Patella and Trochlea Osteochondritis Dissecans: Demographics and Treatment Paradigms.

OBJECTIVE: Previous research on patellar and trochlear groove osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) is limited by small sample sizes. This study aims to describe the presentation of patients with OCD lesions of the patella and trochlea and characterize the outcomes of operative and nonoperative treatments. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study identified all patients from a single institution from 2008 to 2021 with patellar and/or trochlear OCD lesions. Patients were excluded from the study if surgical records were unavailable or if the patient had knee surgery for a different injury at index surgery or in the 12 months postoperative. Minimum follow-up was 12 months. Outcomes included a return to sports (RTS), pain resolution, radiographic healing, and treatment "success" (defined as full RTS, complete pain resolution, and full healing on imaging). RESULTS: A total of 68 patients (75 knees) were included-45 (60%) with patellar OCD and 30 (40%) with trochlear. Of the patients, 69% were males. The median age at knee OCD diagnosis was 14 years. At the final follow-up, 62% of knees (n = 44) recovered sufficiently to allow a full RTS and 54% of knees (n = 39) had full pain resolution. Of the 46 knees with radiographic imaging at least 1 year apart, 63% had full healing of the lesion. There was no significant difference in RTS, pain resolution, radiographic healing, or overall success when comparing treatments. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides valuable epidemiologic demographic and outcome data regarding the scarcely reported patellar and trochlear OCD. While over half of patients fully returned to sports and reported full pain resolution, a large proportion continued to experience symptoms over a year after presentation. Future research should aim to better define the treatment algorithms for these OCD subtypes. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III.

Descriptive Epidemiology of Isolated Distal Radius Fractures in Children: Results From a Prospective Multicenter Registry.

INTRODUCTION: More than 1 in 4 pediatric fractures involves the distal radius. Most prior epidemiologic studies are limited to retrospective, single center investigations, and often include adults. This study aims to describe the contemporary epidemiology of pediatric distal radius fractures using prospectively collected data from a multicenter Pediatric Distal Radius Fracture Registry. METHODS: Patients aged 4 to 18 years diagnosed with a distal radius fracture from June 2018 through December 2019 at 4 tertiary care pediatric centers were screened and enrolled in this prospective longitudinal cohort study. Patients were excluded if they presented with bilateral distal radius fractures, polytrauma, or re-fracture. Demographic information, mechanism of injury, fracture characteristics, associated injuries, and procedural information were recorded. All radiographs were reviewed and measured. Descriptive statistics and bivariate analyses were performed. RESULTS: A total of 1951 patients were included. The mean age was 9.9±3.3 years, and 61.3% of patients were male ( P <0.001). Most injuries occurred during a high-energy fall (33.5%) or sports participation (28.4%). The greatest proportion of fractures occurred during the spring months (38.5%). Torus fractures (44.0%) were more common than bicortical (31.3%) or physeal (21.0%) fractures. Of the physeal fractures, 84.3% were Salter-Harris type II. Associated ulnar fractures were observed in 51.2% of patients. The mean age at injury was higher for patients with physeal fractures (11.6±2.9 y) than patients with torus or bicortical fractures (9.4±3.1 and 9.6±3.1 y, respectively; P <0.001). Thirty-six percent of distal radius fractures underwent closed reduction and 3.3% underwent surgical fixation. Patients treated with closed reduction were more likely to be male (68.7% vs. 57.2%; P <0.001), obese (25.3% vs. 17.2%; P <0.001), and have bicortical fractures (62.2% vs. 14.5%; P <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Distal radius fractures in children have a male preponderance and are most likely to occur in the spring months and during high-energy falls and sports. Physeal fractures tend to occur in older children while torus and bicortical fractures tend to occur in younger children. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level I-prognostic.

A Corresponding Point Measurement System Provides Reliable Measurement of Displacement for Medial Epicondyle Fractures.

Little consensus exists on the best method for evaluation and management of pediatric medial epicondyle fractures because of an inability to reliably evaluate fracture displacement with standard imaging techniques. This study aimed to determine the performance of various radiographic views in evaluating displaced medial epicondyle fractures when using a standardized measurement methodology. Methods: Ten fellowship-trained pediatric orthopaedic surgeons assessed fracture displacement in 6 patients with displaced medial epicondyle fractures using radiographic views (anteroposterior, lateral, axial, internal oblique [IO], and external oblique [EO]) and computed tomographic (CT) views (axial, 3-dimensional [3D] horizontal, and 3D vertical). Raters used a corresponding point method for measuring displacement. For each image, raters measured the absolute displacement, categorized the percent of displacement relative to the size of the fragment and fracture bed, and indicated a treatment option. Interobserver reliability was calculated for each view. Bland-Altman plots were constructed to evaluate the bias between each radiograph and the mean of the CT methods. Results: For absolute displacement, anteroposterior and EO views showed almost perfect interobserver reliability, with an interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.944 for the anteroposterior view and an ICC of 0.975 for the EO view. The axial view showed substantial reliability (ICC = 0.775). For the displacement category, almost perfect reliability was shown for the anteroposterior view (ICC = 0.821), the axial view (ICC = 0.911), the EO view (ICC = 0.869), and the IO view (ICC = 0.871). Displacement measurements from the anteroposterior, axial, and EO views corresponded to the measurements from the CT views with a mean bias of <1 mm for each view. However, the upper and lower limits of agreement were >5 mm for all views, indicating a substantial discrepancy between radiographic and CT assessments. Treatment recommendations based on CT changed relative to the recommendation made using the anteroposterior view 29% of the time, the EO view 41% of the time, and the axial view 47% of the time. Conclusions: Using a corresponding point measurement system, surgeons can reliably measure and categorize fracture displacement using anteroposterior, EO, and axial radiographic views. CT-based measurements are also reliable. However, although the mean difference between the radiograph-based measurements and the CT-based measurements was only about 1 mm, the discrepancy between radiographic views and CT-based methods could be as large as 5 to 6 mm. Level of Evidence: Diagnostic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

How Much Will My Child's ACL Reconstruction Cost? Availability and Variability of Price Estimates for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Despite recent policy efforts to increase price transparency, obtaining estimated prices for surgery remains difficult for most patients and families. PURPOSE: Assess availability and variability of cost and self-pay discounts for pediatric anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction in the United States. METHODS: This was a prospective study using scripted telephone calls to obtain price estimates and self-pay discounts for pediatric ACL reconstruction. From July to August 2020, investigators called 102 hospitals, 51 "top-ranked" pediatric orthopaedic hospitals and 51 "non-top ranked" hospitals randomly selected, to impersonate the parent of an uninsured child with a torn ACL. Hospital, surgeon, and anesthesia price estimates, availability of a self-pay discount, and number of calls and days required to obtain price estimates were recorded for each hospital. Hospitals were compared on the basis of ranking, teaching status, and region. RESULTS: Only 31/102 (30.3%) hospitals provided a complete price estimate. Overall, 52.9% of top-ranked hospitals were unable to provide any price information versus 31.4% of non-top-ranked hospitals ( P =0.027). There was a 6.1-fold difference between the lowest and highest complete price estimates (mean estimate $29,590, SD $14,975). The mean complete price estimate for top-ranked hospitals was higher than for non-top-ranked hospitals ($34,901 vs. $25,207; P =0.07). The mean complete price estimate varied significantly across US region ( P =0.014), with the greatest mean complete price in the Northeast ($41,812). Altogether, 38.2% hospitals specified a self-pay discount, but only a fraction disclosed exact dollar or percentage discounts. The mean self-pay discount from top-ranked hospitals was larger than that of non-top-ranked hospitals ($18,305 vs. $9902; P =0.011). An average of 3.1 calls (range 1.0 to 12.0) over 5 days (range 1 to 23) were needed to obtain price estimates. CONCLUSION: Price estimates for pediatric sports medicine procedures can be challenging to obtain, even for the educated consumer. Top-ranked hospitals and hospitals in the Northeast region may charge more than their counterparts. In all areas, self-pay discounts can be substantial if they can be identified but they potentially create an information disadvantage for unaware patients needing to pay out-of-pocket. STUDY DESIGN: Economic; Level of Evidence II. WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE SUBJECT: Previous studies have highlighted the importance of value-based health care decisions and deficits of price transparency in various fields including pediatric and orthopaedics procedures. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE: This study is the first to examine availability and variability of health care cost in pediatric sports medicine and the first to assess availability and magnitude of self-pay discounts, setting expectations for the uninsured patient incurring large out-of-pocket expenses.

Mortality in Early-Onset Scoliosis During the Growth-friendly Surgery Era.

INTRODUCTION: Early-onset scoliosis (EOS) is a spinal deformity that occurs in patients 9 years of age or younger. Severe deformity may result in thoracic insufficiency, respiratory failure, and premature death. The purpose of this study is to describe the modern-day natural history of mortality in patients with EOS. METHODS: The multicenter Pediatric Spine Study Group database was queried for all patients with EOS who are deceased, without exclusion. Demographics, underlying diagnoses, EOS etiology, operative and nonoperative treatments or observation, complications, and date of death were retrieved. Descriptive statistics and survival analysis with Kaplan-Meier curves were performed. RESULTS: There were 130/8009 patients identified as deceased for a registry mortality rate of 16 per 1000 patients. The mean age at death was 10.6 years (range: 1.0 to 30.2 y) and the most common EOS etiology was neuromuscular (73/130, 56.2%; P<0.001). Deceased patients were more likely be treated operatively than nonoperatively or observed (P<0.001). The mean age of death for patients treated operatively (12.3 y) was older than those treated nonoperatively (7.0 y) or observed (6.3 y) (P<0.001) despite a larger deformity and similar index visit body mass index and ventilation requirements. Kaplan-Meier analysis confirmed an increased survival time in patients with a history of any spine operation compared with patients without a history of spine operation (P<0.0001). Operatively treated patients experienced a median of 3.0 complications from diagnosis to death. Overall, cardiopulmonary related complications were the most common (129/271, 47.6%; P<0.001), followed by implant-related (57/271, 21.0%) and wound-related (26/271, 9.6%). The primary cause of death was identified for 78/130 (60.0%) patients, of which 57/78 (73.1%) were cardiopulmonary related. CONCLUSIONS: This study represents the largest collection of EOS mortality to date, providing surgeons with a modern-day examination of the effects of surgical intervention to better council patients and families. Both fatal and nonfatal complications in children with EOS are most likely to involve the cardiopulmonary system. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV-therapeutic.

Morphometric analysis of the proximal thoracic pedicles in Lenke II and IV adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: an evaluation of the feasibility for pedicle screw insertion.

PURPOSE: Pedicles on the concave side of the proximal thoracic (PT) curve in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients with Lenke II and IV deformities tend to be narrow and dysplastic, making pedicle screw (PS) insertion challenging. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility for PS placement in these patients using pedicle chord length, diameter, and channel morphology. METHODS: In this retrospective study, 56 consecutive AIS patients with Lenke II or IV curves who underwent instrumented posterior spinal fusion (PSF) were studied. The mean age at surgery was 14.8 years and the mean PT curve measured 45°. Two independent investigators evaluated all visible pedicles from T1 to T6 vertebral levels using axial images from intraoperative computed tomography-guided navigation recording the pedicle: (1) maximum transverse diameter 'd' at the isthmus, (2) maximum chord length 'l', and (3) qualitative assessment of the channel morphology (types A-D). RESULTS: Two hundred and sixty-eight concave and 264 convex pedicles were measured. The mean 'd' of the concave pedicles at T3 and T4 was < 3.0 mm, compared to > 5.0 mm for the convex counterparts (p < 0.001). Of all concave pedicle channels, 48% had morphology characteristics that were riskier for PS cannulation (type C or D) compared to 2% of all convex pedicle channels (type A or B) (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Almost half of all concave pedicles have morphologic characteristics that make them too small to accommodate a PS. Though PSs could be inserted using an in-out-in technique in these patients, alternative fixation anchors may improve strength and safety.