Objectives
Hallux valgus (HV) is a progressive foot deformity in which the first metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint is affected. The relationship between the dome height of the first metatarsal head and the HV deformity has not been studied previously. This study aimed to investigate a possible relation of the dome height of the first metatarsal head with articular alignment and the hallux valgus angle (HVA), which is frequently used to evaluate HV.
Methods
A total of 129 feet of 68 patients were included in the study. Anteroposterior digital radiographic images of the foot taken in a weightbearing, standing position were used to assess the HVA, dome height, and shape of the first metatarsal head and the alignment of the MTP joint. The dome height of the first metatarsal head is the vertical distance from the base to the highest point of the articular surface doming. The alignment was categorized into three groups: aligned, deviated, and subluxated. Patients were assigned into three groups based on the HVA: Normal, Mild HV and Moderate HV.
Results
A statistically significant, positive correlation was found between the HVA and the dome height of the first metatarsal head (r = 0.293, P = 0.001 and P < 0.05). The dome height was significantly lower in the patients with a normal HVA than those with a high HVA (P1 = 0.042, P2 = 0.039 and P < 0.05, respectively). The dome height of the first metatarsal head was found significantly higher in feet with subluxation, compared to feet aligned and deviated (P1 = 0.001; P2 = 0.0089 and P < 0.05, respectively).
Conclusions
Our study results suggest that HV deformity may be related to an increased dome height and the measurement of the dome height of the first metatarsal head might be used to evaluate an anatomic tendency toward HV development.
Background
Plantar pressure plate instruments are commonly used in clinical practice and biomechanical analysis and are useful to establish a relationship between gait disorders and foot pressure. The aim of this study was to verify the reliability and repeatability of the Footwork pressure plate system for static and dynamic conditions.
Methods
Forty healthy adults, without apparent gait pathology, were recruited. For the static condition, participants were asked to stand static on the Footwork pressure plate for 5 sec in natural position (arms on either side of the body, feet shoulder-width apart in a comfortable angle, and looking ahead). For the dynamic condition, subjects were told to step five times with each foot on the plate following the three-step protocol. Both conditions were performed in two testing sessions spaced by 1 week.
Results
Intrasession and intersession reliability for both conditions showed substantial to almost perfect intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) values, and low coefficient of variation, low standard error measure, and low percentage error. Intrasession ICCs were 0.724 to 0.993 for static condition evaluation and 0.639 to 0.986 for dynamic condition evaluation. Intersession reliability ICCs ranged from 0.850 to 0.987 for the static condition and from 0.781 to 0.996 for the dynamic condition. Coefficient of variation values were below 8% in both cases and percentage error calculated from standard error measure were less than 10%.
Conclusions
The present work demonstrates that the Footwork plantar pressure plate system is a reliable instrument for collecting plantar pressures in static and dynamic conditions. Reliability data were higher for the static trials, probably because of the individual physiologic fluctuations, which are larger during dynamic gait. Reliability for intersession and average intrasession trials were higher than single-test reliability. The results from the present work can be used as a starting point for future research and to establish a basis for sample sizes for investigations that would use the Footwork platform.
Subungual Exostosis on the Right Hallux
An Illustrative Case Report
Subungual exostosis (SE) is a benign, relatively uncommon bony growth underneath the nails of the distal phalanx of toes or fingers, with a majority on the toes. Clinically, it has two subvariants—protruded and nonprotruded growths from nail plates—which are treated differently. In this article, we report a case of protruded SE in a teenager with illustrative surgical excision. A 15-year-old boy presented with a painful growth on his right great toe of 6 months' duration. Physical examination revealed a 1-cm-diameter, solid, erythematous, rough, irregular growth penetrating through the skin along the dorsolateral nail bed of the right hallux with deformity of the lateral nail plate. Radiographs showed an elevated mass over the distal phalanx of the right lateral hallux. The mass was surgically excised and histopathologic examination confirmed the diagnosis of SE. The patient had no relapse or recurrence at follow-ups of 6 and 18 months. Subungual exostosis is a relatively uncommon bony growth in the toes. Radiography is favored for the diagnosis. Complete surgical excision is the optimal treatment, with rare recurrence. It needs to be differentiated from other bony lesions, including bizarre parosteal osteochondromatous proliferation, myositis ossificans, fibro-osseous pseudotumor, osteochondroma, and enchondroma.
Giant cell tumors are benign tumors that are locally aggressive and rare in the foot. Giant cell tumors involving bone in the foot have an incidence of 1.2% to 2.8%, whereas giant cell tumors of the tendon sheath constitute 3% to 5% of all giant cell tumors in the foot and ankle. We present a case of giant cell tumor of the soft tissue disguised as a giant cell tumor of bone in a healthy 29-year-old male patient. Through radiographic and magnetic resonance imaging evaluation, it was determined that this patient had a bone tumor invading the distal and proximal phalanges of his left great toe with the involvement of soft tissue. With the use of the evidence-based medicine and patient expectation, the decision was made to amputate the digit. To much surprise, when the histopathologic results were reviewed, it was determined that the excised lesion was consistent with giant cell tumor of soft tissue that did not involve the bone.
BACKGROUND:Diabetic foot ulceration is a severe complication of diabetes characterized by chronic inflammation and impaired wound healing. This study aims to evaluate the effect of a medical device gel based on Adelmidrol + Trans traumatic acid in the healing process of diabetic foot ulcers. METHODS: Thirty-seven diabetic patients with foot ulcers of mild/moderate grade were treated with the gel applied daily for 4 weeks on the affected area. The following parameters were evaluated at baseline and weekly: a) wound area, measured drawing a map of the ulcer then calculated with Photoshop6 tools, b) clinical appearance of the ulcer, assessed recording the presence/absence of dry/wet necrosis, infection, fibrin, neoepithelium, exudate, redness, granulation tissue. RESULTS: Topical treatment led to progressive healing of diabetic foot ulcers with a significant reduction of the wound area and an improvement in the clinical appearance of the ulcers. No adverse events treatment-related were observed. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this open-label study show the potential benefits of Adelmidrol + Trans traumatic acid topical administration to promote re-epithelialization of diabetic foot ulcers. Further studies need to confirm the observed results.
BACKGROUND: Normative studies on the Arch Height Index (AHI), Arch Rigidity Index (ARI), and arch stiffness have primarily focused on healthy populations, with little consideration of pathology. The purpose of this study was to create a normative sample of the aforementioned measurements in a pathological sample and to identify relationships between arch structure measurements and pathology. METHODS: AHI was obtained bilaterally at 10% and 90% weightbearing conditions using the Arch Height Index Measurement System (AHIMS). ARI and arch stiffness were calculated using AHI measurements. Dependent t-tests compared right and left, dominant and non-dominant, and injured and non-injured limbs. Measurements of the dominant foot were compared between sexes using independent t-tests. Relationships between arch stiffness and age, sex, and AHI were examined using the coefficient of determination (R2). One-way ANOVAs were used to determine differences between arch structure measurements and number of pathologies or BMI. RESULTS: A total of 110 participants reported either one (n=55), two (n=38), or three or more (n=17) pathologies. Plantar fasciitis (n=31) and hallux valgus (n=28) were the most commonly reported primary concerns. AHI, ARI, and arch stiffness did not differ between limbs for any comparisons, nor between sexes. Between subgroups of BMI and number of pathologies, no differences exist in AHI or ARI; however, BMI was found to have an impact on AHI (10%WB) and arch stiffness (p<.05). Arch stiffness showed a weak relationship to AHI, where a higher AHI was associated with a stiffer arch (R2=0.06). CONCLUSIONS: Normative AHI, ARI and arch stiffness values were established in a pathological sample with a large incidence of plantar fasciitis and hallux valgus. Findings suggest relationships between arch stiffness and both BMI and arch height; however, few trends were noted in AHI and ARI. Determining relationships between arch structure and pathology is helpful for both clinicians and researchers.
Background: Foot dimension information is important both for footwear design and clinical applications. In recent years, non-contact three-dimensional foot digitizers/scanners became popular as they are non-invasive and are both valid and reliable for the most of measures. Some of them also offer automated calculations of basic foot dimensions. The study aimed to determine test-retest reliability, objectivity, and concurrent validity of the Tiger full foot 3D scanner as well as the relationship between the manual measures of the medial longitudinal arch of the foot and its alternative parameters obtained automatically by the scanner. Methods: Intraclass correlation coefficients and the values of minimal detectable change were used to assess the reliability and objectivity of the scanner. Concurrent validity and the relationship between the arch height measures were determined by the Pearson's correlation coefficient and the limits of agreement between the scanner and the calliper method. Results: Both the relative and absolute agreement between the repeated measurements obtained by the scanner show excellent reliability and objectivity of linear measures and only good to nearly good test-retest reliability and objectivity of the arch height. Correlations between the values obtained by the scanner and the calliper were generally higher in linear measures (rp{greater than or equal to}0.929). The representativeness of state of bony architecture by the soft tissue margin of the medial foot arch demonstrate the lowest correlations among the all measurements (rp{less than or equal to}0.526). Conclusions: The Tiger full foot 3D scanner offers both excellent reliability and objectivity in linear measures, which correspond to those obtained by the calliper method. However, values obtained by the both methods shouldn't be used interchangeably. The arch height measure is less accurate, which could limit its use in some clinical applications. Orthotists and related professions probably appreciate scanner more than other specialists.
Toenail onychomycosis is a common condition that is equally challenging for podiatrists and patients. This case study documents a 26-year-old woman with bilateral total dystrophic onychomycosis of at least 5 years' duration. She had previously failed to respond to treatment with ciclopirox nail lacquer 8% and despite hiding her condition with nail polish, was suffering from embarrassment, distress and low self-esteem. At initial consult, one hundred percent of both great toenails were affected. After discussion of all treatment options, the patient opted for topical efinaconazole 10% solution, once daily for 48 weeks. Significant improvement was noted at the first (4 week) assessment period. This improvement was maintained through each subsequent virtual consult and complete cure was seen at a 30-week follow-up visit. To the author's knowledge this is the first published report on the use of efinaconazole in total dystrophic onychomycosis. It suggests that the product may be effective in patients with even the most severe and treatment recalcitrant disease, who are unwilling or unable to tolerate systemic antifungal therapy.
Background: Syndesmosis is an important soft tissue component supporting the ankle stability and commonly injured accompanying with ankle fractures. The accurate reduction and fixation of syndesmosis is essential to obtain better functional results. Therefore, we aimed to find a practical method using the mortise view of ankle to determine the optimal syndesmosis fixation angle intraoperatively. Methods: We randomly selected 200 adults (100 women and 100 men) between 18 - 60 years of age. Three-dimensional anatomical models of tibia and fibula were created using Materialise MIMICS 21. We created a best fit plane on articular surface of medial malleolus and a ninety degrees vertical plane to medial malleolus plane. We determined two splines on cortical borders of tibia and fibula distant from the most superior point of ankle joint in horizontal view. We created two spheres that fit to the predefined splines. The optimal syndesmosis fixation angle was determined measuring the angle between the line connecting the center points of spheres, and the ninety degrees vertical plane to medial malleolus plane. Results: We observed no statistically significant difference between gender groups in terms of optimal syndesmosis fixation angles. The mean age of our study population was 47.1 {plus minus} 10.5. The optimal syndesmosis fixation angle according to mortise view was found as 21 {plus minus} 4.3 degrees. Conclusions: We determined the optimal syndesmosis fixation angle as 21 {plus minus} 4.3 degrees in accordance with the mortise view of ankle. The surgeon could evaluate the whole articular surface of ankle joint with the medial and lateral syndesmotic space in mortise view accurately and at the same position syndesmosis fixation could be performed at 21 {plus minus} 4.3 degrees.
