Hip capsular preservation remains most common in the United States despite literature to-date showing varying outcomes. Different surgeons prefer, and different patients require, periportal ...capsulotomies versus wider exposure with T-type capsulotomy and traction stitches. In addition to revision cases, some hip phenotypes may require more aggressive capsular management. Patients with borderline hip dysplasia, acetabular retroversion, increased femoral anteversion, and greater Beighton scores necessitate more hip stability; thus, capsular preservation and closure is essential. However, patients with “tight” hips, thicker capsules, and larger cam deformities may require less-stringent capsular care. Regardless, adequate bony decompression is paramount in patients with femoroacetabular impingment syndrome.
Arthroscopic irrigation and debridement has long been known to be an effective treatment for acute septic arthritis of native joints. Systematic review shows that when compared to open irrigation and ...debridement, arthroscopy yields comparable hospital length of stay complication, reoperation, and readmission rates, as well as better patient-reported outcomes compared to open arthrotomy. However, reoperation rates are heterogeneously defined in the literature, not to mention that unplanned return to surgery likely suggests inadequate prior irrigation and debridement of an infection, whereas a planned repeat washout may be a surgeon’s intention and practice for septic arthritis. Most of all, this condition should be managed urgently.
Background:
Primary anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is known to have excellent outcomes, but many patients do not return to their preinjury level of sport participation. Previous ...studies have used subjective outcome scores to evaluate this discrepancy, but none to date has used qualitative, in-depth patient interviews.
Purpose:
To understand the factors influencing a patient’s decision to return to his or her preinjury level of sport after ACL reconstruction.
Hypothesis:
Extrinsic and intrinsic factors may affect one’s decision to return to sport after primary ACL reconstruction despite good functional knee scores.
Study Design:
Case series; Level of evidence, 4.
Methods:
An experienced interviewer conducted qualitative, semistructured interviews of 31 patients, aged 18 to 40 years, who had undergone primary ACL reconstruction surgery. All participated in sport before injury and had a minimum 2-year follow-up with no further surgeries or knee injuries. Qualitative analysis was then performed to derive codes, categories, and themes. An assessment of preinjury and current sport participation by type, level of competition, and Marx activity score, along with patient-reported knee function, was also conducted.
Results:
Patient interviews revealed 3 overarching themes: fear, lifestyle changes, and innate personality traits. Elements of these factors were shown to largely influence the decision to return to the preinjury sport both in those patients who had returned and those who had not returned to sport. Less common factors included the surgeon’s advice not to return, depressed mood, and persistent knee pain.
Conclusion:
Patients who did not return to their preinjury level of sport after primary ACL reconstruction despite having good knee function were largely influenced by fear, shifts in priority, and individual personalities. This study highlights the importance for treating physicians to recognize and address psychological factors and lifestyle changes that largely contribute to a patient’s postoperative decision to return to sport. Results from this study will allow surgeons and health care professionals to educate patients contemplating surgery and to better understand the recovery process not only from sport-related surgeries but other surgical interventions with the goal of returning to activity.
Hip arthroscopy is known to be a relatively safe procedure with a limited and unique set complications and low hospital readmission rates. Many patients, however, may seek emergency department ...evaluation after surgery for postoperative pain or complaints unrelated to the most commonly cited complications, such as traction neuropraxia. It is important to recognize and understand the reasons why patients seek medical care after surgery because many of these encounters may be preventable with optimization of perioperative multimodal pain control regimens and proper patient education regarding their expected postoperative course. Patients with barriers to health care access, such as Medicare and Medicaid patients, may be at higher risk for emergency department evaluation of their problems after surgery and clinicians should consider providing additional counseling to these patients regarding when and how to seek medical evaluation after surgery.
To use the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database to determine whether body mass index (BMI) is associated with 30-day postoperative complications ...following arthroscopic surgery.
Cases of elective knee, hip, and shoulder arthroscopy were identified. A retrospective comparative analysis was conducted, and the overall rates of morbidity, mortality, readmission, reoperation, and venothromboembolism (VTE) were compared using univariate analyses and binary logistic regressions to ascertain the adjusted effect of BMI, with and without diabetes, on morbidity, readmission, reoperation, and VTE.
There were 141,335 patients who met the criteria. The most common complications were deep vein thrombosis (0.27%), superficial surgical site infection (0.17%), urinary tract infection (0.13%), and pulmonary embolism (0.11%). Obesity class III with diabetes was a risk factor for morbidity (odds ratio OR = 1.522; 95% confidence interval CI, 1.101-2.103) and readmission (OR = 2.342; 95% CI, 1.998-2.745) following all procedures, while obesity class I was protective toward reoperation (OR = 0.687, 95% CI, 0.485-0.973). Underweight patients were at higher risk for morbidity following shoulder arthroscopy (OR = 3.776; 95% CI, 1.605-8.883), as were the class I obese (OR = 1.421; 95% CI, 1.010-1.998) and class II obese (OR = 1.726, 95% CI, 1.159-2.569). BMI did not significantly affect morbidity following knee arthroscopy. VTE risk factors included being overweight (OR = 1.474; 95% CI, 1.088-1.996) or diabetic with class I obesity (OR = 1.469; 95% CI, 1.027-2.101).
Arthroscopic procedures are safe with very low complication rates. However, underweight and class I and class II obese patients are at higher risk for morbidity following shoulder arthroscopy, and diabetic patients with class III obesity are at higher risk for morbidity and readmission following all arthroscopy. Because BMI is a modifiable risk factor, these patients should be evaluated carefully before being considered for outpatient arthroscopic surgery.
Level III, retrospective comparative study.
Purpose To determine whether 400 mg of celecoxib administered 1 hour before hip arthroscopy surgery would reduce pain, provide reduction in overall narcotic consumption, and lead to more rapid ...discharge from recovery rooms. Methods Ninety-eight patients were randomized to either the celecoxib group (n = 50) or the placebo group (n = 48). An a priori power analysis was done set to detect a difference of 0.50 on the visual analog scale (VAS), based on the senior author's preference. The number of patients planned for recruitment was rounded up to 100 to allow for flexibility in the study. Inclusion criteria were any patient at least 18 years old who underwent hip arthroscopy surgery performed by the senior author. All patients had less than Tönnis grade 2 arthritis. Exclusion criteria were allergy to sulfa-based drugs, prior adverse reaction to celecoxib, or patients who were on chronic narcotics for whom alternative pain management regimens were arranged before surgery. Randomization was performed on a 1:1 basis in blocks of 10 using sealed envelopes stating celecoxib or placebo. One hour before surgery, all patients received either 400 mg celecoxib or placebo. Patients were evaluated using a VAS preoperatively, immediately postoperatively, and at 1 and 2 hours postoperatively. Time from the operating room to “ready for discharge” and number of morphine equivalents of narcotic medication required in the postanesthesia care unit were recorded. Results Age and preoperative VAS were similar between the celecoxib and placebo control group, with average ages of 34.2 ± 11.9 and 35.8 ± 11.6 ( P = .27) and preoperative VAS of 2.1 ± 2.06 and 2.3 ± 1.98 ( P = .29), respectively. The celecoxib group had 26 females and 24 males, whereas the placebo group had 29 females and 19 males ( P = .42). The most common surgical procedures were labral repair (31 patients in the celecoxib group and 29 patients in the placebo group), and labral repair with acetabular osteoplasty (13 patients in the celecoxib group and 11 patients in the placebo group). There were no significant differences in procedures performed between the 2 groups ( P > .05). At 1 hour postoperatively, patients who received celecoxib had a lower pain score that was statistically significant compared with the placebo group (4.6 vs 5.4, P = .03). There was a significant difference in discharge time between patients who received celecoxib and the control group (152.9 minutes vs 172.9 minutes, P = .04). There was no significant difference found in morphine equivalents consumed in the postanesthesia care unit between the 2 groups (15.3 vs 15.4, P = .48). Conclusions A preoperative dose of 400 mg of celecoxib led to statistically significantly reduced patient-reported pain on the VAS in the acute postoperative period after hip arthroscopy surgery, though the difference is not likely clinically significant. There was a significantly shorter time to discharge in patients who received celecoxib versus placebo. Level of Evidence Level I, randomized controlled trial.
Background:
Orthopaedic surgeons have a responsibility to develop responsible opioid practices. Growing evidence has helped define an optimal number of opioids to prescribe after surgical procedures, ...but little evidence-based guidance exists to support specific practice patterns to decrease opioid utilization.
Hypothesis:
After knee arthroscopic surgery with partial meniscectomy, patients who were provided a prescription for opioids and instructed to only fill the prescription if absolutely necessary for pain control would take fewer opioids than patients with opioids automatically included as part of a multimodal approach to pain control prescribed at discharge.
Study Design:
Randomized controlled trial; Level of evidence, 2.
Methods:
Patients undergoing arthroscopic partial meniscectomy were provided multimodal pain control with aspirin, acetaminophen, and naproxen and randomized to receive oxycodone as either included with their multimodal pain medications (group 1) or given an optional prescription to fill (group 2). Patients were contacted at time points up to 1 month after surgery to assess opioid utilization and medication side effects. The mean number of tablets utilized was the primary outcome measure, with a 50% reduction defined as a successful outcome.
Results:
A total of 105 patients were initially enrolled, and 95 (91%; 48 in group 1 and 47 in group 2) successfully completed the study. There was no significant reduction in the number of tablets utilized between groups 1 and 2 (3.5 vs 4.5, respectively; P = .45), days that opioids were required (2.2 vs 3.2, respectively; P = .20), or postoperative pain at any time point. The group with the option to fill their prescription had significantly fewer unused tablets remaining than the group with opioids included as part of the multimodal pain control regimen (75% of potentially prescribed tablets vs 82% of prescribed tablets; P < .001). Overall, 37% of patients did not require any opioids after surgery, and 86% used ≤8 tablets.
Conclusion:
Patients required a minimal number of opioids after knee arthroscopic surgery with partial meniscectomy. There was no difference in the number of tablets utilized whether the opioid prescription was included in a multimodal pain control regimen or patients were given an option to fill the prescription. Offering optional opioid prescriptions in the setting of a multimodal approach to pain control can significantly reduce the number of unused opioids circulating in the community.
Registration:
NCT03876743 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier)
Background:
Arthroscopic shoulder stabilization is known to have excellent functional results, but many patients do not return to their preinjury level of sport, with return to play rates reported ...between 48% and 100% despite good outcome scores.
Purpose:
To understand specific subjective psychosocial factors influencing a patient’s decision to return to sport after arthroscopic shoulder stabilization.
Study Design:
Case series; Level of evidence, 4.
Methods:
Semistructured qualitative interviews were conducted with patients aged 18 to 40 years who had undergone primary arthroscopic shoulder stabilization and had a minimum 2-year follow-up. All patients participated in sport before surgery without any further revision operations or shoulder injuries. Qualitative data analysis was performed in accordance with the Strauss and Corbin theory to derive codes, categories, and themes. Preinjury and current sport participation was defined by type, level of competition, and the Brophy/Marx shoulder activity score. Patient-reported pain and shoulder function were also obtained.
Results:
A total of 25 patients were interviewed, revealing that fear of reinjury, shifts in priority, mood, social support, and self-motivation were found to greatly influence the decision to return to sport both in patients who had and had not returned to their preinjury level of play. Patients also described fear of sporting incompetence, self-awareness issues, recommendations from physical therapists, and degree of confidence as less common considerations affecting their return to sport.
Conclusion:
In spite of excellent functional outcomes, extrinsic and intrinsic factors such as competing interests, kinesiophobia, age, and internal stressors and motivators can have a major effect on a patient’s decision to return to sport after arthroscopic shoulder stabilization. The qualitative methods used in this study provide a unique patient-derived perspective into postoperative recovery and highlight the necessity to recognize and address subjective and psychosocial factors rather than objective functional outcome scores alone as contributing to a patient’s decision to return to play.
Calcific tendinitis is a relatively common shoulder disorder, with 7%-17% of individuals with shoulder pain having rotator cuff calcium deposits. Several nonoperative interventions, extracorporeal ...shockwave therapy (ESWT) and ultrasonography-guided needling (UGN), and surgical techniques have been described to treat calcific tendonitis with satisfactory outcomes. Clinical guidelines are lacking for surgical excision in cases refractory to nonoperative treatment. Several arthroscopic and open operative techniques have been described to treat calcific tendonitis with satisfactory clinical outcomes. The purpose of this systematic review of randomized controlled trials is to compare outcomes and complications of nonoperative vs. operative management of chronic calcific tendinitis of the rotator cuff, to provide evidence-based treatment guidelines for practitioners.
EMBASE, PubMed, and OVID MEDLINE were searched from database inception until February 20, 2022, for randomized controlled trials reporting outcomes related to operative or nonoperative management for calcific tendonitis of the shoulder. Clinical outcomes including pain on visual analog scale (VAS), Constant-Murley Shoulder Outcome Score (CMS), and resolution of calcific deposits were evaluated. Continuous data at last follow-up was pooled into mean differences using a random effects model for meta-analysis.
A total of 27 studies (2212 nonoperative patients and 140 operative patients) met the final inclusion criteria. Pooled mean difference in VAS for ESWT was –3.83 (95% confidence interval CI −5.38, −2.27); P < .001), compared to −4.83 (95% CI −5.44, −4.22; P < .001) for UGN, and −4.65 (95% CI −5.47, −3.82; P < .001) for the operative interventions. Pooled mean difference in CMS score after ESWT was 18.30 (95% CI 10.95, 25.66; P < .001) compared to 22.01 (95% CI 8.17, 35.84; P = .002) for UGN, and 38.35 (95% CI 31.68, 45.02; P < .001) for the operative interventions. Eighty-five percent of patients receiving operative and 67% of patients receiving UGN management had complete radiographic resolution of calcific deposit.
Surgical treatment of chronic calcific tendonitis of the rotator cuff results in larger improvement in functional outcome scores and comparable pain reduction to nonoperative interventions, particularly UGN. Both operative and nonoperative treatment modalities are likely to have clinically significant improvements in function and pain, and thus it is reasonable to trial UGN and ESWT as first-line treatment. Cost-effectiveness analyses will be needed to support one treatment over the other. High-quality randomized controlled trials directly comparing nonoperative interventions to operative interventions in patients prior to failing conservative treatment are needed to establish high-quality evidence-based guidelines.
The burden of musculoskeletal disease is increasing globally and disproportionately affecting people in low and middle income countries (LMIC). We sought to review global access to orthopaedic care, ...burden of trauma, research infrastructure, impact of surgical mission trips, implant availability, and the effect of COVID-19 upon the delivery of orthopaedic care worldwide.PURPOSE OF REVIEWThe burden of musculoskeletal disease is increasing globally and disproportionately affecting people in low and middle income countries (LMIC). We sought to review global access to orthopaedic care, burden of trauma, research infrastructure, impact of surgical mission trips, implant availability, and the effect of COVID-19 upon the delivery of orthopaedic care worldwide.The majority of people in LMIC do not have access to safe, quality surgical care, and there are few fellowship-trained orthopaedic traumatologists. Road traffic accidents are the leading cause of long bone fractures in LMIC and result in significant morbidity and mortality. Of the orthopaedic literature published globally in the last 10 years, less than 15% had authors from LMIC. There has been growth in surgical mission trips to LMIC, but few organizations have established bidirectional partnerships. Among the challenges to delivering quality musculoskeletal care in LMIC is timely access to quality orthopaedic implants. Implant options in LMIC are more limited and subjected to less rigorous testing and regulation than high income countries (HIC). The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically reduced elective surgeries but saw the increase in telemedicine utilization which has prevailed in both HIC and LMIC. Awareness of global inequities in orthopaedic care is growing. Much can be learned through collaborations between orthopaedic surgeons from HIC and LMIC to advance patient care worldwide. There is a need for high quality, accurate data regarding incidence and prevalence of musculoskeletal disease, care utilization/availability, and postoperative outcomes so resources can be allotted to make orthopaedic care more equitable globally.RECENT FINDINGSThe majority of people in LMIC do not have access to safe, quality surgical care, and there are few fellowship-trained orthopaedic traumatologists. Road traffic accidents are the leading cause of long bone fractures in LMIC and result in significant morbidity and mortality. Of the orthopaedic literature published globally in the last 10 years, less than 15% had authors from LMIC. There has been growth in surgical mission trips to LMIC, but few organizations have established bidirectional partnerships. Among the challenges to delivering quality musculoskeletal care in LMIC is timely access to quality orthopaedic implants. Implant options in LMIC are more limited and subjected to less rigorous testing and regulation than high income countries (HIC). The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically reduced elective surgeries but saw the increase in telemedicine utilization which has prevailed in both HIC and LMIC. Awareness of global inequities in orthopaedic care is growing. Much can be learned through collaborations between orthopaedic surgeons from HIC and LMIC to advance patient care worldwide. There is a need for high quality, accurate data regarding incidence and prevalence of musculoskeletal disease, care utilization/availability, and postoperative outcomes so resources can be allotted to make orthopaedic care more equitable globally.