Distal radial fractures are the most common fracture sustained by the adult population. Most can be treated using cast immobilization without the need for surgery. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of a definitive trial comparing the commonly used fibreglass cast immobilization with an alternative product called Woodcast. Woodcast is a biodegradable casting material with theoretical benefits in terms of patient comfort as well as benefits to the environment. This was a multicentre, two-arm, open-label, parallel-group randomized controlled feasibility trial. Patients with a fracture of the distal radius aged 16 years and over were recruited from four centres in the UK and randomized (1:1) to receive a Woodcast or fibreglass cast. Data were collected on participant recruitment and retention, clinical efficacy, safety, and patient acceptability.Aims
Methods
Bone health assessment and the prescription of medication for secondary fracture prevention have become an integral part of the acute management of patients with hip fracture. However, there is little evidence regarding compliance with prescription guidelines and subsequent adherence to medication in this patient group. The World Hip Trauma Evaluation (WHiTE) is a multicentre, prospective cohort of hip fracture patients in NHS hospitals in England and Wales. Patients aged 60 years and older who received operative treatment for a hip fracture were eligible for inclusion in WHiTE. The prescription of bone protection medications was recorded from participants’ discharge summaries, and participant-reported use of bone protection medications was recorded at 120 days following surgery.Aims
Patients and Methods
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
has issued guidelines that state fusion for non-specific low back
pain should only be performed as part of a randomised controlled
trial, and that lumbar disc replacement should not be performed.
Thus, spinal fusion and disc replacement will no longer be routine
forms of treatment for patients with low back pain. This annotation
considers the evidence upon which these guidelines are based. Cite this article:
The aims of this study were to determine the indications and
frequency of ordering a CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) following
primary arthroplasty of the hip and knee, and to determine the number
of positive scans in these patients, the location of emboli and
the outcome for patients undergoing CTPA. We analyzed the use of CTPA, as an inpatient and up to 90 days
as an outpatient, in a cohort of patients and reviewed the medical
records and imaging for each patient undergoing CTPA.Aims
Patients and Methods
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centre
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently published guidelines
for the prevention of surgical site infection. The WHO guidelines,
if implemented worldwide, could have an immense impact on our practices
and those of the CDC have implications for healthcare policy in
the United States. Our aim was to review the strategies for prevention of periprosthetic
joint infection in light of these and other recent guidelines. Cite this article:
The aim of this study was to explore the patients’ experience
of recovery from open fracture of the lower limb in acute care. A purposeful sample of 20 participants with a mean age of 40
years (20 to 82) (16 males, four females) were interviewed a mean
of 12 days (five to 35) after their first surgical intervention took
place between July 2012 and July 2013 in two National Health Service
(NHS) trusts in England, United Kingdom. The qualitative interviews
drew on phenomenology and analysis identified codes, which were
drawn together into categories and themes.Aims
Patients and Methods
The objective of this study was to assess all evidence comparing the Thompson monoblock hemiarthroplasty with modular unipolar implants for patients requiring hemiarthroplasty of the hip with respect to mortality and complications. A literature search was performed to identify all relevant literature. The population consisted of patients undergoing hemiarthroplasty of the hip for fracture. The intervention was hemiarthroplasty of the hip with a comparison between Thompson and modular unipolar prostheses. Pubmed, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, PROSPERO and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. The study designs included were randomised controlled trials (RCTs), well designed case control studies and retrospective or prospective cohort studies. Studies available in any language, published at any time until September 2015 were considered. Studies were included if they contained mortality or complications.Objectives
Methods
This study aimed to compare the change in health-related quality
of life of patients receiving a traditional cemented monoblock Thompson
hemiarthroplasty compared with a modern cemented modular polished-taper
stemmed hemiarthroplasty for displaced intracapsular hip fractures. This was a pragmatic, multicentre, multisurgeon, two-arm, parallel
group, randomized standard-of-care controlled trial. It was embedded
within the WHiTE Comprehensive Cohort Study. The sample size was
964 patients. The setting was five National Health Service Trauma
Hospitals in England. A total of 964 patients over 60 years of age who
required hemiarthroplasty of the hip between February 2015 and March
2016 were included. A standardized measure of health outcome, the
EuroQol (EQ-5D-5L) questionnaire, was carried out on admission and
at four months following the operation.Aims
Patients and Methods
The number of arthroplasties being performed
increases each year. Patients undergoing an arthroplasty are at
risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and appropriate prophylaxis
has been recommended. However, the optimal protocol and the best
agent to minimise VTE under these circumstances are not known. Although
many agents may be used, there is a difference in their efficacy
and the risk of bleeding. Thus, the selection of a particular agent relies
on the balance between the desire to minimise VTE and the attempt
to reduce the risk of bleeding, with its undesirable, and occasionally
fatal, consequences. Acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) is an agent for VTE prophylaxis
following arthroplasty. Many studies have shown its efficacy in
minimising VTE under these circumstances. It is inexpensive and
well-tolerated, and its use does not require routine blood tests.
It is also a ‘milder’ agent and unlikely to result in haematoma
formation, which may increase both the risk of infection and the
need for further surgery. Aspirin is also unlikely to result in persistent
wound drainage, which has been shown to be associated with the use
of agents such as low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) and other
more aggressive agents. The main objective of this review was to summarise the current
evidence relating to the efficacy of aspirin as a VTE prophylaxis
following arthroplasty, and to address some of the common questions
about its use. There is convincing evidence that, taking all factors into account,
aspirin is an effective, inexpensive, and safe form of VTE following
arthroplasty in patients without a major risk factor for VTE, such
as previous VTE. Cite this article:
The aim of this study was to compare the cost-effectiveness of
intramedullary nail fixation and ‘locking’ plate fixation in the
treatment of extra-articular fractures of the distal tibia. An economic evaluation was conducted from the perspective of
the United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS) and personal social
services (PSS), based on evidence from the Fixation of Distal Tibia
Fractures (UK FixDT) multicentre parallel trial. Data from 321 patients
were available for analysis. Costs were collected prospectively
over the 12-month follow-up period using trial case report forms
and participant-completed questionnaires. Cost-effectiveness was
reported in terms of incremental cost per quality adjusted life
year (QALY) gained, and net monetary benefit. Sensitivity analyses
were conducted to test the robustness of cost-effectiveness estimates.Aim
Patients and Methods
The aim of this study was to evaluate the surgical management and outcome of patients with an acral soft-tissue sarcoma of the hand or foot. We identified 63 patients with an acral soft-tissue sarcoma who presented to our tertiary referral sarcoma service between 2000 and 2016. There were 35 men and 28 women with a mean age of 49 years (Aims
Patients and Methods
The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the type of operation used to treat a trochanteric fracture of the hip and 30-day mortality. Data on 82 990 patients from the National Hip Fracture Database were analyzed using generalized linear models with incremental case-mix adjustment for patient, non-surgical and surgical characteristics, and socioeconomic factors.Aims
Patients and Methods
To explore whether orthopaedic surgeons have adopted the Proximal Fracture of the Humerus: Evaluation by Randomisation (PROFHER) trial results routinely into clinical practice. A questionnaire was piloted with six orthopaedic surgeons using a ‘think aloud’ process. The final questionnaire contained 29 items and was distributed online to surgeon members of the British Orthopaedic Association and British Elbow and Shoulder Society. Descriptive statistics summarised the sample characteristics and fracture treatment of respondents overall, and grouped them by whether they changed practice based on PROFHER trial findings. Free-text responses were analysed qualitatively for emerging themes using Framework Analysis principles.Objectives
Methods
