COVID-19 hip fracture outcomes: The role of Ct values and D-dimer levels?

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused high mortality rates in hip fracture patients, but data for Asian patients are lacking. Whilst Cycle threshold (Ct) values and D-dimer have been reported as predictors of mortality in COVID-19 patients, their prognostic roles in those with concomitant hip fracture remain unknown. The objectives of this study were to i) assess the clinical outcomes of COVID-19 hip fractures patients in the Chinese population, ii) identify risk factors of mortality and complications, and iii) determine the prognostic roles of Ct values and D-dimer levels. Methodology: This cohort study was conducted during the 5th wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Inclusion criteria were 1) hip fracture 2) â€‹≥ â€‹60 years old 3) low-energy trauma. Outcomes were 90-day all-cause mortality, complications, length of stay, discharge destination and mobility status. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify risk factors for mortality and complications. Subgroup analysis was performed for patients with Ct â€‹< â€‹30 and Ct â€‹> â€‹30, comparing their outcomes of operations performed within 48 â€‹h vs beyond 48 â€‹h. Results: 159 hip fracture patients were included, 42 patients were COVID-19 positive. COVID-19 group had significantly higher 90-day mortality rates (21.4% vs 9.4%), complication rates (45.2% vs 28.2%) and longer length of stay (17.06 vs 10.84 nights). COVID-19 was an independent risk factor for mortality and complications. Amongst the COVID-19 group, risk factors for poor outcomes were advanced age, steroids use, conservative treatment and American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) score ≥ 3. Conservative treatment was associated with higher mortality (OR â€‹= â€‹16.00; p â€‹= â€‹0.025) in COVID-19 hip fracture patients. There was no significant difference between Ct values â€‹< â€‹30 and >30 regarding mortality and complication rate. D-dimer and timing to operation did not affect outcomes. Conclusions: Patients with concomitant COVID-19 and hip fracture are at high risk of mortality and complications. Ct values and D-dimer levels have no prognostic roles for hip fracture outcomes. Early operative treatment is recommended as soon as patients are medically fit.

Surgical accuracy of image-free versus image-based robotic-assisted total knee arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the accuracy in achieving proper lower limb alignment and component positions after total knee replacement (TKR) with image-free and image-based robotic-assisted TKR. METHODS: A total of 129 patients (166 knees) suffering from end-stage knee arthritis who underwent TKA operated by robotic-assisted surgery between the years 2018 and mid-2021 were recruited. Radiological outcomes were compared between image-free and image-based robotic-assisted surgical systems. RESULTS: There were significant differences between the two robotic systems when comparing the mean planned component alignment and the mean measured alignment on radiographs, in which the image-free robotic-assisted system was more varus, whereas the image-based robotic-assisted system was more valgus for both the mean femoral and tibial component coronal alignment (p < 0.001). For tibial component sagittal alignment, the image-based group had a larger deviation from the planned posterior slope (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Image-free and image-based robotic assisted TKR had differing accuracy in femoral and tibial alignment.

Should nails be locked dynamically or statically in atypical femoral fractures? - A radiological analysis of time to union and reoperations in 236 displaced fractures with 4 years average follow-up.

INTRODUCTION: Atypical femoral fractures (AFFs) are associated with delayed union and higher reoperation rates. Axial dynamization of intramedullary nails is hypothesized to reduce time-to-union (TTU) and fixation failure as compared to static locking. METHODS: Consecutive acutely displaced AFFs fixed with long intramedullary nails across five centres between 2006 and 2021 with a minimum postoperative follow-up of three months were retrospectively reviewed. The primary outcome was TTU, compared between AFFs treated with dynamically or statically locked intramedullary nails. Fracture union was defined as a modified Radiographic Union Score for Tibial fractures score of 13 or greater. Secondary outcomes involved revision surgery and treatment failure, defined as non-union beyond 18 months or revision internal fixation for mechanical reasons. RESULTS: A total of 236 AFFs (127 dynamically locked and 109 statically locked) were analysed with good interobserver reliability of fracture union assessment (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.89; 95% CI = 0.82-0.98). AFFs treated with dynamized nails had significantly shorter median TTU (10.1 months; 95% CI = 9.24-10.96 vs 13.0 months; 95% CI = 10.60-15.40) (log-rank test, p = 0.019). Multivariate Cox regression revealed that dynamic locking was independently associated with greater likelihood of fracture union within 24 months (p = 0.009). Reoperations were less frequent in the dynamic locking group (18.9% vs 28.4%), although the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.084). Static locking was an independent risk factor for reoperation (p = 0.049), as were varus reduction and lack of teriparatide use within three months of surgery. Static locking also demonstrated a higher frequency of treatment failure (39.4% vs 22.8%, p = 0.006) and was an independent predictor of treatment failure in logistic regression (p = 0.018). Other factors associated with treatment failure included varus reduction and open reduction. CONCLUSIONS: Dynamic locking of intramedullary nails in AFFs is associated with faster time to union, lower rate of non-union, and fewer treatment failures.

A Toolbox of Bone Consolidation for the Interventional Radiologist.

Bone consolidation is increasingly used in the treatment of both benign and malignant bone conditions. Percutaneous vertebroplasty, for example, has been shown to be useful in vertebral compression fractures in the VAPOUR trial which showed its superiority to placebo for pain reduction in the treatment of acute vertebral compressive fractures. Further tools have since been developed, such as kyphoplasty, spinal implants, and even developments in bone cements itself in attempt to improve outcome, such as chemotherapy-loaded cement or cement replacements such as radio-opaque silicon polymer. More importantly, bone fixation and its combination with cement have been increasingly performed to improve outcome. Interventional radiologists must first know the tools available, before they can best plan for their patients. This review article will focus on the tool box available for the modern interventional radiologist.

Surgeon-designed patient-specific instrumentation improves glenoid component screw placement for reverse total shoulder arthroplasty in a population with small glenoid dimensions.

PURPOSE: Glenoid component loosening is a potential complication of reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (rTSA), occurring in part due to lack of adequate screw purchase in quality scapular bone stock. This study was to determine the efficacy of a surgeon-designed, 3D-printed patient-specific instrumentation (PSI) compared to conventional instrumentation (CI) in achieving longer superior and inferior screw lengths for glenoid component fixation. METHODS: A multi-centre retrospective analysis of patients who underwent rTSA between 2015 and 2020. Lengths of the superior and inferior locking screws inserted for fixation of the glenoid baseplate component were recorded and compared according to whether patients received PSI or CI. Secondary outcomes included operative duration and incidence of complications requiring revision surgery. RESULTS: Seventy-three patients (31 PSI vs. 42 CI) were analysed. Average glenoid diameter was 24.5 mm (SD: 3.1) and 81% of patients had smaller glenoid dimensions compared to the baseplate itself. PSI produced significantly longer superior (44.7 vs. 30.7 mm; P < 0.001) and inferior (43.0 vs. 31 mm; P < 0.001) mean screw lengths, as compared to CI. A greater proportion of maximal screw lengths for the given rTSA construct (48 mm) were observed in the PSI group (71.9% vs. 11.9% superior, 59.4% vs. 11.9% inferior). Operative duration was not statistically significantly different between the PSI and CI groups (150 min vs. 169 min, respectively; P = 0.229). No patients had radiographic loosening of the glenoid component with an average of 2-year follow-up. CONCLUSION: PSI facilitates longer superior and inferior screw placement in the fixation of the glenoid component for rTSA. With sufficient training, PSI can be designed and implemented by surgeons themselves.

Orthogeriatric Multidisciplinary Co-Management Across Acute and Rehabilitation Care Improves Length of Stay, Functional Outcomes and Complications in Geriatric Hip Fracture Patients.

Introduction: As the global number of geriatric hip fracture cases continues to proliferate, a newly developed orthogeriatric co-management multidisciplinary care model has been implemented since November 2018 to meet further increases in demand. Our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of the new pathway in improving the clinical outcomes of fragility hip fractures. Methods: The data of geriatric hip fracture patients from 1 April 2018 till 30 October 2018 was collected as the conventional orthopaedic care model (pre-orthogeriatric care model) to compare with data from the orthogeriatric co-management model, 1 Feb 2019 till 31 August 2019. Clinical outcomes were analyzed between the groups, with the efficiency of the programme reflected in the total length of stay in acute and convalescent hospitals. Results: 194 patients were recruited to the conventional group and 207 were recruited to the orthogeriatric group, 290 patients (72.3%) were female. The mean (SD) patient age was 84.2 (7.9) years. The median length of stay in the acute and rehabilitation hospitals decreased by 1 day and 2 days, respectively (P=.001). The orthogeriatric group was associated with a higher Modified Barthel Index score on discharge from the rehabilitation hospital and more patients in the orthogeriatric collaboration group received osteoporosis medication prescription within one year after the index fracture. There was no difference in the 28-days unplanned readmission rate, complication rate, mortality rate or Elderly Mobility Scale scores on discharge from the rehabilitation hospital between the two groups. Conclusion: Orthogeriatric collaboration has been proven to be effective in terms of a decreased length of stay in both the acute and the rehabilitation hospitals.

Topical administration of tranexamic acid in elderly patients undergoing short femoral nailing for intertrochanteric fracture: A randomised controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION: Topical application of tranexamic acid (TXA) has been proposed as an alternative to intravenous administration to reduce perioperative bleeding in orthopaedic surgery. The purpose of this randomised controlled trial was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of 1 g topically applied TXA in patients undergoing fixation of intertrochanteric hip fractures by short femoral nailing. METHODS: A total of 121 patients were enrolled between May 2018 and January 2020. Patients were randomly allocated (1:1) to receive either 10 mL (1 g) of TXA or 10 mL of normal saline (NS) injected through the subfascial drain following wound closure. Total blood loss, total drain output and blood transfusion requirements up to postoperative day 3 were recorded. Rates of thromboembolic complications and mortality up to 90 days postoperatively were also compared. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference in total blood loss, total drain output or proportion of patients requiring transfusions. Median total blood loss was 1.088 L (IQR: 0.760-1.795) in the TXA group and 1.078 L (IQR: 0.797-1.722) in the NS group (P = .703). Median total drain output was 60 mL (IQR: 40-140) in the TXA group and 70 mL (IQR: 30-168) in the NS group (P = .696). Blood transfusions were administered in 29 patients (47.5%) in the TXA group and 27 patients (45.0%) in the NS group (P = .782). There was also no difference in frequency of thrombotic complications or mortality within 90 days. There were five thrombotic events in the TXA group and four in the NS group (P = .751). The 90-day mortality rate was 6.6% (4 patients) in the TXA group and 3.3% (2 patients) in the NS group (P = .680). CONCLUSION: A 1 g dose of topically administered TXA did not produce any difference in blood loss, transfusion requirements, thromboembolic complications, or 90-day mortality. Future trials may consider the effect of larger doses in patients undergoing hip fracture fixation surgery.

Comparing 3 Different Techniques of Patella Fracture Fixation and Their Complications.

INTRODUCTION: Patella fractures managed by fixation with metal implants often cause local soft tissue irritation and necessitate implant removal. An alternative is to utilize suture-based fixation methods. We have adopted suture and hybrid fixation in the routine management of patella fractures. Here, we compare the results of 3 fixation techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty-seven eligible patients underwent patella fracture fixation over a 3-year period. As determined by fracture configuration, patients received (1) suture fixation (transosseous sutures and figure-of-eight tension banding with FiberWire), (2) hybrid fixation (transosseous FiberWire sutures and metal tension banding), or (3) metal fixation. Primary outcome measures included reoperation rate and soft tissue irritation. Secondary outcomes included surgical complications, radiological, and functional parameters. RESULTS: Reoperation rate was highest for metal fixation (25/57, 43.9%) and lowest for suture fixation (2/13, 15.4%). Soft tissue irritation necessitating implant removal was the predominant reason for reoperation and was significantly less prevalent following suture fixation (1/13, 7.7%, P < .01). Hybrid fixation resulted in similar rates of soft tissue irritation (6/17, 35.3%) and implant removal (7/17, 41.2%) as compared to metal fixation. There was a significant increase in patella baja (13/17, 76.5%) and reduction in Insall-Salvati ratio (0.742; 95% confidence interval: 0.682-0.802) following hybrid fixation as compared to the other 2 fixation methods (P < .05). DISCUSSION: Suture fixation results in the least amount of soft tissue irritation and lowest reoperation rate, but these advantages are negated with the addition of a metal tension band wire. Hybrid fixation also unbalances the extensor mechanism. CONCLUSION: Patients should be counseled as to the expected sequelae of their fixation method. Suture fixation is the favored means to fix distal pole fractures of the patella. An additional metal tension band loop may confer additional stability but should be applied with caution.