Traumatic rotator cuff injuries can be a leading cause of prolonged shoulder pain and disability, and contribute to significant morbidity and healthcare costs. Previous studies have shown evidence of socio-demographic disparities with these injuries. The purpose of this nationwide study was to better understand these disparities based on ethnicity, sex, and socio-economic status, in order to inform future healthcare strategies.

Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) is a no-fault comprehensive compensation scheme encompassing all of Aotearoa/New Zealand (population in 2018, 4.7 million). Using the ACC database, traumatic rotator cuff injuries were identified between January 2010 and December 2018. Injuries were categorized by sex, ethnicity, age and socioeconomic deprivation index of the claimant.

During the 9-year study period, there were 351,554 claims accepted for traumatic rotator cuff injury, which totalled over $960 million New Zealand Dollars. The greatest proportion of costs was spent on vocational support (49.8%), then surgery (26.3%), rehabilitation (13.1%), radiology (8.1%), general practitioner (1.6%) and “Other” (1.1%). Asian, Māori (Indigenous New Zealanders), and Pacific peoples were under-represented in the age-standardized proportion of total claims and had lower rates of surgery than Europeans. Māori had higher proportion of costs spent on vocational support and lower proportions spent on radiology, rehabilitation and surgery than Europeans. Males had higher number and costs of claims and were more likely to have surgery than females. There were considerably fewer claims from areas of high socio-economic deprivation.

This large nation-wide study demonstrates the important and growing economic burden of rotator cuff injuries. Indirect costs, such as vocational supports, are a major contributor to the cost suggesting improving treatment and rehabilitation protocols would have the greatest economic impact. This study has also identified socio-demographic disparities which need to be addressed in order to achieve equity in health outcomes.

Introduction/Purpose

Total ankle replacement (TAR) success has improved since first-generation implants, but patient satisfaction continues to be less than knee and hip replacements. Little is known about variations in distal tibia anatomy between genders and across ethnicities; therefore it is unclear the extent to which current TAR prostheses accommodate variability in patient size and shape. This study quantified distal tibia morphometrics relevant to TAR design, and assessed differences between ethnicities and genders. The hypotheses were: (1) The anterior-posterior (AP) location of the dwell point of the tibia is centralized; (2) The sagittal radius of curvature of the tibial articulation increases with bone size; (3) Differences in dwell point location or sagittal radii between genders and ethnicities can be attributed to size differences between those populations.

Introduction

Numerous fluoroscopic studies have been conducted to investigate kinematic variabilities of total knee arthroplasty (TKA). In those studies, subjects having a posterior stabilized (PS) TKA experience greater weightbearing knee flexion and posterior femoral rollback of the lateral condyle. In those same studies, subjects did experience a high incidence of variable medial condyle motion and reverse axial rotation, especially occurring when the cam engaged the post. More recently, a PS TKA was designed to accommodate both gender and ethnicity. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess in vivo kinematics for subjects having this TKA type to determine if subjects having this PS TKA experienced more optimal knee kinematics.

Introduction: There is an increasing appreciation of the potential impact of ethnic and gender diversity on access to healthcare. Previous studies have shown that both race and gender are important confounding factors. In this study we isolate the influence of ethnicity on the functional outcome of total knee replacement by examining outcomes in female patients.

Materials and Methods: We reviewed a data-base of 412 female patients (518 knees) who had undergone primary TKA performed by a single surgeon between 1990 and 2008. Eighty-seven of these patients (25 African-American, 23 Hispanic and 26 Caucasian patients) were case-matched for age and BMI at the time of surgery. The average patient age was 67.0 years with a BMI of 32.0. The groups showed no statistical different in age (p=0.99) or BMI (p=0.90). Preoperative and postoperative Knee Society scores were available on all patients in addition to marital status. Outcome measures of all three groups were compared using ANOVA statistical methods with post hoc analysis.

Results: Post-op Knee Society Scores were Significantly lower in the African-American patients (76.2, p=0.02) than the Hispanic (85.1) and Caucasian (87.9) groups. There was also a Significant difference in post-op pain scores for African-American, Hispanic, and Caucasian patients were 32.2, 40.3, and 42.8 respectively, (p=0.02) showing a statistically Significant difference between groups. The average Function Score was also lower in both African-American (61.1) and Hispanic (63.3) groups when compared to Caucasian (72.1) but this difference was not statistically Significant (p=0.09, p=0.25). There was no Significant difference in preoperative knee scores, post-op ROM or stability, or marital status among the three groups (p > .05).

Discussion:

Within the female population, ethnicity was shown to have a Significant influence on the outcome of TKA as inferior results were reported by both Hispanic and African-American patients when compared to Caucasians. This effect is particularly marked in African-American women whose Knee Society Scores were 13% lower at follow-up compared to Caucasians.

Previous in vivo studies have not documented if ethnicity or gender influence knee kinematics for the healthy knee joint. Other measurements, such as hip-knee-ankle alignment have been previously shown to be significantly different between females and males, as well as Japanese and Caucasian populations in the young healthy knee [1]. Differences in knee kinematics in high flexion positions may relate to both etiology of osteoarthritis and success in knee replacement designs. Although differences in knee anatomy have been identified, their significance in knee function has not yet been clarified. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the 3D, in vivo normal knee kinematics for various subjects from different gender and ethnic backgrounds, and to identify significant differences, if any, between populations.

The 3D, in vivo, weight bearing normal knee kinematics was determined for 79 healthy subjects, including 48 Caucasians, 24 Japanese, 42 males, and 37 females. Each participant performed deep knee bend activity from a standing (full extension) to squatting to a lunge motion, until maximum knee flexion was reached. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board and informed consent form was obtained from all subjects. The 3D bone models, created by segmentation from MR images, were used to recreate the 3D knee kinematics using the previously described fluoroscopic and 3D-to-2D registration techniques (Fig. 1) [2,3]. Tibiofemoral rotations were described using the ISB recommended Grood and Suntay convention [4,5]. Anterior-posterior translations of the centers of the posterior femoral condyles were normalized due to significantly different anthropometry in the subjects. Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) laxity was also measured using a KT-1000 device for 72 of these subjects. Statistical analysis was performed using the Student’s t-test, set at the 95% confidence interval.

Most subjects achieved very high flexion, however substantial variability occurred in all groups. Range of motion (ROM) varied from 117° to 177°, while average external rotation was 31°± 9.9° for all subjects. Japanese and female subjects achieved greater ROM than Caucasian (p=0.048) and male (p=0.014) subjects. From full extension to 140° of flexion (which 87% of subjects achieved), few significant differences between any of the populations were observed. At deeper flexion, the external rotation was higher for female than for male subjects, however not statistically significant (p=0.0564 at 155°). Also at deep flexion, the adduction was significantly higher for female subjects. The translations of the lateral condyle were very similar between respective groups, but at deep flexion, the medial condyle remained significantly more anterior for females, leading to greater axial rotation and ROM. As ACL laxity increased, flexion/extension ROM significantly increased (r2=0.184, p< 0.001). In addition, ACL laxity was also higher for females (6.8 mm) compared to males (5.6 mm, p=0.011), as well as Japanese (7.5 mm) compared to Caucasian (5.6 mm, p=0.0002) subjects.

High variability and ROM in knee kinematics were similar to those seen in previous studies of healthy subjects during a deep knee bending activity [6]. Subjects in this study achieved much greater axial rotation and ROM than previously analyzed TKA patients. A relationship was found between greater axial rotation and increased ROM, and may be related in part to increased ACL laxity in the knee. Significant differences in ROM and laxity were identified between genders and ethnic groups. Also the medial condyle remaining significantly more anterior for females than for males in deep flexion may explain higher external rotation and consequently higher flexion experienced by women. However, understanding the causes for variability within each group may be the key to improved implant design.

Introduction. Acetabular component loosening with associated bone loss is a challenge in revision hip arthroplasty. Trabecular Metal (TM) by Zimmer Biomet has been shown to have greater implant survivorship for all-cause acetabular revision in small cohort retrospective studies. Our study aims to review outcomes of acetabular TM implants locally. Method. This is a retrospective observational study using data from Auckland City and North Shore Hospitals from 1st of January 2010 to 31st of December 2020. Primary outcome is implant survivorship (re-revision acetabular surgery for any cause) demonstrated using Kaplan-Meier analysis. Secondary outcome is indication for index revision and re-revision surgery. Multivariate analysis used to identify statistically significant factors for re-revision surgery. Results. 225 cases used acetabular TM implants (shells and/or augments) over 10 years. Indications include aseptic loosening (63%), instability (15%) and infection (13%). Of these, 12% (n=28) had further re-revision for infection (54%) and instability (21%). Median time to re-revision was 156 days (range 11 – 2022). No cases of re-revision were due to failure of bony ingrowth or acetabular component loosening. Ethnicity, smoking status, and age were not risk factors for re-revision procedures. Additionally, previous prosthetic joint infection, ethnicity, sex and age were not significant risk factors for re-revision due to infection. Implant survivorship was 80% at 1 year, 71% at 5 years and 64% at 10 years. Discussion. Main indications for re-revision were infection and instability. Demographic factors and co-morbidities did not correlate with increased re-revision risk. Survivorship is poorer compared to cumulative survivorship reported by the New Zealand Joint Registry (NZJR). Explanations are multifactorial and possibly contributed by underestimation of true revision rates by registry data. Conclusions. We need to identify alternate causes for poorer survivorship and review the role of TM implants in acetabular revision within our specified population

Background. FORECAST is a prospective longitudinal cohort study exploring mechanism-based prognostic factors for pain persistence in sciatica. Here, we share an update on this largest deeply-phenotyped primary care sciatica cohort. Methods/results. Our cohort includes 180 people with sciatica (score >4 on Stynes’ Sum Score), aged 18–85, within 3 months of symptom onset. Psychosocial factors, self-reported sensory profiling, clinical examination, quantitative sensory testing (QST), biological samples (blood and skin samples), and Magnetic Resonance Neurography of lumbar nerve roots were collected at baseline. Pain persistence was determined at three and twelve months with the Sciatica Bothersomeness Index (SBI) and a numeric pain rating scale (NRS) as primary outcomes. Recruitment nears completion, with 160 participants enrolled to date. 127 and 96 participants have completed 3 and 12 months follow-up respectively. Overall, 56% of our cohort are female, with a mean age (SD) of 54.14yrs (16.57). Ethnicity data approximates local populations. SBI at baseline was (median [IQR]) 13[10-17], and interim longitudinal data shows stepwise improvement at 3 and 12 months. Baseline ‘average’ pain intensity was 5.56 (2.15) for leg pain, and 4.14(2.82) for low back pain (LBP). Overall, pain scores decreased at 3 and 12 months, with greater reductions in leg pain than LBP at 12 months. However, around 55–80% and 40–65% of people reported persistent pain at 3 and 12 months respectively. Conclusion. Leg pain severity was moderate and higher than LBP at baseline. All primary outcome measures demonstrate improvement over time, however 40–65% of patients report persistent pain at 12 months. Conflicts of interest. LR: Paid facilitation of post-graduate courses internationally. SK, MT, FP, KM, WS, CP, CR, SC: No conflicts of interest. GC: Editor in Chief of Health Psychology Review. Director of board of directors, MentalCHealth Care setting NoordWestVlaanderen. JF: Copyright holder of ODI (Oswestry Disability Index). Served on a data monitoring committee for a clinical trial of 2 different surgical approaches to cervical disc herniation (FORVAD). Member of HTA Prioritisation Committee B: Inside hospital Care from 2015-February 2019. Member of HTA Interventional Procedures Panel from 2010–2015. Trustee and board member of 3 spine related charities – Back to Back; British Scoliosis Research Foundation and BackCare. Expert instructed by both claimant and defendant solicitors in negligence and person injury cases. GB: Paid consultancy (RNA-seq) with Ivy Farm and Coding.bio. ABS: Paid post-graduate lecturing internationally. Co-chair NeupSig sciatica working group (unpaid). Sources of funding. This project is funded by UKRI and Versus Arthritis as part of the UKRI Strategic Priorities Fund (SPF) Advanced Pain Discovery Platform (APDP), a co-funded initiative by UKRI (MRC, BBSRC, ESRC), Versus Arthritis, the Medical Research Foundation and Eli Lilly and Company Ltd (Grant MR/W027003/1). Additional funding has been received from the back to back charity to expand longitudinal components of the study. LR has received support with PhD fees from the CSP charitable trust. ABS is supported by a Wellcome Trust Clinical Career Development Fellowship. (222101/Z/20/Z). WS is partly funded through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London. FP is funded by a Dorothy Hodgkin Career Development Fellowship in Chemistry in association with Somerville College. GB is supported by the Wellcome Trust (223149/Z/21/Z) and Diabetes UK (19/0005984). GC and KRM are partly funded by UKRI and Versus Arthritis as part of the Advanced Pain Discovery Platform (APDP) PAINSTORM (MR/W002388/1). The UKRI and Versus Arhthritis (APDP) are the major funders of FORECAST. All other funders provided either some people support, or funded projects with legacy data that we reuse

Aim. To describe the epidemiology, clinical features and outcomes of native joint septic arthritis in adults admitted to Middlemore Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand. Method. Single-centre retrospective cohort study from 2009 to 2014. Patients ≥16 years of age were identified using ICD-10AM coding data. Electronic records were reviewed for demographic, clinical, laboratory, treatment and outcome data. Total and hemi-arthroplasty infections were excluded. Results. 543 episodes in 521 patients were included, with 90% fulfilling Modified Newman's criteria. Septic arthritis incidence was 26/100,000 patient years and was unchanged over the study period. Incidence correlated strongly with age (R. 2. =0.79) and socioeconomic deprivation (R. 2. =0.76). Median age was 49 years, and gender 70% male. Ethnicity was Pacific Island in 36% (22.8% of catchment population). The most commonly involved joints were hand interphalangeal (19%), knee (19%), metacarpophalangeal (17%) and glenohumeral (11%). Arthritis was monoarticular in 93%. Underlying conditions included current smoking (42%), osteoarthritis (29%), diabetes (22%) and gout (15%). Rheumatoid and seronegative arthritis were uncommon (each 2%). Skin/soft tissue infection occurred within 3 months prior in 38%. Osteomyelitis occurred in 26%. Sources of infection included haematogenous (42%), traumatic (34%), and iatrogenic (17%). Causative organism(s) were isolated in 80% of episodes, most commonly Staphylococcus aureus (53%, 13% of which were MRSA) then Streptococcus pyogenes (15%). 28% of culture-positive episodes were polymicrobial. Median antibiotic duration was 4 weeks, with 38% having definitive therapy orally. A median of 1 surgical procedure was undertaken during treatment. Mortality at 30 days was 3%, at 90 days 5% and treatment failure (defined as any of: death <90 days; relapse; reinfection; or ongoing joint infection leading to readmission, amputation, arthrodesis or excision arthroplasty) occurred in 17%. Treatment failure was significantly more common in cases involving large joints (23%, (69/302) vs. 11%, (26/241), p=0.0002) and in haematogenous episodes versus traumatic episodes (21% (47/229) vs. 10% (19/168), p=0.0045). Conclusions. This is the largest series of adult native joint septic arthritis currently available. The extremely high observed septic arthritis incidence (26/100,000 person years) may relate to high rates of skin and soft tissue infection in Auckland, particularly among Pacific people. Small joint infection, often excluded from previous studies, is associated with significantly better outcomes than large-joint infection. Mortality is lower in this cohort than previously reported, possibly due to the inclusion of small joint infections and exclusion of prosthetic joint infections. Acknowledgements. No additional funding was received for this work

Aims

The aims of this study were to describe the demographic, socioeconomic, and educational factors associated with core surgical trainees (CSTs) who apply to and receive offers for higher surgical training (ST3) posts in Trauma & Orthopaedics (T&O).

Aims

To develop prediction models using machine-learning (ML) algorithms for 90-day and one-year mortality prediction in femoral neck fracture (FNF) patients aged 50 years or older based on the Hip fracture Evaluation with Alternatives of Total Hip arthroplasty versus Hemiarthroplasty (HEALTH) and Fixation using Alternative Implants for the Treatment of Hip fractures (FAITH) trials.

Aims

Social media is a popular resource for patients seeking medical information and sharing experiences. periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) is the gold-standard treatment for symptomatic acetabular dysplasia with good long-term outcomes. However, little is known regarding the perceived outcomes of PAO on social media. The aims of this study were to describe the perceived outcomes following PAO using three social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly known as Twitter).

Aims

The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence and patterns of neuropathic pain over one year in a cohort of patients with chronic post-surgical pain at three months following total knee arthroplasty (TKA).

Aims

Scoliosis is a lateral curvature of the spine with associated rotation, often causing distress due to appearance. For some curves, there is good evidence to support the use of a spinal brace, worn for 20 to 24 hours a day to minimize the curve, making it as straight as possible during growth, preventing progression. Compliance can be poor due to appearance and comfort. A night-time brace, worn for eight to 12 hours, can achieve higher levels of curve correction while patients are supine, and could be preferable for patients, but evidence of efficacy is limited. This is the protocol for a randomized controlled trial of ‘full-time bracing’ versus ‘night-time bracing’ in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS).

Aims

The aim of this study was to compare the longer-term outcomes of operatively and nonoperatively managed patients treated with a removable brace (fixed-angle removable orthosis) or a plaster cast immobilization for an acute ankle fracture.

Aims

This study aimed to assess the risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) associated with combined intravenous (IV) and topical antibiotic therapy in patients undergoing treatment for periprosthetic joint infections (PJIs) following total knee arthroplasty (TKA), utilizing the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria for classification.

Aims

The impact of a diaphyseal femoral deformity on knee alignment varies according to its severity and localization. The aims of this study were to determine a method of assessing the impact of diaphyseal femoral deformities on knee alignment for the varus knee, and to evaluate the reliability and the reproducibility of this method in a large cohort of osteoarthritic patients.

Aims

To explore key stakeholder views around feasibility and acceptability of trials seeking to prevent post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) following knee injury, and provide guidance for next steps in PTOA trial design.

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Mendelian randomization (MR) is considered to overcome the bias of observational studies, but there is no current meta-analysis of MR studies on rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The purpose of this study was to summarize the relationship between potential pathogenic factors and RA risk based on existing MR studies.

Aims

Periprosthetic fractures (PPFs) following hip arthroplasty are complex injuries. This study evaluates patient demographic characteristics, management, outcomes, and risk factors associated with PPF subtypes over a decade.

Aims

The aims of this study were to identify and evaluate the current literature examining the prognostic factors which are associated with failure of total elbow arthroplasty (TEA).