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Arthroplasty has been shown to generate the most waste among all orthopaedic subspecialties, and it is estimated that hip and knee arthroplasty generate in excess of three million kg of waste annually in the UK. Infectious waste generates up to ten times more CO2 compared with recycled waste, and previous studies have shown that over 90% of waste in the infectious stream is misallocated. We assessed the effect of real-time waste segregation by an unscrubbed team member on waste generation in knee and hip arthroplasty cases, and compared this with a simple educational intervention during the ‘team brief’ at the start of the operating list across two sites. Waste was categorized into five categories: infectious, general, recycling, sharps, and linens. Each category was weighed at the end of each case using a digital weighing scale. At Site A (a tertiary orthopaedic hospital), pre-intervention data were collected for 16 total knee arthroplasy (TKA) and 15 total hip arthroplasty (THA) cases. Subsequently, for ten TKA and ten THA cases, an unscrubbed team member actively segregated waste in real-time into the correct streams. At Site B (a district general hospital), both pre- and post-intervention groups included ten TKA and ten THA cases. The intervention included reminding staff during the ‘team brief’ to segregate waste correctly.Aims
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Better prediction of outcome after total hip arthroplasty (THA) is warranted. Systemic inflammation and central neuroinflammation are possibly involved in progression of osteoarthritis and pain. We explored whether inflammatory biomarkers in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were associated with clinical outcome, and baseline pain or disability, 12 months after THA. A total of 50 patients from the Danish Pain Research Biobank (DANPAIN-Biobank) between January and June 2018 were included. Postoperative outcome was assessed as change in Oxford Hip Score (OHS) from baseline to 12 months after THA, pain was assessed on a numerical rating scale, and disability using the Pain Disability Index. Multiple regression models for each clinical outcome were included for biomarkers in blood and CSF, respectively, including age, sex, BMI, and Kellgren-Lawrence score.Aims
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Aims. Systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are the highest level of evidence used to inform patient care. However, it has been suggested that the quality of randomization in RCTs in
Aims. Surgeon and patient reluctance to participate are potential significant barriers to conducting placebo-controlled trials of
Electromagnetic induction heating has demonstrated in vitro antibacterial efficacy over biofilms on metallic biomaterials, although no in vivo studies have been published. Assessment of side effects, including thermal necrosis of adjacent tissue, would determine transferability into clinical practice. Our goal was to assess bone necrosis and antibacterial efficacy of induction heating on biofilm-infected implants in an in vivo setting. Titanium-aluminium-vanadium (Ti6Al4V) screws were implanted in medial condyle of New Zealand giant rabbit knee. Study intervention consisted of induction heating of the screw head up to 70°C for 3.5 minutes after implantation using a portable device. Both knees were implanted, and induction heating was applied unilaterally keeping contralateral knee as paired control. Sterile screws were implanted in six rabbits, while the other six received screws coated with Aims
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The December 2024 Trauma Roundup360 looks at: Percutaneous lumbopelvic fixation is effective in the management of unstable transverse sacral fractures; A systematic review on autologous matrix-induced chondrogenesis (AMIC) for chondral knee defects; Stable clinical and radiological outcomes at medium and over five-year follow-up of calcaneus fracture open reduction internal fixation using a sinus tarsi approach; Right or left? It might make a difference; Suprapatellar versus infrapatellar tibial nailing – is there a difference in anterior knee pain and function?; Can patients safely weightbear following ankle fracture fixation?; Anterior-to-posterior or a plate fixation for posterior malleous fractures?; Audio distraction for traction pin insertion: a prospective randomized controlled study; Is intramedullary nailing of femoral diaphyseal fractures in the lateral decubitus position as safe and effective as on a traction table?
Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) represents a complex challenge in
The December 2024 Children’s orthopaedics Roundup360 looks at: Establishing best practice for managing idiopathic toe walking in children: a UK consensus; Long-term outcomes of below-elbow casting in paediatric diaphyseal forearm fractures; Residual dysplasia risk persists in developmental dysplasia of the hip patients after Pavlik harness treatment; 3D printing in paediatricorthopaedics: enhancing surgical efficiency and patient outcomes; Pavlik harness treatment for hip dysplasia does not delay motor skill development in children; High prevalence of hip dysplasia found in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis on routine spine radiographs; Minifragment plates as effective growth modulation for ulnar deformities of the distal radius in children; Long-term success of Chiari pelvic osteotomy in preserving hip function: 30-year follow-up study.
Aim. There is limited data on the frequency and impact of untoward events such as glove perforation, contamination of the surgical field (drape perforation, laceration, detachment), the unsterile object in the surgical field (hair, sweat droplet…), defecation, elevated air temperature…that may happen in the operating theatre. These events should influence the surgical site infection rate but it is not clear to what extent. We wanted to calculate the frequency and measure the impact of these events on the infection and general revision rate. Method. In our institution, scrub nurses prospectively and diligently record untoward events in the theatres. We have an institutional implant registry with close to 100% data completion since 2001, and surgeons register complications before discharge. We analysed the respective databases and compared the revision and infection rate in the group with untoward events with the outcome of all arthroplasty patients within the same period. Two-tailed Z statistical test was used for analysis. Results. Between 1.1.2012 and 31.12.2018 we operated 13574 prosthetic joints: 6232 primary THR (total hip replacement) and 5466 primary KR (total and partial knee replacement) and 1245 and 631 revisions respectively. During this period, we recorded 372 events (2.74%) including 20 (0.15 %) defecations, 40 (0.29 %) unsterile object in the surgical field, 73 (0.54%) field sterility violations, 45 (0.33 %) glove perforations, 45 (0.33 %) occasions with elevated air temperature, 106 (0.78%) with guests in the OR, 11 (0.08%) with wound near the surgical field, and 32 (0.24%) with other events. We followed the patients till 1.1.2022, in this time we recorded 27 (7.26%) reoperations in the cohort with untoward events. There were 9 (2.42%) infections and 18 (4.84%) aseptic revisions in the group with unwanted events. The infection rate for all TJR (total joint replacement) from the period 2012-2018, followed till 1.1.2022 was 2.23%, the revision rate for any reason was 4.37%. For all THR (primary and revision) the infection rate was 0.84%, the overall revision rate was 3.18% and for the KR (primary and revision) 1.71% and 5,82% respectively. The difference is significant at p>0.05 for infection rate. Conclusions. The potentially serious sterility disruptive events in the operative rooms did result in an increased infection rate but not an increase in revision rate. There is no data about the rate and the impact of these events besides for perforated surgical gloves with higher reported incidences than in our study influencing infection rate if perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis was not used. Ours is the first study reporting the impact of these unwanted events in the operating theatre. Key words.
Aim. Prosthetic joint infections (PJI) are a common reason for revisions in patients that underwent total arthroplasty of the hip (THA) or knee (TKA). Extensive antibiotic treatment follows while a clear understanding of target site concentrations is lacking. The aim is to investigate the target site concentrations, like bone and synovial tissue concentrations, which consequently may lead to an optimisation of the dosing regiments of cefuroxime of PJI patients suffering from pain and immobility. Dosing optimisation may lead to a reduced risk of (re-)infection and adverse effects like renal-insufficiency and therefore lower health-care costs. Method. Patients (n=26) with PJI of hip or knee undergoing a one- or two-stage revision treated with cefuroxime were included as part of the ASTERICS study. During implant removal two samples were collected 15-30 and 60-120 minutes after IV infusion of plasma, bone tissue and synovial tissue and one synovial fluid sample. Samples were analysed using a UltraPerformance Convergence Chromotography – quadruple mass spectrometry system (UPC. 2. -MS/MS). Bone tissue and synovial tissue were pulverized before analysis acquiring for bone tissue a homogenate of cortical and cancellous bone. Using nonlinear mixed effect modelling (NONMEM) a base model was developed to analyse the bone to plasma ratio of cefuroxime in osteomyelitis patients. Results. Mean bone concentrations (mg/L) of cefuroxime at 30-60 min after IV administration in the knee and hip are 21.29 (SD:11.86) and 19.06 (SD: 11.79) respectively and 8.23 (SD:4.90) and 9.67 (SD:9.75) respectively at 90-120 min after IV administration. The penetration of cefuroxime described by the bone:plasma ratio into knee and hip affected by osteomyelitis is 0.3 and 0.4 respectively within 1 hour and 0.1 for both joints within 2 hours. The results mentioned here were collected during knee operations without blood void conditions. Concentration data was used to develop a base pharmacokinetic model using NONMEM and was best described by a two-compartment model. Conclusions. Cefuroxime penetrates osteomyelitis affected bone tissue within the hour proving the usefulness of cefuroxime as prophylaxis of
Swedish guidelines on antibiotic prophylaxis in arthroplasty surgery recommend cloxacillin in fixed doses that pay little attention to the patient's renal function and weight. Nevertheless, there are no studies on whether the resulting free prophylactic cloxacillin We performed a prospective two-centre study, measuring the free (active) cloxacillin concentrations in plasma throughout surgery, in patients subject to primary hip and knee prosthetic joint replacements, aiming at 100 patients per centre. To account for plasma-bone exposure differences, concentrations were considered adequate if twice the epidemiological cut-off value for cloxacillin concerning wild type Aim
Method
Irrigation and debridement with an irrigation solution are essential components of the surgical management of acute and chronic periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). Nevertheless, there is a lack of agreement regarding the most effective solution to use. The aim of the study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the current literature concerning the efficacy of different irrigation solutions over bacterial biofilm. This study was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for Network meta-analysis (PRISMA-NMA) checklist for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. A comprehensive literature search of PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and Scopus databases from inception to September 1, 2023. We combined terms related to PJI, biofilm and irrigation solutions studied in vitro. We performed a network meta-analysis to analyze which irrigation solution achieved a higher reduction of colony forming units (CFU) after specific exposure times, always with a maximum of five minutes, replicating intraoperative conditions. Effect-size was summarized with logarithmic response ratio (logRR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). The rank probability for each treatment was calculated using the p-scores.Aim
Method
The incidence of limb fractures in patients living with HIV (PLWH) is increasing. However, due to their immunodeficiency status, the operation and rehabilitation of these patients present unique challenges. Currently, it is urgent to establish a standardized perioperative rehabilitation plan based on the concept of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS). This study aimed to validate the effectiveness of ERAS in the perioperative period of PLWH with limb fractures. A total of 120 PLWH with limb fractures, between January 2015 and December 2023, were included in this study. We established a multidisciplinary team to design and implement a standardized ERAS protocol. The demographic, surgical, clinical, and follow-up information of the patients were collected and analyzed retrospectively.Aims
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Day-case success rates after primary total hip arthroplasty (THA), total knee arthroplasty (TKA), and medial unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (mUKA) may vary, and detailed data are needed on causes of not being discharged. The aim of this study was to analyze the association between surgical procedure type and successful day-case surgery, and to analyze causes of not being discharged on the day of surgery when eligible and scheduled for day-case THA, TKA, and mUKA. A multicentre, prospective consecutive cohort study was carried out from September 2022 to August 2023. Patients were screened for day-case eligibility using well defined inclusion and exclusion criteria, and discharged when fulfilling predetermined discharge criteria. Day-case eligible patients were scheduled for surgery with intended start of surgery before 1.00 pm.Aims
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We sought to compare functional outcomes and survival between non-smokers, former smokers, and current smokers who underwent anatomical total shoulder arthroplasty (aTSA) in a large cohort of patients. A retrospective review of a prospectively collected shoulder arthroplasty database was performed between August 1991 and September 2020 to identify patients who underwent primary aTSA. Patients were excluded for preoperative diagnoses of fracture, infection, or oncological disease. Three cohorts were created based on smoking status: non-smokers, former smokers, and current smokers. Outcome scores (American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES), Constant-Murley score, Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI), Simple Shoulder Test (SST), University of California, Los Angeles activity scale (UCLA)), range of motion (external rotation (ER), forward elevation (FE), internal rotation, abduction), and shoulder strength (ER, FE) evaluated at two- to four-year follow-up were compared between cohorts. Evaluation of revision-free survival was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method to final follow-up.Aims
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Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a potential complication of foot and ankle surgery. There is a lack of agreement on contributing risk factors and chemical prophylaxis requirements. The primary outcome of this study was to analyze the 90-day incidence of symptomatic VTE and VTE-related mortality in patients undergoing foot and ankle surgery and Achilles tendon (TA) rupture. Secondary aims were to assess the variation in the provision of chemical prophylaxis and risk factors for VTE. This was a multicentre, prospective national collaborative audit with data collection over nine months for all patients undergoing foot and ankle surgery in an operating theatre or TA rupture treatment, within participating UK hospitals. The association between VTE and thromboprophylaxis was assessed with a univariable logistic regression model. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to identify key predictors for the risk of VTE.Aims
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The October 2024 Arthroplasty Roundup360 looks at: Breaking the mould: female representation in arthroplasty surgery remains low, with elbow leading the way; Post COVID-19: where are we with the 'catch up' in England and Wales?; Prevalence and clinical impact of sarcopenia in patients undergoing total joint replacement: a systematic review and a meta-analysis; Total joint replacement and sleep: the state of the evidence.
The subject of noise in the operating theatre was recognized as early as 1972 and has been compared to noise levels on a busy highway. While noise-induced hearing loss in