Aims
Patients and Methods
The aim of this study was to validate the Mirels score in predicting
pathological fractures in metastatic disease of the lower limb. A total of 62 patients with confirmed metastatic disease met
the inclusion criteria. Of the 62 patients, 32 were female and 30
were male. The mean age of patients was 65 years (35 to 89). The
primary malignancy originated from the breast in 27 (44%) patients,
prostate in 15 (24%) patients, kidney in seven (11%), and lung in
four (6%) of patients. One patient (2%) had metastatic carcinoma
from the lacrimal gland, two patients (3%) had multiple myeloma,
one patient (2%) had lymphoma of bone, and five patients (8%) had
metastatic carcinoma of unknown primary. Plain radiographs at the
time of initial presentation were scored using Mirels system by
the four authors. The radiographic components of the score (anatomical
site, size, and radiographic appearance) were scored two weeks apart.
Inter- and intraobserver reliability were calculated with Fleiss’
kappa test. Bland-Altman plots were created to compare the variances
of the individual components of the score and the total Mirels score.Aims
Patients and Methods
Open fractures are managed in the UK guided by standards issued by the BOAST-4 standards. A study was undertaken to evaluate compliance with these standards in a regional trauma unit (MTU), and compared following upgrading to a Major Trauma Centre (MTC). Compliance was assessed against 11 of the 15 BOAST-4 standards (7, 9, 10 and 15 were not assessed). Patients were included with open diaphyseal tibial fractures (AO 42-), admitted to the department in the year before and the year after the Major Trauma Centre opened.Introduction
Methods
