Preoperative planning to preserve glenoid subchondral bone in anatomical total shoulder replacement.

Background: Glenoid loosening remains a concern in anatomical total shoulder replacement. Preoperative planning software allows optimization of the component positioning, but the target orientation remains unclear due to conflicting optimization priorities. Commonly, the component is aligned to the prescribed version and inclination that reflect the population's average anatomy. The freehand technique attempts to secure strong fixation by aiming to preserve the subchondral bone. This study compared the state of the subchondral plate after reaming and compared the results of these two techniques. Methods: Two groups of shoulder computed tomography scans were assessed, 34 normal and 34 osteoarthritic. Preoperative planning software was used to place the glenoid component in prescribed adjusted angles, with neutral (0o,0o), retroverted (-10o,0o) and inclined alignment (0o,10o). The computed tomography Hounsfield values at the virtually reamed surface were assessed to determine the percentage of the intended component-bone interface consisting of cortical bone, here termed "cortical bone seating". This was then compared to positioning the component using a freehand technique. Results: The freehand technique improved cortical bone seating in the osteoarthritic group with a mean (standard deviation) of 53.3% (14.3), while neutral alignment resulted in 36.7% (10.8), retroversion 40.4% (13.1), and inclination 39.3% (13.5), P < .001. A similar trend was observed in the normal group. Conclusions: The freehand method resulted in significantly improved cortical bone seating compared to the prescribed adjusted angles. These findings question the use of a one-size-fits-all-orientation and suggest that applying a technique that aims for maximum cortical fixation (freehand) may reduce the risk of aseptic loosening.

Single-Pass Albumin Dialysis as Rescue Therapy for Pediatric Calcium Channel Blocker Overdose.

Calcium channel blocker ingestions remain one of the leading causes of death related to cardiovascular medication ingestion in both adults and pediatric patients. We report a case of a 17-year-old, 103 kg female presenting after an intentional polypharmacy ingestion, including 500 to 550 mg of amlodipine. She presented with profound vasoplegia and cardiovascular collapse requiring high-dose inotropes and eventual life support with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Current available treatments, designed for adults, including lipid emulsion and methylene blue, provided no sustained clinical improvement. This resulted in the initiation of single-pass albumin dialysis (SPAD). We aim to describe the clinical implications, amlodipine toxic dose effects, and clinical challenges associated with large pediatric patients and high-dose medications. We also discuss several challenges encountered related to dosing and concentration of medications, which led to fluid overload. Given the ongoing obesity epidemic, we routinely see pediatric patients of adult size. This will continue to challenge pediatric use of adult dosing and concentrations to avoid excessive fluid administration for high-dose medications, such as insulin and vasoactive agents. To our knowledge, this is the first successful case of using SPAD in conjunction with ECMO for salvage therapy after refractory life-threatening calcium channel blocker toxicity.

Shoulder examination: a systematic approach.

The shoulder is a complex joint with static and dynamic stabilising structures working synchronously. These allow a full range of movement while preserving stability of the joint. Patients may present with pain, stiffness, weakness, deformity or instability. The authors suggest a systematic examination sequence to ensure that important pathology is not overlooked. Adopting this approach allows common pathologies, including tears of the rotator cuff, impingement and tendinopathy, to be easily identified. This shoulder examination sequence may be used by all healthcare professionals and can also act as a revision aid for those undergoing exams in this field, at different levels of training.

Trust compliance with best practice tariff criteria for total hip and knee replacement.

BACKGROUND: Satisfaction of the best practice tariff criteria for primary hip and knee replacement enables on average an additional £560 of reimbursement per case. The Getting it Right First Time report highlighted poor awareness of these criteria among orthopaedic departments. METHODS: The authors investigated the reasons for non-compliance with the best practice tariff criteria at their trust and implemented a quality improvement approach to ensure successful adherence to the standards (a minimum National Joint Registry compliance rate of 85%, a National Joint Registry unknown consent rate below 15%, a patient-reported outcome measure participation rate of ≥50%, and an average health gain not significantly below the national average). This was investigated using quarterly online reports from the National Joint Registry and NHS Digital. RESULTS: Initially, the trust had a 31% patient-reported outcome measures participation rate arising from a systematic error in the submission of preoperative patient-reported outcome measure scores. Re-audit following the resubmission of patient-reported outcome measure data under the trust's correct organization data service code confirmed an improvement in patient-reported outcome measure compliance to 90% and satisfaction of all criteria resulting in over £450 000 of additional reimbursement to the trust. CONCLUSIONS: The authors would urge others to review their compliance with these four best practice tariff criteria to ensure that they too are not missing out on this significant reimbursement sum.

Accuracy of glenoid component placement in total shoulder arthroplasty and its effect on clinical and radiological outcome in a retrospective, longitudinal, monocentric open study.

BACKGROUND: The success of Total Shoulder Arthroplasty (TSA) is believed to depend on the restoration of the natural anatomy of the joint and a key development has been the introduction of modular humeral components to more accurately restore the patient's anatomy. However, there are no peer-reviewed studies that have reported the degree of glenoid component mal-position achieved in clinical practice and the clinical outcome of such mal-position. The main purpose of this study was to assess the accuracy of glenoid implant positioning during TSA and to relate it to the radiological (occurrence of radiolucent lines and osteolysis on CT) and clinical outcomes. METHODS: 68 TSAs were assessed with a mean follow-up of 38+/-27 months. The clinical evaluation consisted of measuring the mobility as well as of the Constant Score. The radiological evaluation was performed on CT-scans in which metal artefacts had been eliminated. From the CT-scans radiolucent lines and osteolysis were assessed. The positions of the glenoid and humeral components were also measured from the CT scans. RESULTS: Four position glenoid component parameters were calculated The posterior version (6°±12°; mean ± SD), the superior tilt (12°±17°), the rotation of the implant relative to the scapular plane (3°±14°) and the off-set distance of the centre of the glenoid implant from the scapular plane (6±4 mm). An inferiorly inclined implant was found to be associated with higher levels of radiolucent lines while retroversion and non-neutral rotation were associated with a reduced range of motion. CONCLUSION: this study demonstrates that glenoid implants of anatomic TSA are poorly positioned and that this malposition has a direct effect on the clinical and radiological outcome. Thus, further developments in glenoid implantation techniques are required to enable the surgeon to achieve a desired implant position and outcome.