A case series of recurrent myotendinous rotator cuff tears repaired and augmented with dermal allograft: clinical outcomes at two years.

When rotator cuff tears occur after a primary repair at the footprint, they often fail medially at the myotendinous junction, also called type II tears. These are difficult tears to treat, and little research has been published on how to address tears at the myotendinous junction and the clinical outcomes of the revised repairs. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the outcomes of type II rotator cuff tears repaired with a dermal allograft augmentation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective chart review of 9 patients with a type II rotator cuff tear medially at the myotendinous junction, arthroscopically repaired and augmented with acellular dermal allograft by a single surgeon. Two-year follow-up was obtained to evaluate pain, function, range of motion, and structural integrity of the repair via ultrasound. RESULTS: Of all 9 patients, the mean visual analog scale preoperatively was 5.1 (standard error, ±2.1). With 9 patients having 2-year follow-up, the mean visual analog scale score continued to improve to 1.9 (standard error, ±2.4). At 2 years, the mean American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons based on 8 patients was 76.1, and the mean Short Form 36 for all 9 patients was 78.7. All 9 patients with 2-year follow-up had an intact repair on ultrasound read by a musculoskeletal fellowship-trained radiologist. DISCUSSION: Based on the early outcome data, patient satisfaction scores, and intact repairs visualized on ultrasound at 2 years postoperatively, the use of acellular human dermal matrix augmentation appears to be an efficacious and worthwhile treatment option for patients with recurrent rotator cuff tears at the medial myotendinous junction.

ON-Q infusion pump linked to increased hospital stay after total knee arthroplasty.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate immediate postoperative pain control modalities after total knee arthroplasty at the author's specific institution and compare those modalities with patient satisfaction, rehabilitation status, and length of hospital stay. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of 101 patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty from 2013 to 2016 was performed. Data was collected including the pain control modality, total pain medication consumption, physical therapy progress, length of hospital stay and Visual Analog Scores. Analysis was then performed using SAS proprietary software. Results were reported as statistically significant if p value was less than 0.05. RESULTS: Multiple variables proved to be statistically significant (p value <0.05) in this particular study. Patients who received Valium required more morphine equivalents on average and reported higher Visual Analog Scores (VAS). For those patients who received a lower extremity nerve block pre operatively, there was a decrease in morphine equivalents on postoperative day one and lower VAS. For those patients who received the continuous pain pump, ON-Q postoperatively, there was an average increase in length of hospital stay by one day and a decrease in ambulation on postoperative day one. Also, females required less overall pain medication on postoperative days two and three compared to their male counterparts. Finally, there was no statistically significant difference for those patients who received Lyrica (pregabalin) or NSAIDS for the parameters that were measured in this study. CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative pain control modalities after total knee arthroplasty are highly variable among physicians. This variability has allowed researchers to review each modality and compare and contrast the benefits with the potential adverse effects of these medications on total knee replacement outcomes. The data in this study suggests that the use of Valium is correlated with increased pain medication consumption and decreased patient satisfaction. Data from this study also reveals that patients who underwent preoperative nerve blocks experienced decreased pain on postoperative day one and greater patient satisfaction. The most notable contribution of this study was the discovery of the adverse effects of the continuous pain pump, ON-Q. Patients treated with this modality had decreased ambulation on postoperative day one and on average remained in the hospital one extra day, a variable that significantly increases the cost of a total knee arthroplasty for the hospital, the surgeon and the patient. Even though this data is significant, further studies should be performed to enhance our knowledge of postoperative pain control for these patients.

Implementation of an Antibiotic Therapy Protocol for Open Fractures in the Emergency Department.

CONTEXT: Well established in the Emergency Department (ED) literature is that the most important factor in decreasing subsequent infection rate in open fractures is the time to first administration of antibiotics. As such, the authors developed a new ED open fracture antibiotic protocol to facilitate more expeditious antibiotic administration and appropriate choice of antibiotics. METHODS: During Phase 1 of this project, the authors identified the 2012 - 2016 historical length of time from presentation of an open fracture to the possible initiation of antibiotic therapy at their institution. Results demonstrated critical areas for improvement in both timing and types of antibiotics administered. Phase 2 of the study evaluated the effect of the new open fracture antibiotic protocol. Sample cases from both phases were then further identified based on type of open fracture, time to initiation of antibiotics from ED presentation, type of antibiotics, and time to definitive treatment. Analyses were performed using GraphPad proprietary software. RESULTS: A random sample of 110 patients were included from Phase 1 and 27 patients from Phase 2. A total of 43 Phase 1 patients were administered cefazolin (Kefzol, Ancef); the remainder of the patients received a number of different antibiotics. During Phase 2, all 27 patients received cefazolin and Gentamycin if necessary per the new protocol. The average time to initiation of antibiotics was 0.907 hours during Phase 1 compared to 0.568 hours in Phase 2. The new protocol also significantly decreased the average time to antibiotics in ED from 2.17 hours to 1.82 hours when including EMS transfer time. Average time to definitive treatment in the operating room was 6.63 hours during Phase 1 and was significantly lowered to 3.97 hours during Phase 2. CONCLUSIONS: Timing to initiation of antibiotics after open fractures is the most important aspect to decrease infection rates. In order to decrease these times, the authors implemented a new ED protocol that specifically stated the type of antibiotic to be given based on the open fracture without orthopedics needing to be notified before administration. Ideally, the use of such protocols in ED settings will serve to greatly decrease infection risks after open fracture.