Reduced wear in vitamin E-infused highly cross-linked polyethylene cups: 5-year results of a randomized controlled trial.

Background and purpose - Vitamin E-infused polyethylene is a relatively new material in joint arthroplasty; there are no long-term reports, and only few mid-term results. Using radiostereometric analysis (RSA), we primarily determined whether vitamin E-infused highly cross-linked polyethylene (HXLPE/VitE) acetabular cups show less wear than ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) acetabular cups at 5 years after total hip arthroplasty (THA). We also assessed whether wear rates correlate with increasing cup inclination angles or cup sizes.Patients and methods - This is a 5-year follow-up of our previously reported randomized controlled trial of 62 patients with 3 years' follow-up, who received THA with either an HXLPE/VitE or a UHMWPE acetabular cup. At 5 years, 40 patients were analyzed (22 in the HXLPE/VitE and 18 in the UHMWPE group).Results - HXLPE/VitE cups continued to show less cumulative femoral head penetration than UHMWPE cups (HXLPE/VitE: 0.24 mm, UHMWPE: 0.45 mm; p < 0.001). Distribution of wear was also more even with HXLPE/VitE cups than with UHMWPE cups (p = 0.002). Moreover, the difference in PE wear between 1 and 5 years in both groups showed no statistically significant correlation with increasing cup inclination angles or cup sizes. Finally, no osteolysis and implant loosening occurred, and no revision surgeries were required.Interpretation - Wear rates continue to be lower in HXLPE/VitE cups than in UHMWPE cups at 5 years of follow-up without correlation with increasing cup inclination angles or cup sizes. Finally, HXLPE/VitE cups may have the potential to prevent osteolysis and implant loosening.

The Patient Acceptable Symptom State (PASS) after proximal and distal femoral replacement.

INTRODUCTION: Femoral megaprostheses are used for bone reconstruction surgery in patients with local tumors or who require multiple revisions. Patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) provide a subjective result and, like patient satisfaction, have become an integral part of the outcomes in orthopedics. However, the threshold of satisfaction (PASS: Patient Acceptable Symptom State) has not yet been defined in a French population after this type of arthroplasty. This led us to carry out a retrospective study on a population of patients who received a femoral reconstruction megaprosthesis in order to 1) define the PASS for the Harris Hip Score (HHS), Knee Society Score (KSS) and the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society score (MSTS), 2) study the complications. HYPOTHESIS: The PASS threshold for proximal femur and distal femur reconstruction prothesis for the HHS and the KSS, respectively, will be lower than the threshold for these same scores for primary arthroplasty. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-four patients who were operated on between 2009 and 2020 were included: 23 received a proximal femur prosthesis and 21 received a distal femur prosthesis. The PASS threshold was defined using an anchoring strategy by analyzing ROC curves for the HSS for the proximal femur, KSS for the distal femur and the MSTS for all the prostheses. Complications were classified according to Henderson. RESULTS: The mean follow-up was 4.5 ± 3.6 (1-12.5) years. The PASS threshold was 47.5 (area under curve (AUC) 0.71 (0.45-0.97)) for the HHS, 69.5 (AUC 0.97 (0.92-1.0)) for the KSS knee and 62.5 (AUC 0.81 (0.61-0.99)) for the KSS function. Thirteen patients (29%) had complications, nine of whom required another surgery (20%). The most frequent were Henderson type 1 (soft tissue lesions, n = 5/44 [11%]) and type 2 (loosening, n = 5/44 [11%]) There was no relationship between satisfaction and postoperative complications (p = 0.071). DISCUSSION: Most of the patients who undergo femoral resection and reconstruction (59%) are satisfied with their function, albeit reduced, despite a high complication rate (29%). Our hypothesis is confirmed for the PASS threshold for the HHS (47.5 versus 93) and the KSS knee and function (69.5 and 62.5 versus 85.5 and 72.5). LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV; retrospective observational single-center study.

Results of third generation dual mobility total hip arthroplasties with non-cross-linked polyethylene in patients under 60 years of age: comparative study of full pressfit vs. tripod cups after 8.6 years.

BACKGROUND: The concept of dual mobility of total hip arthroplasties (THA) is a revolution in the prevention of dislocations and in the treatment of instability. Its use remains controversial in patients under 60 years old, providing poorer results with first generation cups coated with alumina. This study, carried out on modern dual mobility (DM) cups with a porous bilayer coating, in active patients under 60 years of age aimed to evaluate: (1) the mechanical survival of two latest generation DM THA, with failure defined as revision of acetabular or femoral implants for mechanical loosening, by comparing a tripod cup to a full pressfit cup, (2) to evaluate the complications, (3) to compare the rate of radiographic peri-prosthetic osteolysis between the 2 implants. HYPOTHESIS: The hypothesis was that the medium-term survival of modern DM cups placed in young patients was the same regardless of the type of acetabular fixation used. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective study of 119 latest generation DM THA with standard polyethylene, composed of 66 full pressfit cups and 53 tripod fixation cups, used in primary arthroplasty in 111 patients between 2005 and 2016. The survival study was carried out using medical records. The clinical evaluation was carried out using the modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS) as well as the self-administered Hip and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (HOOS) and Oxford-12 questionnaires. Radiological analysis was carried out on radiographs looking for bone demineralization and acetabular and femoral lines. RESULTS: At 8.6 years (5-16), no revision for mechanical loosening was observed regardless of the type of cup. The prosthesis dislocation rate (large joint) was 1.7%: 1 case in each group (p = 1), including one revision required in the full pressfit group. Three revisions for mechanical complications were recorded: a recurrent dislocating hip on a full pressfit cup that was not sufficiently anteverted, an acetabular peri-prosthetic fracture on a full pressfit cup and a case of iliopsoas impingement with a retroverted tripod cup. The survival rate for all-cause revision was 93.8% for pressfit (95% CI: 88.2%-99.9%) vs. 96.2% for tripod (95% CI: 91.1%-100%) (p = 0.63) and for revision due to any cause excluding infection, 96.9% for pressfit (95% CI: 92.8%-100%) vs. 98.1% for tripod (95% CI: 94.4%-100%) (p = 0.7). The rate of periacetabular osteolysis was 11%, significantly more present amongst tripod cups (24%, 9 cases) compared to full pressfit cups (2%, 1 case) (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: This series demonstrates good performance of 3rd generation DM cups with porous bilayer coating in patients under 60 years of age regardless of the type of acetabular fixation, at 8.6 years of follow-up. The rate of osteolysis around full pressfit cups remains very low, unlike that of tripod cups. The use of Double Mobility prostheses for primary hip osteoarthritis is possible in young patients, preferably with full pressfit cups (i.e., without any pegs or additional screws that may promote diffusion of polyethylene debris and osteolysis). LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III; comparative retrospective study.

Implementation and results of an enhanced recovery (fast-track) program in total knee replacement patients at a French university hospital.

INTRODUCTION: In total knee replacement (TKR) surgeries, "fast-track" or enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programs are being developed, but their impact on care pathway quality and safety has not been fully explored in the French literature. The present study aimed to compare results in TKR between fast-track and conventional pathways, addressing the following questions: (1) Are 90-day rates of complications, readmission and surgical revision higher with fast-track? (2) Is mean length of stay (LoS) shorter with fast-track? (3) Are postoperative pain and clinical results improved by fast-track? And, (4) are patients and care staff satisfied with these new programs? HYPOTHESIS: Implementing fast-track for TKR in a university hospital center is beneficial for the patient and does not impair the quality and safety of care. PATIENTS AND METHOD: A case-control study was performed using a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data. A fast-track program was implemented for TKR by modifying the care pathway. This involved instituting a therapeutic education consultation, optimizing blood sparing, modifying surgical practices, and hastening early mobilization thus actively involving patients in their own management. Between January 2017 and January 2019, 216 patients with a mean age of 69.23±7.80years and mean BMI of 30.15±4.79kg/m2 were included in the fast-track group, with 335 matched patients included in the conventional group. RESULTS: At 90days, there were no significant inter-group differences in rates of infection (fast-track=1.39%, conventional=0.90%; p=0.34), readmission (fast-track=3.24%, conventional=3.58%; p=0.49), or surgical revision (fast-track=2.78%, conventional=2.69%; p=0.298). The visual analog scale (VAS) pain rating was 1.56±1.36 in the fast-track group versus 5±2.41 in the conventional group; p<0.001. LoS was 3.17±1.59days in fast-track versus 7.25±1.85days in the conventional group; p<0.001. Ninety-five percent of patients and 96% of care staff were satisfied with the fast-track program. DISCUSSION: Fast-track implementation ensured quality and safety of care; it did not increase the rate of complications in primary TKR. Mean length of stay was drastically reduced. Both patients and care staff were very satisfied with these new procedures. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III; case-control study.

Value of the synovial C-reactive protein test in the diagnosis of total hip and knee periprosthetic joint infections: A case-control study.

INTRODUCTION: The diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) can be challenging and rests on several principles. The use of diagnostic biomarkers, such as the synovial C-Reactive Protein (CRP), seems promising. The purpose of this study was to determine whether synovial CRP was a more discriminating test than serum CRP for the diagnosis of hip and knee PJI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In total, 194 patients were included in this single center prospective study: 42 primary arthroplasties (control group [CG]), 111 revisions for aseptic prosthesis (aseptic revision group [ARG]), and 41 revisions for septic prosthesis (septic revision group [SRG]) based on the Musculoskeletal Infection Society (MSIS) criteria. RESULTS: The serum and synovial CRP levels were significantly higher in the SRG than the other two groups (SRG serum CRP=75.6mg/L vs. ARG serum CRP=6mg/L and CG serum CRP=2.7mg/L, p<0.001; SRG synovial CRP=31.5mg/L vs. CG synovial CRP=2.6mg/L and ARG synovial CRP=1.7mg/L, p<0.001). The positive likelihood ratios (LR+) were very similar for both the synovial CRP cut-off value of 4.4mg/L (LR+=7.04; sensitivity [Se] 82.5%, specificity [Sp] 88.3%) and the serum CRP cut-off value of 9mg/L (LR+=6.3; Se 87.5%, Sp 86.1%). CONCLUSION: This study showed that synovial CRP testing was not more discriminating than serum CRP in the diagnosis of hip and knee PJI. A serum CRP level greater than 9mg/L was a sign of PJI. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III; case-control study.