Association Between Posterior Tibial Slope and ACL Injury in Pediatric Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The posterior tibial slope (PTS) has been proposed to be a radiographic risk factor for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in adults. However, this has not been well established in pediatric patients. PURPOSE: This systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to investigate any association between PTS and ACL tears in the pediatric population. STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis; Level of evidence, 4. METHODS: A systematic review was performed to identify studies that examined the relationship between PTS, medial tibial slope (MTS), and lateral tibial slope (LTS) and ACL tears in children and adolescents aged ≤18 years. Full-text observational studies comparing PTS, MTS, and/or LTS values between pediatric (≤18 years of age) patients with and without ACL injury were included in this analysis. Review articles and case series were excluded. The authors calculated the mean difference (MD) via a restricted maximum-likelihood estimator for tau square and a Hartung-Knapp adjustment for random-effects model. RESULTS: A total of 348 articles were identified in the initial database search, yielding 10 for final inclusion and analysis. There was no statistically significant association between PTS (MD, 1.13°; 95% CI, -0.55° to 2.80°; P = .10), MTS (MD, 0.36°; 95% CI, -0.37° to 1.10°; P = .27), or LTS (MD, 1.41°; 95% CI, -0.20° to 3.02°; P = .075) and risk for ACL injury in this population. CONCLUSION: The current study found that unlike what has been shown in adult populations, increased PTS may not be a significant risk factor for ACL tears in pediatric and adolescent patents. LTS was the only measured parameter that neared statistical significance, perhaps suggesting a potential role for this measurement in determining ACL risk if further research is done in this population.

Pediatric Orthopaedic Venous Thromboembolism: A Systematic Review Investigating Incidence, Risk Factors, and Outcome.

Background: There is growing evidence of increased venous thromboembolism (VTE) incidence in children with trauma or infection. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review of existing literature related to VTE in the pediatric orthopaedic population, to estimate the overall incidence of VTE and identify risk factors associated with this condition. Methods: A systematic review of the available literature was performed to identify articles that described VTE in pediatric orthopaedic surgery or admission. Literature queries were performed to identify articles published from 1980 to 2021 that included patients ≤21 years of age. A stepwise search strategy of 5 electronic databases yielded 1,426 articles, which were filtered by 2 reviewers to identify 30 articles for full-text review. The primary aim was to determine the rate of VTE, and the secondary aim was to identify risk factors for VTE. The pooled incidence of VTE was estimated and reported in cases per 10,000. Studies were stratified by study size, by trauma versus elective surgery, and by orthopaedic subspecialty. Results: The 30 articles reported 3,113 VTE events in 2,467,764 pediatric patients (including those with non-orthopaedic conditions), for a pooled VTE incidence of 20 events (95% confidence interval [CI] = 10.8 to 37.2) per 10,000. Four of the studies were excluded for incomplete data or high heterogeneity. The remaining 26 studies had 850,268 orthopaedic patients with 1,108 cases of VTE, for a pooled VTE incidence of 16.6 events (95% CI = 9.1 to 30.5) per 10,000. Studies with <10,000 patients and those involving a diagnosis of trauma had the highest VTE incidence when stratification was performed. The most frequently analyzed risk factors in 15 available studies included age, sex, obesity/body mass index, type of surgery, and use of a central venous catheter. Conclusions: This systematic review indicated that the risk of VTE associated with pediatric orthopaedic surgery or admission remains low, at <17 events per 10,000 cases. However, orthopaedic surgeons should be aware of the most common risk factors associated with pediatric orthopaedic VTE and should pay special attention to traumatic etiologies, as these yielded the highest incidence. Levels of Evidence: Prognostic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Development of Anatomic Risk Factors for ACL Injuries: A Comparison Between ACL-Injured Knees and Matched Controls.

BACKGROUND: Several tibiofemoral anatomic features have been repeatedly associated with increased anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk. Previous studies have highlighted age and sex differences among these anatomic risk factors, but little is known about the normal and pathologic development of these differences during skeletal maturation. PURPOSE: To investigate differences in anatomic risk factors at various stages of skeletal maturation between ACL-injured knees and matched controls. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: After institutional review board approval, magnetic resonance imaging scans from 213 unique ACL-injured knees (age, 7-18 years, 48% female) and 239 unique asymptomatic ACL-intact knees (age, 7-18 years, 50% female) were used to measure femoral notch width, posterior slope of the lateral and medial tibial plateau, medial and lateral tibial spinal height (MTSH, LTSH), medial tibial depth, and posterior lateral meniscus-bone angle. Linear regression was performed to assess change in quantified anatomic indices with age for male and female patients in the ACL-injured cohort. Two-way analysis of variance with Holm-Sidak post hoc testing was performed to compare anatomic indices between ACL-injured knees and ACL-intact controls in each age group. RESULTS: In the ACL-injured cohort, notch width, notch width index and medial tibial depth increased with age (R2 > 0.1; P < .001) in both sexes. MTSH and LTSH increased with age only in boys (R2≥ 0.09; P≤ .001), whereas meniscus-bone angle decreased with age only in girls (R2 = 0.13; P < .001). There were no other age differences in quantified anatomic indices. Patients with ACL injury consistently had a significantly higher lateral tibial slope (P < .01) and smaller LTSH (P < .001) as compared with ACL-intact controls across all age groups and sexes. When compared with age- and sex-matched ACL-intact controls, ACL-injured knees had a smaller notch width (boys, 7-18 years; girls, 7-14 years; P < .05), larger medial tibial slope (boys and girls, 15-18 years; P < .01), smaller MTSH (boys, 7-14 years; girls, 11-14 years; P < .05), and larger meniscus-bone angle (girls, 7-10 years; P = .050). CONCLUSION: The consistent morphologic differences throughout skeletal growth and maturation suggest a developmental role in high-risk knee morphology. The observed high-risk knee morphology at an earlier age preliminarily suggests the potential of knee anatomy measurements in identifying those with a predisposition toward ACL injury.

Do All Pediatric Femoral Shaft Fractures Need a Computed Tomography Scan of the Ipsilateral Femoral Neck? Calculating the Incidence of Concomitant Femoral Neck and Shaft Fractures.

BACKGROUND: In adults, the incidence of ipsilateral femoral neck fractures in the setting of femoral shaft fractures is reported to be as high as 9%; however, scant literature exists on the same clinical scenario in pediatric/adolescent populations. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence of ipsilateral femoral neck fracture in the setting of femoral shaft fractures in children and adolescents treated in pediatric hospitals across the United States. METHODS: The Pediatric Health Information System database was queried for patients aged 18 years or younger who were treated for a femoral neck, femoral shaft, and pertrochanteric femur fractures through an emergency department, inpatient, ambulatory surgery, or observation visit. Patients were identified using ICD-9 and ICD-10 diagnosis codes. Data from 49 pediatric hospitals between the years 2002 and 2020 were included. Incidence was calculated as the number of cases including the event divided by the total number of cases. RESULTS: A total of 90,146 records were identified from a cohort of 55,733,855 (0.16%). Distal femur fractures, pathologic fractures, and periprosthetic fractures were excluded, resulting in 65,651 unique cases. Of the 65,651 cases, 7104 (11%) were identified as isolated neck fractures. The combined incidence of femoral neck or pertrochanteric femur fractures in the setting of a femoral shaft fracture was 82.3 per 10,000 cases (0.82%). Only 283 cases of concomitant femoral neck and shaft fractures were found among 55,169 femoral shaft fractures (0.5%). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of ipsilateral femoral neck or pertrochanteric femur fractures in the setting of a femoral shaft fracture is 82.3 per 10,000 patients (0.82%) based on data from Pediatric Health Information System-participating institutions. The incidence of femoral neck/pertrochanteric femur fractures and femoral shaft fractures in children and adolescents is more than 10 times lower than reported for adults; therefore, the routine use of advanced diagnostic imaging in pediatric patients with femoral shaft fractures should be considered cautiously. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV; cross-sectional analysis.

Bedside hip aspiration results in decrease in total general anesthesia time in pediatric patients: A multicenter study.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare pediatric hip aspiration in the operating room under general anesthesia or via bedside aspiration under moderate sedation and delineate the anesthetic time required. Methods: A database query conducted at two academic institutions identified all patients under the age of 17 who underwent hip aspiration between 2000 and 2017. At one institution, aspiration was performed in the operating room under general anesthesia. Patients were kept anesthetized until cell count was complete. At the second institution, aspiration was performed in the emergency room at bedside under sedation. The medical record was reviewed for demographic data, hip aspiration results, diagnoses, treatment, and anesthesia time. Results: A total of 233 patients (233 hips) with a mean age of 7.2 years were identified. Seventy-five patients underwent aspiration in the operating room, and 158 patients underwent bedside aspiration. Patients with a negative aspiration averaged 87 min under anesthesia when performed in the operating room and 29 min under sedation when performed at bedside. Patients with a negative aspiration performed in the operating room after 5 pm averaged 99 min under anesthesia, and 73 min under anesthesia when performed between 7 am and 5 pm (p < 0.01). Seventy-eight (49%) patients who underwent bedside aspiration did not require operative intervention and therefore avoided general anesthesia. Conclusion: Pediatric hip aspiration performed in the operating room results in prolonged anesthesia times while synovial fluid is transported and processed. Anesthesia times are significantly longer after 5 pm. Bedside aspiration resulted in significantly less anesthesia exposure, with half of patients undergoing bedside aspiration avoiding general anesthesia altogether. Level of evidence: Level III.

Complete Genome Sequence of Cluster J Mycobacteriophage Superphikiman.

Mycobacteriophage Superphikiman is a cluster J bacteriophage which was isolated from soil collected in Philadelphia, PA. Superphikiman has a 109,799-bp genome with 239 predicted genes, including 2 tRNA genes.