Purpose

The incidence of hip displacement in children with cerebral palsy is approximately 30% in large population based studies. The purpose of this study was to report the long-term effect of hip surgery on the incidence of hip displacement using a newly validated Cerebral Palsy (CP) hip classification.

Purpose: Congenital idiopathic clubfoot is the most common congenital deformity in children and can be a major cause of disability for the child as well as an emotional stress for the parents. The Ponseti method of club-foot correction, consisting of serial manipulations and casting, is now the gold standard of treatment. It has traditionally been described using plaster of Paris (POP) above-knee casts, which are affordable, stiff, and easily moldable. Recently, semi-rigid fiberglass softcast (FSC, 3M Scotchcast) has grown in popularity due to ease of removal, durability, lighter weight, better appearance, ease of cleaning, and water resistance. There are currently no randomized controlled trials to prove its efficacy with respect to POP. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of choice of cast material on the correction of congenital idiopathic clubfeet using the Ponseti method.

Method: A prospective, randomized controlled trial. Based on the results of a pilot study performed at our centre, a sample size of 30 patients was determined to be appropriate. Thirty consecutive patients presenting with congenital idiopathic clubfoot were randomized into POP and FSC groups prior to commencement of treatment with the Ponseti Method. Clubfeet secondary to non-idiopathic diagnoses were excluded. The Pirani classification was used to determine clubfoot severity (less severe, < =4; severe > 4), and for surveillance during casting. The primary outcome measure was the number of casts required to correct the clubfoot deformities to the point where the foot was ready for a percutaneous tendo-achilles tenotomy (TAL) or when the foot was completely corrected (Pirani=0). Secondary outcome measures include: number of casts by clubfoot severity, ease of cast removal, number of methods needed to remove casts, need for percutaneous tendo-achilles tenotomy.

Results: Of the 30 patients enrolled, 13 (40%) were randomized to POP and 18 (60%) to FSC. No patients were lost to follow-up. In the POP and FSC groups, eight (67%) and 11 patients (61%) underwent a TAL, respectively. In general, there were no differences in the mean number of casts required for clubfoot correction between the two groups (p=0.13). When analyzed by clubfoot severity, the mean number of casts for each material in the less severe group was equal (3 casts). In the severe group, the mean number of casts in the FSC group (6.4 casts) was considerably higher than for the POP group (4.7 casts) but our study was underpowered to verify this result. According to parents, POP was harder to remove than FSC (p< 0.001).

Conclusion: In general, FSC was found to be as efficacious as POP in the correction of idiopathic clubfeet by the Ponseti Method and was the preferred cast material by parents. For stiffer, more severe feet, POP seemed to show a faster correction time than FSC.

Purpose: Multiple studies have demonstrated the efficacy of Tranexamic Acid (TA) in reducing blood loss and red blood cell transfusion in patients undergoing primary total hip (THA) or knee (TKA) arthroplasty. However, the dosing schedules of either an initial bolus followed by a 6–12 hour infusion or multiple intravenous bolus doses are not ‘user-friendly’ for regular application. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy and acceptance of a single dose protocol for the use of TA in primary THA or TKA.

Method: We selected a single dosing schedule of 20mg/kg TA given either prior to skin incision for THA or approximately ten minutes prior to tourniquet release for TKA. The hospital pharmacy supplied the TA rounded off to the nearest 5kg/100mg in a 100ml mini-bag. In March 2008, we introduced the routine use of TA to all patients undergoing primary THA or TKA at our institution. Mini-bags were pre-ordered at the time of the preoperative clinic visit and delivered to the pre-surgical preparation area on day of surgery. One month after implementation of this protocol we compared blood loss, transfusion rates, and hemoglobin at discharge between the patients operated on from April 1 to June 30, 2007 (when this protocol was not in place) to those from April 1 to June 30, 2008. No other routine patient care practices were altered during this time period.

Results: We found a significant reduction in the decrease in hemoglobin from 2007 compared to 2008 for both THA and TKA (46g/L to 39g/L, and 45g/L to 36g/L, respectively), which led to both a reduction in transfusion rates (13.5% to 3.6%, and 13.1% to 2.0%, respectively) and higher hemoglobin levels at discharge. All patients received the TA as ordered.

Conclusion: Dosing and timing of TA is critical to maximize its antifibrinolytic effect. Our weight increment dose protocol led to minimal dose variability, facilitated pharmacy drug preparation, and minimized wastage. This simple ‘user-friendly’ protocol was found to reduce the decrease in hemoglobin and transfusion rates, demonstrating similar efficacy to other more complex dosing schedules. This protocol was well received and accepted by surgeons, anesthesiologists, pharmacy, and nursing staff.

Purpose: Spinal epimorph is commonly used as part of multimodal analgesia for patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty. Patients who receive spinal epimorph are at risk for certain post- operative complications. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of complications in patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty with administration of spinal epimorph compared to patients undergoing the same procedure who did not receive spinal epimorph as part of their analgesia.

Method: A retrospective chart review of 72 patients in which two age, sex and procedure matched groups were compared for differences in known spinal epimorph complications. One group received spinal epimorph as part of their analgesia while the comparative group did not receive spinal epimorph but rather continuous infusion of local analgesia. Data extraction involved foley and oxygen usage, documented nausea/vomiting and puritis, associated risk factors and complications such as prostate disease and urinary tract infections, and secondary outcome measures such as Gravol and Benadryl usage.

Results: Comparison of the two well-matched groups demonstrated that patients who received spinal epimorph had increased rates of foley insertion (p=0.0026), foley duration (p=0.015), oxygen usage (p=0.0053), documented puritis (p=0.0006) and Benadryl usage (p=0.0053). Trends towards increased nausea/vomiting (p=0.17), antiemetic use (p=0.16) and urinary tract infections (p=0.15) were seen in the spinal epimorph group, although these differences did not reach statistical significance.

Conclusion: The use of spinal epimorph as part of an analgesia protocol surrounding total joint arthroplasty is associated with increased complications and patient discomfort when compared to patients who received continuous local infiltrative analgesia. Further research is needed to determine if alternate modes of analgesia provide adequate pain relief when compared with spinal epimorph and thus provide suitable alternatives with less complications.