Osteotomy around the painful degenerative varus knee has broader indications than conventionally described but must follow a strict planning process: ESSKA Formal Consensus Part I.

PURPOSE: The European consensus was designed with the objective of combining science and expertise to produce recommendations that would educate and provide guidance in the treatment of the painful degenerative varus knee. Part I focused on indications and planning. METHODS: Ninety-four orthopaedic surgeons from 24 European countries were involved in the consensus, which focused on the most common indications for osteotomy around the knee. The consensus was performed according to an established ESSKA methodology. The questions and recommendations made were initially designed by the consensus steering group. And 'best possible' answers were provided based upon the scientific evidence available and the experience of the experts. The statements produced were further evaluated by ratings and peer review groups before a final consensus was reached. RESULTS: There is no reliable evidence to exclude patients based on age, gender or body weight. An individualised approach is advised; however, cessation of smoking is recommended. The same applies to lesser degrees of patellofemoral and lateral compartment arthritis, which may be accepted in certain situations. Good-quality limb alignment and knee radiographs are a mandatory requirement for planning of osteotomies, and Paley's angles and normal ranges are recommended when undertaking deformity analysis. Emphasis is placed upon the correct level at which correction of varus malalignment is performed, which may involve double-level osteotomy. This includes recognition of the importance of individual bone morphology and the maintenance of a physiologically appropriate joint line orientation. CONCLUSION: The indications of knee osteotomies for painful degenerative varus knees are broad. Part I of the consensus highlights the versatility of the procedure to address multiple scenarios with bespoke planning for each case. Deformity analysis is mandatory for defining the bone morphology, the site of the deformity and planning the correct procedure. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level II, consensus.

Surgical strategy and complication management of osteotomy around the painful degenerative varus knee: ESSKA Formal Consensus Part II.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the European consensus was to provide recommendations for the treatment of patients with a painful degenerative varus knee using a joint preservation approach. Part II focused on surgery, rehabilitation and complications after tibial or femoral correction osteotomy. METHODS: Ninety-four orthopaedic surgeons from 24 countries across Europe were involved in the consensus, which focused on osteotomies around the knee. The consensus was performed according to the European Society for Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy consensus methodology. The steering group designed the questions and prepared the statements based on the experience of the experts and the evidence of the literature. The statements were evaluated by the ratings of the peer-review groups before a final consensus was released. RESULTS: The ideal hinge position for medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy (MOW HTO) should be at the upper level of the proximal tibiofibular joint, and for lateral closing wedge distal femoral osteotomy (LCW DFO) just above the medial femoral condyle. Hinge protection is not mandatory. Biplanar osteotomy cuts provide more stability and quicker bony union for both MOW HTO and LCW DFO and are especially recommended for the latter. Osteotomy gap filling is not mandatory, unless structural augmentation for stability is required. Patient-specific instrumentation should be reserved for complex cases by experienced hands. Early full weight-bearing can be adopted after osteotomy, regardless of the technique. However, extra caution should be exercised in DFO patients. Osteotomy patients should return to sports within 6 months. CONCLUSION: Clear recommendations for surgical strategy, rehabilitation and complications of knee osteotomies for the painful degenerative varus knee were demonstrated. In Part 2 of the consensus, high levels of agreement were reached by experts throughout Europe, under variable working conditions. Where science is limited, the collated expertise of the collaborators aimed at providing guidance for orthopaedic surgeons developing an interest in the field and highlighting areas for potential future research. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level II, consensus.

Persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in saliva: Implications for late-stage diagnosis and infectious duration.

Saliva has been a COVID-19 diagnostic specimen of interest due to its simple collection, scalability, and yield. Yet COVID-19 testing and estimates of the infectious period remain largely based on nasopharyngeal and nasal swabs. We sought to evaluate whether saliva testing captured prolonged presence of SARS-CoV-2 and potential infectiousness later in the disease course. We conducted an observational study of symptomatic COVID-19 patients at University Hospital in Newark, NJ. Paired saliva and nasal specimens from 96 patients were analyzed, including longitudinal analysis of paired observations from 28 of these patients who had multiple time-points. Saliva detected significantly more cases of COVID-19 beyond 5 days (86.1% [99/115] saliva vs 48.7% [56/115] nasal, p-value < 0.001), 9 days (79.4% [50/63] saliva vs 36.5% [23/63] nasal, p-value < 0.001) and 14 days (71.4% [20/28] saliva vs 32.1% [9/28] nasal, p-value = 0.010) of symptoms. Additionally, saliva yielded lower cycle thresholds across all time periods, indicative of higher viral loads in saliva. In the longitudinal analysis, a log-rank analysis indicated that the survival curve for saliva was significantly different from the curve for nasal swabs (p<0.001) with a median survival time for saliva of 18 days compared to 13 days for nasal swabs. We additionally performed saliva viral cultures among a similar COVID-19 patient cohort and noted patients with positive saliva viral cultures between 7 to 28 days of symptoms. Findings from this study suggest that SARS-CoV-2 RNA persists longer and in higher abundance in saliva compared to nasal swabs, with potential of prolonged propagating virus. Testing saliva may thus increase yield for detecting potentially infectious virus even beyond the first five days of symptomatic COVID-19.

Using musculoskeletal modelling to estimate knee joint loading pre and post high tibial osteotomy.

BACKGROUND: Both medial knee osteoarthritis and associated varus alignment have been proposed to alter knee joint loading and consequently overloading the medial compartment. Individuals with knee osteoarthritis and varus deformity are candidates for coronal plane corrective surgery, high tibial osteotomy. This study evaluated knee loading and contact location for a control group, a pre-surgery cohort and the same cohort 12 months post-surgery using a musculoskeletal modelling approach. METHODS: Joint kinematics during gait were measured in 30 knee osteoarthritis patients, before and after high tibial osteotomy, and 28 healthy adults. Using a musculoskeletal model that incorporated patient-specific mechanical tibial femoral angle, the resulting muscle, ligament, and contact forces were calculated and the medial - lateral condyle load distribution was analysed. FINDINGS: Surgery changed medial compartment contact force throughout stance relative to pre-surgery. This reduction in medial compartment contact force pre- vs post-HTO is observed despite a significant increase in post-surgery walking speed compared to pre-HTO, where increased speed is typically associated with increased joint loading. INTERPRETATION: This study has estimated the effects of high tibial osteotomy on knee loading using a generic model that incorporates a detailed knee model to better understand tibiofemoral contact loading. The findings support the aim of surgery to unload the medial knee compartment and lateralise joint contact forces.

A Meta-Analysis of Traditional Radial Access and Distal Radial Access in Transradial Access for Percutaneous Coronary Procedures.

INTRODUCTION: Radial approaches are classified into traditional radial access (TRA) and more contemporary distal radial access (DRA), with recently published comparative studies reporting inconsistent outcomes. As there have been several recent randomized control trials (RCT), we assessed the totality of evidence in an updated meta-analysis to compare outcomes of DRA and TRA. METHODS: We searched PubMed, CENTRAL, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews from inception to August 2022 for studies comparing DRA and TRA for coronary angiography. Primary outcomes were the rate of radial artery occlusion (RAO) and access failure. Secondary outcomes included hematomas and puncture site bleeding. The pooled risk ratio (RR) with 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI) was calculated for each outcome. RESULTS: A total of 14,071 patients undergoing coronary angiography from 23 studies, including 5488 patients from 10 RCTs. The mean age of the study population was 59.8 ± 5.9 years with 66.2 % men. Outcomes for a total of 6796 (48.3 %) patients undergoing DRA and 7166 (50.9 %) patients undergoing TRA were compared. DRA was associated with a lower rate of RAO (RR = 0.36, 95CI [0.27, 0.48], I2 = 0 %) but an increased risk of vascular access failure (RR = 2.38, 95CI [1.46, 3.87], I2 = 82.7 %). There was no significant difference in the rate of bleeding or hematoma formation. CONCLUSION: In an updated metanalysis, DRA is associated with lower rates of RAO but with higher rates of access failure.

Sample collection and transport strategies to enhance yield, accessibility, and biosafety of COVID-19 RT-PCR testing.

Introduction. Non-invasive sample collection and viral sterilizing buffers have independently enabled workflows for more widespread COVID-19 testing by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).Gap statement. The combined use of sterilizing buffers across non-invasive sample types to optimize sensitive, accessible, and biosafe sampling methods has not been directly and systematically compared.Aim. We aimed to evaluate diagnostic yield across different non-invasive samples with standard viral transport media (VTM) versus a sterilizing buffer eNAT- (Copan diagnostics Murrieta, CA) in a point-of-care diagnostic assay system.Methods. We prospectively collected 84 sets of nasal swabs, oral swabs, and saliva, from 52 COVID-19 RT-PCR-confirmed patients, and nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs from 37 patients. Nasal swabs, oral swabs, and saliva were placed in either VTM or eNAT, prior to testing with the Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 (Xpert). The sensitivity of each sampling strategy was compared using a composite positive standard.Results. Swab specimens collected in eNAT showed an overall superior sensitivity compared to swabs in VTM (70 % vs 57 %, P=0.0022). Direct saliva 90.5 %, (95 % CI: 82 %, 95 %), followed by NP swabs in VTM and saliva in eNAT, was significantly more sensitive than nasal swabs in VTM (50 %, P<0.001) or eNAT (67.8 %, P=0.0012) and oral swabs in VTM (50 %, P<0.0001) or eNAT (58 %, P<0.0001). Saliva and use of eNAT buffer each increased detection of SARS-CoV-2 with the Xpert; however, no single sample matrix identified all positive cases.Conclusion. Saliva and eNAT sterilizing buffer can enhance safe and sensitive detection of COVID-19 using point-of-care GeneXpert instruments.

Evaluation of sample collection and transport strategies to enhance yield, accessibility, and biosafety of COVID-19 RT-PCR testing.

Sensitive, accessible, and biosafe sampling methods for COVID-19 reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays are needed for frequent and widespread testing. We systematically evaluated diagnostic yield across different sample collection and transport workflows, including the incorporation of a viral inactivation buffer. We prospectively collected nasal swabs, oral swabs, and saliva, from 52 COVID-19 RT-PCR-confirmed patients, and nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs from 37 patients. Nasal and oral swabs were placed in both viral transport media (VTM) and eNAT™, a sterilizing transport buffer, prior to testing with the Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 (Xpert) test. The sensitivity of each sampling strategy was compared using a composite positive standard. Overall, swab specimens collected in eNAT showed superior sensitivity compared to swabs in VTM (70% vs 57%, P=0.0022). Direct saliva 90.5%, (95% CI: 82%, 95%), followed by NP swabs in VTM and saliva in eNAT, was significantly more sensitive than nasal swabs in VTM (50%, P<0.001) or eNAT (67.8%, P=0.0012) and oral swabs in VTM (50%, P<0.0001) or eNAT (56%, P<0.0001). Saliva and use of eNAT buffer each increased detection of SARS-CoV-2 with the Xpert test; however, no single sample matrix identified all positive cases.

Long Term Performance of an Uncemented, Proximally Hydroxyapatite Coated, Double Tapered, Titanium-Alloy Femoral Stem: Results From 1465 Hips at 10 years Minimum Follow-Up.

BACKGROUND: We assessed the survivorship of a proximally hydroxyapatite coated, double tapered, titanium-alloy femoral stem in a single center, at an average follow up of 12.5 years (10.1-15.8). The majority of stems were inserted as part of a Metal on Metal (MoM) Total Hip Replacement (THR). METHODS: Data was collected prospectively in a local database. A retrospective review was performed of all patients undergoing a primary THR with the prosthesis between 2003 and 2010. Primary outcome was revision of the stem for any cause. Analysis was also performed for stem revision for aseptic loosening, stem revision in the MoM setting and a worst case scenario whereby lost to follow up were presumed to have failed. True stem failure was considered if revision occurred for a stem related complication. RESULTS: 1465 stems were included (1310 patients, 155 bilateral). The bearing surface was cobalt chrome on cobalt chrome in 1351 cases (92%). Seven hips were lost to follow up. Thirty-two stems (31 part of a MoM THR) underwent revision for any cause. Kaplan Meier survival analysis demonstrates an overall 97.4% survivorship. Subset analysis demonstrates 100% survivorship for aseptic loosening, 97.3% in the MoM setting and 96.7% for the worst case senario. Of the 32 cases of stem revision, only 13 were classified as 'true' stem failure. CONCLUSION: This study represents the largest cohort of this uncemented femoral component with a minimum follow-up longer than 10 years. Our results demonstrate excellent long-term survivorship even in the presence of a challenging MoM environment.

High tibial osteotomy results in improved frontal plane knee moments, gait patterns and patient-reported outcomes.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to quantify changes in knee loading in the three clinical planes, compensatory gait adaptations and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMS) resulting from opening wedge high tibial osteotomy (HTO). METHODS: Gait analysis was performed on 18 participants (19 knees) with medial osteoarthritis (OA) and varus alignment pre- and post-HTO, along with 18 controls, to calculate temporal, kinematic and kinetic measures. Oxford Knee Score, Knee Outcome Survey and visual analogue pain scores were collected. Paired and independent sample tests identified changes following surgery and deviations from controls. RESULTS: HTO restored frontal and transverse plane knee joint loading to that of the control group, while reductions remained in the sagittal plane. Elevated frontal plane trunk sway (p = 0.031) and reduced gait speed (p = 0.042), adopted as compensatory gait changes pre-HTO, were corrected by the surgery. PROMs significantly improved (p ≤ 0.002). Centre of pressure (COP) was lateralised relative to the knee post-HTO (p < 0.001). Energy absorbed in the sagittal plane significantly increased post-HTO (p = 0.007), whilst work done in the transverse plane reduced (p ≤ 0.008). Pre-operative gait deviations from the control group that were retained post-HTO included smaller sagittal (p = 0.003) knee range of motion during gait, greater stance duration (p = 0.008) and altered COP location (anterior to the knee) in early stance (p = 0.025). CONCLUSIONS: HTO surgery restored frontal and transverse plane knee loading to normal levels and improved PROMs. Gait adaptations known to reduce knee loading employed pre-HTO were not retained post-HTO. Some gait features were found to differ between post-HTO subjects and controls. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II.

Functional results following high tibial osteotomy: a review of the literature.

INTRODUCTION: High tibial osteotomy (HTO) is an operation used to treat patients with medial compartment knee osteoarthritis. The United Kingdom Knee Osteotomy Registry (UKKOR) has been set up to gather contemporaneous data on HTO throughout the patient journey. UKKOR uses a variety of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) to gauge the surgical outcome. AIM: The aim of this review is to analyse the published literature that has used PROMs to assess the outcomes following HTO. METHODOLOGY: Two searches of the literature were performed and compiled highlighting 95 articles of interest. After screening and manual additions, 23 manuscripts were reviewed and appraised using the appropriate Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Checklist (Kai et al. in PLoS Med 4(11):1766-1775, 2007). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: There is a variety of published literature on HTO with a varied approach to the use of PROMs. Their use has increased recently, and studies have demonstrated that they are appropriate assessment tools for monitoring outcomes following HTO. In all of the studies that compared pre-operative to post-operative PROMs, there have been significant improvements. However, the data are varied due to differing study designs which in some instances have significant limitations. CONCLUSION: PROMs are effective ways to measure outcomes following HTO. They can also be useful in predicting outcome. The heterogeneity of the data and limitations of the study designs limit the transferability of the data. It is therefore important to analyse data from a multi-surgeon, multi-centre source that uses robust and constant pre- and post-operative PROMs.

LFA-1-targeting Leukotoxin (LtxA; Leukothera®) causes lymphoma tumor regression in a humanized mouse model and requires caspase-8 and Fas to kill malignant lymphocytes.

Leukotoxin (LtxA) is a protein secreted from the oral bacterium Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans. LtxA binds to the ß2 integrin lymphocyte-associated function antigen-1 (LFA-1) on human white blood cells (WBCs), resulting in cell death. LtxA is currently under investigation as a novel therapy (Leukothera(®)) for treating hematologic malignancies and autoimmune diseases. We show here that LtxA has potent in vivo anti-lymphoma activity in mice. LtxA caused complete regression of B-cell tumors and promoted long-term survival of mice. The mechanism of LtxA-mediated killing of malignant lymphocytes was further examined. We found that LtxA kills malignant lymphocytes by a novel mechanism requiring the death receptor Fas and caspase-8, but not Fas ligand (FasL) or caspase-9. We also determined that LFA-1 and Fas are closely associated on the cell surface and this proximity of LFA-1 and Fas could explain how signaling through an integrin can lead to cell death. In addition to LFA-1, this work reveals a second surface protein, Fas, that is critical for LtxA-mediated cell death. Knowledge of the mechanism of cell death induced by LtxA will facilitate the development and understanding of this potent experimental therapeutic agent.

Expanding the indications: distal femoral osteotomy used successfully to treat recurrent knee effusion.

Distal femoral osteotomy (DFO) is successful in treating painful valgus arthritis of the knee. We present a case where painless recurrent knee effusion was attributed to constitutional valgus. The absence of pain made the indication for surgery atypical so DFO was carefully considered and planned. A small correction was performed, bringing alignment closer to neutral with complete resolution of the recurrent effusion. We suggest that the indications for knee osteotomy can be expanded to include recurrent joint effusion in carefully selected patients.

The impact of body mass index on patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) and complications following primary hip arthroplasty.

Influence of BMI upon patient outcomes and complications following THA was examined across a national cohort of patients. Outcomes were compared by BMI groups (19.0-29.9kg/m(2) [reference], 30.0-34.9kg/m(2) [obese class I], 35.0kg/m(2)+ [obese class II/III]), adjusted for case-mix differences. Obese class I patients had a significantly smaller improvement in OHS (18.9 versus 20.5, P<0.001) and a greater risk of wound complications (odds ratio [OR]=1.57, P=0.006). For obese class II/III patients, there were significantly smaller improvements in OHS and EQ-5D index (P<0.001), and greater risk of wound complications (P=0.006), readmission (P=0.001) and reoperation (P=0.003). Large improvements in patient outcomes were seen irrespective of BMI, although improvements were marginally smaller and complication rates higher in obese patients.

Stretching the indications: high tibial osteotomy used successfully to treat isolated ankle symptoms.

High tibial osteotomy (HTO) is successful in treating symptomatic varus arthritis of the knee. We present a case where ankle pain and instability were attributed to varus ankle malalignment. This was found to be secondary to constitutional varus of the proximal tibia but the patient's knee was asymptomatic. The decision to operate on an asymptomatic knee in the hope of improving ankle symptoms took a period of careful consideration, planning and discussion. HTO was performed without immediate complication and the patient reported an excellent outcome with marked improvement in Mazur's foot and ankle score from 18 to 85. In well selected and planned cases, HTO may be considered as an instrument of deformity correction with improvement in symptoms from joints distant to the surgical site.

Catastrophic osteomyelitis following percutaneous wire fixation of a distal radial fracture: a cautionary tale of poor patient selection followed by surgical mishap.

We present a case of distal radius fracture. Several sequential unfortunate events resulted in a poor outcome. The patient was poorly selected because the degree of early dementia was not fully appreciated, due to intermittent periods of lucidity. Having elected to treat this distal radius fracture with Kirschner wires, a wire snapped during the procedure and was deemed safe to leave within the medullary cavity. Subsequently, the patient was left in a cast for 4 weeks without regular pin site inspection. When the cast was removed a gross osteomyelitis had developed. This series of events, led to unnecessary morbidity and extended the immobilisation time with reduced wrist function. This case highlights the importance of careful patient selection, surgical tactics and continuity of care.

Cemented versus cementless hemiarthroplasty for intracapsular neck of femur fracture--a comparison of 60,848 matched patients using national data.

National guidelines recommend cemented hemiarthroplasty for intracapsular fractured neck of femur (NOF), based on evidence of less pain, better mobility and lower costs. We aimed to compare complications following cemented and cementless implants, using the national hospital episode statistics (HES) database in England. Dislocation, revision, return to theatre and medical complications were extracted for all patients with NOF fracture who underwent hemiarthroplasty between January 2005 and December 2008. To make a 'like for like' comparison all 30,424 patients with a cementless implant were matched to 30,424 cemented implants (from a total of 42,838) in terms of age, sex and Charlson co-morbidity score. In the cementless group, 18-month revision (1.62% versus 0.57% (OR 2.90, p<0.001)), 4-year revision (2.45% versus 1.11% (OR 2.28, p<0.001)) and 30-day chest infection (8.14% versus 7.23% (OR 1.14, p=0.028)) were significantly higher. Four-year dislocation rate was higher in cemented implants (0.60% versus 0.26% (OR 0.45, p<0.001)). No significant differences were seen in return to theatre or other medical complications. In this national analysis of matched patients mid-term revision and perioperative chest infection was significantly higher in the cementless group. This supports the published evidence and national guidelines recommending cement fixation of hemiarthroplasty.

Removal of a below knee plaster cast worn for 28 months: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: An unusual situation in which a below knee cast was removed after 28 months is reported. To the best of our knowledge no similar cases have been reported in the literature. CASE PRESENTATION: The cast was removed from the leg of a 45-year-old Caucasian woman. Significant muscle atrophy and dense skin scales were present but the underlying skin surface was relatively healthy with only small pitted 1-2 mm ulcers. No pathogenic organisms were cultured from this environment. CONCLUSION: It seems likely that skin can tolerate cast immobilization for prolonged duration.