Analgesic efficacy of ultrasound-guided adductor canal blockade after arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: a randomised controlled trial.

CONTEXT: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction surgery is associated with moderate to severe postoperative pain, which may be ameliorated by peripheral nerve blocks. The adductor canal block (ACB) is an almost exclusively sensory nerve block that has been demonstrated to reduce pain and opioid consumption after major knee surgery. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the analgesic effect of ACB in patients receiving a basic analgesic regimen of paracetamol and ibuprofen after arthroscopic ACL reconstruction under general anaesthesia. DESIGN: Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel groups. SETTING: Day Case Surgery, University of Copenhagen, Glostrup Hospital, Denmark, June 2010 to March 2012. PATIENTS: Fifty patients, aged 18 to 70 years, scheduled for arthroscopic ACL reconstruction. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomised to receive ACB with either 30  ml ropivacaine 7.5  mg ml (n = 25) or 30  ml 0.9% saline (n = 24). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcome was pain score (0 to 100  mm) during standing at 2  h after surgery. Secondary outcomes were pain at rest, during standing and after walking 5 m, opioid consumption and opioid-related side effects for 24  h after surgery. RESULTS: Median (interquartile range) pain scores for the primary outcome were 20 (12 to 36)  mm in the ropivacaine and 20 (10 to 44) mm in the control group (P = 0.84, 95% confidence interval for difference of -9 to 12 mm). No significant differences were observed in any of the secondary outcomes. CONCLUSION: An analgesic regimen with paracetamol and ibuprofen provides acceptable postoperative pain control after arthroscopic ACL reconstruction. ACB did not confer further benefit in our patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01212666.

Graft Failure, Revision ACLR, and Reoperation Rates After ACLR With Quadriceps Tendon Versus Hamstring Tendon Autografts: A Registry Study With Review of 475 Patients.

BACKGROUND: It has been indicated that anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) with a quadriceps tendon (QT) graft has a higher risk of revision compared with ACLR performed with a hamstring tendon (HT) graft. PURPOSE/HYPOTHESIS: To investigate whether ACLR with QT graft had a higher risk of graft failure, revision ACLR, or reoperation compared with HT graft in a high-volume center. We hypothesized that there would be no between-group differences. STUDY DESIGN: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: This was a registry study with review of medical records. Our study cohort consisted of patients who underwent primary ACLR with either QT or HT graft performed at Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre between January 2015 and December 2018. The cohort was identified from the Danish Knee Ligament Reconstruction Registry and linked to the Danish National Patient Registry to identify all hospital contacts after ACLR. The outcome variables were graft failure (rerupture or >3-mm side-to-side difference in anteroposterior [AP] laxity), revision ACLR, reoperation due to cyclops lesion, reoperation due to meniscal injury, and reoperation due to any reason. AP laxity and pivot shift were assessed at 1 year. Kaplan-Meier estimates were used to evaluate the rates of events at 2 years, and comparison was performed with Cox regression analysis. RESULTS: A total of 475 patients (252 HT, 223 QT) were included. The rate of graft failure at 2 years was 9.4% for the QT group and 11.1% for the HT group (P = .46). For the QT and HT groups, respectively, the rate of revision ACLR was 2.3% and 1.6% (P = .60), the rate of reoperation due to cyclops lesion was 5.0% and 2.4% (P = .13), and the rate of reoperation due to meniscal injury was 4.3% and 7.1% (P = .16). The rate of reoperation due to any reason was 20.5% and 23.6% (P = .37). At 1-year follow-up, AP laxity was 1.4 mm for QT and 1.5 mm for HT (P = .51), and the proportion of patients with a positive pivot shift was 29-30% for both groups. CONCLUSION: QT and HT grafts yielded similar rates of graft failure, revision ACLR, and reoperation at 2 years of follow-up after ACLR. Graft failure was found in 9% to 11% of patients. Patients with QT ACLR showed a non-statistically significant trend of higher risk for reoperation due to cyclops lesion, and those with HT showed a non-statistically significant trend of higher risk for reoperation due to meniscal injury.

[Streptococcus pyogenes infection with tonsillar focus as possible cause of septic shock]. / Streptococcus pyogenes udgående fra tonsilfokus som mulig årsag til alvorlig sepsis.

UNLABELLED: Streptococcus pyogenes (SP) is a common bacterial pathogen. For the past two decades, several studies have reported an increase in the severity and the incidence of SP infections. CASE: a 60-year-old female admitted to the hospital with tonsillitis acuta verified by strep-A test was initially treated with V-penicillin, but developed septic shock and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), and treatment was changed to cefuroxime and clindamycin. She recovered fully. This case combined with other studies illustrates that SP infections have become more severe. Clindamycin should be added to penicillin for the treatment of invasive SP infections.