The effective capture of outcome measures in the healthcare setting can be traced back to Florence Nightingale’s investigation of the in-patient mortality of soldiers wounded in the Crimean war in the 1850s.

Only relatively recently has the formalised collection of outcomes data into Registries been recognised as valuable in itself.

With the advent of surgeon league tables and a move towards value based health care, individuals are being driven to collect, store and interpret data.

Following the success of the National Joint Registry, the British Association of Spine Surgeons instituted the British Spine Registry. Since its launch in 2012, over 650 users representing the whole surgical team have registered and during this time, more than 27 000 patients have been entered onto the database.

There has been significant publicity regarding the collection of outcome measures after surgery, including patient-reported scores. Over 12 000 forms have been directly entered by patients themselves, with many more entered by the surgical teams.

Questions abound: who should have access to the data produced by the Registry and how should they use it? How should the results be reported and in what forum?

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2015;97-B:871–4.

Aims

Following the introduction of national standards in 2009, most major paediatric trauma is now triaged to specialist units offering combined orthopaedic and plastic surgical expertise. We investigated the management of open tibia fractures at a paediatric trauma centre, primarily reporting the risk of infection and rate of union.

Aims

While use of large national clinical databases for orthopaedic trauma research has increased dramatically, there has been little study of the differences in populations contained therein. In this study we aimed to compare populations of patients with femoral shaft fractures across three commonly used national databases, specifically with regard to age and comorbidities.

Aims

In this study, we aimed to determine whether designation as a major trauma centre (MTC) affects the quality of care for patients with a fracture of the hip.

The Nottingham Hip Fracture Score (NHFS) was developed to assess the risk of death following a fracture of the hip, based on pre-operative patient characteristics. We performed an independent validation of the NHFS, assessed the degree of geographical variation that exists between different units within the United Kingdom and attempted to define a NHFS level that is associated with high risk of mortality.

The NHFS was calculated retrospectively for consecutive patients presenting with a fracture of the hip to two hospitals in England. The observed 30-day mortality for each NHFS cohort was compared with that predicted by the NHFS using the Hosmer–Lemeshow test. The distribution of NHFS in the observed group was compared with data from other hospitals in the United Kingdom. The proportion of patients identified as high risk and the mortality within the high risk group were assessed for groups defined using different thresholds for the NHFS.

In all 1079 hip fractures were included in the analysis, with a mean age of 83 years (60 to 105), 284 (26%) male. Overall 30-day mortality was 7.3%. The NHFS was a significant predictor of 30-day mortality. Statistically significant differences in the distribution of the NHFS were present between different units in England (p < 0.001). A NHFS ≥ 6 appears to be an appropriate cut-point to identify patients at high risk of mortality following a fracture of the hip.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2015;96-B:100–3.

Aims

Rates of mortality as high as 25% to 30% have been described following fractures of the odontoid in the elderly population. The aim of this study was to examine whether easily identifiable variables present on admission are associated with mortality.

Many hospitals do not have a structured process of consent, the attainment of which can often be rather ‘last-minute’ and somewhat chaotic. This is a surprising state of affairs as spinal surgery is a high-risk surgical specialty with potential for expensive litigation claims. More recently, the Montgomery ruling by the United Kingdom Supreme Court has placed the subject of informed consent into the spotlight.

There is a paucity of practical guidance on how a consent process can be achieved in a busy clinical setting. The British Association of Spinal Surgeons (BASS) has convened a working party to address this need. To our knowledge this is the first example of a national professional body, representing a single surgical specialty, taking such a fundamental initiative.

In a hard-pressed clinical environment, the ability to achieve admission reliably on the day of surgery, in patients at ease with their situation and with little likelihood of late cancellation, will be of great benefit. It will reduce litigation and improve the patient experience.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2016;98-B:1427–30.

Aims

Myxofibrosarcomas (MFSs) are malignant soft-tissue sarcomas characteristically presenting as painless slowly growing masses in the extremities. Locally infiltrative growth means that the risk of local recurrence is high. We reviewed our experience to make recommendations about resection strategies and the role of the multidisciplinary team in the management of these tumours.

The October 2015 Hip & Pelvis Roundup³⁶⁰ looks at: Smoking and complications in arthroplasty; Smoking cessation beneficial in arthroplasty; Intermediate care and arthroplasty; Do we still need cell salvage?; Femoroacetabular impingement in the Japanese population; Trunnionosis or taperosis and geometry; Decontamination for staphylococcus aureus works!; Policeman or opportunity? Quality improvement with registries; Death rates higher in readmission to other hospitals

The extent and depth of routine health care data are growing at an ever-increasing rate, forming huge repositories of information. These repositories can answer a vast array of questions. However, an understanding of the purpose of the dataset used and the quality of the data collected are paramount to determine the reliability of the result obtained.

This Editorial describes the importance of adherence to sound methodological principles in the reporting and publication of research using ‘big’ data, with a suggested reporting framework for future Bone & Joint Journal submissions.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2014;96-B:1575–7.

Fractures of the hip are common, often occurring in frail elderly patients, but also in younger fit healthy patients following trauma. They have a significant associated mortality and major social and financial implications to patients and health care providers. Many guidelines are available for the management of these patients, mostly recommending early surgery for the best outcomes. As a result, healthcare authorities now put pressure on surgical teams to ‘fast track’ patients with a fracture of the hip, often misquoting the available literature, which in itself can be confusing and even conflicting.

This paper has been written following an extensive review of the available literature. An attempt is made to clarify what is meant by early surgery (expeditious versus emergency), and we conclude with a personal view for the practical management of these patients of variable age, fitness and type of surgery performed within services that are often under considerable pressure of finance and available operating theatres and qualified staff.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2016;98-B:1573–81.

Hip fracture is a common injury associated with high mortality, long-term disability and huge socio-economic burden. Yet there has been relatively little research into best treatment, and evidence that has been generated has often been criticised for its poor quality. Here, we discuss the advances made towards overcoming these criticisms and the future directions for hip fracture research: how co-ordinating existing national infrastructures and use of now established clinical research networks will likely go some way towards overcoming the practical and financial challenges of conducting large trials. We highlight the importance of large collaborative pragmatic trials to inform decision/policy makers and the progress made towards reaching a consensus on a core outcome set to facilitate data pooling for evidence synthesis and meta-analysis.

These advances and future directions are a priority in order to establish the high-quality evidence base required for this important group of patients.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2015;97-B:875–9.

Aims

We wished to examine the effectiveness of tibial lengthening using a two ring Ilizarov frame in skeletally immature patients. This is a potentially biomechanically unstable construct which risks the loss of axial control.

Aims

Flail chest from a blunt injury to the thorax is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Its management globally is predominantly non-operative; however, there are an increasing number of centres which undertake surgical stabilisation. The aim of this meta-analysis was to compare the efficacy of this approach with that of non-operative management.

Aim

We present the medium-term clinical results of a reverse total shoulder arthroplasty with a trabecular metal glenoid base plate.