Stress Radiograph Confirmation of Translational Instability After Cruciate-Retaining Total Knee Arthroplasty.

INTRODUCTION: Late rupture of the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in cruciate-retaining total knee arthroplasty (TKA) can lead to increased AP instability. This results in increased stress on the medial hamstrings resulting in hamstring-based pain. We looked to identify patients with late PCL failure using a lateral stress radiograph. METHODS: A prospective cohort analysis was completed at a single institution. Eligible patients were divided into two groups based on the amount of anterior knee pain. Pain was defined as a visual analog scale of greater than or equal to 3. Each group completed a visual analog scale, Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score Junior, Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System score and underwent a lateral posterior stress/nonstress radiograph. Amount of posterior translation and posterior tibial slope was measured. RESULTS: Patients who had painful TKAs at the follow-up had lower Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score Junior (45.86 ± 13.52 versus 78.00 ± 13.26 P < 0.001). Those patients were also found to have significantly higher posterior tibial translation with stress radiograph (6.89 ± 1.874 versus 3.91 ± 2.15 mm P < 0.001) and significantly increased tibial slope (6.51 ± 2.37° versus 3.98 ± 1.79°, P = 0.004). Seven of the 14 patients in the pain group underwent revision surgery, with 6 patients found to have incompetent PCLs. DISCUSSION: Patients with increased AP translation and increased posterior tibial slope after cruciate-retaining TKA are likely to have worse pain and outcome measures.

Sporotrichosis in a U.S. Army Basic Trainee.

Lymphocutaneous sporotrichosis is a mycotic disease caused by traumatic inoculation of the dimorphic fungus Sporothrix schenckii, found ubiquitously in decaying vegetation. The potential for outbreaks, difficulty with timely diagnosis, as well as the prolonged treatment course and recovery from surgical intervention can have a substantial impact on the medical readiness of service members. Treatment with the antifungal therapy of choice, itraconazole, requires close patient monitoring for the duration of treatment for clinical response, drug tolerance, as well as therapeutic drug levels. We present a case of a U.S. Army enlistee with sporotrichosis contracted during basic training, highlighting the impact of delayed diagnosis and prolonged treatment course and recovery on medical readiness.

Shoulder Arthroscopy Simulator Training Improves Surgical Procedure Performance: A Controlled Laboratory Study.

BACKGROUND: Previous simulation studies evaluated either dry lab (DL) or virtual reality (VR) simulation, correlating simulator training with the performance of arthroscopic tasks. However, these studies did not compare simulation training with specific surgical procedures. PURPOSE/HYPOTHESIS: To determine the effectiveness of a shoulder arthroscopy simulator program in improving performance during arthroscopic anterior labral repair. It was hypothesized that both DL and VR simulation methods would improve procedure performance; however, VR simulation would be more effective based on the validated Arthroscopic Surgery Skill Evaluation Tool (ASSET) Global Rating Scale. STUDY DESIGN: Controlled laboratory study. METHODS: Enrolled in the study were 38 orthopaedic residents at a single institution, postgraduate years (PGYs) 1 to 5. Each resident completed a pretest shoulder stabilization procedure on a cadaveric model and was then randomized into 1 of 2 groups: VR or DL simulation. Participants then underwent a 4-week arthroscopy simulation program and completed a posttest. Sports medicine-trained orthopaedic surgeons graded the participants on completeness of the surgical repair at the time of the procedure, and a single, blinded orthopaedic surgeon, using the ASSET Global Rating Scale, graded participants' arthroscopy skills. The procedure step and ASSET grades were compared between simulator groups and between PGYs using paired t tests. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the groups in pretest performance in either the procedural steps or ASSET scores. Overall procedural step scores improved after combining both types of simulator training (P = .0424) but not in the individual simulation groups. The ASSET scores improved across both DL (P = .0045) and VR (P = .0003), with no significant difference between the groups. CONCLUSION: A 4-week simulation program can improve arthroscopic skills and performance during a specific surgical procedure. This study provides additional evidence regarding the benefits of simulator training in orthopaedic surgery for both novice and experienced arthroscopic surgeons. There was no statistically significant difference between the VR and DL models, which disproved the authors' hypothesis that the VR simulator would be the more effective simulation tool. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: There may be a role for simulator training in the teaching of arthroscopic skills and learning of specific surgical procedures.