Measurement of acetabular wall indices: comparison between CT and plain radiography.

The purpose of this study was to compare measurements of anterior wall index (AWI) and posterior wall index (PWI) on computed tomography (CT) to those on radiographs (XR). A consecutive cohort of 33 patients (45 hips total) being evaluated for hip pain with both XR and CT was examined. Preoperative measurements of AWI and PWI were performed utilizing supine anteroposterior pelvic XR and coronal and swiss axial CT scans by two independent raters. Mean differences between XR and CT measurements were compared, and agreement between measurements was assessed using the concordance correlation coefficient (rc ) and Bland-Altman analysis. A total of 39 hips in 28 patients were analyzed. The mean patient age was 31.1 ± 9.0 years, and 50% were female. Mean AWI and PWI on XR was 0.50 ± 0.14 and 0.91 ± 0.12, respectively. Measured values of AWI were consistently larger (0.08 ± 0.10, P < 0.01) on XR compared with both coronal and swiss axial CT, with moderate agreement between XR and CT measurements (rc = 0.68-0.70). Measured values of PWI were consistently smaller (0.15 ± 0.12, P < 0.05) on XR compared with both coronal and swiss axial CT, with poor agreement between XR and CT measurements (rc = 0.37-0.45). Measured values of acetabular wall indices on XR were consistently larger for AWI and smaller for PWI relative to CT. Agreement between XR and CT measures of the indices were moderate to poor. This highlights the need for standardization of XR- and CT-based measurements to improve assessment of acetabular coverage and subsequent clinical decision-making.

Trauma patients with tibia/fibula fractures are associated with an increased risk of torso, severe head, and severe spine injuries compared to patients with femur fractures.

BACKGROUND: Although previous studies have demonstrated an association between lower extremity fractures and concomitant torso (thorax and abdomen) injuries in trauma patients, they do not compare different types of fractures. Therefore, we investigated the risk of associated torso injuries between femur and tibia/fibula fractures, hypothesizing that trauma patients with femur fractures are at higher risk of torso injuries compared to patients with tibia/fibula fractures. METHODS: The Trauma Quality Improvement Program database (2010-2016) was queried for patients presenting with either femur or tibia/fibula fractures. Patients with ground-level falls and penetrating injuries were excluded. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: From 162,354 patients, 104,075 (64.1%) patients had femur fractures and 58,279 (35.9%) had tibia/fibula fractures. Compared to those with femur fractures, patients with tibia/fibula fractures had a higher incidence of torso injuries (32.2% vs. 17.7%, p<0.001). The tibia/fibula fracture group was also associated with an increased risk of torso (OR 2.22, CI 2.17-2.27, p<0.001), severe (abbreviated injury scale grade > 3) head (OR 2.38, CI 2.30-2.46, p<0.001), and severe spine injuries (OR 2.33, CI 2.07-2.62, p<0.001) compared to the femur fracture group. Additionally, patients with tibia/fibula fractures had a higher rate of deep vein thrombosis (2.5% vs. 1.8%, p<0.001) than patients with femur fractures. CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to previous studies, we demonstrate patients with tibia/fibula fractures have a higher associated risk of torso, severe head and severe spine injuries than patients with femur fractures. Therefore, trauma surgeons should manage tibia/fibula fracture patients with similar clinical vigilance as femur fracture patients.

Fat embolism syndrome in blunt trauma patients with extremity fractures.

OBJECTIVE: This study sought to provide a national, descriptive analysis to determine fat embolism syndrome (FES) risk factors, hypothesizing that femur fractures and multiple fractures are associated with an increased risk. METHODS: The Trauma Quality Improvement Program was queried (2010-2016) for patients with extremity fractures. A multivariable logistic regression analysis model was used. RESULTS: From 324,165 patients, 116 patients (0.04%) were diagnosed with FES. An age ≤30, closed femur fracture, and multiple long bone fractures were associated with an increased risk of FES. CONCLUSION: Future research to validate these findings and develop a clinical risk stratification tool appears warranted.