The role of physical activity as conservative treatment for massive rotator cuff tears in elderly patients: a systematic review.

The aim of this systematic review is to determine the effectiveness on functional and pain outcomes of different exercise protocols as a conservative treatment for massive, irreparable rotator cuff tears in elderly patients. A literature search was carried out consulting Pubmed -Medline, Cochrane central and Scopus to select randomized clinical trials, prospective and retrospective cohort studies or case series, that evaluated functional and pain outcomes after physical therapy in patients aged 65 or over, affected by massive rotator cuff tears. The present systematic review followed the Cochrane methodology for systematic reviews and the reporting was implemented using through the PRISMA guidelines. The Cochrane risk of bias tool and MINOR score were used for methodologic assessment. Nine articles were included. Data concerning physical activity, functional outcomes and pain assessment were obtained from the included studies. The exercise protocols assessed within the included studies were extremely wide with equally different methods of evaluation of the outcomes. However, most of the studies demonstrated a trend of improvement after the treatment, in terms of functional scores, pain, ROM and quality of life. An intermediate methodological quality of the included papers was assessed through the risk of bias evaluation. Our results showed a positive trend in patients who underwent physical exercise therapy. Our conclusion is that further studies of a high level of evidence are needed to achieve consistent evidence to improve clinical practice in the future.

Cervical spine alignment in disc arthroplasty: should we change our perspective?

PURPOSE: The alignment at the cervical spine has been considered a determinant of degeneration at the adjacent disc, but this issue in cervical disc replacement surgery is poorly explored and discussed in this patient population. The aim of this systematic review is to compare anterior cervical fusion and total disc replacement (TDR) in terms of preservation of the overall cervical alignment and complications. METHODS: A systematic review of the current literature was performed, together with the evaluation of the methodological quality of all the retrieved studies. RESULTS: In most of the retrieved studies, a tendency towards a more postoperative kyphotic alignment in TDR was reported. The reported mean complication rate was of 12.5 % (0-66.2 %). Complications associated with cervical prosthesis included heterotopic ossification, device migration, mechanical instability, failure, implant removal, reoperations and revision. CONCLUSIONS: Even though cervical disc arthroplasty leads to similar outcomes compared to arthrodesis in the middle term follow-up, no evidence of superiority of cervical TDR is available up to date. We understand that the overall cervical alignment after TDR tends towards the loss of lordosis, but only longer follow-up can determine its influence on the clinical results.

Complications involving the extensor mechanism after total knee arthroplasty.

PURPOSE: To overview the complications involving extensor apparatus of the knee following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and to summarize which are the lines of treatment available and their reported outcomes in literature. METHODS: A comprehensive search of several databases was performed using as basic keywords "complications after TKA", "extensor mechanism disruption", "periprosthetic patellar fracture", "quadriceps tendon rupture", "quadriceps tendon rupture" isolated or combined with other terms by using Boolean operators. The methodological quality of each article was also evaluated using the Coleman methodology score (CMS). RESULTS: Twenty-nine studies were evaluated. The mean CMS of the studies selected was 33.1/100. Patellar fractures, requiring surgical treatment when there is rupture of the extensor mechanism or loosening of the patellar component, were treated surgically in 28.1 % of patients. The patellar and quadriceps tendon ruptures were surgically treated with reconstruction or augmented repair, respectively, in 98.6 and 76.5 %. CONCLUSION: Complications involving the extensor apparatus of the knee following a TKA need early and appropriate management to avoid their devastating influence on joint functionality. Management has to be evaluated very carefully based on the site of the lesion, integrity of the prosthetic components and surrounding tissue to restore, and the patients' individual characteristics. The surgical approach for comminuted periprosthetic fractures and reconstruction of torn tendons of the extensor apparatus are needed to restore function and decrease pain, but, given the poor methodological quality of the studies published so far, it is not clear which surgical technique or graft leads to better outcomes. Therefore, there is an absolute need for better designed comparative trials producing clearer and stronger evidence on this critical matter. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV.

The role of patient surgical positioning on hip arthroplasty component placement and clinical outcomes: a systematic re-view and meta-analysis.

Total Hip Arthroplasty (THA) may be performed through various approaches; however, depending on the surgical position of the patient, the superiority of lateral or supine position is still debated. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to compare the supine versus lateral position in THA in terms of intraoperative and postoperative outcomes and component placement. The systematic literature search was performed by the use of Cochrane Central, Pub-Med-Medline, and Google Scholar in order to select studies that evaluated clinical outcomes and the outliers of cup alignment for inclination and anteversion between supine and lateral position for hip arthroplasty. Finally, 9 articles were included in this review. The meta-analysis showed no significant differences between the two groups for clinical outcomes, unless for blood loss and VAS (respectively p = 0.05 and p = 0.004 in favour of lateral decubitus). Regarding the number of outliers, the supine decubitus showed significant differences only for the cup anteversion (p = 0.01). However, more prospective studies with a longer follow-up that analyze both clinical and radiological parameters are needed to assess the superiority of supine or lateral patient position for total hip arthroplasty.

Length of Hospital Stay after Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Correlation Study on 1200 Patients.

In countries with a high average population age, total knee arthroplasty is still carried out in an inpatient setting. The roadmap to performing major surgery on an outpatient basis passes through the understanding of those perioperative features that correlate with higher lengths of hospital stay (LOS). A retrospective database of 1200 patients was reviewed for retrieving preoperative and perioperative factors including anthropometric and demographic data, comorbidities, preoperative laboratory assessment, and surgical time. Considering the LOS as a discrete series, data were analyzed by means of logistic regression with multiple univariate and multivariate models. The results showed a median length of hospital stay of 3 (IQR 3, 4) days. According to multiple univariate analysis, arterial hypertension (p = 0.008), diabetes mellitus (p = 0.028), CCI score (p < 0.001), ASA score (p = 0.006), surgical time (p < 0.001) and intraoperative blood loss (p < 0.001) were significantly associated with the duration of hospital stay in days. Moreover, preoperative hemoglobin value was inversely correlated to the LOS (p = 0.008). Multivariate analysis showed a significant correlation between LOS and surgical time and intraoperative blood loss. Many factors influence the permanence of the inpatient and acting on those variables, by stabilizing comorbidities and optimizing laboratory values, may reduce the overall healthcare burden.

Results of Simultaneous Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty and Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: A Systematic Review.

This systematic review aimed to investigate the clinical and functional outcomes and complication rate of simultaneous anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) and unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA). A systematic search in PubMed-Medline, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar was carried out to identify eligible randomized clinical trials, observational studies, or case series that reported on clinical and functional results of combined ACLR and UKA in adults with a unicompartmental knee osteoarthritis and ACL deficiency. Four retrospective studies and three prospective studies were included in this review. A total of 169 patients were included with a mean follow-up of 6.3 years. The Mean Oxford Knee Score improved from 29.4 to 43.9 at the final follow-up. All the other reported scores significantly improved after surgery. The overall revision rate was 3.5%. The MINORS score ranged from 8 to 14. Association analysis of MINORS score and year of publication, through Pearson's coefficient, showed no significant association (p = -0.089). Simultaneous ACLR and UKA is a safe procedure with a significant postoperative improvement of functional and clinical outcomes for patients with ACL injury that complain of knee instability and isolated medial compartment pain.

Preoperative and Perioperative Predictors of Length of Hospital Stay after Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty-Our Experience on 743 Cases.

The aim of this retrospective investigation is to evaluate the correlation between several preoperative and perioperative factors and the length of hospital stay in patients that underwent elective total hip arthroplasty with overnight admission. Medical records of patients that underwent THA from the beginning of 2016 to the end of 2018 were retrospectively screened. Demographics, comorbidities, whole blood count, intraoperative details, and length of postoperative stay were retrieved. The association between clinical, laboratory and surgical factors and the length of hospital stay was explored by means of negative binomial and logistic regression models. The median length of postoperative hospital stay was four days (Inter Quartile Range, IQR 3, 5). After univariate regression a stepwise multivariate regression showed that operative time (p = 0.001), the preoperative serum creatinine (p < 0.001), the intraoperative blood loss (p = 0.04) and the use of an anterolateral approach (p < 0.001) were found to correlate significantly with the increase of the hospitalization length, while no significant correlation was found for all the other features. Multivariable model fitted through logistic regression (LOS below or over the median value of four days) had an Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 0.748. Our analysis suggests a significant role played by different preoperative and perioperative variables in influencing the length of hospital stay.

Unicompartmental Knee Replacement in Obese Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Thanks to modern surgical techniques and implants, traditional exclusion criteria for unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) are no longer considered contraindications. The aim of this study is to clarify the impact of obesity on functional outcomes and revision rates of UKA. We performed a comprehensive systematic review using PubMed-Medline, Google Scholar and Cochrane Central. Then, we extracted data related to body mass index (BMI), age and follow-up, functional outcome scores and rate of revisions (all-cause, aseptic and septic). Patients were stratified according to BMI into two groups: non-obese (BMI < 30) and obese (BMI ≥ 30). We identified 22 eligible studies, of which 13 were included in the meta-analysis. Patients with a BMI > 30 had a significantly higher likelihood for revision (p = 0.02), while the risk of septic revision was similar (p = 0.79). The clinical outcome measures showed a significant difference in favor of patients with a BMI < 30 (p < 0.0001). The improvements in Oxford Knee Score and Knee Society Score were significant in both obese and non-obese patients, although the latter showed inferior results. The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis show that BMI is not a contraindication to UKA. However, obese patients have a higher risk for aseptic failure and lower improvement in clinical scores compared to non-obese patients.

Central and Peripheral Neuromuscular Adaptations to Ageing.

Ageing is accompanied by a severe muscle function decline presumably caused by structural and functional adaptations at the central and peripheral level. Although researchers have reported an extensive analysis of the alterations involving muscle intrinsic properties, only a limited number of studies have recognised the importance of the central nervous system, and its reorganisation, on neuromuscular decline. Neural changes, such as degeneration of the human cortex and function of spinal circuitry, as well as the remodelling of the neuromuscular junction and motor units, appear to play a fundamental role in muscle quality decay and culminate with considerable impairments in voluntary activation and motor performance. Modern diagnostic techniques have provided indisputable evidence of a structural and morphological rearrangement of the central nervous system during ageing. Nevertheless, there is no clear insight on how such structural reorganisation contributes to the age-related functional decline and whether it is a result of a neural malfunction or serves as a compensatory mechanism to preserve motor control and performance in the elderly population. Combining leading-edge techniques such as high-density surface electromyography (EMG) and improved diagnostic procedures such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) or high-resolution electroencephalography (EEG) could be essential to address the unresolved controversies and achieve an extensive understanding of the relationship between neural adaptations and muscle decline.

Physical Activity for the Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain in Elderly Patients: A Systematic Review.

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) affects nearly 20-25% of the population older than 65 years, and it is currently the main cause of disability both in the developed and developing countries. It is crucial to reach an optimal management of this condition in older patients to improve their quality of life. This review evaluates the effectiveness of physical activity (PA) to improve disability and pain in older people with non-specific CLBP. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were used to improve the reporting of the review. Individual risk of bias of single studies was assessed using Rob 2 tool and ROBINS-I tool. The quality of evidence assessment was performed using GRADE analysis only in articles that presents full data. The articles were searched in different web portals (Medline, Scopus, CINAHL, EMBASE, and CENTRAL). All the articles reported respect the following inclusion criteria: patients > 65 years old who underwent physical activities for the treatment of CLBP. A total of 12 studies were included: 7 randomized controlled trials (RCT), 3 non-randomized controlled trials (NRCT), 1 pre and post intervention study (PPIS), and 1 case series (CS). The studies showed high heterogeneity in terms of study design, interventions, and outcome variables. In general, post-treatment data showed a trend in the improvement for disability and pain. However, considering the low quality of evidence of the studies, the high risk of bias, the languages limitations, the lack of significant results of some studies, and the lack of literature on this argument, further studies are necessary to improve the evidences on the topic.

Biohumoral Indicators Influenced by Physical Activity in the Elderly.

In the scientific landscape, there is a growing interest in defining the role of several biomolecules and humoral indicators of the aging process and in the modifications of these biomarkers induced by physical activity and exercise. The main aim of the present narrative review is to collect the available evidence on the biohumoral indicators that could be modified by physical activity (PA) in the elderly. Online databases including Pubmed, Web of science (Medline), and Scopus were searched for relevant articles published in the last five years in English. Keywords and combination of these used for the search were the following: "biological", "indicators", "markers", "physical", "activity", and "elderly". Thirty-four papers were analyzed for inclusion. Twenty-nine studies were included and divided into four categories: cardiovascular (CV) biomarkers, metabolic biomarkers, inflammatory markers-oxidative stress molecules, and other markers. There are many distinct biomarkers influenced by PA in the elderly, with promising results concerning the metabolic and CV indexes, as a growing number of studies demonstrate the role of PA on improving parameters related to heart function and CV risk like atherogenic lipid profile. Furthermore, it is also a verified hypothesis that PA is able to modify the inflammatory status of the subject by decreasing the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). PA seems also to be able to have a direct effect on the immune system. There is a strong evidence of a positive effect of PA on the health of elderly people that could be evidenced and "quantified" by the modifications of the levels of several biohumoral indicators.

Prevention of symptomatic neuroma in traumatic digital amputation: A RAND/UCLA appropriateness method consensus study.

INTRODUCTION: The appearance of a symptomatic neuroma following finger amputation is a devastating consequence for patient's quality of life. It could be cause of chronic neuropathic pain. The prevention of neuroma formation is a challenging effort for hand surgeons. The biological mechanisms leading to neuroma formation are mostly unknown and different preventing procedures have been tried without certain results. In this paper, a panel of Italian hand surgeons have been asked to express appropriateness about potentially preventive techniques of neuroma formation following the RAND/UCLA appropriateness protocol. METHODS: A literature review was preliminarily performed identifying the most employed methods to reduce the pathologic nerve scar. Afterwards, the selected panelists were asked to score the appropriateness of each procedure in a double scenario: in case of a sharp amputation or in a tear injury. The appropriateness was evaluated according to RAND/UCLA protocol. RESULTS: Nine Italian hand surgeons were included in the panel. Of them 5 were orthopaedic surgeons, 4 plastic surgeons. The identified appropriate procedures were: revision amputation should be done in operating room, the neurovascular bundles should be identified and is mandatory to treat surrounding soft tissues. Only in case of clean-cut amputation, it is appropriate to perform a proximal extension of the dissection, to use diathermocoagulation and coverage with local flaps. Procedures such as shortening in tension of the nerve stump, bone shortening, implantation of the nerve end in the soft tissue, treatment in the emergency room and, in both scenarios, certain results are evaluated as uncertain. DISCUSSION: In order to prevent the formation of a distal stump neuroma few methods were judged appropriate. It is mandatory to identify the neurovascular bundles and treat also the surrounding tissues, but no certain results could be obtained with local flap, bone shortening and other ancillary surgical acts. Moreover, it is not possible to guarantee the non arising of neuroma in any cases, also when every procedure has been temped. CONLUSIONS: The prevention of distal neuroma is actually a challenge, without a well known strategy due to the variability of response of nervous tissue to injury.

Return to Sport after Anatomic and Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty in Elderly Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the rate of return to sport in elderly patients who underwent anatomic (ATSA) and reverse (RTSA) total shoulder arthroplasty, to assess postoperative pain and functional outcomes and to give an overview of postoperative rehabilitation protocols. A systematic search in Pubmed-Medline, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar was carried out to identify eligible randomized clinical trials, observational studies, or case series that evaluated the rate of return to sport after RTSA or ATSA. Six retrospective studies, five case series, and one prospective cohort study were included in this review. The overall rate of return to sport was 82% (95% CI 0.76-0.88, p < 0.01). Patients undergoing ATSA returned at a higher rate (90%) (95% CI 0.80-0.99, p < 0.01) compared to RTSA (77%) (95% CI 0.69-0.85, p < 0.01). Moreover, the results showed that patients returned to sport at the same or a higher level in 75% of cases. Swimming had the highest rate of return (84%), followed by fitness (77%), golf (77%), and tennis (69%). Thus, RTSA and ATSA are effective to guarantee a significative rate of return to sport in elderly patients. A slightly higher rate was found for the anatomic implant.

Top orthopedic sports medicine procedures.

Orthopedic sports medicine is a subspecialty of Orthopedics that focuses on managing pathological conditions of the musculoskeletal system arising from sports practice. When dealing with athletes, timing is the most difficult issue to face. Typically, athletes aim to return to play as soon as possible and at the pre-injury level. This means that management should be optimized to combine the need for prompt return to sport and to the biologic healing time of the musculo-skeletal. This poses a great challenge to sport medicine surgeons, who need to follow with attention to the latest scientific evidence to offer their patients the best available treatment options. We briefly review the most commonly performed orthopedic sports medicine procedures, outlining the presently available scientific evidence on their indications and outcomes.

Surgical management of spinal fractures and neurological involvement in patients with myeloma.

INTRODUCTION: Multiple Myeloma (MM) typically involves the spine and causes bone pain, pathological fractures and spinal cord compression with possible consequent neurological deficits. This retrospective study reports the results of surgery on a selected population of patients who underwent surgery for symptomatic spinal myeloma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 26 patients who underwent surgery for spinal myeloma with neurological involvement were studied retrospectively. Neurological evaluation was performed according to the Frankel grade. Characteristics of this population, reconstructive techniques and surgery-related complications were reviewed. RESULTS: The tumours involved the thoracic spine in 13 patients, the lumbar spine in 10 patients, and the cervical spine in three patients. The most common approach was a posterior-only approach (70%), followed by a staged, combined approach (20%), and an anterior-only approach (10%). The mean postoperative survival time was 43 months (range: 8-60 months). A significant improvement in neurological function was observed in the study population after surgery (p=0.001). There were seven early postoperative complications, two late complications and five surgery-related complications. DISCUSSION: Surgery in selected patients affected by spinal myeloma with neurological involvement is associated with good clinical outcomes and neurological recovery and an acceptable rate of complications. Neurological deficit and segmental instability can be treated sufficiently in most cases by the implementation of a posterior-only approach; however, the final treatment should, when possible, include adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy and rigorous bracing.

Is there a role for endothelial dysfunction in the pathogenesis of lumbar disc degeneration? A hypothesis that needs to be tested.

Low back pain is a painful condition affecting most people at least once in their life. It can be the expression of lumbar disc degeneration, a condition whose progression is influenced by environmental, individual and genetic factors. The pathogenesis of this condition implies the reduction of sustenance for the tissues within the intervertebral disc (ID) due to a decreased blood flow in the local microcirculation. In fact, it is known that the ID is an avascular structure that receives nutritive molecules and exchanges waste products through a process of osmotic diffusion from the capillaries located at the ID-vertebral body interface. The maintenance of a correct oxygen supply is essential for the health of disc cells also because ID is subjected to continuous compression stress due to its bearing function between vertebral bodies. This vital condition is guaranteed by proper dilation of blood vessels in response to mechanical stress, thanks to a finely balanced homeostasis between vasodilatory factors, such as nitric oxide, and vasoconstrictive substances produced by the endothelium. Endothelial dysfunction may disrupt this delicate equilibrium, causing a reduced oxygen supply eventually resulting in ID degeneration. Our hypothesis is that endothelial dysfunction, a systemic condition of reduced vessel dilation in response to mechanical stress, should be considered as an important pathological factor implicated intervertebral disc degeneration. This relationship may pave the way for a change in therapeutic approach to low back pain, especially in the early stages.