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Purpose: Total Hip Arthroplasty (THA) is one of the most commonly performed orthopaedic surgeries, with hip arthritis being the main indication. This procedure is usually performed when other non-surgical methods fail to relieve patients' hip pain and improve their quality of life. However, limited information exists to identify and compare the demographics and clinical characteristics of patients undergoing this procedure in Jordan. This study aims to identify these demographic and clinical characteristics and compare the findings in terms of gender differences., Methodology: This is a retrospective study that analysed the hospital records of 650 patients undergoing THA in tertiary referral hospital in Jordan over a four-year period from January 2019 to December 2022. The collected data were classified into three categories: demographic characteristics, perioperative variables, and patients' related health profiles. IBM's Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 software (IBM, USA) and descriptive analysis were used for data analysis., Results: Two-thirds of the sample studied were female (63.4%). In terms of bleeding profiles, the mean intraoperative blood loss was 542 millilitres. The major indication for THA was degenerative hip arthritis (50.5%), followed by hip dysplasia (40.3%).. Comparing the findings of the two gender groups, females were more likely to have degenerative and dysplastic hip arthritis (221 and 157, p = 0.04 and p = 0.1, respectively) when compared to males. Although males were more likely to lose more blood during the surgery (557 ml vs. 533 ml, p = 0.33, females needed more blood transfusions both during (21 vs. 6 patients, p = 0.12) and after the surgery (57 vs. 16 patients, p = 0.006). Furthermore, females were more likely to have comorbidities such hypertension (293 vs. 179 patients, p = 0.20), and hypothyroidism (313 vs 187, p = 0.36), and diabetes (85 vs. 38 patients, p = 0.15), among many other health conditions. However, in the study sample, male smokers outnumbered female smokers (132 vs. 63)., Conclusion: Gender highly impacted the immediate surgical outcomes of patients who underwent THA. Females were more likely to need blood transfusions both during and after the surgery and had lower post-operative haemoglobin readings. In addition, females had more comorbidities and degenerative hip osteoarthritis. We believe that raising awareness about comorbidity management, preoperative smoking cessation, and perioperative blood transfusion management can improve medical and surgical outcomes., (© 2023. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to SICOT aisbl.)

Background: Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a complex birth anomaly with significant mortality and morbidity. Lung hypoplasia and persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN) limit survival in CDH. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), a key regulator of innate immunity, is involved in hypoxia-induced vascular remodeling and PPHN. We hypothesized that antenatal inhibition of MIF in CDH fetuses, would reduce vascular remodeling, and improve angiogenesis and lung development., Methods: Pregnant rats were randomized into three groups: Control, nitrofen, and nitrofen + ISO-92. Lung volumes of pups were measured by CT scanning. Right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) and vascular wall thickness (VWT) were measured together with MIF concentration, angiogenesis markers, lung morphometry, and histology., Results: Prenatal treatment with ISO-92, an MIF inhibitor, improved normalization of static lung volume, lung volume-to-body weight ratio, decreased alveolar septal thickness, RVSP and VWT and improved radial alveolar count as compared to the non-treated group. Expression of MIF was unaffected by ISO-92; however, ISO-92 increased p-eNOS and VEGF activities and reduced arginase 1, 2 and Sflt-1., Conclusion: Prenatal inhibition of MIF activity in CDH rat model improves angiogenesis and lung development. This selective intervention may be a future therapeutic strategy to reduce the morbidity and mortality of this devastating condition.

A 69-year-old man with remote gastric pull-up was evaluated with a 2-day stress-rest dypiridamole Tc-99m sestamibi myocardial perfusion imaging, where significant tracer uptake was noted in the posterior mediastinum related to enterogastric reflux of sestamibi. These ancillary findings were suggestive of a noncardiac etiology of the patient's atypical chest pain. This case highlights the value of examining the raw projection images for incidental findings that may be present during myocardial perfusion imaging.