Functional Considerations in Bilateral, Simultaneous Tendon Injuries of the Upper Extremity: A Narrative Review of Current Literature.

¼ Bilateral, simultaneous same-tendon injuries of the upper extremity are rarely encountered, yet their unique complexity poses a substantial challenge for treating orthopaedic surgeons.¼ In general, extremities with more tendon retraction should be repaired acutely while contralateral injuries can be treated in a staged or simultaneous manner depending on injury morphology, location, and anticipated functional impairment.¼ Combinations of accelerated and conventional rehabilitation protocols can be used for individual extremities to minimize the length of functional impairment.

Hip Range of Motion: Which Plane of Motion Is More Predictive of Lower Extremity Injury in Elite Soccer Players? A Prospective Study.

The objective of this study was to determine which plane of hip motion (rotational or sagittal) is more predictive of lower extremity (LE) injury in elite soccer players. A total of 69 athletes (43 professional and 26 collegiate) were examined (mean age, 22.6 years). Bilateral hip internal rotation (IR), external rotation, extension, and flexion measurements were taken along with the modified Thomas test during preseason physicals. There were 42 LE injuries (injury rate 3.74/1000 athlete exposures). Mean IR was 25.2. and 29.9° for injured versus noninjured extremities, respectively (p = .009). There was a significant association between decreased IR (categorized as IR < 28°) and incidence of ipsilateral LE injury (p = .042). Extremities with IR < 28° were 2.81 times more likely to sustain a LE injury (95% CI, 1.15.6.84; p = .023). With a utilitarian focus, the current study has identified a measurement of decreased hip IR with potential for substantial clinical value in collegiate and professional soccer players. (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 28(3):201-208, 2019).

The Effect of Postoperative KT-1000 Arthrometer Score on Long-Term Outcome After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.

BACKGROUND: Many long-term studies have looked at outcomes after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), but none have correlated long-term outcomes with postoperative laxity greater than 5 mm. It has been stated previously that more than 5 mm of postoperative graft laxity constituted a procedural failure. PURPOSE: To directly compare tight grafts (<3 mm) and loose grafts (>5 mm) to determine the effect of graft laxity, as measured by KT-1000 arthrometer, after ACLR on long-term clinical outcomes. STUDY DESIGN: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2. METHODS: The study included 171 consecutive patients who had undergone transtibial bone-patellar tendon-bone ACLR between 1992 and 1998. At 6, 12, and 24 months postoperatively (the immediate postoperative period), patients were evaluated. Group A included patients with a maximal side-to-side (STS) difference in the immediate postoperative period of less than 3 mm (tight grafts), and group B included patients with a maximal STS difference of greater than 5 mm (loose grafts). Any patient with a history of ipsilateral or contralateral ACLR or ACL injury, meniscectomy, or cartilage restoration was excluded. Patients were prospectively followed to long-term follow-up, when a telephone interview was conducted regarding knee function and to document Lysholm, Tegner, Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) subjective outcome scores. RESULTS: Eighty-seven patients met inclusion criteria: 66 tight grafts (group A) and 21 loose grafts (group B). The mean ± SD time to follow-up was 16.3 ± 1.5 years in group A (n = 46) and 16.8 ± 1.3 years in group B (n = 15). Tegner ( P = .77), Lysholm ( P = .85), KOOS ( P = .96), and IKDC ( P = .42) were found to have no statistically significant difference between groups at long-term follow-up. Both Tegner and Lysholm scores significantly improved in tight and loose grafts in the immediate postoperative period as well as at long-term follow-up compared with preoperatively. There were 2 ACL revisions in group A and none in group B. Eleven of 46 patients (24%) in group A required subsequent procedures versus 1 of 15 patients (6.7%) in group B ( P = .146). CONCLUSION: Postoperative laxity of greater than 5 mm STS difference as measured by KT-1000 arthrometer does not appear to place patients at a worse clinical outcome at long-term follow-up, nor does it lead to significantly more subsequent procedures. In addition, transtibial ACLR can provide excellent clinical results at long-term follow-up.

Meniscal scaffolds.

There are two scaffold products designed for meniscal reconstruction or substitution of partial meniscal defects that are currently available in the Europe: the collagen meniscal implant (CMI; Ivy Sports Medicine, Gräfelfing, Germany) and the polymer scaffold (PS; Actifit, Orteq Bioengineering, London, United Kingdom). The CMI has demonstrated improved clinical outcomes compared with baseline in patients with chronic postmeniscectomy symptoms with follow-up ranging from 5 to more than 10 years. There are also several comparative studies that report improved clinical scores in patients with chronic medial meniscus symptoms treated with CMI versus repeat partial meniscectomy, and a lower reoperation rate. Recently, PS insertion was shown to result in improved clinical outcomes in patients with chronic postmeniscectomy symptoms of the medial or lateral meniscus at short-term follow-up. However, there is currently no medium- or long-term data available for the PS. The use of meniscal scaffolds in the acute setting has not been found to result in improved outcomes in most studies. The authors' surgical indications for meniscal scaffold implantation, preferred surgical technique, and postoperative rehabilitation protocol are described.

Current strategies and approaches to meniscal repair.

Repair of symptomatic meniscal tears in the appropriate patient has demonstrated successful mid and long-term results with a variety of different repair techniques. These techniques have undergone much evolution and innovation, from the initial open repairs to a variety of inside-out, outside-in, and all-inside techniques and devices. This article focuses on patient presentation, selection, current treatments, and surgical techniques including pearls and pitfalls, and discusses the most recent published outcomes and complications.

Rugby injuries: a review of concepts and current literature.

Rugby football continues to grow in popularity internation- ally and within the United States. In 1995, rugby union, one form of rugby, turned from amateur to professional through- out Europe, increasing the potential for monetary reward, which, in turn, secondary to higher levels of play, increased the risk of injury. With this increased higher interest and the increasing number of inexperienced and professional players in the U.S., there is a need for a comprehensive analysis of professional rugby union injury in the American literature and increased awareness of rugby injuries, in general, for all levels of players. This paper provides an in-depth analysis of professional rugby union injuries that will assist ortho- paedic surgeons treating these injuries in the U.S. The data described highlights the potential impact of rugby injury in the U.S. and provides an overview of the international data to serve as the basis for future American studies. An additional goal of this review is to stimulate discussion regarding the necessity of implementing additional safety precautions for this high-risk sport. Finally, this analysis highlights the in- consistencies and discrepancies of the literature with respect to rugby union injury and the variability and weak interstudy reproducibility of current rugby injury data.

Vasopressin stimulates ventromedial hypothalamic neurons via oxytocin receptors in oxytocin gene knockout male and female mice.

A wealth of neuropharmacological data demonstrates that oxytocin (OT) actions in the mammalian forebrain support a wide variety of affiliative behaviors and repress aggressive behaviors. Based on that literature, it was expected that reproductive and affiliative behaviors would be vastly decreased and aggression markedly increased in OT gene knockout (OTKO) mice. The initial publications reporting the behaviors of these mice did not include such phenotypes. Here, we compared single-unit activities recorded from the ventromedial hypothalamus in tissue slices of male and female OTKO mice and their wild-type littermate to test two hypotheses about OT functional genomics. First, we proposed that in OTKO mice, a very similar 9-amino-acid neuropeptide, arginine vasopressin (a likely gene duplication product), can 'cross over' and compensate for the lack of OT. This hypothesis was confirmed in both males and females. Further, we proposed that because of the lifelong absence of OT in OTKO, OT receptors would be more sensitive to OT in the knockout animals. We tested this idea in males and found that it was correct. Thus, an answer to the 'OTKO paradox' is put forth, with implications for OT-sensitive behaviors in a variety of species.

Reduction of lipocalin-type prostaglandin D synthase in the preoptic area of female mice mimics estradiol effects on arousal and sex behavior.

In female rodents, sleep and activity levels fluctuate over the estrous cycle. When estradiol (E2) levels are highest, sleep is reduced whereas locomotion is increased. The preoptic area (POA) is a key site for estrogenic regulation of these functions. However, molecular mechanisms by which E2 acts to reduce sleep and increase activity are unclear. Recently, we demonstrated a twofold reduction in lipocalin-type prostaglandin D synthase (L-PGDS) transcript levels, after E2 treatment, in the ventrolateral POA (VLPO), a putative sleep-active nucleus. Catalytic activity of L-PGDS produces PGD2, an endogenous somnogen. Thus, we hypothesized that decreases in PGD2 in the VLPO may contribute to the generalized arousal mediated by estrogens. To test this, we infused (i) antisense oligonucleotides (oligos), containing locked nucleic acid moieties (an improved technology), targeted to L-PGDS mRNA, (ii) scrambled sequence control oligos, or (iii) saline vehicle into the VLPO of ovariectomized female mice treated with E2 or oil. Arousal states and activity levels were assessed in response to a series of sensory stimuli (vestibular, olfactory, and somatosensory). The vestibular stimulus, which was administered first, resulted in the strongest responses and elicited significantly different responses among the groups: all groups in the E2 cohort demonstrated increases in overall home cage activity and duration of that activity compared with the oil-treated control groups. As predicted from E2 suppression of L-PGDS transcript levels, the responses of the locked nucleic acid antisense oligo-treated animals from the oil cohort did not differ from the E2-treated groups, such that they also demonstrated increases in activity and duration of activity compared with their controls. Thus, reducing L-PGDS in the VLPO of oil-treated females mimicked the effect of E2 on activity and arousal and represents a unique molecular pathway through which E2 may modulate these functions.