Minimally invasive technique for acute fixation and subtalar fusion of displaced intra-articular calcaneus fractures.

Displaced intra-articular calcaneus fractures (DIACFs) are difficult injuries to treat and are often encountered by orthopedic surgeons. For DIACFs treated nonoperatively or with open reduction internal fixation (ORIF), a common complication is painful subtalar arthritis and the need for a secondary subtalar fusion, which prolongs the overall recovery time. One treatment option to address this sequela involves ORIF with subtalar fusion as the primary treatment. We describe a reproducible, minimally invasive surgical technique for primary ORIF with subtalar fusion when the calcaneal tuberosity is amendable to cannulated screw fixation to treat these complex calcaneal fractures. Our technique offers advantages compared to other techniques in that it avoids screw traffic, allows easy bony compression of the subtalar joint, and minimizes soft tissue damage via percutaneous screw fixation. Fourteen fractured calcanei in 12 patients underwent our technique and all achieved bony union with a median time to fusion of 107.5 days (range, 54-530 days). Eight patients returned to work with the remaining 4 patients having an unknown work status at last follow-up, although 2 of these 4 patients resumed normal activities. Only 1 patient experienced a complication, which was an infection after achieving bony union, and was treated with successful hardware removal and our infection protocol. Overall, we conclude our surgical technique offers a successful option in the treatment of DIACFs when the calcaneal tuberosity is amendable to cannulated screw fixation.

Implementation of required sedation assessment in nursing workflow to address naloxone utilization.

OBJECTIVE: Opioid-related adverse drug events continue to occur. This study aimed to characterize the patient population receiving naloxone to inform future intervention efforts. DESIGN: We describe a case series of patients who received naloxone in the hospital during a 16-week time frame in 2016. Data were collected on other administered medications, reason for admission to the hospital, pre-existing diagnoses, comorbidities, and demographics. SETTING: Twelve hospitals within a large healthcare system. PATIENTS: 46,952 patients were admitted during the study period. 31.01 percent (n = 14,558) of patients received opioids, of which 158 received naloxone. INTERVENTION: Administration of naloxone. Main outcome of interest: Sedation assessment via Pasero Opioid-Induced Sedation Scale (POSS), administration of sedating medications. RESULTS: POSS score was documented prior to opioid administration in 93 (58.9 percent) patients. Less than half of patients had a POSS documented prior to naloxone administration with 36.8 percent documented 4 hours prior. 58.2 percent of patients received multimodal pain therapy with other nonopioid medications. Most patients received more than one sedating medication concurrently (n = 142, 89.9 percent). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight areas for intervention to prevent opioid oversedation. Investing in electronic clinical decision support mechanisms, such as sedation assessment, could detect patients at risk for oversedation and ultimately prevent the need for naloxone. Coordinated order sets for pain management can reduce the percentage of patients receiving multiple sedating medications and promote the use of multimodal pain management in efforts to reduce opioid reliance while optimizing pain control.

Balancing Safety, Comfort, and Fall Risk: An Intervention to Limit Opioid and Benzodiazepine Prescriptions for Geriatric Patients.

Introduction: This study reports on the impact of a clinical decision support tool embedded in the electronic medical record and characterizes the demographics, prescribing patterns, and risk factors associated with opioid and benzodiazepine misuse in the older adult population. Significance: This study reports on prescribing patterns for patients ≥65 years-old who presented to Emergency Departments (ED) or Urgent Care (UC) facilities across a large healthcare system following a fall (n = 34,334 encounters; n = 25,469 patients). This system implemented a clinical decision support intervention which provides an alert when the patient has an evidence-based risk factor for prescription drug misuse; prescribers can continue, amend or cancel the prescription. Results: Of older adults presenting with a fall, 31.4% (N = 7986) received an opioid or benzodiazepine prescription. Women and younger patients (65-74) had a higher likelihood of receiving a prescription (P < .0001). 11% had ≥1 risk factor. Women were more likely to receive an early refill (P = .0002) and younger (65-74) men were more likely to have a past positive toxicology (P < .0001). A prescription was initiated in 8,591 encounters, and 946 (9.0%) triggered an alert. In 58 cases, the alert resulted in a prescription modification, and in 80 the prescription was canceled. Conclusions: Documented risk for opioid misuse in the elderly was 10% among patients presenting to the ED/UC after a fall. The dangers associated with opioid/benzodiazepine use increase with age as does fall risk. Awareness of risk factors is an important first step; more work is needed to address potentially hazardous prescriptions in this population.

Hold the Antibiotics: Are Preoperative Antibiotics Unnecessary in the Treatment of Pediatric Supracondylar Humerus Fractures?

BACKGROUND: Supracondylar humerus (SCH) fracture is the most common elbow injury in children and often treated with closed reduction and percutaneous pinning (CRPP). There is little published evidence supporting or refuting the use of perioperative prophylactic antibiotics for SCH CRPP in the pediatric population. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the rate of surgical site infection for patients with and without preoperative antibiotics. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was conducted of patients less than or equal to 16 years from 2012 to 2018 who underwent primary CRPP. Open fractures, multilimbed polytraumas, and immunodeficient patients were excluded. Infection rates were compared using a noninferiority test assuming a 3% infection rate and a predefined noninferiority margin of 4%. A total of 255 patients were needed to adequately power the study. RESULTS: Of the 1253 cases identified, 845 met eligibility criteria. A total of 337 received antibiotics, and 508 did not. Preoperative nerve injury (P=0.0244) and sterilization technique (P<0.0001) were associated with antibiotic use: 4 patients developed an infection; there were successfully treated superficial infections, and 1 was a deep infection requiring a formal debridement. There were 8 patients that had a recorded mal-union, and 6 patients required additional procedures; 1 patient had a postoperative compartment syndrome on postoperation day 1. The infection rates among patients treated with and without antibiotics were 0.60% and 0.40%, respectively. The absence of antibiotics was not clinically inferior to using antibiotics (P=0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Infection remains a rare complication following CRPP of SCH fractures. According to our current data, not giving perioperative antibiotics was not inferior to using perioperative antibiotics for preventing superficial or deep infection in patients undergoing CRPP of SCH fractures. With the increase in attention to antibiotic stewardship, it is important to eliminate unnecessary antibiotic use while continuing to maintain a low rate of surgical site infection. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV-case series. This is a therapeutic study that investigates the results from a case series.

Screws-Only Primary Subtalar Arthrodesis for Calcaneus Fractures.

BACKGROUND: The management of displaced intraarticular calcaneus fractures (DIACFs) is a difficult problem with disappointing results from open reduction internal fixation (ORIF). Alternatively, ORIF with primary subtalar arthrodesis (PSTA) has gained increasing popularity. The purpose of this study is to review patient-centered and radiographic outcomes of ORIF plus PSTA using only screws through a sinus tarsi approach. METHODS: A retrospective study of patients who underwent ORIF+PSTA for DIACFs was conducted. The same surgical technique was used in all cases consisting of only screws; no plates were used. Delayed surgeries past 8 weeks were excluded. Demographic and radiographic data were collected including worker's compensation claims. Plain radiographs were used to characterize injuries and review outcomes. RESULTS: Seventy-nine DIACFs underwent PSTA with a median follow-up of 200 days (n = 69 patients). Median time to weightbearing was 57.5 days postoperatively. Ten fractures were documented as Sanders II, 36 as Sanders III, and 32 as Sanders IV. Sixty-eight fractures (86.1%) achieved fusion on radiographs at a median of 126.5 (range, 54-518) days. Thirty-nine fractures (57.3%) demonstrated radiographic fusion in all 3 predefined locations. Nine of the 14 worker's compensation patients returned to work within the period of observation. There were 8 complications: 3 requiring a secondary operation. Eleven of 79 fractures treated did not go on to achieve radiographic union. CONCLUSION: In this retrospective case series, we found that screws-only primary subtalar arthrodesis for the treatment of DIACFs through a sinus tarsi approach was associated with relatively high rates of return to work and radiographic fusion. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV, retrospective case series.

Modifying Interhospital Hepatopancreatobiliary Transfers Based on Predictive Analytics: Moving from a Center of Excellence to a Health-Care System of Excellence.

Regionalization of complex surgical care has increased interhospital transfers to quaternary centers within large health-care systems. Risk-based patient selection is imperative to improve resource allocation without compromising care. This study aimed to develop predictive models for identifying low-risk patients for transfer to a fully integrated satellite hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) service in the northeast region of the health-care system. HPB transfers to the quaternary center over 15 months from hospitals in proximity to the satellite HPB center. A predictive tool was developed based on simple pretransfer variables and outcomes for 30-day major complications (Clavien grade ≥ 3), readmission, and mortality. Thresholds for "low risk" were set at different SDs below mean for each model. Predictive models were developed from 51 eligible northeast region patient transfers for major complications (Brier score 0.1948, receiver operator characteristic (ROC) 0.7123, P = 0.0009), readmission (Brier score 0.0615, ROC 0.7368, P = 0.0020), and mortality (Brier score 0.0943, ROC 0.7989, P = 0.0023). Thresholds set from 2 SD below the mean for all models identified 2 as "low risk." Adjusting the threshold for the serious complication model to only 1 SD below the mean increased the "low-risk" cohort to five patients. These models demonstrate an easy-to-use tool to assist surgeons in identifying low-risk patients for diversion to a fully integrated satellite center. Improved interhospital transfers within a region could begin a transition from centers of excellence toward health-care systems of excellence.