During the COVID-19 pandemic, many patients continue to require urgent surgery for hip fractures. However, the impact of COVID-19 on perioperative outcomes in these high-risk patients remains unknown. The objectives of this study were to establish the effects of COVID-19 on perioperative morbidity and mortality, and determine any risk factors for increased mortality in patients with COVID-19 undergoing hip fracture surgery. This multicentre cohort study included 340 COVID-19-negative patients versus 82 COVID-19-positive patients undergoing surgical treatment for hip fractures across nine NHS hospitals in Greater London, UK. Patients in both treatment groups were comparable for age, sex, body mass index, fracture configuration, and type of surgery performed. Predefined perioperative outcomes were recorded within a 30-day postoperative period. Univariate and multivariate analysis were used to identify risk factors associated with increased risk of mortality.Aims
Methods
The pre-operative differentiation between enchondroma,
low-grade chondrosarcoma and high-grade chondrosarcoma remains a
diagnostic challenge. We reviewed the accuracy and safety of the
radiological grading of cartilaginous tumours through the assessment
of, first, pre-operative radiological and post-operative histological agreement,
and second the rate of recurrence in lesions confirmed as high-grade
on histology. We performed a retrospective review of major long
bone cartilaginous tumours managed by curettage as low grade between
2001 and 2012. A total of 53 patients with a mean age of 47.6 years
(8 to 71) were included. There were 23 men and 30 women. The tumours
involved the femur (n = 20), humerus (n = 18), tibia (n = 9), fibula
(n = 3), radius (n = 2) and ulna (n = 1). Pre-operative diagnoses
resulted from multidisciplinary consensus following radiological
review alone for 35 tumours, or with the addition of pre-operative
image guided needle biopsy for 18. The histologically confirmed diagnosis
was enchondroma for two (3.7%), low-grade chondrosarcoma for 49
(92.6%) and high-grade chondrosarcoma for two (3.7%). Three patients
with a low-grade tumour developed a local recurrence at a mean of 15
months (12 to 17) post-operatively. A single high-grade recurrence
(grade II) was treated with tibial diaphyseal replacement. The overall
recurrence rate was 7.5% at a mean follow-up of 4.7 years (1.2 to
12.3). Cartilaginous tumours identified as low-grade on pre-operative
imaging with or without additional image-guided needle biopsy can
safely be managed as low-grade without pre-operative histological
diagnosis. A few tumours may demonstrate high-grade features histologically,
but the rates of recurrence are not affected. Cite this article: