Radiographic Prediction of Soft Tissue Injury Associated with Tibial Plateau Fractures: The Direction of Articular Depression Matters.

This investigation aimed to evaluate the impact of coronal articular fragment displacement of Schatzker type II tibial plateau fractures on concomitant soft tissue knee injuries. One hundred consecutively treated patients were included. Depression depth and coronal articular fragment displacement were measured radiographically, and medial collateral ligament (MCL) and lateral meniscus (LM) injury, and pain and range of motion (ROM) on final follow up, were recorded. Multivariable regression was then performed. Coronal articular fragment displacement was medially and laterally hinged in 74% and 26% of patients, respectively. MCL injuries were significantly higher in the lateral hinge group (odds ratio [OR]: 3.25; confidence interval [CI]: 1.07 to 9.84; p = 0.03). No difference was found in LM injury incidence and amount of articular depression between groups. At final follow-up, average pain and ROM was similar between groups. Findings demonstrate a significant correlation between laterally hinged articular depression in Schatzker II tibial plateau fractures and concomitant MCL injury. (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 32(4):270-275, 2023).

Porous 3D Printed Titanium Cages in Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion are Associated With Less Subsidence, Improved Maintenance of Segmental Lordotic Correction, and Similar Clinical Outcomes as Allograft.

STUDY-DESIGN: Retrospective chart review. OBJECTIVES: Investigate radiographic and clinical outcomes of 3D printed titanium cages (3DTC) vs allograft in patients undergoing Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). METHODS: Consecutive series of patients undergoing ACDF with 3DTC were compared to patients using corticocancellous allograft. Cage subsidence, fusion status, sagittal alignment, and patient-reported-outcomes. Radiographic evaluation was performed on the closing intraoperative x-ray and compared to films at 6-weeks, 6-months, and 1-year. Cage subsidence was calculated based on the amount of settling into superior and inferior endplates compared to the intraoperative x-ray. Fusion was assessed based on < 1 mm of flexion/extension motion. Sagittal alignment parameters and patient-reported-outcomes were measured. RESULTS: Seventy six-patients/(120 levels) in 3DTC group and 77-patients/(115 levels) in allograft group were evaluated. No significant differences were noted in patient demographics, level fused or the number of levels fused between the groups. The most common level fused was C5-6. 3DTC had a significantly lower subsidence rate at all-time points as compared to allograft (P < .001). 3DTC maintained segmental lordosis better than allograft at all-time points including 1-year postop (P < .001). No significant differences were noted in fusion rate for 3DTC vs allograft at 6-months (P > .05). There were no significant differences in patient-reported-outcomes. CONCLUSION: 3D printed titanium cages had similar patient-reported outcomes and fusion rates as allograft, but less subsidence at all-time points. 3D printed titanium cages better maintained the segmental lordosis at the operative level at all-time points. Although longer term evaluation is needed, based on these results, 3DTC appear to be viable graft options for ACDF that better maintain disc space height and improve segmental lordotic interbody correction.

White Cord Syndrome and Acute Tetraplegia After Posterior Cervical Decompression: A Case Report.

CASE: A 55-year-old man undergoes posterior cervical decompression and instrumentation for progressive cervical myelopathy and develops white cord syndrome (WCS) postoperatively with acute tetraplegia. CONCLUSION: WCS is a rare complication of spinal surgery that is thought to be due to reperfusion injury. We diagnosed WCS in our patient through postoperative examination consisting of acute tetraplegia and magnetic resonance imaging revealing increased signal in the cord. In this case, we used intravenous dexamethasone and mean arterial pressure above 90 mm Hg resulting in markedly improved clinical examination.

Preoperative depression is a risk factor for complication and increased health care utilization following total shoulder arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) continues to increase. Although researchers expect preoperative depression to influence outcomes following primary hip and knee arthroplasty, there is a paucity of data on this relationship after primary TSA. The purpose of this study was to define the relationship between a preoperative diagnosis of depression and postoperative outcomes following TSA. METHODS: This was a level III retrospective cohort study. We identified patients undergoing TSA between 2009 and 2017 from the Truven MarketScan database and created 2 cohorts, patients with and without depression. We included patients who were continuously enrolled in the database for 1 year preoperatively and postoperatively. We collected demographic data, complication data, and health care utilization factors and then performed statistical analysis comparing complication and health care utilization between cohorts. This analysis controlled for baseline patient demographic, comorbid, and surgical factors. RESULTS: We included 22,623 patients undergoing TSA in this study. Of these, 3209 (14%) had a preoperative diagnosis of depression. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the following were more common in patients with depression: sepsis (odds ratio [OR], 2.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14-3.65; P = .022), revision within 1 year (OR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.45-2.55; P < .001), prosthetic joint infection within 1 year (OR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.04-1.90; P = .025), return to the operating room for irrigation and débridement (OR, 2.72; 95% CI, 1.67-4.42; P < .001), prosthetic complication (OR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.26-1.88; P < .001), and wound complication (OR, 1.84; 95% CI, 1.2-2.79; P = .004). Similarly, patients with depression had greater health care utilization including higher odds of non-home discharge (OR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.3-1.57; P < .001), 90-day readmission (OR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.3-1.86; P < .001), 90-day emergency department visit (OR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.23-1.57; P < .001), and extended length of stay (≥3 days; OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.12-1.36; P < .001). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Depression prior to TSA is common and is associated with increased risk of complications and increased health care utilization following TSA. Determining whether this is a modifiable risk factor requires further investigation.

Thoracolumbar spinal fractures associated with ground level falls in the elderly: An analysis of 254,486 emergency department visits.

STUDY DESIGN: retrospective. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the epidemiology of elderly (age ≥65 years) patients who presented to the emergency department (ED) in the United States with thoracolumbar (TL) fractures after ground level falls. METHODS: Using the National Emergency Department Sample database, we queried all ED visits in the United States from 2009 through 2012 of elderly patients who presented after ground level falls. We identified patients who sustained TL fractures with and without neurological injury. Resulting data was used to analyze the fracture prevalence, ED and patient characteristics, associated injuries, treatment patterns, inpatient mortality, and hospital charges. RESULTS: Of the 6,654,526 ED visits in the elderly for ground level falls, 254,486 (3.8%) were associated with a diagnosis of TL fracture. 39% patients had multiple injuries, and upper extremity fractures were the most common associated injuries. Overall, 55.6% were admitted to the hospital. Of those, 77.7% were treated non-operatively, 20.4% were treated with cement augmentation alone, 1.5% were treated with spinal fusion surgery, and 0.4% were treated with spinal decompression alone. The overall rate of inpatient mortality was 2.14%. CONCLUSIONS: This investigation evaluated the epidemiology of elderly patients who presented to the ED in the United States with TL fractures after ground level falls. The study demonstrated a rather high incidence of TL fractures in this patient cohort. As a result, it is important for ED physicians and orthopaedic surgeons to be highly suspicious of TL fractures in elderly patients who sustain low energy trauma. With the continued aging of the population and rising health care costs, future effort ought to focus on fall prevention and increased surveillance for TL injuries in the elderly.

Effect of Age on Complication Rates and Outcomes Following First Metatarsophalangeal Arthrodesis for Hallux Rigidus.

BACKGROUND: Hallux rigidus is one of the most common toe pathologies in patients greater than 50 years old. Although metatarsophalangeal (MTP) arthrodesis is used to improve pain and function, older patients are often considered to be higher-risk operative candidates. There are minimal data on outcomes of MTP fusion and no studies comparing outcomes between geriatric and younger patients. METHODS: This is a single-center, prospective study of all patients who underwent MTP fusion between August 1, 2015, and July 1, 2018. Patient-reported outcomes were assessed using the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), Life-Space Assessment survey (LSA), and visual analog scale (VAS) for pain administered preoperatively as well as 6 months and 1 year postoperatively. Baseline characteristics and operative outcomes were collected from the electronic medical record. Clinical and patient-reported outcomes were compared between patients <65 years old and ≥65 years old. Of 143 included patients, 79 were in the younger group (mean of 56.5 years) and 64 were in the older group (mean of 72.0 years). RESULTS: Compared with the younger group, the older group was more predominantly female (95.3% older group, 77.2% younger group, P = .002). More patients in the older group had hypertension (73.4% older group, 50.6% younger group, P = .005) and coronary artery disease (9.4% older group, 0.0% younger group, P = .005). Both age groups had similar rates of postoperative wound complications requiring operative irrigation and debridement, deep vein thrombosis, deformity recurrence, and revision surgery. No differences were detected in SF-36, LSA, and VAS surveys administered at baseline, 6 months postoperation, or 1 year postoperation between younger and older patients. CONCLUSION: Despite more comorbidities, older patients had similar rates of postoperative complications and reported similar outcomes for pain, function, and mobility following MTP fusion. These findings support increased implementation of MTP fusion surgery for older patients with hallux rigidus. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level II, prospective cohort.

Tibial Plateau Fracture with Ipsilateral Syndesmotic Injury: A Previously Undescribed Maisonneuve-Equivalent Injury Pattern: A Case Report.

CASE: A 44-year-old man presented after a motor vehicle crash and was found to have a right tibial plateau fracture and an (initially missed) ipsilateral syndesmotic injury in the setting of a completely intact fibula. He was managed with open reduction and internal fixation of the tibial plateau and syndesmosis. CONCLUSION: This case represents a novel Maisonneuve-equivalent injury pattern. This diagnosis should be considered in patients with ankle pain in the setting of ipsilateral tibial plateau fracture, and internal fixation of both injuries represents an appropriate treatment option.

Is Operative Debridement Greater Than 24 Hours Post-admission Associated With Increased Likelihood of Post-operative Infection?

BACKGROUND: The historical "six-hour rule" as a golden hour for timing to debridement has been refuted in modern literature. Current standards prompt a timely debridement; however, in the setting of polytrauma, patients are often resuscitated for periods >24 h, with delayed orthopedic intervention. Therefore, we sought to determine the association between prolonged time to operative debridement (>24 h) and infection. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of patients with open fractures that underwent irrigation and debridement at a single institution from 2008 to 2016. Demographic, injury, and operative variables were collected. Infection was defined as the need for intravenous antibiotics and/or repeat irrigation and debridement. Chi-squared test and univariate logistic regression were performed. P < 0.05 was the cutoff for significance. RESULTS: Of 642 patients examined, 56 (8.7%) developed an infection. Prolonged time to debridement was not associated with increased infection rates (P = 1.00). Gustilo-Anderson classification was associated with increased risk of infection (type I: 2.1%, type II: 7.6%, and type III: 14.6%; P < 0.001). In univariate analysis, infection was associated with after-hours surgery (between 7 PM and 7 AM (odds ratio [OR] = 2.02; P < 0.02), definitive fixation more than 24 h post-admission (OR = 3.08; P < 0.001), wound closure more than 24 h post-admission (OR = 4.36; P < 0.001), and more than two operations performed post-admission (OR = 8.73; P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis of these factors found number of operations (OR = 7.13; P < 0.001) and time to definitive wound closure (OR = 4.04; P < 0.001) to be independent predictors of developing an infection. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggests that there is no association between infection and prolonged time to debridement.

Hypoalbuminemia Is an Independent Risk Factor for 30-Day Mortality, Postoperative Complications, Readmission, and Reoperation in the Operative Lower Extremity Orthopaedic Trauma Patient.

INTRODUCTION: Malnutrition, as indicated by hypoalbuminemia, is known to have detrimental effects on outcomes after arthroplasty, geriatric hip fractures, and multiple general surgeries. Hypoalbuminemia has been examined in the critically ill but has largely been ignored in the orthopaedic trauma literature. We hypothesized that admission albumin levels would correlate with postoperative course in the nongeriatric lower extremity trauma patient. METHODS: Patients with lower extremity (including pelvis and acetabulum) fracture who underwent operative intervention were collected from the ACS-NSQIP database. Patients younger than 65 years were included. Patient demographic data, complications, length of stay, reoperation rate, and readmission rate were collected, and patient modified frailty index scores were calculated. Poisson regression with robust error variance was then conducted, controlling for potential confounders. RESULTS: Five thousand six hundred seventy-three patients with albumin available were identified, and 29.6% had hypoalbuminemia. Hypoalbuminemic patients had higher rates of postoperative complications [9.3% vs. 2.6%; relative risk (RR) 1.63] including increased rates of: mortality (3.2% vs. 0.4%; RR 4.86, 95% confidence interval 2.66-8.87), sepsis (1.5% vs. 0.5%, RR 2.35), and reintubation (2.3% vs. 0.4%; RR 3.84). Reoperation (5.5% vs. 2.6%, RR 1.74) and readmission (11.4% vs. 4.1%; RR 2.53) rates were also higher in patients with low albumin. CONCLUSION: Hypoalbuminemia is a powerful predictor of acute postoperative course and mortality after surgical fixation in nongeriatric, lower extremity orthopaedic trauma patients. Admission albumin should be a routine part of the orthopaedic trauma workup. Further study into the utility of supplementation is warranted, as this may represent a modifiable risk factor. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Assessment of Groin Application of Junctional Tourniquets in a Manikin Model.

UNLABELLED: Introduction To aid in preparation of military medic trainers for a possible new curriculum in teaching junctional tourniquet use, the investigators studied the time to control hemorrhage and blood volume lost in order to provide evidence for ease of use. Hypothesis Models of junctional tourniquet could perform differentially by blood loss, time to hemostasis, and user preference. METHODS: In a laboratory experiment, 30 users controlled simulated hemorrhage from a manikin (Combat Ready Clamp [CRoC] Trainer) with three iterations each of three junctional tourniquets. There were 270 tests which included hemorrhage control (yes/no), time to hemostasis, and blood volume lost. Users also subjectively ranked tourniquet performance. Models included CRoC, Junctional Emergency Treatment Tool (JETT), and SAM Junctional Tourniquet (SJT). Time to hemostasis and total blood loss were log-transformed and analyzed using a mixed model analysis of variance (ANOVA) with the users represented as random effects and the tourniquet model used as the treatment effect. Preference scores were analyzed with ANOVA, and Tukey's honest significant difference test was used for all post-hoc pairwise comparisons. RESULTS: All tourniquet uses were 100% effective for hemorrhage control. For blood loss, CRoC and SJT performed best with least blood loss and were significantly better than JETT; in pairwise comparison, CRoC-JETT (P .5, all models). CONCLUSION: The CRoC and SJT performed best in having least blood loss, CRoC performed best in having least time to hemostasis, and users did not differ in preference of model. Models of junctional tourniquet performed differentially by blood loss and time to hemostasis. Kragh JF Jr , Lunati MP , Kharod CU , Cunningham CW , Bailey JA , Stockinger ZT , Cap AP , Chen J , Aden JK 3d , Cancio LC . Assessment of groin application of junctional tourniquets in a manikin model. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2016;31(4):358-363.