prevalence of back pain seen in a pediatric orthopaedic clinic; (2) evaluate the efficacy of a systematic approach dependent on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the diagnosis of pediatric back pain; and (3) analyze sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of various clinical signs and symptoms. METHODS: For a 24-month period, all patients that presented with a chief complaint of back pain were prospectively enrolled in this study and evaluated in a systematic approach which utilized MRI for patients with constant pain, night pain, radicular pain, or abnormal neurological examination after an initial history, physical examination, and negative radiographic examination. RESULTS: The prevalence of chief complaint of back pain was 8.6% (261/3042 patients). Of the 261 patients, 34% had an identifiable pathology following the systematic approach. In 8.8% of patients, the diagnosis was established with the history, physical examination, and plain radiographs. MRI yielded a definitive diagnosis in another 25% of patients. It is noteworthy that of the 89 patients with a confirmed pathology, 26% were identified with plain radiographs and 74% with MRI. CONCLUSIONS: A systematic approach to diagnose pediatric back pain demonstrated that 34% of pediatric patients that present to an outpatient orthopaedic clinic complaining of back pain will have identifiable pathology. The diagnostic yield increased from 8.8% with the history, physical examination, and plain radiographs to 22% with the TCN Bone Scan to 36% with the use of the MRI. The clinician should be aware that the presences of lumbar pain or constant pain are red flags for the presence of underlying pathology. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III.