The enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) concept in arthroplasty surgery has led to a reduction in postoperative length of stay in recent years. Patients with prolonged length of stay (PLOS) add to the burden of a strained NHS. Our aim was to identify the main reasons. A PLOS was arbitrarily defined as an inpatient hospital stay of four days or longer from admission date. A total of 2,000 consecutive arthroplasty patients between September 2017 and July 2018 were reviewed. Of these, 1,878 patients were included after exclusion criteria were applied. Notes for 524 PLOS patients were audited to determine predominant reasons for PLOS.Introduction
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An intact barrier between the hands of the surgeon and the patient remains the single most important factor in protection against infection for both. Increasing the awareness of possible glove perforation without skin penetration will decrease the risk of contamination. We performed a prospective, randomised trial comparing the incidence of glove perforation using a new type of glove (Regent Biogel Reveal) and standard double-gloves in total
Smoking is an important risk factor for the development of postoperative pulmonary complications after major surgical procedures. We studied 811 consecutive patients who had undergone
The prevalence of combined abnormalities of femoral torsion (FT) and tibial torsion (TT) is unknown in patients with femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) and hip dysplasia. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of combined abnormalities of FT and TT, and which subgroups are associated with combined abnormalities of FT and TT. We retrospectively evaluated symptomatic patients with FAI or hip dysplasia with CT scans performed between September 2011 and September 2016. A total of 261 hips (174 patients) had a measurement of FT and TT. Their mean age was 31 years (SD 9), and 63% were female (165 hips). Patients were compared to an asymptomatic control group (48 hips, 27 patients) who had CT scans including femur and tibia available for analysis, which had been acquired for nonorthopaedic reasons. Comparisons were conducted using analysis of variance with Bonferroni correction.Aims
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Malignancy and surgery are risk factors for venous thromboembolism (VTE). We undertook a systematic review of the literature concerning the prophylactic management of VTE in orthopaedic oncology patients. MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE (Ovid), Cochrane, and CINAHL databases were searched focusing on VTE, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE), bleeding, or wound complication rates.Aims
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We recruited 89 patients who had
The Oxford hip and knee scores are used to measure the outcome after primary total
Postoperative deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) is believed to be rare in Asians. We studied 88 consecutive patients in Malaysia who had operations for fracture of the proximal femur or for total
Fat embolism occurs following fractures of a long bone or arthroplasty. We investigated whether paradoxical embolisation through a venous-to-arterial circulation shunt (v-a) could lead to cerebral embolisation during elective
We performed a prospective, randomised study comparing the rates of glove perforation using double latex gloving with or without a disposable protective glove liner (Paraderm) on 118 patients undergoing primary or revision arthroplasty of the hip or knee by one surgeon (FRH). The patients were randomly allocated into two groups: in group 1 an inner and outer pair of latex gloves were worn as double gloves and in group 2 the glove liner was worn between the two latex gloves. There was glove perforation in at least one outer glove in 99 operations (84%). The operating surgeon was aware of the perforation in 21 of these. There were 22 perforations of the inner glove. Group 1 had a significantly higher perforation rate per operation (p <
0.05) than group 2. Our findings show that protective glove liners significantly reduce the rate of perforation of the inner glove during
The diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) has always been challenging. Recently, D-dimer has become a promising biomarker in diagnosing PJI. However, there is controversy regarding its diagnostic value. We aim to investigate the diagnostic value of D-dimer in comparison to ESR and CRP. PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched in February 2020 to identify articles reporting on the diagnostic value of D-dimer on PJI. Pooled analysis was conducted to investigate the diagnostic value of D-dimer, CRP, and ESR.Aims
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Intravenous dexamethasone has been shown to reduce immediate postoperative pain after total hip arthroplasty (THA), though the effects are short-lived. We aimed to assess whether two equivalent perioperative split doses were more effective than a single preoperative dose. A total of 165 patients were randomly assigned into three groups: two perioperative saline injections (Group A, placebo), a single preoperative dose of 20 mg dexamethasone and a postoperative saline injection (Group B), and two perioperative doses of 10 mg dexamethasone (Group C). Patients, surgeons, and staff collecting outcome data were blinded to allocation. The primary outcome was postoperative pain level reported on a ten-point Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) at rest and during activity. The use of analgesic and antiemetic rescue, incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), CRP and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels, range of motion (ROM), length of stay (LOS), patient satisfaction, and the incidence of surgical site infection (SSI) and gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) in the three months postoperatively, were also compared.Aims
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Despite the use of ultraclean air, there are still cases of infection in total joint arthroplasty. One possible route by which bacteria may enter the wound is indirectly by contamination of instruments during skin preparation and draping. We found that bacterial air counts were 4.4 times higher during preparation and draping for
All surgical operations have the potential for contamination, and the equipment used can harbour bacteria. We collected samples from 100 elective primary
Bone is a dynamic tissue with a quarter of the trabecular and a fifth of the cortical bone being replaced continuously each year in a complex process that continues throughout an individual’s lifetime. Bone has an important role in homeostasis of minerals with non-stoichiometric hydroxyapatite bone mineral forming the inorganic phase of bone. Due to its crystal structure and chemistry, hydroxyapatite (HA) and related apatites have a remarkable ability to bind molecules. This review article describes the accretion of trace elements in bone mineral giving a historical perspective. Implanted HA particles of synthetic origin have proved to be an efficient recruiting moiety for systemically circulating drugs which can locally biomodulate the material and lead to a therapeutic effect. Bone mineral and apatite however also act as a waste dump for trace elements and drugs, which significantly affects the environment and human health. Cite this article:
The aim of this prospective multicentre study was to describe trends in length of stay and early complications and readmissions following unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) performed at eight different centres in Denmark using a fast-track protocol and to compare the length of stay between centres with high and low utilization of UKA. We included data from eight dedicated fast-track centres, all reporting UKAs to the same database, between 2010 and 2018. Complete ( > 99%) data on length of stay, 90-day readmission, and mortality were obtained during the study period. Specific reasons for a length of stay of > two days, length of stay > four days, and 30- and 90-day readmission were recorded. The use of UKA in the different centres was dichotomized into ≥ 20% versus < 20% of arthroplasties which were undertaken being UKAs, and ≥ 52 UKAs versus < 52 UKAs being undertaken annually.Aims
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The aetiologies of common degenerative spine, hip, and knee pathologies are still not completely understood. Mechanical theories have suggested that those diseases are related to sagittal pelvic morphology and spinopelvic-femoral dynamics. The link between the most widely used parameter for sagittal pelvic morphology, pelvic incidence (PI), and the onset of degenerative lumbar, hip, and knee pathologies has not been studied in a large-scale setting. A total of 421 patients from the Cohort Hip and Cohort Knee (CHECK) database, a population-based observational cohort, with hip and knee complaints < 6 months, aged between 45 and 65 years old, and with lateral lumbar, hip, and knee radiographs available, were included. Sagittal spinopelvic parameters and pathologies (spondylolisthesis and degenerative disc disease (DDD)) were measured at eight-year follow-up and characteristics of hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA) at baseline and eight-year follow-up. Epidemiology of the degenerative disorders and clinical outcome scores (hip and knee pain and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index) were compared between low PI (< 50°), normal PI (50° to 60°), and high PI (> 60°) using generalized estimating equations.Aims
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