Tension Band Wiring Provides Excellent Patient-Reported Long-Term Results for Both Comminuted and Simple Displaced Olecranon Fractures.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the long-term functional results of both simple and comminuted olecranon fractures treated with tension band wiring (TBW). DESIGN: Retrospective. SETTING: Level 1 trauma center. PATIENTS & INTERVENTION: Between 2004 and 2014, 178 fractures in 178 patients >16 years of age were treated with TBW for a unilateral olecranon fracture. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Subjective functionality was tested with the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaire and the Mayo Elbow Performance Index (MEPI). RESULTS: Fifty percent of our cohort were lost to follow-up leaving 89 for review. A total of 51.7% had a comminuted fracture. Mean follow-up time was 7.1 years. Reoperation rate for implant removal was 84%. The total median DASH score was 0.83. Eighty-five patients (95.5%) were rated excellent using the MEPI score. No significant difference in either score was found between the simple (SF) and the comminuted (CF) group. Median range of motion was flexion/extension: 145/-2 degrees, supination/pronation: 90/90 degrees. No clinically relevant difference in range of motion was found between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: We found no relevant differences in either subjective or objective functionality between patients with simple or comminuted olecranon fractures after fixation with TBW. Therefore, TBW seems to be an adequate and justifiable treatment modality for both simple and comminuted olecranon fractures. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Wound Infections Following Implant removal below the knee: the effect of antibiotic prophylaxis; the WIFI-trial, a multi-centre randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: In the Netherlands about 18,000 procedures with implant removal are performed annually following open or closed reduction and fixation of fractures, of which 30-80% concern the foot, ankle and lower leg region. For clean surgical procedures, the rate of postoperative wound infections (POWI) should be less than ~2%. However, rates of 10-12% following implant removal have been reported, specifically after foot, ankle and lower leg fractures. Currently, surgeons individually decide if antibiotics prophylaxis is given, since no guideline exists. This leads to undesirable practice variation. The aim of the study is to assess the (cost-)effectiveness of a single intravenous gift of Cefazolin prior to implant removal following surgical fixation of foot, ankle and/or lower leg fractures. METHODS: This is a double-blind randomized controlled trial in patients scheduled for implant removal following a foot, ankle or lower leg fracture. Primary outcome is a POWI within 30 days after implant removal. Secondary outcomes are quality of life, functional outcome and costs at 30 days and 6 months after implant removal. With 2 x 250 patients a decrease in POWI rate from 10% to 3.3% (expected rate in clean-contaminated elective orthopaedic trauma procedures) can be detected (Power = 80%, 2-sided alpha = 5%, including 15% lost to follow up). DISCUSSION: If administration of prophylactic antibiotics prior to implant removal reduces the infectious complication rate, this will offer a strong argument to adopt this as standard practice of care. This will consequently lead to less physical and social disabilities and health care use. A preliminary, conservative estimation suggests yearly cost savings in the Netherlands of € 3.5 million per year. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study is registered at Clinicaltrials.gov ( NCT02225821 ) and the Netherlands Trial Register ( NTR4393 ) and was granted permission by the Medical Ethical Review Committee of the Academic Medical Centre on October 7 2014.

Cytoreduction and HIPEC in the Netherlands: nationwide long-term outcome following the Dutch protocol.

PURPOSE: This nationwide study evaluated results of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) for peritoneal metastasis of colorectal origin in the Netherlands following a national protocol. METHODS: In a multi-institutional study prospective databases of patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) from colorectal cancer and pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) treated according to the Dutch HIPEC protocol, a uniform approach for the CRS and HIPEC treatment, were reviewed. Primary end point was overall survival and secondary end points were surgical outcome and progression-free survival. RESULTS: Nine-hundred sixty patients were included; 660 patients (69 %) were affected by PC of colorectal carcinoma and the remaining suffered from PMP (31 %). In 767 procedures (80 %), macroscopic complete cytoreduction was achieved. Three-hundred and thirty one patients had grade III-V complications (34 %). Thirty-two patients died perioperatively (3 %). Median length of hospital stay was 16 days (range 0-166 days). Median follow-up period was 41 months (95 % confidence interval (CI), 36-46 months). Median progression-free survival was 15 months (95 % CI 13-17 months) for CRC patients and 53 months (95 % CI 40-66 months) for PMP patients. Overall median survival was 33 (95 % CI 28-38 months) months for CRC patients and 130 months (95 % CI 98-162 months) for PMP patients. Three- and five-year survival rates were 46 and 31 % respectively in case of CRC patients and 77 and 65 % respectively in case of PMP patients. CONCLUSIONS: The results underline the safety and efficacy of cytoreduction and HIPEC for PC from CRC and PMP. It is assumed the uniform Dutch HIPEC protocol was beneficial.