The aim of the British Association for Surgery of the Knee (BASK) Meniscal Consensus Project was to develop an evidence-based treatment guideline for patients with meniscal lesions of the knee. A formal consensus process was undertaken applying nominal group, Delphi, and appropriateness methods. Consensus was first reached on the terminology relating to the definition, investigation, and classification of meniscal lesions. A series of simulated clinical scenarios was then created and the appropriateness of arthroscopic meniscal surgery or nonoperative treatment in each scenario was rated by the group. The process was informed throughout by the latest published, and previously unpublished, clinical and epidemiological evidence. Scenarios were then grouped together based upon the similarity of clinical features and ratings to form the guideline for treatment. Feedback on the draft guideline was sought from the entire membership of BASK before final revisions and approval by the consensus group.Aims
Materials and Methods
Indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence angiography is an emerging technique that can provide detailed anatomical information during surgery. The purpose of this study is to determine whether ICG fluorescence angiography can be used to evaluate the blood flow of the rotator cuff tendon in the clinical setting. Twenty-six patients were evaluated from October 2016 to December 2017. The participants were categorized into three groups based on their diagnoses: the rotator cuff tear group; normal rotator cuff group; and adhesive capsulitis group. After establishing a posterior standard viewing portal, intravenous administration of ICG at 0.2 mg/kg body weight was performed, and fluorescence images were recorded. The time from injection of the drug to the beginning of enhancement of the observed area was measured. The hypovascular area in the rotator cuff was evaluated, and the ratio of the hypovascular area to the anterolateral area of the rotator cuff tendon was calculated (hypovascular area ratio).Objectives
Methods
Manipulation under anaesthetic (MUA) is a recognised form of
treatment for patients with a frozen shoulder. However, not all
patients benefit. Some have persistent or recurrent symptoms. There
are no clear recommendations in the literature on the optimal management
of recurrent frozen shoulder after a MUA. We aimed to address this
issue in this study. We analysed a prospectively collected, single-surgeon, consecutive
series of patients who underwent MUA for frozen shoulder between
January 1999 and December 2015. The Oxford Shoulder Scores (OSS)
and range of movement were the outcome measures. Aims
Patients and Methods
Intra-articular injections of steroid into the hip are used for a variety of reasons in current orthopaedic practice. Recently their safety prior to ipsilateral total hip replacement has been called into question owing to concerns about deep joint infection. We undertook a retrospective analysis of all patients who had undergone local anaesthetic and steroid injections followed by ipsilateral total hip replacement over a five-year period. Members of the surgical team, using a lateral approach to the hip, performed all the injections in the operating theatre using a strict aseptic technique. The mean time between injection and total hip replacement was 18 months (4 to 50). The mean follow-up after hip replacement was 25.8 months (9 to 78), during which time no case of deep joint sepsis was found. In our series, ipsilateral local anaesthetic and steroid injections have not conferred an increased risk of infection in total hip replacement. We believe that the practice of intra-articular local anaesthetic and steroid injections to the hip followed by total hip replacement is safer than previously reported.
The October 2015 Wrist &
Hand Roundup360 looks at: Base of thumb arthritis – steroids not a waste of time; De Quervain’s tenosynovitis and steroids; Use your therapy time wisely!; Excision osteotomy for the carpometacarpal joint?; CORDLESS at five years?; Arthroscopy again of no benefit?; Distal radius stirring up trouble again!; Scaphoid arthroscopy under the spotlight
The December 2014 Shoulder &
Elbow Roundup360 looks at: cuff tears and plexus injury; corticosteroids and physiotherapy in SAI; diabetes and elbow arthroplasty; distal biceps tendon repairs; shockwave therapy in frozen shoulder; hydrodilation and steroids for adhesive capsulitis; just what do our patients read?; and what happens to that stable radial head fracture?
Drug therapy forms an integral part of the management
of many orthopaedic conditions. However, many medicines can produce
serious adverse reactions if prescribed inappropriately, either
alone or in combination with other drugs. Often these hazards are
not appreciated. In response to this, the European Union recently
issued legislation regarding safety measures which member states
must adopt to minimise the risk of errors of medication. In March 2014 the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory
Agency and NHS England released a Patient Safety Alert initiative
focussed on errors of medication. There have been similar initiatives
in the United States under the auspices of The National Coordinating
Council for Medication Error and The Joint Commission on the Accreditation
of Healthcare Organizations. These initiatives have highlighted
the importance of informing and educating clinicians. Here, we discuss common drug interactions and contra-indications
in orthopaedic practice. This is germane to safe and effective clinical
care. Cite this article:
Femoroacetabular Junction Impingement (FAI) describes abnormalities
in the shape of the femoral head–neck junction, or abnormalities
in the orientation of the acetabulum. In the short term, FAI can
give rise to pain and disability, and in the long-term it significantly increases
the risk of developing osteoarthritis. The Femoroacetabular Impingement
Trial (FAIT) aims to determine whether operative or non-operative
intervention is more effective at improving symptoms and preventing
the development and progression of osteoarthritis. FAIT is a multicentre superiority parallel two-arm randomised
controlled trial comparing physiotherapy and activity modification
with arthroscopic surgery for the treatment of symptomatic FAI.
Patients aged 18 to 60 with clinical and radiological evidence of
FAI are eligible. Principal exclusion criteria include previous
surgery to the index hip, established osteoarthritis (Kellgren–Lawrence
≥ 2), hip dysplasia (centre-edge angle <
20°), and completion
of a physiotherapy programme targeting FAI within the previous 12
months. Recruitment will take place over 24 months and 120 patients
will be randomised in a 1:1 ratio and followed up for three years.
The two primary outcome measures are change in hip outcome score
eight months post-randomisation (approximately six-months post-intervention
initiation) and change in radiographic minimum joint space width
38 months post-randomisation. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01893034. Cite this article: Aims
Methods
Immunosuppression following intra-articular injections of steroid into the hip may interfere with asepsis in a subsequent total hip arthroplasty (THA). We have undertaken a retrospective, matched, cohort study of infective complications after THA, in 40 patients who had received such an injection and 40 who had not. In the injection group there were five revisions, four of which were for deep infection. There were none in the matched group. The overall rate of revision in our database of 979 primary THAs was 1.02%. Six additional patients who had received injections underwent investigation for infection because of persistent problems in the hip as compared with one in the control group.
The April 2013 Hip &
Pelvis Roundup360 looks at: hip cartilage and magnets; labral repair or resection; who benefits from injection; rotational osteotomy for osteonecrosis; whether ceramic implants risk fracture; dual articulation; and hydroxyapatite.
The management of joint replacement in lysosomal storage diseases has not been well reported. We present three patients with progressive degenerative changes of the hips who required bilateral total hip replacement in early childhood. The stature of the patients make it essential to have access to appropriately scaled prostheses. Consideration has to be given to associated disorders of the skeleton which must be carefully screened to ensure safety in providing appropriate anaesthesia as well as ensuring that there is no cardiac abnormality. In one patient, a periprosthetic fracture was sustained in one hip in the early post-operative course requiring internal fixation. The patient made a full recovery and all six hips were clinically and radiologically satisfactory at mid-term review.
We treated 22 patients with a diagnosis of primary frozen shoulder resistant to conservative treatment by manipulation under anaesthetic and arthroscopic release of the rotator interval, at a mean time from onset of 15 months (3 to 36). Biopsies were taken from this site and histological and immunocytochemical analysis was performed to identify the types of cell present. The tissue was characterised by the presence of fibroblasts, proliferating fibroblasts and chronic inflammatory cells. The infiltrate of chronic inflammatory cells was predominantly made up of mast cells, with T cells, B cells and macrophages also present. The pathology of frozen shoulder includes a chronic inflammatory response with fibroblastic proliferation which may be immunomodulated.
We have performed a prospective double-blind, randomised controlled trial over two years to evaluate the efficacy and safety of an intra-operative peri-articular injection of triamcinolone acetonide in patients undergoing medial unicondylar knee replacement. We randomised 90 patients into two equal groups. The study group received an injection of triamcinolone acetonide, bupivacaine, and epinephrine into the peri-articular tissues at the end of the operation. The control group received the same injection mixture but without the addition of triamcinolone. The peri-operative analgesic regimen was standardised. The study group reported a significant reduction in pain (p = 0.014 at 12 hours, p = 0.031 at 18 hours and p = 0.031 at 24 hours) and had a better range of movement (p = 0.023 at three months). There was no significant difference in the rate of infection and no incidence of tendon rupture in either group. The addition of corticosteroid to the peri-articular injection after unicondylar knee replacement had both immediate and short-term benefits in terms of relief from pain, and rehabilitation with no increased risk of infection.
The majority of patients with osteoarthritis present to orthopaedic surgeons seeking relief of pain and associated restoration of function. Although our understanding of the physiology of pain has improved greatly over the last 25 years there remain a number of unexplained pain-related observations in patients with osteoarthritis. The understanding of pain in osteoarthritis, its modulation and treatment is central to orthopaedic clinical practice and in this annotation we explore some of the current concepts applicable. We also introduce the concept of the ‘phantom joint’ as a cause for persistent pain after joint replacement.
