The latest medical research on Adult Reconstructive Orthopaedics

In cases of severe periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) of the knee, salvage procedures such as knee arthrodesis (KA) or above-knee amputation (AKA) must be considered. As both treatments result in limitations in quality of life (QoL), we aimed to compare outcomes and factors influencing complication rates, mortality, and mobility.

Patients with PJI of the knee and subsequent KA or AKA between June 2011 and May 2021 were included. Demographic data, comorbidities, and patient history were analyzed. Functional outcomes and QoL were prospectively assessed in both groups with additional treatment-specific scores after AKA. Outcomes, complications, and mortality were evaluated.

A total of 98 patients were included, 52 treated with arthrodesis and 47 with AKA. The mean number of revision surgeries between primary arthroplasty and arthrodesis or AKA was 7.85 (SD 5.39). Mean follow-up was 77.7 months (SD 30.9), with a minimum follow-up of two years. Complications requiring further revision surgery occurred in 11.5% of patients after arthrodesis and in 37.0% of AKA patients. Positive intraoperative tissue cultures obtained during AKA was significantly associated with the risk of further surgical revision. Two-year mortality rate of arthrodesis was significantly lower compared to AKA (3.8% vs 28.3%), with age as an independent risk factor in the AKA group. Functional outcomes and QoL were better after arthrodesis compared to AKA. Neuropathic pain was reported by 19 patients after AKA, and only 45.7% of patients were fitted or were intended to be fitted with a prosthesis. One-year infection-free survival after arthrodesis was 88.5%, compared to 78.5% after AKA.

Above-knee amputation in PJI results in high complication and mortality rates and poorer functional outcome compared to arthrodesis. Mortality rates after AKA depend on patient age and mobility, with most patients not able to be fitted with a prosthesis. Therefore, arthrodesis should be preferred whenever possible if salvage procedures are indicated.

Historically, patients undergoing surgery for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) have been nursed postoperatively in a critical care (CC) setting because of the challenges posed by prone positioning, extensive exposures, prolonged operating times, significant blood loss, major intraoperative fluid shifts, cardiopulmonary complications, and difficulty in postoperative pain management. The primary aim of this paper was to determine whether a scoring system, which uses Cobb angle, forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), and number of levels to be fused, is a valid method of predicting the need for postoperative critical care in AIS patients who are to undergo scoliosis correction with posterior spinal fusion (PSF).

We retrospectively reviewed all AIS patients who had undergone PSF between January 2018 and January 2020 in a specialist tertiary spinal referral centre. All patients were assessed preoperatively in an anaesthetic clinic. Postoperative care was defined as ward-based (WB) or critical care (CC), based on the preoperative FEV1, FVC, major curve Cobb angle, and the planned number of instrumented levels.

Overall, 105 patients were enrolled. Their mean age was 15.5 years (11 to 25) with a mean weight of 55 kg (35 to 103). The mean Cobb angle was 68° (38° to 122°). Of these, 38 patients were preoperatively scored to receive postoperative CC. However, only 19% of the cohort (20/105) actually needed CC-level support. Based on these figures, and an average paediatric intensive care unit stay of one day before stepdown to ward-based care, the potential cost-saving on the first postoperative night for this cohort was over £20,000. There was no statistically significant difference between the Total Pathway Score (TPS), the numerical representation of the four factors being assessed, and the actual level of care received (p = 0.052) or the American Society of Anesthesiologists grade (p = 0.187). Binary logistic regression analysis of the TPS variables showed that the preoperative Cobb angle was the only variable which significantly predicted the need for critical care.

Most patients undergoing posterior fusion surgery for AIS do not need critical care. Of the readily available preoperative measures, the Cobb angle is the only predictor of the need for higher levels of care, and has a threshold value of 74.5°.

To examine whether natural language processing (NLP) using a clinically based large language model (LLM) could be used to predict patient selection for total hip or total knee arthroplasty (THA/TKA) from routinely available free-text radiology reports.

Data pre-processing and analyses were conducted according to the Artificial intelligence to Revolutionize the patient Care pathway in Hip and knEe aRthroplastY (ARCHERY) project protocol. This included use of de-identified Scottish regional clinical data of patients referred for consideration of THA/TKA, held in a secure data environment designed for artificial intelligence (AI) inference. Only preoperative radiology reports were included. NLP algorithms were based on the freely available GatorTron model, a LLM trained on over 82 billion words of de-identified clinical text. Two inference tasks were performed: assessment after model-fine tuning (50 Epochs and three cycles of k-fold cross validation), and external validation.

For THA, there were 5,558 patient radiology reports included, of which 4,137 were used for model training and testing, and 1,421 for external validation. Following training, model performance demonstrated average (mean across three folds) accuracy, F1 score, and area under the receiver operating curve (AUROC) values of 0.850 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.833 to 0.867), 0.813 (95% CI 0.785 to 0.841), and 0.847 (95% CI 0.822 to 0.872), respectively. For TKA, 7,457 patient radiology reports were included, with 3,478 used for model training and testing, and 3,152 for external validation. Performance metrics included accuracy, F1 score, and AUROC values of 0.757 (95% CI 0.702 to 0.811), 0.543 (95% CI 0.479 to 0.607), and 0.717 (95% CI 0.657 to 0.778) respectively. There was a notable deterioration in performance on external validation in both cohorts.

The use of routinely available preoperative radiology reports provides promising potential to help screen suitable candidates for THA, but not for TKA. The external validation results demonstrate the importance of further model testing and training when confronted with new clinical cohorts.

Paediatric fractures are highly prevalent and are most often treated with plaster. The application and removal of plaster is often an anxiety-inducing experience for children. Decreasing the anxiety level may improve the patients' satisfaction and the quality of healthcare. Virtual reality (VR) has proven to effectively distract children and reduce their anxiety in other clinical settings, and it seems to have a similar effect during plaster treatment. This study aims to further investigate the effect of VR on the anxiety level of children with fractures who undergo plaster removal or replacement in the plaster room.

A randomized controlled trial was conducted. A total of 255 patients were included, aged five to 17 years, who needed plaster treatment for a fracture of the upper or lower limb. Randomization was stratified for age (five to 11 and 12 to 17 years). The intervention group was distracted with VR goggles and headphones during the plaster treatment, whereas the control group received standard care. As the primary outcome, the post-procedural level of anxiety was measured with the Child Fear Scale (CFS). Secondary outcomes included the children's anxiety reduction (difference between CFS after and CFS before plaster procedure), numerical rating scale (NRS) pain, NRS satisfaction of the children and accompanying parents/guardians, and the children's heart rates during the procedure. An independent-samples t-test and Mann-Whitney U test (depending on the data distribution) were used to analyze the data.

The post-procedural CFS was significantly lower (p < 0.001) in the intervention group (proportion of children with no anxiety = 78.6%) than in the control group (56.8%). The anxiety reduction, NRS pain and satisfaction scores, and heart rates showed no significant differences between the control group and the intervention group. Subanalyses showed an increased effect of VR on anxiety levels in young patients, females, upper limb fractures, and those who had had previous plaster treatment.

VR effectively reduces the anxiety levels of children in the plaster room, especially in young girls. No statistically significant effects were seen regarding pain, heart rate, or satisfaction scores.

Robotic arm-assisted surgery offers accurate and reproducible guidance in component positioning and assessment of soft-tissue tensioning during knee arthroplasty, but the feasibility and early outcomes when using this technology for revision surgery remain unknown. The objective of this study was to compare the outcomes of robotic arm-assisted revision of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) to total knee arthroplasty (TKA) versus primary robotic arm-assisted TKA at short-term follow-up.

This prospective study included 16 patients undergoing robotic arm-assisted revision of UKA to TKA versus 35 matched patients receiving robotic arm-assisted primary TKA. In all study patients, the following data were recorded: operating time, polyethylene liner size, change in haemoglobin concentration (g/dl), length of inpatient stay, postoperative complications, and hip-knee-ankle (HKA) alignment. All procedures were performed using the principles of functional alignment. At most recent follow-up, range of motion (ROM), Forgotten Joint Score (FJS), and Oxford Knee Score (OKS) were collected. Mean follow-up time was 21 months (6 to 36).

There were no differences between the two treatment groups with regard to mean change in haemoglobin concentration (p = 0.477), length of stay (LOS, p = 0.172), mean polyethylene thickness (p = 0.065), or postoperative complication rates (p = 0.295). At the most recent follow-up, the primary robotic arm-assisted TKA group had a statistically significantly improved OKS compared with the revision UKA to TKA group (44.6 (SD 2.7) vs 42.3 (SD 2.5); p = 0.004) but there was no difference in the overall ROM (p = 0.056) or FJS between the two treatment groups (86.1 (SD 9.6) vs 84.1 (4.9); p = 0.439).

Robotic arm-assisted revision of UKA to TKA was associated with comparable intraoperative blood loss, early postoperative rehabilitation, functional outcomes, and complications to primary robotic TKA at short-term follow-up. Robotic arm-assisted surgery offers a safe and reproducible technique for revising failed UKA to TKA.

It is not clear which type of casting provides the best initial treatment in adults with a distal radial fracture. Given that between 32% and 64% of adequately reduced fractures redisplace during immobilization in a cast, preventing redisplacement and a disabling malunion or secondary surgery is an aim of treatment. In this study, we investigated whether circumferential casting leads to fewer the redisplacement of fewer fractures and better one-year outcomes compared with plaster splinting.

In a pragmatic, open-label, multicentre, two-period cluster-randomized superiority trial, we compared these two types of casting. Recruitment took place in ten hospitals. Eligible patients aged ≥ 18 years with a displaced distal radial fracture, which was acceptably aligned after closed reduction, were included. The primary outcome measure was the rate of redisplacement within five weeks of immobilization. Secondary outcomes were the rate of complaints relating to the cast, clinical outcomes at three months, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) (using the numerical rating scale (NRS), the abbreviated version of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (QuickDASH), and Patient-Rated Wrist/Hand Evaluation (PRWHE) scores), and adverse events such as the development of compartment syndrome during one year of follow-up. We used multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression for the analysis of the primary outcome measure.

The study included 420 patients. There was no significant difference between the rate of redisplacement of the fracture between the groups: 47% (n = 88) for those treated with a plaster splint and 49% (n = 90) for those treated with a circumferential cast (odds ratio 1.05 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.65 to 1.70); p = 0.854). Patients treated in a plaster splint reported significantly more pain than those treated with a circumferential cast, during the first week of treatment (estimated mean NRS 4.7 (95% CI 4.3 to 5.1) vs 4.1 (95% CI 3.7 to 4.4); p = 0.014). The rate of complaints relating to the cast, clinical outcomes and PROMs did not differ significantly between the groups (p > 0.05). Compartment syndrome did not occur.

Circumferential casting did not result in a significantly different rate of redisplacement of the fracture compared with the use of a plaster splint. There were comparable outcomes in both groups.

We compared decompression alone to decompression with fusion surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis, with or without degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS). The aim was to evaluate if five-year outcomes differed between the groups. The two-year results from the same trial revealed no differences.

The Swedish Spinal Stenosis Study was a multicentre randomized controlled trial with recruitment from September 2006 to February 2012. A total of 247 patients with one- or two-level central lumbar spinal stenosis, stratified by the presence of DS, were randomized to decompression alone or decompression with fusion. The five-year Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) was the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes were the EuroQol five-dimension questionnaire (EQ-5D), visual analogue scales for back and leg pain, and patient-reported satisfaction, decreased pain, and increased walking distance. The reoperation rate was recorded.

Five-year follow-up was completed by 213 (95%) of the eligible patients (mean age 67 years; 155 female (67%)). After five years, ODI was similar irrespective of treatment, with a mean of 25 (SD 18) for decompression alone and 28 (SD 22) for decompression with fusion (p = 0.226). Mean EQ-5D was higher for decompression alone than for fusion (0.69 (SD 0.28) vs 0.59 (SD 0.34); p = 0.027). In the no-DS subset, fewer patients reported decreased leg pain after fusion (58%) than with decompression alone (80%) (relative risk (RR) 0.71 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.53 to 0.97). The frequency of subsequent spinal surgery was 24% for decompression with fusion and 22% for decompression alone (RR 1.1 (95% CI 0.69 to 1.8)).

Adding fusion to decompression in spinal stenosis surgery, with or without spondylolisthesis, does not improve the five-year ODI, which is consistent with our two-year report. Three secondary outcomes that did not differ at two years favoured decompression alone at five years. Our results support decompression alone as the preferred method for operating on spinal stenosis.

There is a lack of high-quality research investigating outcomes of Ponseti-treated idiopathic clubfeet and correlation with relapse. This study assessed clinical and quality of life (QoL) outcomes using a standardized core outcome set (COS), comparing children with and without relapse.

A total of 11 international centres participated in this institutional review board-approved observational study. Data including demographics, information regarding presentation, treatment, and details of subsequent relapse and management were collected between 1 June 2022 and 30 June 2023 from consecutive clinic patients who had a minimum five-year follow-up. The clubfoot COS incorporating 31 parameters was used. A regression model assessed relationships between baseline variables and outcomes (clinical/QoL).

Overall, 293 patients (432 feet) with a median age of 89 months (interquartile range 72 to 113) were included. The relapse rate was 37%, with repeated relapse in 14%. Treatment considered a standard part of the Ponseti journey (recasting, repeat tenotomy, and tibialis anterior tendon transfer) was performed in 35% of cases, with soft-tissue release and osteotomies in 5% and 2% of cases, respectively. Predictors of relapse included duration of follow-up, higher initial Pirani score, and poor Evertor muscle activity. Relapse was associated with poorer outcomes.

This is the first multicentre study using a standardized COS following clubfoot treatment. It distinguishes patients with and without relapse in terms of clinical outcomes and QoL, with poorer outcomes in the relapse group. This tool allows comparison of treatment methods and outcomes, facilitates information sharing, and sets family expectations. Predictors of relapse encourage us to create appropriate treatment pathways to reduce relapse and improve outcome.