Minimising population health loss in times of scarce surgical capacity: a modelling study for surgical procedures performed in nonacademic hospitals.

BACKGROUND: The burden of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a reduction of available health care capacity for regular care. To guide prioritisation of semielective surgery in times of scarcity, we previously developed a decision model to quantify the expected health loss due to delay of surgery, in an academic hospital setting. The aim of this study is to validate our decision model in a nonacademic setting and include additional elective surgical procedures. METHODS: In this study, we used the previously published three-state cohort state-transition model, to evaluate the health effects of surgery postponement for 28 surgical procedures commonly performed in nonacademic hospitals. Scientific literature and national registries yielded nearly all input parameters, except for the quality of life (QoL) estimates which were obtained from experts using the Delphi method. Two expert panels, one from a single nonacademic hospital and one from different nonacademic hospitals in the Netherlands, were invited to estimate QoL weights. We compared estimated model results (disability adjusted life years (DALY)/month of surgical delay) based on the QoL estimates from the two panels by calculating the mean difference and the correlation between the ranks of the different surgical procedures. The eventual model was based on the combined QoL estimates from both panels. RESULTS: Pacemaker implantation was associated with the most DALY/month of surgical delay (0.054 DALY/month, 95% CI: 0.025-0.103) and hemithyreoidectomy with the least DALY/month (0.006 DALY/month, 95% CI: 0.002-0.009). The overall mean difference of QoL estimates between the two panels was 0.005 (95% CI -0.014-0.004). The correlation between ranks was 0.983 (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides an overview of incurred health loss due to surgical delay for surgeries frequently performed in nonacademic hospitals. The quality of life estimates currently used in our model are robust and validate towards a different group of experts. These results enrich our earlier published results on academic surgeries and contribute to prioritising a more complete set of surgeries.

The Thrust Plate Prosthesis: long-term clinical and radiological results.

The Thrust Plate Prosthesis is a femoral implant designed for total hip arthroplasty, based on the principles of physiologic loading of the metaphysis of the proximal femur, and preserving the bone stock. This study presents the long-term clinical and radiological results of 34 patients with 36 Thrust Plate Prostheses. In a retrospective analysis, we investigated the reoperation-free survival as well as the clinical and radiological results. Mean age at operation was 51 +/- 6.4 years. Mean follow-up length was 11.9 +/- 1.6 years. Reoperation-free survival was 88.9%. Four (11.1%) reoperations were performed, in three patients due to aseptic loosening and in one patient because of a fracture distal to the lateral plate. Three of the reoperations were performed between 12 and 32 months postoperatively. The major complaint was pain at the lateral side of the hip (44%). Radiolucencies did not exceed 1 mm, but 35% of the hips showed resorption of the cortex directly under the thrust plate, together with cancellous bone hypertrophy at the calcar, noted in 97%. Because of the relatively high reoperation-free survival and favourable radiological results, the Thrust Plate Prosthesis appears as a possible alternative to stemmed total hip arthroplasty, especially in relatively young patients.

TNF blockade requires 1,25(OH)2D3 to control human Th17-mediated synovial inflammation.

OBJECTIVES: T helper 17 (Th17) cells from patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) induce a proinflammatory feedback loop upon RA synovial fibroblast (RASF) interaction, including autocrine interleukin (IL)-17A production. A major challenge in medicine is how to control the pathogenic Th17 cell activity in human inflammatory autoimmune diseases. The objective of this study was to examine whether tumour necrosis factor (TNF) blockade and/or 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) (1,25(OH)(2)D(3)) controls Th17-mediated synovial inflammation. METHODS: Peripheral CD4+CD45RO+CCR6+ Th17 cells of patients with early RA, Th17-RASF cocultures and synovial biopsy specimens were cultured with or without 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) and/or TNFα blockade. Intracellular cytokine expression was detected by flow cytometry. Cytokine and matrix metalloprotease (MMP) production was determined by ELISA. RESULTS: The authors show that the 1,25(OH)(2)D(3), but not TNFα blockade, significantly suppressed autocrine IL-17A production in Th17-RASF and synovial biopsy cultures. Combining 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) and TNFα blockade had a significant additive effect compared with single treatment in controlling synovial inflammation, indicated by a further reduction in IL-6, IL-8, MMP-1 and MMP-3 in Th17-RASF cocultures and IL-6 and IL-8 expression in cultures of RA synovial tissue. CONCLUSIONS: These data show that TNF blockade does not suppress IL-17A and IL-22, which can be overcome by 1,25(OH)(2)D(3). The combination of neutralising TNF activity and 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) controls human Th17 activity and additively inhibits synovial inflammation. This indicates more valuable therapeutic potential of activation of Vitamin D receptor signalling over current TNF neutralisation strategies in patients with RA and potentially other Th17-mediated inflammatory diseases.

Instrumented Bone Preserving elbow prosthesis in rheumatoid arthritis: 2-8 year follow-up.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical and radiological results of elbow arthroplasty using the instrumented Bone Preserving (iBP) elbow prosthesis, which is the 6(th) iteration of the Kudo prosthesis, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. METHODS: From December 1999 to August 2006, 20 total elbow replacements in 19 patients with rheumatoid arthritis were performed by 2 surgeons using the iBP. The humeral component is uncemented and the ulnar component cemented. There were 14 women and 5 men. The period of follow-up was 2-8 years, with a mean of 49 months. The mean age at time of operation was 62 years (range, 32-80). The Larsen grade and The Mayo Elbow Performance Score were used. Possible radiolucent lines or displacement of the components were evaluated yearly. RESULTS: The preoperative radiographs showed that all of the involved elbows were in grade 3-5 with an average of 4.1. All patients had a poor elbow before operation. Two elbows were moderately unstable. Three complications occurred: 1 intraoperative fracture of the medial condyl, 1 postoperative dislocation, and 1 persistent sensory ulnar neuropathy. After surgery, at the last follow-up, 3 patients had fair results, 5 good, and 12 excellent. In 6 cases, radiographic loosening of the ulnar component was observed without any clinical symptoms; none around the humeral component. CONCLUSION: The iBP elbow prosthesis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis shows good to excellent clinical results, despite radiolucency around the cemented ulnar component in some cases.