Journal of Orthopedic and Spine Trauma

Total Knee Arthroplasty in Patients with Concomitant Low Back Pain, Its Effects on Pain, Functional Outcomes and Satisfaction, a Narrative Review

Alireza Moharrami — 2024-05-21

The request for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is increasingly being raised and imposes an enormous burden on the healthcare system. Most subjects represent symptomatic concomitant low back pain (LBP) at baseline, interfering with functional outcomes with little or no improvement in mental health following TKA. Orthopedics should notify the patients suffering from concomitant LBP about the likelihood of unfavorable recovery. The authors describe the functional outcomes and satisfaction following TKA in patients suffering from concomitant LBP.

The Role of Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT) in Treating Low Back Pain: Current Concept Review

Mir Mansour Moazen Jamshidi — 2024-05-21

The current study aims to evaluate the potential role of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) in functional status, physical disability, and pain in patients suffering from low back pain (LBP). ESWT may provide superior therapeutic outcomes in reducing pain and ameliorating the patient's functional status regarding LBP.

Do Psychological and Social Factors Correspond with Health Care Utilization?

Sina Ramtin — 2024-05-21

Background: There is evidence that unhelpful thoughts and distress regarding symptoms are associated with more frequent care utilization. Among people seeing a musculoskeletal specialist in person, we sought relationships between mental and social health factors and the number of 1) self-reported in-person healthcare contacts, 2) remote healthcare contacts, and 3) total healthcare contacts during the 6-week period prior to the visit.

Methods: We enrolled 148 adult patients in a cross-sectional study of people visiting a musculoskeletal specialist for a new or return visit. Patients indicated the number of self-reported remote and in-person healthcare contacts, and completed measures of social health, unhelpful thoughts regarding symptoms, general distress, and demographics.

Results: Accounting for potential confounding in multivariable analysis, more pre-visit self-reported in-person care episodes were independently associated with more unhelpful thoughts about symptoms [higher score on Negative Pain Thoughts Questionnaire (NPTQ), regression coefficient: 0.05, P < 0.05] and household income between $15000 and $29999 or $30000 and $49999. No factors were associated with the total number of pre-visit remote and in-person care contacts.

Conclusion: The observation that patients with greater unhelpful thinking seek out more in-person care episodes for musculoskeletal symptoms supports the concept that comprehensive care strategies attentive to common unhelpful thoughts regarding symptoms could limit resource utilization.

Functional Outcome of Arthroscopic Bankart Repair with Knotless Suture Anchor: A Retrospective Observational Study

Ravindra Chauhan — 2024-05-21

Background: The soft tissue in the shoulder plays a significant role in anterior shoulder instability, leading to humeral head displacement from the glenoid fossa. Arthroscopic Bankart repair is a widely accepted method to restore the labrum to the joint rim. This study aims to evaluate the clinical outcomes of Bankart repair by knotless suture anchors at medium-term follow-up, assess the functional outcomes of the knotless suture anchor method for recurrent anterior glenohumeral instability, and conduct clinical assessment using the Rowe score at 6-week, 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month intervals in patients.

Methods: In this retrospective study, patients who underwent arthroscopic Bankart repair using a 2.8 mm knotless suture anchor (MINI-VIM PK® ) were enrolled. They were assessed for shoulder stability, range of motion (ROM), and functional outcomes using the Rowe scale at the baseline, 6-week, 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month follow-up intervals as part of the planned early efficacy measures. All the statistical analyses were performed using SPSS software.

Results: The mean age of the subjects was 28.10 ± 6.14. In this trial, 51 patients (69.86%) were diagnosed with recurrent shoulder dislocation on the left side, and 22 patients (30.14%) on the right side. The Rowe score demonstrated a significant improvement (P < 0.0001), increasing from 44.73 ± 1.64 to 95.62 ± 18.33 at the 12-month follow-up period. This indicated better clinical outcomes and reduced recurrence of instability with the use of knotless suture anchors.

Conclusion: The use of knotless suture anchors demonstrated reduced recurrence rates, improved post-operative shoulder motion, and increased stability without adding complexity to the procedure.

Comparison of Different Ketofol Procedural Sedation and Analgesic Doses during Orthopedic Procedures in Patients Referred to the Emergency Department: A Double-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial

Saeed Abbasi — 2024-05-21

Background: Orthopedic procedures are one of the most common medical procedures in the emergency department (ED) and are also among the most painful procedures performed on the conscious patient. This study aimed to compare different doses of ketofol in procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA) in patients referred to the EDs.

Methods: In this double-blinded clinical trial, 296 patients aged 18 years or over who presented with the need for orthopedic procedures in the three academic EDs in 2020 were studied. After completing the written consent, the patients were randomly assigned to four treatment groups. Demographic information, underlying diseases, patients' physical condition, type of orthopedic injuries requiring intervention, and patients' vital signs were recorded in a checklist for each patient.

Results: In this study, the mean age, gender, level of education, addiction, patients' physical condition, type of procedures performed, apnea, hypoventilation, bradycardia, hypotension, and agitation in all four treatment groups were not statistically different, but hallucination and hypoxia in group C (propofol 1 mg/kg plus ketamine 0.33 mg/kg) were much less than other groups; thus, oxygen administration was more common in other groups.

Conclusion: By testing different doses of ketamine, we concluded that doses of 1 mg and 0.5 mg were associated with more side effects. A dose of 0.33 mg of ketamine has fewer side effects while causing analgesia and sedation as in the above doses. A dose of 0.25 mg of ketamine increases the likelihood of requiring subsequent doses. Therefore, it seems that 0.33 mg of ketamine is the best dose of choice.

Open Soft Tissue Degloving Injuries of Lower Limbs Managed by a Staged Protocol Using Preserved Autologous Skin Graft

John Mohd — 2024-05-21

Background: Degloving soft tissue injuries (DSTIs) are defined as detachment of skin and its appendages from underlying muscle fascia. The present study aimed to assess the outcome of open circumferential DSTIs of lower limbs using a staged protocol by utilizing the stored skin graft harvested from degloved skin flaps.

Methods: This retrospective study included 12 patients with open circumferential lower limb degloving injuries (Arnez types three and four), with a minimum final follow-up of two years. All the patients were treated using a staged protocol, which included harvesting skin grafts from the degloved skin flaps, followed by refrigerator storage of the graft and stay sutures for the flap. The refrigerator-stored graft was then used to cover the raw areas left after secondary debridement.

Results: The mean wound area per patient that required skin grafting was 1082.9 ± 679.0 cm2 , and mean area of the wound covered by refrigerator-preserved skin graft per patient was 798.7 ± 350.0 cm2 . One patient needed a latissimus dorsi flap, and three patients with whole limb degloving had to undergo skin grafting for the remnant raw area harvested from the contralateral thigh. None of the patients ended up with amputation.

Conclusion: Despite being rare, open DSTIs are very complex injuries with no definitive guidelines for management, especially Arnez type three and four injuries. The staged protocol presented in the present series potentially answers the dilemma. However, larger multi-centric trials are needed to study the outcome of the discussed staged protocol.

Study of the Healing of Tibial Fractures Treated with Dynamic Intramedullary Nailing

Afshin Sahebjamei — 2024-05-21

Background: Dynamic nailing by placing only one screw on one side of the nail shortens the surgical time and reduces the complications during surgery and secondary dynamization. This study aimed to investigate the healing of dynamic intramedullary nailing (IMN) of tibial fractures.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was done on 67 patients with dynamic IMN in 5th Azar Hospital, Gorgan, Iran, in 2015-2018. Complications, union time, Radiographic Union Score of Tibia Fracture (RUST) score, and Johner-Wruhs criteria were analyzed based on their grouping in AO classification.

Results: The average age of the patients was 33.2 ± 13.0 years. Most of the fractures were closed type (71.6%), type C (43.4%). The mean healing time was 14.62 ± 4.38 weeks and RUST score was 8.90 ± 1.26. There was no significant difference between locations of fracture and the healing time or RUST score (P > 0.05). The healing time in the comminuted fractures (e.g., type C) and open tibial fractures was statistically longer than the simpler type (e.g., type A or B) and the mean radiological score in type C fractures was significantly lower (P < 0.05). The mean Johner-Wruhs criteria score of fractures was 46.31 ± 4.49, so that 61 patients had excellent results, four patients had good results, and two patients had fair results.

Conclusion: Dynamic IMN of closed and middle third tibial fractures and simpler types of fractures (e.g., type A or B) have faster healing. Nevertheless, it is better to be more cautious for fixation of open or comminuted fracture (e.g., type C).

Study of Titanium Elastic Nailing in Forearm Fractures in Elderly Patients

Ashok Sharma — 2024-05-21

Background: As operative techniques and the quality of implants are improving, surgical management of diaphyseal fractures of forearm bones in elderly patients is gaining widespread acceptance. Titanium elastic nailing system (TENS) provides flexural, axial, translational, and adequate rotational stability. This study aims to analyze the outcomes of the treatment of diaphyseal forearm bone fracture with TENS nail.

Methods: Elderly patients with both-bone forearm (BBFA) fractures in diaphysis were evaluated clinically and radiologically and followed for an average of six months. The outcome was assessed using the Grace-Eversmann scoring system. We followed up with all 25 patients and evaluated them every two weeks until the fracture united.

Results: After approval of the ethics committee, twenty-five elderly patients with AO type 22A3 and 22B3 fractures of the forearm bone who fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria were taken for the study. The mean age of the participants was 65 years. The average time to bone union was 12 weeks, and the average surgery time was 35 minutes. There was a superficial infection in one case. Most patients had a full range of elbow and wrist movements after the union.

Conclusion: The TENS is an acceptable and good tachnique for displaced BBFA diaphyseal fractures in elderly patients. It is easy, cheap, and convenient and gives elastic mobility, promoting a rapid union of fractures and stability, which is ideal for early mobilization. It provides a lower complication rate, shorter surgery time, good cosmetic outcome, and easy implant removal.

Pediatric Subtrochanteric Fracture Treated with Adult Proximal Humerus Locking Plate: A Case Series and Literature Review

Reza Zandi — 2024-05-21

Background: A variety of options including titanium elastic nails (TENs) and locking plates (LPs) are available for the internal fixation of subtrochanteric fractures (STFs). However, the preferred treatment option among children and adolescents is still controversial.

Methods: We report four cases of STFs in school-aged pediatric patients, treated with an adult proximal humerus LP.

Results: Based on the Flynn scoring system at the last follow-up visit, all patients exhibited excellent clinical outcomes, along with satisfactory radiological outcomes based on the Beaty scoring system. There were no complications.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest the efficacy of using adult proximal humerus LPs in treating pediatric STFs. The advantage of these plates lies in their ability to accommodate many screws at appropriate positions and angles without damaging the physis. This approach holds promise for the management of pediatric STFs.

Minimally Invasive Percutaneous Plate for Pilon Fractures: Educational Corner

Omid Salkhori — 2024-05-21

The Article Abstract is not available.

Bilateral Asymmetrical Hip Dislocations after Falling from Height: A Case Report and Literature Review

Omid Kohandel — 2024-05-21

Background: Hip dislocations, constituting 2-5 percent of all joint dislocations, predominantly present as posterior dislocations. Bilateral hip dislocations are rare, accounting for 1.25% of cases. Associated fractures often involve the proximal femur and acetabulum.

Case Report: A 60-year-old man with no prior hip trauma history sustained bilateral hip dislocations after a 6-meter fall. Initial assessments and a hip computed tomography (CT) scan confirmed posterior dislocation of the right hip and anterior dislocation of the left hip. The patient underwent a successful closed pelvic reduction operation four hours post-injury, as confirmed by a post-reduction CT scan.

Conclusion: The study, encompassing 11 relevant studies and 208 patients, predominantly men (81%), revealed that asymmetrical bilateral hip dislocations were exceptionally rare (0.01-0.02 percent). Contrary to expectations, this study challenges the presumed stronger association of traffic accidents with bilateral dislocations, presenting a statistically significant association between the type of dislocation and trauma mechanism. Associated fractures, such as acetabulum fractures in unilateral cases and posterior edge fractures in bilateral cases, varied. Avascular necrosis (AVN), a common complication, was not observed in the current case, where reduction occurred within the critical 6-hour timeframe. This report contributes valuable insights into the characteristics and associations of asymmetric bilateral hip dislocations, emphasizing the importance of prompt intervention to mitigate complications. Further research is needed to validate these findings and explore underlying patterns in this rare clinical scenario.

Bilateral Radial Head and Neck Nondisplaced Fracture, a Challenge for Treatment: A Case Report

Omid Salkhori — 2024-05-21

Background: Radial head and neck fractures are one of the common fractures of the elbow in adult patients. There are controversies in the treatment of nondisplaced head and neck fractures. However, nonoperative treatment remains a treatment choice for nondisplaced radial head fracture without motion block.

Case Report: We presented a 23-year-old patient who had a bilateral nondisplaced radial head fracture. The patient was managed with conservative treatment and early elbow range of motion (ROM). Finally, the patient had a full ROM without pain in both elbows.

Conclusion: Conservative management with early mobilization remains an effective approach for treating bilateral nondisplaced radial head fracture, yielding satisfactory outcomes.