Total Knee Arthroplasty for Osteoarthritis in Patients Less Than Fifty-Five Years of Age: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: The proportion of younger patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is increasing and predictions state that the <55 age group will be the fastest growing group by 2030. We aim to collate data across studies to assess functional outcomes following TKA in patients <55 years of age using a systematic review. METHODS: The search identified 980 studies for title and abstract review. Forty-three full texts were then assessed. Thirteen studies underwent quality assessment and data extraction. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines were followed throughout. Outcomes extracted included pre-operative and post-operative functional scores, range of motion, and patient satisfaction. Clinical complications and survival were also recorded. RESULTS: Across 13 studies we were able to demonstrate 54-point improvement in clinical Knee Society Score and a 46-point improvement on functional Knee Society Score. A 2.9° improvement in range of motion was found at final follow-up. Satisfaction rate was 85.5%. Cumulative percentage all-cause revision rate was 5.4% across 1283 TKAs at a mean 10.8 years of follow-up. Ten-year survival, for aseptic loosening alone, was 98.2%. CONCLUSION: TKA is an excellent treatment option for the young osteoarthritic knee with a >50% improvement in functional knee scores. Satisfaction is high and the revision rate remains 0.5% per year.

Systematic review of proximal femoral arthroplasty for non-neoplastic conditions.

Proximal femoral arthroplasty (PFA) is an established treatment modality following oncological resection. Increasingly, these prostheses are being used for non-neoplastic conditions such as fractures and bone loss associated with septic or aseptic loosening. We performed a systematic review of the literature to determine the failure rates, mortality rates and hip outcome scores when PFAs were used in non-neoplastic conditions. There were 14 studies with an average follow-up of 3.8 years (range 0-14 years) describing 356 PFAs. Re-operation for any reason occurred in 23.8% (85/356) of cases. The most common complications were dislocation (15.7%) and infection (7.6%). The mortality rate ranged from 0% to 40%. PFA provides an acceptable surgical solution when confronted with massive bone loss, but it has a high re-operation rate for dislocation and infection.

Ganglia arising from the transverse acetabular ligament: a report of two cases.

Ganglia arising from the hip are rare. Its diagnosis is difficult owing to the anatomic location. A high index of suspicion and high-resolution imaging is essential to make the diagnosis. Treatment depends on the size, location, and symptoms. This report is of 2 patients with ganglia arising from the transverse acetabular ligament.

A systematic review of endoprosthetic replacement for non-tumour indications around the knee joint.

BACKGROUND: Endoprosthetic replacement (EPR) for limb salvage is an established treatment modality for orthopaedic malignancies around the knee. Increasingly, they are being used for non-tumour indications such as fractures, bone loss associated with aseptic loosening, septic loosening and ligament insufficiencies. METHODS: We reviewed the evolution and biomechanics of knee EPRs. MEDLINE was searched using the PubMed interface to identify relevant studies pertaining to the use of knee EPRs in non-tumour conditions. Failures, mortality and knee scores were the main outcome measures. Subgroup analysis in the non-tumour conditions was also performed. RESULTS: There were nine studies with an average follow-up of 3.3years (Range 1-5years) describing 241 EPRs used in non-tumour conditions. Re-operation for any reason occurred in 17% (41/241) of cases. The most common complication was infection (15%) followed by aseptic loosening (5%) and periprosthetic fractures (5%). The mortality rate averaged 22%. Infected knee arthroplasties were less likely to have a successful outcome when salvaged with an EPR with failure rates up to 33%. CONCLUSIONS: Endoprosthetic replacement is a limb salvage option when other surgical options are unfeasible, especially in low demand elderly patients with limited life expectancy. They have low rates of failure in the medium term. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 1.

Long-term outcome of total hip replacement in patients with or without femoral head contamination.

PURPOSE: To compare long-term outcomes of total hip replacement (THR) in patients with or without contamination of the femoral head. METHODS: After a mean period of 12 (range, 8-17) years, 104 female and 71 male THR patients aged 47 to 96 (mean, 77) years were reassessed via a self-administered questionnaire, and 25 other THR patients were reassessed by review of case notes. The questionnaires comprised the 12-item Oxford hip score and the European Quality Of Life (EuroQOL). 87 and 88 patients had positive and negative cultures in the donated femoral heads, respectively. The 2 groups were compared with respect to the Oxford hip score, the EuroQOL, and rates of complication and revision surgery. RESULTS: Long-term outcomes of THR patients with or without femoral head contamination were not significantly different. Respectively, the mean Oxford hip scores were 36 and 39 (p=0.4); 16 and 14 patients had the maximum score of 48; 2 and 3 patients scored <10 (mostly owing to aseptic loosening). The respective mean visual analogue scale score of the EuroQOL were 65 and 73 (p=0.07); only the dimension of self care was significantly different between groups (p=0.04). Respectively, 14 and 12 patients had complications (16% vs. 15%, χ²=0.05, p=0.8), whereas 11 and 5 patients had revision surgery (13% vs. 6%, χ²=2.2, p>0.1). CONCLUSION: Microbiological screening of donated femoral heads plays no role in predicting long-term failure of THR in the donors.

Mortality following hip fracture surgery in patients with recent myocardial infarction.

INTRODUCTION: In an elective setting, surgery is best avoided for at least 6 months following myocardial infarction. However, in the presence of a femoral neck fracture, this would most probably lead to significant complications in relation to prolonged immobilisation. There is no published mortality data for patients undergoing surgery for hip fracture following a recent myocardial infarction. The aim of this retrospective study was to assess the mortality of hip fracture patients with a recent myocardial infarction that have undergone surgery at our institution. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between January 2003 and October 2005, 2270 patients were admitted to our unit with a proximal femoral fracture. Of these, 11 patients were found to have a recent myocardial infarction. RESULTS: Of these 11 patients, 8 were female. The average age was 78.2 years (range, 59-90 years). Average delay from the time of infarction to operation was 11.2 days (range, 3-23 days). Mortality at 1 and 6 months was 45.4% and 63.5%, respectively. DISCUSSION: This is much higher than the overall reported mortality following proximal femur fracture. This information may be useful when planning future peri-operative care and discussing overall prognosis with patients and their relatives.