Intertrochanteric Hip Fractures: Pearls and Pitfalls in Managing Difficult Fractures.

Intertrochanteric hip fractures are among the most common osteoporotic fractures seen by orthopaedic surgeons. These fractures have a significant effect on a patient's mobility, independence, and mortality. In addition, they represent a substantial component of health care spending. Treatment is almost universally surgical, and surgeons must pay attention to patient optimization, fracture characteristics, and surgical planning. The goal of surgical intervention is to maximize the patient's ability to return to preinjury level of function by early postoperative mobilization. This can be achieved by obtaining and maintaining reduction to fracture healing.

Surgical treatment options for femoral neck fractures in the elderly.

This review paper on femoral neck fractures in the elderly provides updated information from the most recent literature and examines the advantages and disadvantages of different surgical treatment options. Femoral neck fractures are a common injury that many orthopaedic surgeons will encounter within their practice. These injuries are associated with significant morbidity, and the economic impact of surgically fixing these fractures is notable. Contemporary treatment options include internal fixation, hemiarthroplasty, and total hip arthroplasty. For non-displaced fractures, both internal fixation and hemiarthroplasty remain feasible options. Hemiarthroplasty decreases re-operation rate, while internal fixation decreases operative time, blood loss, and infection risk. Newly designed fixation constructs require further investigation. For displaced fractures, the literature strongly supports arthroplasty. Most elderly patients with displaced femoral neck fractures should be managed with a hemiarthroplasty. In select active elderly patients, total hip arthroplasty may achieve favourable early functional outcomes as compared to a hemiarthroplasty. Finally, cemented arthroplasty decreases periprosthetic fracture risk as compared to cementless arthroplasty. However, experienced arthroplasty surgeons with significant expertise in press-fitting techniques may achieve similar outcomes with cementless arthroplasty.

Rate of Bone Mineral Density Testing and Subsequent Fracture-Free Interval After Distal Forearm Fracture in the Medicare Population.

PURPOSE: Distal forearm fractures are prevalent among the Medicare population. Many patients who sustain these fractures have poor bone health and are at increased risk for subsequent fractures. We sought to determine the rate of bone mineral density (BMD) testing and subsequent fragility fracture-free interval after distal forearm fractures in the Medicare population. METHODS: We examined the 5% Medicare Standard Analytic File dataset using the PearlDiver Application from 2005 to 2014 to identify patients with distal forearm fractures based on International Classification of Diseases-Ninth Revision and Current Procedural Terminology codes. We queried these records to determine the incidence and timing of BMD testing after fracture and the number of patients who went on to hip or vertebral fractures. Survival curves were generated using Kaplan-Meier analysis with hip or vertebral fracture as the end point. RESULTS: A total of 37,473 patients with distal forearm fractures were identified who did not have BMD testing within the 2 years before fracture. Only 9,605 of this unscreened cohort underwent testing after the fracture (26%) and only 2,684 underwent testing within 6 months (7%). The patients least likely to be tested were males (9%), those aged over 85 years (12%), and those less than 65 years (22%). Twenty percent of these patients sustained a subsequent hip or vertebral fracture (n = 7,326). Patients who underwent testing after fracture had a longer fracture-free interval compared with patients without BMD testing (819 vs 579 days). When separated by sex and controlling for comorbidities, males with BMD testing had a worsened fracture-free interval whereas females had an improved fracture-free interval. CONCLUSIONS: Bone mineral density testing is underused nationwide in patients sustaining distal forearm fractures despite current guidelines. Orthopedic surgeons should ensure proper testing of patients because this may be an important time point for intervention. TYPE OF STUDY/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognosis II.

Epidemiology of Foot and Ankle Injuries in NCAA Jumping Athletes in the United States During 2009-2014.

BACKGROUND: Foot and ankle injuries comprise a significant proportion of all injuries sustained by National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletes. In particular, sports that combine jumping and rapid changes in direction are associated with increased lower extremity injuries. PURPOSE: To describe the epidemiology of foot and ankle injuries in men's and women's jumping sports, including NCAA men's and women's basketball, women's volleyball, and women's gymnastics, during the 2009-2010 through 2013-2014 seasons. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive epidemiology study. METHODS: Injury-surveillance data were obtained from the NCAA Injury Surveillance Program for the 2009-2010 through 2013-2014 seasons. Injuries were examined by mechanism, activity during injury, and participation restriction time. Injury rates per 1000 athlete-exposures (AEs), injury rate ratios, and risk ratios with 95% CIs were calculated. Reported sex differences were calculated for men's and women's basketball. All 95% CIs not containing 1.0 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: A total of 1136 players sustained foot and ankle injuries (483 male and 653 female) over 612,680 AEs. These injuries resulted in a combined rate of 1.85 per 1000 AEs (95% CI, 1.75-1.97). Ankle sprains were the most common injury (63.7%), with lateral ligamentous complex injuries making up 77.1% of all ankle sprains. The most common foot injury varied based on sport and sex. Ankle injury rates were higher in male versus female basketball players (injury rate ratio, 1.33 [95% CI, 1.13-1.57]), but foot injury rates did not differ. Among basketball and volleyball players, player contact during jumping was the most common injury mechanism. Female gymnasts had higher overuse injury rates than other athletes (0.49/1000 AEs [95% CI, 0.30-0.74]; P < .002). Overall, female basketball players were 1.81 times more likely to sustain an overuse injury than male basketball players (95% CI, 1.02-3.20; P = .02). CONCLUSION: The most common foot and ankle injury sustained in collegiate jumping sports was a lateral ligamentous complex ankle sprain. Injury-prevention programs focusing on ankle flexibility, strength, and proprioception may help to alleviate the injury burden and lessen severity. Improving the anticipation of contact during jumping and landing may reduce injury rates and increase player safety. The increased prevalence of overuse injuries in female collegiate athletes competing in jumping sports necessitates further investigation to reduce injury rates through prevention and training programs.

Post-transfusion breathlessness in a patient with acute myeloid leukaemia.

We present a case of a 38-year-old man with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in remission who developed sudden-onset chest pain and shortness of breath 30 min after receiving a blood transfusion. His condition deteriorated and required transferring him to the intensive care unit. The initial differential diagnosis was wide given his immunosuppression, recent chemotherapy, hospitalised status and receipt of blood products. Extensive work up concluded Coxsackie virus-induced myopericarditis as the cause of his symptoms. He was treated with colchicine monotherapy for 3 months and remained without recurrence of pericarditis at 3 months of follow-up.