Outcomes of acute fix and replace in complex hip posterior fracture dislocations with acetabular fractures : a minimum of 3 years follow-up.

Simultaneous open reduction and internal fixation of acetabular fractures combined with total hip replacement (THR) have some potential advantages over the more traditional approach in specific patient subgroups. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of patients who had the "fix and replace" construct for complex posterior hip fracture dislocation treated at our tertiary referral pelvic unit. This was a retrospective review of prospectively collected data for patients who underwent this procedure between 2011-2018 with a minimum of 3 year follow up. Data collected were: patient demographics, date of injury, injury pattern, fixation methods, type of implants used and post-operative complications. There were 14 patients with a mean age of 63.2 years (range 43-94 years) who underwent this procedure between 2011-2018. The mean follow up was 58 months. All cases involved a posterior wall fracture and six cases had an associated posterior column involvement. Femoral head autograft was used in 13 patients (93%). Six patients (43%) had their posterior acetabular wall reconstructed with a femoral head autograft. Seven patients had a fully cemented (THR) and the seven others had a hybrid implant. There were no surgical related complications. From our study we can conclude that the acute "fix and replace" construct for complex posterior hip fracture dislocation yields good clinical outcomes in the short and medium term with low complication rate. It is best performed by a surgeon who specialises in both acetabular and hip arthroplasty surgery.

A new technique for radiographic measurement of acetabular cup orientation.

Accurate radiographic measurement of acetabular cup orientation is required in order to assess susceptibility to impingement, dislocation, and edge loading wear. In this study, the accuracy and precision of a new radiographic cup orientation measurement system were assessed and compared to those of two commercially available systems. Two types of resurfacing hip prostheses and an uncemented prosthesis were assessed. Radiographic images of each prosthesis were created with the cup set at different, known angles of version and inclination in a measurement jig. The new system was the most accurate and precise and could repeatedly measure version and inclination to within a fraction of a degree. In addition it has a facility to distinguish cup retroversion from anteversion on anteroposterior radiographs.

Radiologic classification of chronic hematogenous osteomyelitis in children.

BACKGROUND: Childhood hematogenous chronic osteomyelitis remains a serious cause of morbidity throughout the developing world. The aim of our study was to develop a reliable and clinically useful classification system for this condition in children. METHODS: The case notes and radiographs of 87 children with chronic hematogenous osteomyelitis of one or more long bone were reviewed to devise a classification system. We undertook reliability studies of the proposed classification system. Five observers classified the selected radiographs of 32 patients on two separate occasions. RESULTS: The classification divides the condition into 3 main types: type A--Brodie's abscess, type B--sequestrum involucrum, and type C--sclerotic. Type B has four subtypes. Intraobserver agreement was 95% for the main types and 77% (kappa coefficient 0.7) with the subtypes. Interobserver agreement was 95% to 97% for the main types and 78% (multirater kappa=0.54) for the subtypes. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that our classification system for chronic hematogenous osteomyelitis in children is reliable.

The Beit CURE Classification of Childhood Chronic Haematogenous Osteomyelitis--a guide to treatment.

BACKGROUND: The Beit CURE (BC) classification is a radiographic classification used in childhood chronic haematogenous osteomyelitis. The aim of this study is to assess correlation between this classification and the type and extent of treatment required. METHODS: We present a retrospective series of 145 cases of childhood chronic haematogenous osteomyelitis classified using the BC classification. Variables measured include age, sex, bone involved, number of admissions, length of stay, type/number of operations and microbiology. RESULTS: The most commonly affected bone was the tibia (46%), followed by femur (26%) and humerus (10%). Bone defects were most common in the tibia. Staphylococcus aureus was the most commonly isolated organism. Type B, sequestrum type, was the most common (88%), followed by type C, sclerotic type, (7%) and type A, Brodie's abscess (5%). Types A and B1 had the shortest length of hospitalisation (11 days), type B4 had the longest (87 days). Types A and B1 had the fewest infection control operations. Type B4 had the greatest total number of operations. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that the BC classification can guide surgical strategy and help predict length of inpatient treatment and number and type of procedures required.

Postoperative autologous blood salvage drains--are they useful in primary uncemented hip and knee arthroplasty? A prospective study of 186 cases.

There are nearly 43,000 hip replacements and 33,000 knee replacements performed each year in the United Kingdom. Many of these require a blood transfusion. However, there has been increased public concern about the safety of blood transfusion and various techniques are used to decrease the need for allogenic transfusion. Postoperative blood salvage and reinfusion is one of them. We studied 186 consecutive patients who underwent unilateral uncemented hip or knee arthroplasty. Ninety-four had re-infusion drains and 92 had suction drains. We have compared the allogenic transfusion requirements for the two groups. We have analyzed patient and operative factors to determine whether they are predictive for risk of allogenic blood transfusion. Cost analysis was performed to determine whether the use of a re-infusion drain is a cost effective technique. Re-infusion drains significantly decreased the requirements for allogenic blood transfusion (p = 0.001). Twenty-one percent of the re-infusion drain group and 45.7 % of the suction drain group required allogenic blood transfusion. The only preoperative factor that determined whether the patient required allogenic blood transfusion was pre-operative haemoglobin. We found that age, gender, type of surgery (hip replacement or knee replacement) and whether the patient had tourniquet or not (in knee replacement) did not alter the requirements for allogenic blood transfusion. The mean transfusion costs were slightly less for re-infusion drain group (l 182.70 per patient for re-infusion drain group and l 196.75 per patient for suction drain group, p = 0.009). The hospital stay was also significantly reduced (11.0 days for re-infusion drain group as opposed to 12.6 days for suction drain group (p = 0.0248). Based on these findings, re-infusion drains appear as a cost effective means of reducing the requirement for allogenic blood transfusion following primary hip and knee arthroplasty.

Are short femoral nails superior to the sliding hip screw? A meta-analysis of 24 studies involving 3,279 fractures.

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to compare the fixation outcome between the sliding hip screw (SHS) and intramedullary nails (IMN) in stable and unstable extracapsular proximal femoral fractures. All randomised controlled studies comparing IMNs with a SHS were considered for inclusion. Data was independently extracted and trial methodology assessed. Twenty-four randomised trials involving 3,202 patients with 3,279 fractures were included. Pooled results gave no statistically significant difference in the cut-out rate between the IMN and SHS (41/1,556 vs 37/1,626; relative risk 1.19; 95% confidence interval 0.78-1.82). Total failure rate (1,03/1,495 and 58/1,565, relative risk 1.83; 95% confidence interval 1.35-2.50) and re-operation rate (57/1,357 and 35/1,415, relative risk 1.63; 95% confidence interval 1.11-2.40) were greater with the IMN compared with the SHS. There was no evidence for a reduced failure rate with IMN in unstable trochanteric fractures.