Femoral Neck Shortening After Hip Fracture Fixation Is Associated With Inferior Hip Function: Results From the FAITH Trial.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the distribution of femoral neck shortening after internal fixation and to determine whether shortening is associated with inferior hip function at 24 months after a hip fracture in patients 50 years of age or older. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: A secondary analysis of data from 81 clinical centers included in the Fixation using Alternative Implants for the Treatment of Hip Fractures (FAITH) trial. PARTICIPANTS: Three hundred fifty patients, 50 years of age or older, who had an isolated femoral neck fracture and underwent timely operative fixation of the fracture. INTERVENTION: Femoral neck shortening was measured as a categorical variable and classified into one of the following groups, as determined by the Central Adjudication Committee: no shortening, mild shortening (≤5 mm), moderate shortening (6-10 mm), or severe shortening (>10 mm). MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENT: The primary outcome for the current analysis was hip function, as measured by the Western Ontario & McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index questionnaire, at 24 months after injury. RESULTS: Two-thirds of patients had no or mild shortening (≤5 mm), whereas one-third of patients had moderate or severe shortening (>5 mm). After adjusting for surgical treatment, a greater amount of femoral neck shortening was found to be associated with poorer hip function (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: We found that increasing femoral neck shortening was associated with inferior hip function. Although internal fixation often results in successful union, patients who heal in a shortened position report poorer functional outcomes. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Patient preferences for nutritional supplementation to improve fracture healing: a discrete choice experiment.

OBJECTIVE: Vitamin D is often prescribed as an adjuvant therapy to aid fracture healing due to its biological role in bone health. However, the optimal frequency, dosage and duration of vitamin D supplementation for non-osteoporotic fracture healing has not been established. The objective of this study was to determine patient preferences for fracture healing relative to hypothetical vitamin D supplementation dosing options. DESIGN: Discrete choice experiment. SETTING: Level 1 trauma centre in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. PARTICIPANTS: 199 adult (18-60 years) patients with a fracture. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Parameter estimates of utility for fracture healing relative to dosing regimens were analysed using hierarchical Bayesian modelling. RESULTS: A reduced risk of reoperation (34.3%) and reduced healing time (24.4%) were the attributes of greatest relative importance. The highest mean utility estimates were for a one-time supplementation dose (ß=0.71, 95% CI 0.41 to 1.00) followed by a reduced risk of reoperation (ß=0.41 per absolute % reduction, 95% CI 0.0.36 to 0.46). Supplementation for 24 weeks in duration (ß=-0.83, 95% CI -1.00 to -0.67) and a daily supplement (ß=-0.29, 95% CI -0.47 to -0.11) had the lowest mean utilities. The 'no supplement' option had a large negative value suggesting supplementation was generally desirable in this sample population. Among other possible clinical scenarios, patients expected a 2% reduction in the absolute risk of reoperation or a 3.1-week reduction in healing time from the baseline to accept a treatment regimen requiring two separate doses of supplementation, two blood tests and a cost of $20 within 3 months of injury. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with orthopaedic trauma demonstrated strong willingness to take a vitamin D supplement that would decrease risk of reoperation and reduce healing time. Furthermore, these findings specify the required decrease in reoperation risk and reduction in healing time patients would expect to adhere to possible vitamin D dosing regimens.

Wound Surface Area as a Risk Factor for Flap Complications among Patients with Open Fractures.

BACKGROUND: Soft-tissue complications often dictate the success of limb salvage and the overall outcome of open fractures. Based on prior work at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, the authors hypothesize that wounds larger than 200 cm are associated with a greater likelihood of both flap-related reoperation and wound complications among patients requiring soft-tissue reconstruction with a rotational flap or free tissue transfer. METHODS: This study was a secondary analysis of Fluid Lavage in Open Wounds trial data that included all patients who received a rotational or free tissue flap transfer for an open fracture. The primary outcome was flap-related reoperation within 12 months of injury. The secondary outcome was wound complication, which included events treated operatively or nonoperatively. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the association between wound size and outcomes, adjusting for confounders. RESULTS: Seventeen percent of the 112 patients required a flap-related reoperation. A wound size greater than 200 cm(2) was not associated with reoperation in an unadjusted model (p = 0.64) or adjusting for Gustilo type (p = 0.70). The sample had an overall wound complication rate of 47.3 percent. Patients with a wound size of greater than 200 cm(2) were three times more likely to experience wound complications (OR, 3.05; 95 percent CI, 1.08 to 8.62; p = 0.04) when adjusting for moderate to severe wound contamination and wound closure in the operating room. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study demonstrate that wound surface area is an integral determinant for wound complication following soft-tissue flap treatment, but found no association between wound surface area and flap-related reoperation rates. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Risk, III.

India-Based Knee Osteoarthritis Evaluation (iKare): A Multi-Centre Cross-Sectional Study on the Management of Knee Pain and Early Osteoarthritis in India.

BACKGROUND: Access to early knee osteoarthritis treatment in low and middle income nations is often believed to be limited. We conducted a cross-sectional study in India to assess prior access to treatment among patients presenting with knee pain to specialist orthopaedic clinics. METHODS: The multi-centre, cross-sectional study included patients presenting with knee pain at 3 hospitals in India. Patients who met the inclusion criteria and provided informed consent completed a questionnaire designed to assess patient demographics, socioeconomic status, knee pain, treatment method, and patient's knowledge on osteoarthritis (OA). Their orthopaedic surgeons also completed a questionnaire on the severity of patient's OA and their recommended treatments. The impact of demographic characteristics on the prescription of treatment options was analyzed using logistic regression. RESULTS: A total of 714 patients met the eligibility criteria and participated in this study. The majority of patients had been experiencing pain for less than 1 year (64.8%) and had previously been prescribed medications (91.6%), supplements (68.6%), and nonpharmacological (81.9%) treatments to manage their knee OA. Current treatment recommendations included oral medications (83.3%), intra-articular injections (29.8%), and surgical intervention (12.7%). Prescription of oral medications was related to younger age, lack of deformities, and lower Kellgren-Lawrence grades (p < 0.01). Patients treated in private hospital settings were more likely to have been previously treated with medications (range, 84.3% to 92.6%; p < 0.01) and physical treatments (range, 61.8% to 84.8%; p < 0.01) than patients treated at government hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to the perception, our findings suggest a similar proportion of early knee OA treatment between India and North America.

A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty versus Hemiarthroplasty for the Management of Complex Proximal Humeral Fractures in the Elderly.

BACKGROUND: There is ongoing debate regarding the optimal surgical treatment of complex proximal humeral fractures in elderly patients. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) compared with hemiarthroplasty (HA) in the management of complex proximal humeral fractures, using a cost-utility analysis. METHODS: On the basis of data from published literature, a cost-utility analysis was conducted using decision tree and Markov modeling. A single-payer perspective, with a willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of Can$50,000 (Canadian dollars), and a lifetime time horizon were used. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was used as the study's primary outcome measure. RESULTS: In comparison with HA, the incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year gained for RTSA was Can$13,679. One-way sensitivity analysis revealed the model to be sensitive to the RTSA implant cost and the RTSA procedural cost. The ICER of Can$13,679 is well below the WTP threshold of Can$50,000, and probabilistic sensitivity analysis demonstrated that 92.6% of model simulations favored RTSA. CONCLUSIONS: Our economic analysis found that RTSA for the treatment of complex proximal humeral fractures in the elderly is the preferred economic strategy when compared with HA. The ICER of RTSA is well below standard WTP thresholds, and its estimate of cost-effectiveness is similar to other highly successful orthopedic strategies such as total hip arthroplasty for the treatment of hip arthritis.

Comparison of Irrigation Times Using Gravity and High-Pressure Lavage.

The benefits of high-pressure pulsatile lavage for open fracture irrigation have been controversial based on conflicting experimental animal research. Recently published data definitively demonstrated that irrigation pressure does not affect the incidence of reoperation for the treatment of open fractures. However, proponents of pulsatile lavage argue a faster irrigation time is an important benefit of the high-pressure treatment. The purpose of this study was to determine the difference in irrigation time between gravity and high-pressure lavage. The experimental setup was designed to mimic clinical practice and compared mean irrigation flow times for high-pressure pulsatile lavage and gravity flow with 2 commonly used tube diameters. Each irrigation setup was tested 5 times at 3 different irrigation bag heights. Analysis of variance and Student's t tests were used to compare the mean flow times of 3 irrigation methods at each height and among the 3 heights for each irrigation method. The mean irrigation flow time in the various experimental models ranged from 161 to 243 seconds. Gravity irrigation with wide tubing was significantly faster than pulsatile lavage or gravity with narrow tubing (P<.001). Increasing irrigation bag height had only a marginal effect on the overall flow times (<9% difference). The difference in mean flow time among the testing techniques was slightly longer than 1 minute, which is unlikely to have a material impact on procedural costs, operating times, and subsequent gains in patient safety. [Orthopedics. 2017; 40(3):e413-e416.].

Prevalence of Depression and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder After Acute Orthopaedic Trauma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to systematically assess the existing literature and to derive a pooled estimate of the prevalence of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adult patients after acute orthopaedic trauma. DATA SOURCES: A comprehensive search of databases, including MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases was conducted through June 2015. STUDY SELECTION: We included studies that assessed the prevalence of depression or PTSD in patients who experienced acute orthopaedic trauma to the appendicular skeleton or pelvis. Studies with a sample size of ≤10 were excluded. DATA EXTRACTION: Two authors independently extracted data from the selected studies and the data collected were compared with verify agreement. DATA SYNTHESIS: Twenty-seven studies and 7109 subjects were included in the analysis. Using a random-effects model, the weighted pooled prevalence of depression was 32.6% (95% CI, 25.0%-41.2%) and the weighted pooled prevalence of PTSD was 26.6% (95% CI, 19.0%-35.9%). Six studies evaluated the prevalence of both depression and PTSD in patients with acute orthopaedic injuries. The weighted pooled prevalence of both depression and PTSD for those patients was 16.8% (95% CI, 9.0%-29.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Nearly one-third of patients suffer from depression and more than one-quarter of patients suffer from PTSD after an acute orthopaedic injury suggesting that strategies to address both the mental and physical rehabilitation after an orthopaedic injury should be considered to optimize patient recovery. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Operative vs non-operative management of displaced proximal humeral fractures in the elderly: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

AIM: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing operative vs non-operative treatment of displaced proximal humerus fractures in elderly patients. METHODS: A systematic literature search was performed using EMBASE and MEDLINE through the OVID interface, CINAHL, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Proquest, Web of Science, SAE digital library, and Transportation Research Board's TRID database. Searches of conference proceedings were also conducted. All available randomized controlled trials comparing operative vs non-operative management of displaced three- and four-part proximal humerus fractures in elderly patients were included. The primary outcomes measures included physical function, pain, health related quality of life, mortality, and the re-operation rate. RESULTS: Six randomized controlled trials (n = 287) were included. There was no statistically significant difference in function (MD = 1.72, 95%CI: -2.90-6.34, P = 0.47), as measured by the Constant score, between the operative and the non-operative treatment groups. There was no statistically significance difference in secondary outcomes of health related quality of life (standardized MD = 0.27, 95%CI: -0.05-0.59, P = 0.09), and mortality (relative risk 1.29, 95%CI: 0.50- 3.35, P = 0.60). Operative treatment had a statistically significant higher re-operation rate (relative risk 4.09, 95%CI: 1.50-11.15, P = 0.006), and statistically significant decreased pain (MD = 1.26, 95%CI: 0.02- 2.49, P = 0.05). CONCLUSION: There is moderate quality evidence to suggest that there is no difference in functional outcomes between the two treatments. Further high quality randomized controlled trials are required to determine if certain subgroup populations benefit from surgical management.

A scoping review of biomechanical testing for proximal humerus fracture implants.

BACKGROUND: Fixation failure is a relatively common sequela of surgical management of proximal humerus fractures (PHF). The purpose of this study is to understand the current state of the literature with regard to the biomechanical testing of proximal humerus fracture implants. METHODS: A scoping review of the proximal humerus fracture literature was performed, and studies testing the mechanical properties of a PHF treatment were included in this review. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the characteristics and methods of the included studies. RESULTS: 1,051 proximal humerus fracture studies were reviewed; 67 studies met our inclusion criteria. The most common specimen used was cadaver bone (87%), followed by sawbones (7%) and animal bones (4%). A two-part fracture pattern was tested most frequently (68%), followed by three-part (23%), and four-part (8%). Implants tested included locking plates (52%), intramedullary devices (25%), and non-locking plates (25%). Hemi-arthroplasty was tested in 5 studies (7%), with no studies using reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) implants. Torque was the most common mode of force applied (51%), followed by axial loading (45%), and cantilever bending (34%). Substantial testing diversity was observed across all studies. CONCLUSIONS: The biomechanical literature was found to be both diverse and heterogeneous. More complex fracture patterns and RTSA implants have not been adequately tested. These gaps in the current literature will need to be addressed to ensure that future biomechanical research is clinically relevant and capable of improving the outcomes of challenging proximal humerus fracture patterns.