Magnetic resonance imaging for elbow pathology: overused by both orthopedic surgeons and primary care providers.

Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) use by both orthopedic surgeons and primary care providers (PCP) for analysis of elbow pathology is expensive and growing in frequency. In light of this, scrutiny regarding the appropriate utilization of this technology is increasing. Currently, there is no literature investigating the appropriateness of MRI use for complex elbow pathology from either orthopedic surgeons or PCPs. Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed on consecutive elbow MRIs performed at a tertiary care center between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2015. A total of 225 patients were included. Patients meeting the inclusion criteria were divided into two cohorts, determined by whether the ordering provider was an orthopedic surgeon or a PCP. MRI referrals were made by orthopedic surgeons in 94 patients and by nonorthopedic surgery providers in 131 patients. MRI diagnoses of no pathology, muscle/tendon tear, neuritis/nerve injury, tendinosis, ligament injury/instability, osteoarthritis/degenerative joint disease/decreased range of motion/contracture, or fracture/osteochondral injury were analyzed, as were the interventions of no intervention, nonprocedural treatment (therapy, orthosis, or nonoperative modality), nonsurgical procedure/referral for procedure, referral to surgeon, surgery, additional imaging/electrodiagnostic nerve testing, or other. Results: 1. Orthopedic surgeons are more accurate in their diagnoses after MRI, while PCPs order more MRI scans for 'routine' diagnoses typically made without MRI. 2. When the MRI did not validate an orthopedic surgeon's preimaging diagnosis, rates of surgery decreased. The same discrepancy in diagnosis leads to an increase in orthopedic surgeon referrals within the PCP cohort. 3. An MRI was ordered for "pain" by orthopedic surgeons and PCPs in approximately 30% of the patients in both groups with a similarly low rate of pathology discovery. Conclusions: The unexpected result of this study is that there is still a large quantity of MRI exams being conducted by orthopedic surgeons for the preMRI diagnosis of "pain." In both groups, there was a similar rate of negative imaging. We expected orthopedic surgeons who have advanced knowledge in musculoskeletal pathology would be less likely to order an MRI for pain and would also less likely order an MRI that resulted in no pathology. This places an increased and unnecessary burden on the financial aspect of the health care system.

Open Ankle Fractures: What Predicts Infection? A Multicenter Study.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the patient, injury, and treatment factors associated with an acute infection during the treatment of open ankle fractures in a large multicenter retrospective review. To evaluate the effect of infectious complications on the rates of nonunion, malunion, and loss of reduction. DESIGN: Multicenter retrospective review. SETTING: Sixteen trauma centers. PATIENTS: One thousand and 3 consecutive skeletally mature patients (514 men and 489 women) with open ankle fractures. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Fracture-related infection (FRI) in open ankle fractures. RESULTS: The charts of 1003 consecutive patients were reviewed, and 712 patients (357 women and 355 men) had at least 12 weeks of clinical follow-up. Their average age was 50 years (range 16-96), and average BMI was 31; they sustained OTA/AO types 44A (12%), 44B (58%), and 44C (30%) open ankle fractures. The rate FRI rate was 15%. A multivariable regression analysis identified male sex, diabetes, smoking, immunosuppressant use, time to wound closure, and wound location as independent risk factors for infection. There were 77 cases of malunion, nonunion, loss of reduction, and/or implant failure; FRI was associated with higher rates of these complications (P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Several patient, injury, and surgical factors were associated with FRI in the treatment of open ankle fractures. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Topical Vancomycin Powder Decreases the Proportion of Staphylococcus aureus Found in Culture of Surgical Site Infections in Operatively Treated Fractures.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether patients with operatively treated fractures and surgical site infection after use of topical vancomycin powder have a lower proportion of Staphylococcus aureus infections than patients who did not receive topical vancomycin powder. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Level I trauma center. PATIENTS: Treatment group: 10 of 133 patients (145 fractures) with surgical site infections who received intrawound vancomycin powder at the time of wound closure for fracture fixation. Control group: 175 patients who sustained deep surgical site infections during the same period but did not receive vancomycin powder. INTERVENTION: Vancomycin powder or no vancomycin powder. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENT: Proportion of patients' cultures positive for S. aureus. RESULTS: The proportion of cultures positive for S. aureus was significantly lower in patients with surgical site infection who received vancomycin powder than in those who did not receive vancomycin powder (10% [1 of 10 patients in the treatment group] vs. 50% [87 of 175 patients in the control group]; P = 0.02). A trend was observed for a lower proportion of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (0% vs. 23%; P = 0.12). CONCLUSIONS: Vancomycin powder might alter the bacteriology of surgical site infections and decrease the proportion in culture of the most common organism typically present after fracture surgery infection. These findings suggest that the application of vancomycin powder might change the bacteriology of surgical site infections when they occur, regardless of the effect on overall infection rates. Although our bacteriology results are clinically and statistically significant, these findings must be confirmed in larger randomized controlled trials. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Effect of Training Modules on Hip Fracture Surgical Skills Simulation Performance: Early Validation of the AAOS/OTA Simulator.

BACKGROUND: A preliminary validation study on a computer-based force-feedback simulation platform demonstrated the ability of the simulator to distinguish between novice and experienced users during a simulated hip-pinning procedure. The purpose of the present study was to further investigate whether the simulator and associated training modules are effective for improving user performance during simulated percutaneous hip-pinning procedures. METHODS: With institutional review board approval, 24 medical students at our institution were randomized to "Trained" and "Untrained" groups. After a basic introduction, the Untrained group placed 3 guidewires in a valgus-impacted femoral neck fracture with use of the simulator. The Trained group completed 9 simulator-based training modules before performing the same task. Measured outcomes included an overall performance score and the distance from the pin to various ideals on the femoral neck, femoral head articular surface, and lateral cortex. Performance parameters were compared between groups with the Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: The Trained group achieved a significantly higher overall score (median, 29) compared with the Untrained group (median, 6) (p < 0.01), outperformed the Untrained group in 4 specific performance metrics, and trended toward improvement over the Untrained group in 4 pin placement measures (p < 0.2). CONCLUSIONS: Completion of novel training modules for percutaneous hip pinning on this fluoroscopic surgery simulator improves skill performance on simulator-based objective measurements and a simulated orthopaedic procedure compared with non-simulator-trained surgically inexperienced users. Improvement in the overall score and on 4 of 13 specific performance parameters implies that the training modules more effectively teach only certain motor and 3-dimensional spatial skills. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: A valid platform such as the one described here has the potential to improve surgical education in orthopaedic trauma.

Novel Application of Exhaled Carbon Monoxide Monitors: Smoking Cessation in Orthopaedic Trauma Patients.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether an in-office exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) monitor can increase interest in smoking cessation among the orthopaedic trauma population. DESIGN: Prospective. SETTING: Level I trauma center. PATIENTS: One hundred twenty-four orthopaedic trauma patients. INTERVENTION: In-office measurement of exhaled CO. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Stage of change, Likert scale score on willingness to quit today, patient's request for referral to a quitline, and increase in readiness to quit. RESULTS: The use of an exhaled CO monitor increased willingness to quit in 71% of participants still smoking and increased willingness to quit on average by 0.8 points on a 10-point Likert scale (P < 0.001). Fifteen percent of patients modified their stage of change toward quitting. Forty percent of patients after exhaled CO monitor requested referral to a quitline, compared with 4% presurvey (P < 0.001). Anecdotally, most participants were very interested in the monitoring device and its reading, expressing concern with the result. The value of exhaled CO was not associated with any measured outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The use of an exhaled CO monitor increased willingness to quit smoking in 71% of patients, but the effect size was relatively small (0.8 points on a 10-point Likert scale). However, use of the CO monitor resulted in a large increase (40% vs. 4%) in referral to the national Quitline. Use of the Quitline typically increases the chance of smoking cessation by 10 times the baseline rate, suggesting that this finding might be clinically important. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Construct Validation of a Novel Hip Fracture Fixation Surgical Simulator.

INTRODUCTION: A surgical simulation platform has been developed to simulate fluoroscopically guided surgical procedures by coupling computer modeling with a force-feedback device as a training tool for orthopaedic resident education in an effort to enhance motor skills and potentially minimize radiation exposure. The objective of this study was to determine whether the simulation platform can distinguish between novice and experienced practitioners of percutaneous pinning of hip fractures. METHODS: Medical students, orthopaedic residents, orthopaedic trauma fellows, and attending surgeons completed in situ hip-pinning simulation that recorded performance measures related to surgical accuracy, time, and use of fluoroscopy. Linear regression models were used to compare the association between performance and practitioner experience. RESULTS: Notable associations were shown between performance and practitioner experience in 10 of the 15 overall measures (P < 0.05) and 9 of 11 surgical accuracy parameters (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: This novel simulation platform can distinguish between novice and experienced practitioners and defines a performance curve for completion of simulated in situ hip pinning. This important first step lays the groundwork for subsequent validation studies, which will seek to demonstrate the efficacy of this simulator in improving clinical performance by trainees completing a sequence of skills-training modules.

Subchondral Bone Degradation After Microfracture for Osteochondral Lesions of the Talus: An MRI Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Microfracture is the most common cartilage-reparative procedure for the treatment of osteochondral lesions of the talus (OLTs). Damage to the subchondral bone (SCB) during microfracture may irreversibly change the joint-loading support of the ankle, leading to reparative fibrocartilage degradation over time. PURPOSE: To investigate the morphological change in the SCB after microfracture for OLT by developing a novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scoring system specifically for evaluating the SCB. Furthermore, this study assesses the influence of the morphological changes of the SCB on clinical outcomes based on the new score. STUDY DESIGN: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. METHODS: Forty-two patients who underwent microfracture for OLT were included. An SCB Health (SCBH) scoring system was developed according to the amount of edema, subchondral cyst diameter, and qualitative and thickness change in the SCB, with a total score of 12 indicating normal SCB. MRI was obtained postoperatively from 6 months to 1 year, 1 to 2 years, 2 to 4 years, and 4 to 6 years. The Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS) was evaluated preoperatively and at 2 years and final follow-up. RESULTS: The mean patient age was 38.4 ± 15.6 years, with a mean follow-up of 51.7 ± 22.8 months. The mean FAOS improved significantly from 57.8 ± 14.4 preoperatively to 84.3 ± 7.2 at 24 months ( P < .001) and decreased to a final mean value of 77.1 ± 12.6 ( P < .001). The mean SCBH score decreased from 8.6 ± 1.9 preoperatively to 7.1 ± 1.8 on the first follow-up MRI ( P < .001) and significantly decreased to 5.9 ± 2.3 on the fourth follow-up MRI ( P < .001). Subchondral cysts were noticeably worse at the fourth follow-up MRI than at the first and second ( P < .001, P = .006, respectively). There was a positive correlation between the final FAOS and the SCBH score on the third and fourth follow-up MRI ( r = 0.55, P < .001; r = 0.70, P < .001, respectively), but no correlation was found on the first and second follow-up. CONCLUSION: The SCBs following microfracture for OLT were not restored at midterm follow-up. There was a significant decrease of the overall SCBH score over time. Noticeably, subchondral cysts deteriorated over time consistently. In addition, the SCBH score at midterm follow-up was positively correlated with clinical outcomes. Lasting morphological changes in the SCB may be indicative of longer-term failure of the microfracture procedure.

Is the Digital Divide for Orthopaedic Trauma Patients a Myth? Prospective Cohort Study on Use of a Custom Internet Site.

OBJECTIVES: Some have proposed that a so-called digital divide exists for orthopaedic trauma patients and that the clinical usefulness of the Internet for these patients is limited. No studies to date have confirmed this or whether patients would use a provided web resource. The hypotheses of this study were (1) a larger than expected percentage of trauma patients have access to the Internet and (2) if given access to a custom site, patients will use it. DESIGN: Prospective cohort. SETTING: Level 1 regional trauma center. PATIENTS: Patients who were 18 years or older with acute operative fractures participated in this study. Enrollment was initiated either before discharge or at initial outpatient follow-up. INTERVENTION: We conducted a survey of demographics, Internet usage, device type, eHealth Literacy, and intent to use the web site. Participants received a keychain containing the web address and a unique access code to our custom orthopaedic trauma web site. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Percentage of patients with Internet access and percentage of patients who visited the web site. RESULTS: One hundred twelve patients were enrolled. Ninety-three percent (104/112) reported having Internet access (P < 0.0001). Only increasing age predicted lack of access (P < 0.015; odds ratio, 0.95). Most (95%, 106/112) planned to visit our site; however, only 11% (P < 0.001) accessed it. CONCLUSIONS: The digital divide is a myth in orthopaedic trauma. Despite widespread access and enthusiasm for our web site, few patients visited. This cautions against the allocation of resources for patient-specific web sites for orthopaedic trauma until a rationale for use can be better delineated. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Will My Tibial Fracture Heal? Predicting Nonunion at the Time of Definitive Fixation Based on Commonly Available Variables.

BACKGROUND: Accurate prediction of tibial nonunions has eluded researchers. Reliably predicting tibial nonunions at the time of fixation could change management strategies and stimulate further research. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: We asked (1) whether data from medical records, fracture characteristics, and radiographs obtained at the time of fixation would identify features predictive of tibial fracture nonunion; and (2) whether this information could be used to create a model to assess the chance of nonunion at the time of intramedullary (IM) nail fixation of the tibia. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed all tibial shaft fractures treated at our center from 2007 to 2014. We conducted a literature review and collected data on 35 factors theorized to contribute to delayed bone healing. Patients were followed to fracture healing or surgery for nonunion. Patients with planned prophylactic nonunion surgery were excluded because their nonunions were anticipated and our focus was on unanticipated nonunions. Our cohort consisted of 382 patients treated with IM nails for tibial shaft fractures (nonunion, 56; healed, 326). Bivariate and multivariate regression techniques and stepwise modeling approaches examined the relationship between variables available at definitive fixation. Factors were included in our model if they were identified as having a modest to large effect size (odds ratio > 2) at the p < 0.05 level. RESULTS: A multiple variable logistic regression model was developed, including seven factors (p < 0.05; odds ratio > 2.0). With these factors, we created the Nonunion Risk Determination (NURD) score. The NURD score assigns 5 points for flaps, 4 points for compartment syndrome, 3 points for chronic condition(s), 2 points for open fractures, 1 point for male gender, and 1 point per grade of American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status and percent cortical contact. One point each is subtracted for spiral fractures and for low-energy injuries, which were found to be predictive of union. A NURD score of 0 to 5 had a 2% chance of nonunion; 6 to 8, 22%; 9 to 11, 42%; and > 12, 61%. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed nonunion prediction model (NURDS) seems to have potential to allow clinicians to better determine which patients have a higher risk of nonunion. Future work should be directed at prospectively validating and enhancing this model. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, diagnostic study.