Management of a complex acetabular fracture following defibrillation for ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest.

In this case report, we describe the first case of a patient who sustained a complex acetabular fracture following defibrillation for ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest in the context of acute myocardial infarction. The patient was unable to undergo definitive open reduction internal fixation surgery due to the need to continue dual antiplatelet therapy following coronary stenting of his occluded left anterior descending artery. Following multidisciplinary discussions, a staged approach was opted for, with percutaneous closed reduction screw fixation of the fracture performed while the patient was maintained on dual antiplatelet therapy. The patient was discharged with a plan to perform definitive surgical management when safe to discontinue dual antiplatelets. This is the first confirmed case of defibrillation causing an acetabular fracture. We discuss the various aspects that need to be considered when patients are being worked up for surgery while on dual antiplatelet therapy.

Theatre efficiency in COVID-19 pandemic conditions: The collaborative experience of four level 1 major trauma centres in the UK.

AIMS: As the world continues to fight successive waves of COVID-19 variants, we have seen worldwide infections surpass 100 million. London, UK, has been severely affected throughout the pandemic, and the resulting impact on the NHS has been profound. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on theatre productivity across London's four major trauma centres (MTCs), and to assess how the changes to normal protocols and working patterns impacted trauma theatre efficiency. METHODS: This was a collaborative study across London's MTCs. A two-month period was selected from 5 March to 5 May 2020. The same two-month period in 2019 was used to provide baseline data for comparison. Demographic information was collected, as well as surgical speciality, procedure, time to surgery, type of anaesthesia, and various time points throughout the patient journey to theatre. RESULTS: In total, 1,243 theatre visits were analyzed as part of the study. Of these, 834 patients presented in 2019 and 409 in 2020. Fewer open reduction and internal fixations were performed in 2020 (33.5% vs 38.2%), and there was an increase in the number of orthoplastic cases in 2020 (8.3% vs 2.2%), both statistically significant results (p < 0.000). There was a statistically significant increase in median time from 2019 to 2020, between sending for a patient and their arrival to the anaesthetic room (29 vs 35 minutes; p = 0.000). Median time between arrival in the anaesthetic room and commencement of anaesthetic increased (7 to 9 minutes; p = 0.104). CONCLUSION: Changes in working practices necessitated by COVID-19 led to modest delays to all aspects of theatre use, and consequently theatre efficiency. However, the reality is that the major concerns of impact of service did not occur to the levels that were expected. Cite this article: Bone Jt Open 2021;2(10):886-892.

Reflections from London's Level-1 Major Trauma Centres during the COVID crisis.

Emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in dramatic changes in global healthcare provision. Resources were redirected across all healthcare sectors to support the treatment of viral pneumonia with resultant effects on other essential services. We describe the impact of this on the provision of major trauma care in a major capital city.

Modification of regional bone mineral density due to femoral rasping in cementless proximally fixed total hip arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: Three-dimensional planning (3DP) in total hip arthroplasty using computed tomography (CT) to analyze bone mineral density (BMD) at the stem-femur interface has a high reported accuracy and excellent mid-term results in the literature. However, 3DP does not take into account the effect of femoral rasping on BMD distribution within the rasped cavity. Characterizing the impact of femoral rasping on BMD may help avoid mechanical failures, but this data is not accurately investigated. Therefore, we set out a cadaveric study to identify if: (1) Femoral rasping modified regional BMD in areas considered critical for bone anchorage of cementless metaphyseally fixed anatomic stems. (2) In areas of bone-implant contact with an initial high BMD, does femoral rasping increase BMD? HYPOTHESIS: Femoral rasping increases BMD in some zones considered critical for bone anchorage of cementless metaphyseally fixed anatomic stems within the rasped femoral cavity. METHODS: Four cadaveric femurs were selected to undergo a rasping procedure similar to surgical techniques used for metaphyseally fixed anatomic stems. Images of femurs before and after rasping were obtained with a micro-CT scanner (pixel size 35µm). BMD values before and after rasping were compared in a trabecular bone ring of 3mm thickness around the cavity created by the rasps, in a region extending 3cm above and 2cm below the middle of the lesser trochanter. RESULTS: Average BMD increased significantly after rasping in 3 of the 4 femurs (13% (0.27 to 0.30) (p=0.004)), 12% (0.32 to 0.36 (p=0.034)) and 15% (0.4 to 0.46 (p=0.001)), while there was no significant variation in the last femur (0.32 to 0.32 (p>0.05)). Increases in regional BMD were significantly higher in the lateral and medial areas, as well as in the most distal femoral regions. There were significantly lower variations of BMD in regions with initially higher BMD. DISCUSSION: Current opinion considers trabecular bone debris from femoral rasping to have an impact on final stem position and outcome. Our study has demonstrated an overall positive effect of femoral rasping on BMD in the rasped cavity. Understanding this in the context of 3DP may help avoid mechanical failures such as, suboptimal implant fit, fill, and stability as well as femoral fractures during stem implantation. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV, Prospective in vitro study.

Spinopelvic Dissociation: A Retrospective Case Study and Review of Treatment Controversies.

INTRODUCTION: Spinopelvic dissociation is a rare injury resulting in discontinuity between the spine and pelvis. We review the English- language literature and discuss critical treatment controversies. We present a series of spinopelvic dissociation cases from a level I trauma center. METHODS: In this retrospective review of 18 consecutive cases treated surgically over a period of 4 years, we collected patient, injury, and surgical demographics and clinical and radiographic outcome measures. RESULTS: Twelve patients had associated injuries, five were intubated on arrival, and six had neurologic deficits at presentation. No patient had spinal decompression, and all patients underwent closed reduction and percutaneous fixation. There were no cases of iatrogenic nerve injury, despite the use of partially threaded sacroiliac screws and closed reduction techniques. Five patients showed progressive neurologic improvement postoperatively. After reduction, eight patients (44%) had radiographic loss of the sacrococcygeal angle at the latest follow-up, but correction of fracture translation was preserved in all. DISCUSSION: Spinopelvic dissociation represents a heterogeneous group of injuries often in the context of polytraumatized patients with other injuries. Our closed reduction and fixation technique resulted in satisfactory outcomes. We present a treatment algorithm for these rare injuries.

Brodie's abscess following percutaneous fixation of distal radius fracture in a child.

We report the case of a Brodie's abscess presenting five and a half years following closed reduction and percutaneous pinning of a distal radius fracture. The index surgery was complicated by a pin site infection that was treated successfully with antibiotics. The patient represented with forearm pain years later, and radiological investigations revealed a Brodie's abscess in the distal radius at the site of the previous Kirschner wires. The Brodie's abscess was managed through surgical curettage and antibiotics. Staphylococcus aureus and diphtheroid organisms were cultured from the intraoperative specimens. A Brodie's abscess is a form of localised subacute osteomyelitis, which usually occurs in the metaphysis of long bones and can mimic malignancy. Previous trauma or surgery has been implicated as predisposing factors. We have only identified one previously reported case of Brodie's abscess following percutaneous pinning. Ours is the first reported case in an adolescent. The aim of this paper is to raise awareness of this rare complication and review the current literature.

Are patient-reported outcome measures in orthopaedics easily read by patients?

BACKGROUND: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are commonly used by healthcare providers as means of assessing health-related quality of life and function at any given time. The complexity of PROMs can differ and when combined with varying degrees of adult literacy, error can be introduced if patients fail to understand questions. With an average adult literacy level of 11-year-old students in the United Kingdom, it is unclear to what degree PROMs can be read and understood by most patients (readability); to our knowledge, this has not been evaluated. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: We wished to determine the readability of commonly used PROMs in orthopaedic surgery, as assessed by a validated tool that measures the complexity of the language in these surveys. METHODS: We performed a MEDLINE search to identify the most-commonly reported PROMs in orthopaedic research. One hundred twenty-one PROMs were identified and reviewed by 19 attending orthopaedic surgeons at our institution. Fifty-nine were selected as the most commonly used in our department. Of these, 52 (78%) were disease specific and included: 12 (20%) knee, 10 (17%) shoulder, seven (12%) spine, six (10%) hip, five (8%) foot and ankle, four (7%) elbow, three (5%) pelvis, three (5%) hand and wrist, and two (3%) lower limb. The remaining seven (12%) PROMs were general health questionnaires. The Flesch Reading Ease Score is a validated readability tool measuring average sentence length and syllables per word. It is expressed on a scale from 0 to 100 with higher scores indicating easier reading. We extracted the text from each PROM and inserted it in the same online Flesch Reading Ease Score calculator to generate a score. RESULTS: The mean readability score was 55 (range, 0-93), corresponding to text best understood by 16- to 18-year-old students (11th-12th grades). Twenty-nine PROMs (49%) scored less than 60, classifying them as at least fairly difficult to read. Eight (14%) scored less than 30, best understood by university graduates. Only seven of 59 PROMs analyzed scored greater than 79, corresponding to text that can be understood by the average UK adult. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of PROMs analyzed are written at a level that is incomprehensible to the average UK adult. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This issue needs to be addressed if we are to continue basing our research conclusions on outcome scores. The information obtained is useful for patients to understand their musculoskeletal health, governmental agencies allocating healthcare resources, provision of management guidelines, and as a link to other data sets, such as hospital episodes statistics. Accurate and reliable data can be obtained only if patients who complete these evaluations are able to read and understand the questions asked.

Pre-operative Waterlow score: Predicts risk of post-operative infection in patients with neck of femur fractures.

INTRODUCTION: Nursing staff prospectively collect Waterlow scores (Ws) on all inpatients across most NHS hospitals, identifying patients at risk of pressure ulcers. This bedside score has not been applied in predicting other negative outcomes in patients with neck of femur (NOF) fractures. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationship between increasing Waterlow score and 30-day post-operative infection in patients with NOF fracture. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Pre-operative Ws and 30-day clinical outcome data were collected on 97 consecutive operatively treated NOF fracture patients at our institution (level one trauma centre). RESULTS: 30-day infection rate was 36%, which manifested as hospital acquired pneumonia (66%) and urinary tract infection (34%). For every one point increase in Ws, the odds of having an infection increased by 1.68 times (95% CI 1.37-2.08). The relationship between Ws and 30-day infection was similar when adjusted for potential confounders: patient demographics (age and gender), number of medical comorbidities, ASA grade, and days to surgery. For our data, the Ws predictive of infection was ≥17. This has a sensitivity of 84.9% (95% CI 68.1-94.9%) and a specificity of 84.1% (95% CI 74.7-92.1%). The area under the curve was 0.89 (95% CI 0.82-0.96). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates a strong relationship between increasing Ws and post-operative infection risk. This raises the interesting yet controversial question of using Ws to identify patients at high-risk of developing post-operative infections and the potential benefit of an extended period of antibiotic prophylaxis.

Metallosis following full thickness wear in total hip arthroplasty.

Extreme wear through the metal-backed acetabular cup following total hip arthroplasty is rare, as symptoms such as pain and disability will usually manifest earlier. We present the second reported case of extreme wear in a 78-year-old male patient, who presented 20 years following an uncemented total hip replacement with a 3-year history of hip pain, clicking on ambulation and worsening mobility. Radiographs demonstrated that the femoral head had migrated superolaterally through the polyethylene liner and the acetabular cup, and was articulating with the superior wall of the acetabulum causing bony destruction. Metallic fragments were also evident. A review of the current literature on metallosis suggests that should there be any clinical suspicion, blood metal ion levels are monitored and an MARS-MRI scan performed if indicated. If metallosis is detected, then revision surgery can be attempted at an earlier date, where the procedure is not as technically difficult.

Colo-articular fistula following a Girdlestone resection arthroplasty.

Colo-articular fistulas are rare complications that are usually associated with inflammatory, infective or malignant bowel disease. We report the case of a 44-year-old male who was found to have a colo-articular fistula intra-operatively during the washout of a septic hip joint. The patient had no pre-existing bowel disease, but was an intravenous drug user, who had previously undergone a Girdlestone procedure for osteomyelitis of the proximal femur. The patient was managed through a multi-disciplinary team approach with subsequent debridement and formation of a transverse loop colostomy to control the faeculent fistulous discharge.

Thromboprophylaxis in patients with pelvic and acetabular fractures: A short review and recommendations.

The management of thromboprophylaxis in patients with pelvic and acetabular fractures remains a highly controversial topic within the trauma community. Despite anticoagulation, venous thromboembolism (VTE) remains the most common cause of surgical morbidity and mortality in this high-risk patient group. Although various thromboprophylactic regimes are employed, evidence relating to the most effective method remains unclear. Controversies surrounding screening, the use of prophylactic inferior vena cava filters (IVCF) and chemothromboprophylaxis in polytraumatised patients, particularly those with pelvic and acetabular fractures, form the basis of considerable debate. With the absence of a well-designed clinical trial and the presence of ongoing controversies within the literature, this review will explore current treatment options available to trauma surgeons and highlight differing scientific opinions, providing an update on the role of screening and current available preventative measures. We cover existing as well as recent advances in chemical thromboprophylactic agents and discuss external mechanical compression devices, the usefulness of serial duplex ultrasonography and the role of extended chemothromboprophylaxis on discharge. The evidence behind prophylactic IVCF is also considered, along with reported complication profiles. We conclude with a proposed protocol for use in major trauma centres, which can form the basis of local policy for the prevention of VTE in trauma patients with pelvic and acetabular fractures.