Postoperative Complications of Hip Fractures Patients on Chronic Coumadin: A Comparison Based on Operative International Normalized Ratio.

In current clinical practice, orthopedic surgeons often delay the surgery intervention on geriatric hip fracture patients to optimize the international normalized ratio (INR), in order to decrease the risk of postoperative hematological complications. However, some evidence suggests that full reversal protocols may not be necessary, especially for patients with prior thromboembolic history. Our study aims to compare the surgical outcomes of patients with normal versus elevated INR values. We conducted a retrospective chart review on 217 patients who underwent surgeries on hip fractures at two academic trauma centers. We found that in our group (n = 124) of patients with an INR value of 1.5-3.0, there was only one reoperation for a hematoma, but there was a trend for more blood transfusions. There was no statistically significant difference in the odds of reoperation or overall complications. Nevertheless, there were significantly more events of postoperative anemia in this high INR patient group.

Screw Fixation Without Bone Grafting for Delayed Unions and Nonunions of Minimally Displaced Scaphoids.

Delayed unions and nonunions of the scaphoid are most often treated by open reduction and internal fixation with bone grafting. We sought to evaluate a large consecutive series of nondisplaced or minimally displaced scaphoid nonunions and delayed unions treated by a compression screw without bone grafting by 2 fellowship trained hand surgeons. A total of 23 patients (19 males, 4 females) were identified who had fractures located at the distal third (2), the waist (18), and the proximal third (3). Of the 23 patients, 19 had a complete follow-up (mean follow-up period, 5.2 months) with evidence of radiographic union. There were no radiographic signs of arthrosis, osteonecrosis of the scaphoid, hardware-related complications, or reported revision surgeries. In conclusion, nonunions and delayed unions in nondisplaced or minimally displaced scaphoids without carpal malalignment can be successfully treated using compression screw fixation without bone grafting.

Nonoperative Treatment of Closed Extra-Articular Distal Humeral Shaft Fractures in Adults: A Comparison of Functional Bracing and Above-Elbow Casting.

Diaphyseal fractures of the distal humerus have a high rate of union when treated with a functional brace or an above-elbow cast (AEC). This study compares alignment of the humerus and motion of the elbow after functional brace or AEC treatment. One-hundred and five consecutive patients with a closed, extra-articular fracture of the distal humeral diaphysis were identified in the orthopedic trauma databases of 3 hospitals between 2003 and 2012. Seventy-five patients with a follow-up of at least 6 months or with radiographic and clinical evidence of fracture union were included (51 treated with functional bracing and 24 treated with an AEC). All of the fractures healed. The average arc of elbow flexion was 130° ± 9° in braced patients vs 127° ± 12° in casted patients. Four patients (8%) in the bracing group and 4 (17%) in the casting group lost >20° of elbow motion. The average varus angulation on radiographs was 17° ± 8° in braced and 13° ± 8° in casted patients, while the average posterior angulation was 9° ± 6° vs 7° ± 7°, respectively. Closed extra-articular distal diaphyseal humerus fractures heal with both bracing and casting and there are no differences in average elbow motion or radiographic alignment.

A Simple, All-Arthroscopic, Knotless Suture Lasso Loop Technique for Suprapectoral Biceps Tenodesis.

A variety of pathology of the long head of the biceps tendon can contribute to anterior shoulder pain in adults that can be managed with either arthroscopic tenotomy or tenodesis when conservative treatment fails. Biceps deformity or the Popeye sign is a major concern in patients after tenotomy. Biceps tenodesis can be performed in a variety of ways with different sized anchors and at different locations (suprapectoral or subpectoral). Several studies have shown that patient outcomes and complication rates are similar between all-arthroscopic suprapectoral biceps tenodesis and open subpectoral biceps tenodesis. We describe a simple, knotless, arthroscopic intra-articular biceps tenodesis technique using a 1.5-mm LabralTape lasso loop technique and a 2.9-mm PushLock anchor.

Using a Posterior Compartment Fasciotomy and Paratenon Closure in Acute Achilles Tendon Repair.

Soft tissue management, dissection, and handling are of paramount importance during Achilles tendon repair. Although surgical repairs of Achilles tendons have predictably excellent outcomes, complications including wound infection and stiffness are not uncommon. The authors' surgical technique for Achilles tendon repair includes tagging the posterior paratenon for later layered repair and incising the posterior fascia, exposing the flexor hallucis longus muscle belly. This posterior compartment fasciotomy allows for both hematoma evacuation away from the tenuous posterior skin and mobilization of the posterior paratendon for complete closure over the repaired Achilles tendon. With this modified technique, the authors report a 1% infection rate and a 1% failure rate. [Orthopedics. 2016; 39(4):e790-e793.].

Management of Propionibacterium acnes infection after shoulder surgery.

Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) is a gram-positive anaerobic bacillus commonly isolated from the flora of the face, chest, and axilla region. It has emerged as a major pathogen responsible for postoperative shoulder infections after both arthroscopy and arthroplasty procedures. Patients with P. acnes shoulder infection typically present with normal laboratory values (white blood cells (WBC), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP)) making diagnosis difficult. Several intraoperative tissue cultures should be obtained and cultured in both agar plate and broth in aerobic and anaerobic conditions for a minimum of 13 days to optimize the sensitivity and specificity to detect P. acnes. The utilization of intraoperative frozen sections to detect P. acnes infection is not reliable. Risk factors include male, cloudy synovial fluid, lucencies around the implant, and periprosthetic membrane formation. Managements include irrigation and debridement, single or two-staged revision, and intravenous antibiotics. Open biopsy prior to the final implantation (two-staged revision) may help detect persistent P. acnes infection. Penicillin and cephalosporins are effective against clinical P. acnes infection and biofilm in vitro. Combination antibiotic therapy with rifampin and daptomycin may further increase the clinical efficacy of treatment.

Factors affecting pain in acute ankle fractures: A prospective evaluation.

Pain has been identified as the dominant factor in patient outcomes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the degree of pain reported in a large series of acute ankle fractures and to determine what factors are associated with higher pain scores. We prospectively evaluated 457 consecutive patients with acute Weber B supination external rotation ankle fractures upon presentation for pain in 9 areas of the ankle. There were 231 females and 226 males, average age 46.2 (18-96) with 133 bi/tri-malleolar and 324 lateral malleolar fractures. There were 101 SE2, 73 stress (+) SE4, and 150 ligamentous SE4 injuries. The highest pain score (VAS 0-10) for the medial and lateral regions was chosen for analysis. Other factors included in the multivariate analysis were: age, ethnicity, DM, alcohol presence, and days from injury to presentation on the level of pain reported using a linear regression model and set statistical significance at 0.05. In univariate analysis, the type of injury (medial malleolus or deltoid ligament) nor instability differed with respect to medial pain. However, patients presenting with instability had more lateral pain (5.6±3) than those with stable injuries (2.6±3) (p<001). Additionally, those with bony medial injury had more lateral pain (7±2.7) than those with isolated lateral malleolar fractures (4.0±3.4) (p<0.001). Most importantly, in the multivariate analysis, the only factor that was significant for both medial and lateral pain (separate regressions) was ethnicity, with blacks having more pain given the same injury than whites (p<0.001). Latinos trended towards having more lateral pain than whites (p=0.15), but not more medial pain (p=0.3). For lateral pain, in addition to ethnicity, presence of a displaced mortise (p<0.0001), having a medial bony injury (p<0.0001), and the days from injury (p=0.008) were significant. Pain decreased with time from injury. In this evaluation of over 450 patients with Weber B, SE pattern ankle fractures we confirmed previous work in the upper extremity indicating an important difference in the reported pain by ethnicity. In particular, black patients have more pain than white or latino patients given the same injury.

Does Syndesmotic Injury Have a Negative Effect on Functional Outcome? A Multicenter Prospective Evaluation.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of syndesmotic disruption on the functional outcomes of Weber B, SE4 ankle fractures treated operatively. SETTING: Multicenter trauma hospitals. PATIENTS: Data were prospectively gathered during a previous, multicenter randomized trial including 242 patients (136 women, 106 men) from 9 trauma centers with operatively treated Weber B SE4 ankle fractures. There were 81 patients (35%) with syndesmotic instability confirmed intraoperatively after fibula fixation. INTERVENTION: Functional evaluations were performed postoperatively at 6, 12, 26, and 52 weeks. The presence of symptomatic hardware and peroneal tendon discomfort was evaluated with 9-12 months of follow-up. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Functional outcomes evaluated included Short Musculoskeletal Function Assessment (SMFA), Bother index, and American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) scores. The recovery curve of the 2 groups was analyzed using a mixed linear regression analysis for repeated measures and included gender and race in the model. Symptomatic hardware and peroneal tendon discomfort were compared between the 2 groups with a χ analysis. RESULTS: The adjusted mean linear regression analyses demonstrated that patients without a syndesmotic injury had better functional outcomes for some outcome measures. SMFA scores at 12 weeks were statistically lower in patients without syndesmotic injury (P = 0.02), but not at other visits. AOFAS scores were significantly higher (P = 0.0006), and Bother index trended toward lower results (P = 0.07) in patients without syndesmotic injury at all time points. Isolated analyses (T-tests) at 1 year demonstrated a difference in the SMFA (P = 0.04) and Bother index (P = 0.05), but not the AOFAS (P = 0.21). Men consistently demonstrated better recovery than women for all outcomes, whereas race was not significant for any measure. Symptomatic hardware and peroneal tendon irritation was not statistically different between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: The recovery curves after ankle fractures were different based on syndesmotic injury. However, the difference was at the limit of clinical significance. Syndesmotic injury has a slightly detrimental effect on outcomes of operatively treated Weber B SE4 fractures. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.