Association of hip and pelvic geometry with tibiofemoral osteoarthritis: multicenter osteoarthritis study (MOST).

OBJECTIVE: Lateral tibiofemoral osteoarthritis (OA) is overall less common than medial tibiofemoral OA, but it is more prevalent in women. This may be explained by sex differences in hip and pelvic geometry. The aim of this study is to explore sex differences in hip and pelvic geometry and determine if such parameters are associated with the presence of compartment-specific knee OA. METHODS: This case-control study reports on 1,328 hips/knees from 664 participants and is an ancillary to the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study (MOST). Of the 1,328 knees, 219 had lateral OA, 260 medial OA, and 849 no OA. Hip and pelvic measurements were taken from full-limb radiographs on the ipsilateral side of the knee of interest. After adjusting for covariates, means were compared between sexes and also between knees with medial and lateral OA vs no OA using separate regression models. RESULTS: Women were shown to have a reduced femoral offset (FO) (mean 40.9 mm vs 45.9 mm; P = 0.001) and more valgus neck-shaft angle (mean 128.4° vs 125.9°; P < 0.001) compared to men. Compared to those with no OA, knees with lateral OA were associated with a reduced FO (P = 0.012), increased height of hip centre (HHC) (P = 0.003), more valgus neck-shaft angle (P = 0.042), and increased abductor angle (P = 0.031). Knees with medial OA were associated with a more varus neck-shaft angle (P = 0.043) and a decreased abductor angle (P = 0.003). CONCLUSION: These data suggest anatomical variations at the hip and pelvis are associated with compartment-specific knee OA and may help to explain sex differences in patterns of knee OA.

The Effect of Season and Weather on Orthopaedic Trauma: Consult Volume Is Significantly Correlated with Daily Weather.

INTRODUCTION: On-call orthopedic clinicians have long speculated that daily consult volume is closely correlated with weather. While prior studies have demonstrated a relationship between weather and certain fracture types, the effect of weather on total orthopaedic consult volume has not yet been examined. The aim of this study was to investigate this relationship. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed orthopaedic consult data from 405 consecutive days at an urban, level one trauma center. The number, mechanism of injury, and type of consult were collected, along with daily weather data (temperature, wind, and precipitation). Statistical analysis was then performed to determine the relationship between weather and orthopaedic trauma consults. RESULTS: A total of 4543 consults were received during the study period. There was a significant difference in total number of consults between months of the year (p<0.001). A post hoc analysis revealed that this was due to increased volume in the summer months relative to the winter months (i.e., August 13.7 consults/day; January 9.3 consults/day). Average daily temperature and consult volume were also positively correlated (p<0.001, r= 0.30). While there was no significant association between precipitation and total consult volume, when there was over 0.25 inches of rain, there were less penetrating trauma (p=0.034) and motorcycle collision consults (p=0.013). CONCLUSION: Weather parameters, specifically average temperature and precipitation, were found to be associated with daily orthopedic consult type and volume. Additionally, consult volume varies significantly between months of the year. Because trauma centers are often resource scarce, this is an important relationship to understand for proper resource allocation.