This study investigated whether the use of tranexamic acid (TXA)
decreased blood loss and transfusion related cost following surface
replacement arthroplasty (SRA). A retrospective review of patients treated with TXA during a
SRA, who did not receive autologous blood (TXA group) was performed.
Two comparison groups were established; the first group comprised
of patients who donated their own blood pre-operatively (auto group)
and the second of patients who did not donate blood pre-operatively
(control). Outcomes included transfusions, post-operative haemoglobin
(Hgb), complications, and length of post-operative stay. Aims
Methods
The December 2015 Hip &
Pelvis Roundup360 looks at: Vitamin E infusion helpful in polyethylene; Hip replacement in fracture and arthritis; Non-surgical treatment for arthritis; Cost and approach in hip surgery; Who does well in FAI surgery?; AAOS Thromboembolism guidelines; Thromboprophylaxis and periprosthetic joint infection; Fluid collections not limited to metal-on-metal THR
Infection following total hip or knee arthroplasty is a serious
complication. We noted an increase in post-operative infection in
cases carried out in temporary operating theatres. We therefore
compared those cases performed in standard and temporary operating
theatres and examined the deep periprosthetic infection rates. A total of 1223 primary hip and knee arthroplasties were performed
between August 2012 and June 2013. A total of 539 (44%) were performed
in temporary theatres. The two groups were matched for age, gender,
body mass index and American Society of Anesthesiologists grade.Aims
Patients and methods
The length of the tourniquet time during total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is related to the incidence of post-operative deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Our aim in this study was to investigate the effect of the early release of the tourniquet on the incidence of DVT in patients undergoing TKA. A total of 200 patients who underwent TKA between November 2015 and November 2016 were prospectively enrolled. The tourniquet was inflated before surgery and released immediately after the introduction of the components (early release group). This group was compared with a retrospective cohort of 200 primary TKAs, in which the tourniquet was released after the dressings had been applied (late release group). The presence of a DVT was detected using bilateral lower limb ultrasonography. Peri-operative clinical and follow-up data were collected for analysis.Objectives
Methods
Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a major orthopaedic
intervention. The length of a patient's stay has been progressively
reduced with the introduction of enhanced recovery protocols: day-case
surgery has become the ultimate challenge. This narrative review shows the potential limitations of day-case
TKA. These constraints may be social, linked to patient’s comorbidities,
or due to surgery-related adverse events (e.g. pain, post-operative
nausea and vomiting, etc.). Using patient stratification, tailored surgical techniques and
multimodal opioid-sparing analgesia, day-case TKA might be achievable
in a limited group of patients. The younger, male patient without
comorbidities and with an excellent social network around him might
be a candidate. Demographic changes, effective recovery programmes and less invasive
surgical techniques such as unicondylar knee arthroplasty, may increase
the size of the group of potential day-case patients. The cost reduction achieved by day-case TKA needs to be balanced
against any increase in morbidity and mortality and the cost of
advanced follow-up at a distance with new technology. These factors
need to be evaluated before adopting this ultimate ‘fast-track’
approach. Cite this article:
The management of open lower limb fractures in the United Kingdom
has evolved over the last ten years with the introduction of major
trauma networks (MTNs), the publication of standards of care and
the wide acceptance of a combined orthopaedic and plastic surgical approach
to management. The aims of this study were to report recent changes
in outcome of open tibial fractures following the implementation
of these changes. Data on all patients with an open tibial fracture presenting
to a major trauma centre between 2011 and 2012 were collected prospectively.
The treatment and outcomes of the 65 Gustilo Anderson Grade III
B tibial fractures were compared with historical data from the same
unit. Aims
Patients and Methods
The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the impact of
intravenous tranexamic acid on the reduction of blood loss, transfusion
rate, and early post-operative clinical outcome in total shoulder
arthroplasty. A randomised, placebo-controlled trial which included 54 patients
undergoing unilateral primary stemless anatomical or stemmed reverse
total shoulder arthroplasty was undertaken. Patients received either
100 ml saline (placebo, n = 27), or 100 ml saline together with
1000 mg of tranexamic acid (TXA, n = 27) intravenously prior to
skin incision and during wound closure. Peri-operative blood loss
via an intra-articular drain was recorded and total blood loss was
calculated. The post-operative transfusion rate was documented.
Assessment of early clinical parameters included the visual analogue
scale for pain (VAS), documentation of haematoma formation and adverse events.Aims
Patients and Methods
Tranexamic acid (TXA) has been used to reduce
blood loss during total hip arthroplasty (THA), but its use could increase
the risk of venous thromboembolic disease (VTE). Several studies
have reported that TXA does not increase the prevalence of deep
vein thrombosis (DVT), but most of those used routine chemical thromboprophylaxis,
thereby masking the potential increased risk of TXA on VTE. We wished
to ascertain whether TXA increases the prevalence of VTE in patients
undergoing THA without routine chemical thromboprophylaxis. We carried
out a retrospective case-control study in 254 patients who underwent
a primary THA, 127 of whom received TXA (1 g given pre-operatively)
and a control group of 127 who did not. All patients had mechanical
but no chemical thomboprophylaxis. Each patient was examined for
DVT by bilateral ultrasonography pre-operatively and on post-operative
days 1 and 7. TXA was found to statistically significantly increase
the incidence of total DVT on post-operative day 7 compared with
the control group (24 (18.9%) and 12 (9.4%), respectively; p <
0.05) but most cases of DVT were isolated distal DVT, with the exception
of one patient with proximal DVT in each group. One patient in the control
group developed a non-fatal symptomatic pulmonary embolism (PE).
The use of TXA did not appear to affect the prevalence of either
proximal DVT or PE. Cite this article:
The aim of this study was to present data on 11 459 patients
who underwent total hip (THA), total knee (TKA) or unicompartmental
knee arthroplasty (UKA) between November 2002 and April 2014 with
aspirin as the primary agent for pharmacological thromboprophylaxis. We analysed the incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary
embolism (PE) then compared the 90-day all-cause mortality with
the corresponding data in the National Joint Registry for England
and Wales (NJR). Aims
Patients and Methods
The June 2015 Research Roundup360 looks at: Tranexamic acid: just give it – it’s not important how!; The anterolateral ligament re-examined; Warfarin a poor post-operative agent; Passive exoskeleton the orthosis of the future?; Musculoskeletal medicine: a dark art to UK medical students?; Alendronic acid and bone density post arthroplasty; Apples with oranges? Knee functional scores revisited
Deep vein thrombosis is a common complication
of immobilising the lower limb after surgery. We hypothesised that
intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) therapy in outpatients
who had undergone surgical repair of acute ruptures of the Achilles
tendon could reduce the incidence of this problem. A total of 150 patients who had undergone surgical repair of
the Achilles tendon were randomised to either treatment with IPC
for six hours per day (n = 74) under an orthosis or treatment as
usual (n = 74) in a plaster cast without IPC. At two weeks post-operatively,
the incidence of deep vein thrombosis was assessed using blinded, double-reported
compression duplex ultrasound. At this point, IPC was discontinued
and all patients were immobilised in an orthosis for a further four
weeks. At six weeks post-operatively, a second compression duplex ultrasound
scan was performed. At two weeks, the incidence of deep vein thrombosis was 21% in
the treated group and 37% in the control group (p = 0.042). Age
over 39 years was found to be a strong risk factor for deep vein
thrombosis (odds ratio (OR) = 4.84, 95% confidence interval (CI)
2.14 to 10.96). Treatment with IPC, corrected for age differences
between groups, reduced the risk of deep vein thrombosis at the
two-week point (OR = 2.60; 95% CI 1.15 to 5.91; p =0.022). At six weeks,
the incidence of deep vein thrombosis was 52% in the treated group
and 48% in the control group (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.49 to 1.83). IPC
appears to be an effective method of reducing the risk of deep vein
thrombosis in the early stages of post-operative immobilisation
of outpatients. Further research is necessary to elucidate whether
it can confer similar benefits over longer periods of immobilisation
and in a more heterogeneous group of patients. Cite this article:
This study aims to assess first, whether mutations in the epidermal
growth factor receptor (EGFR) and Kirsten rat sarcoma (kRAS) genes
are associated with overall survival (OS) in patients who present
with symptomatic bone metastases from non-small cell lung cancer
(NSCLC) and secondly, whether mutation status should be incorporated into
prognostic models that are used when deciding on the appropriate
palliative treatment for symptomatic bone metastases. We studied 139 patients with NSCLC treated between 2007 and 2014
for symptomatic bone metastases and whose mutation status was known.
The association between mutation status and overall survival was
analysed and the results applied to a recently published prognostic
model to determine whether including the mutation status would improve
its discriminatory power.Aims
Patients and Methods
Advocates of debridement, antibiotics and implant retention (DAIR)
in hip periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) argue that a procedure
not disturbing a sound prosthesis-bone interface is likely to lead
to better survival and functional outcome compared with revision.
This case-control study aims were to compare outcome of DAIRs for
infected primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) with outcomes following
primary THA and two-stage revision of infected primary THAs. We retrospectively reviewed all DAIRs, performed for confirmed
infected primary hip arthropasty (n = 82) at out institution, between
1997 and 2013. Data recorded included full patient information and
type of surgery. Outcome measures included complications, mortality,
implant survivorship and functional outcome. Outcome was compared with
two control groups matched for gender and age; a cohort of primary
THAs (n = 120) and a cohort of two-stage revisions for infection
(n = 66).Aims
Patients and Methods
The aim of this study was to compare early functional and health
related quality of life outcomes (HRQoL) in patients who have undergone
total hip arthroplasty (THA) using a bone conserving short stem
femoral component and those in whom a conventional length uncemented
component was used. Outcome was assessed using a validated performance
based outcome instrument as well as patient reported outcome measures
(PROMs). We prospectively analysed 33 patients whose THA involved a contemporary
proximally porous coated tapered short stem femoral component and
53 patients with a standard conventional femoral component, at a
minimum follow-up of two years. The mean follow-up was 31.4 months
(24 to 39). Patients with poor proximal femoral bone quality were
excluded. The mean age of the patients was 66.6 years (59 to 77)
and the mean body mass index was 30.2 kg/m2 (24.1 to
41.0). Outcome was assessed using the Oxford Hip Score (OHS) and
the University College Hospital (UCH) hip score which is a validated
performance based instrument. HRQoL was assessed using the EuroQol
5D (EQ-5D).Aims
Patients and Methods
