Perioperative factors influencing hospitalization duration for pediatric neck abscesses.

PURPOSE: Pediatric neck abscesses are a common pathology seen in an ambulatory setting. Although some pediatric neck abscesses are managed medically with antibiotics, surgical intervention is often required. Given the often non-emergent presentation of many abscesses, a variety of logistical and perioperative factors may delay time to care and subsequently prolong hospital stay. The objective of this study was to examine factors that influence the overall time to surgery (TTS) and hospital length of stay (LOS) in a pediatric population with neck abscesses who ultimately require surgical drainage. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 161 pediatric patients who underwent incision and drainage of a neck abscess over a ten-year period at a tertiary referral children's center were reviewed. Demographic information, radiographic studies, and surgical information were extracted from patient charts. Descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U tests, and multivariate analyses were performed. RESULTS: The most common subcategory location was deep neck abscesses (33.1 %). Computed tomography (CT) was the most common pre-operative imaging modality (54.1 %) followed by ultrasound (US) (49.1 %) and magnetic resonance imaging (2.6 %). US and a combination of multiple preoperative imaging modalities were associated with increased LOS and TTS. Repeat surgery was associated with increased LOS. Pre-admission antibiotic use was associated with increased LOS and TTS. Younger patients were more likely to have a longer LOS. CONCLUSIONS: A variety of factors can influence TTS, LOS, and time from surgery to discharge including patient age, abscess location, a non-optimized utilization of imaging modalities, the utilization of pre-admission antibiotics, and the need for repeat operations.

Posteromedial corner injury in knee dislocations.

Surgeons are often faced with very limited data available to make informed decisions regarding the appropriate treatment of patients with posteromedial corner (PMC) injuries of the knee. This study compared the outcomes of surgical repair versus reconstruction in knee dislocation patients who have sustained injury to the PMC of the knee. Senior author treated 113 consecutive knee dislocations with 115 PMC injuries over 7 years. A total of 71 knee dislocation patients with 73 PMC tears qualified for the study and were followed for a mean of 43 months. Patients who had a PMC repair were assigned to treatment Group A. Group B included patients who had autograft reconstruction of the PMC. Patients who had an allograft PMC were assigned to Group C. A total of 25 patients had a repair, with 5 failures (20%), whereas 48 patients had reconstruction of the PMC with 2 failures (4%). There was a significant difference between the failure rate of PMC repairs and PMC reconstructions. Reconstruction of the PMC using a technique that reestablishes the critical triangle of the medial collateral ligament, the posterior oblique ligament, and the semitendinosus yielded better stability than repair in patients with a knee dislocation that included PMC instability.