Total hip arthroplasty following the failure of intertrochanteric nailing:First implant or salvage surgery?

BACKGROUND Proximal femur fractures,including both intracapsular(femoral neck fractures)and extracapsular fractures(intertrochanteric femoral fractures,IFFs),affect around 1.5 million people per year worldwide.Mechanical failures of intertrochanteric nailing in IFFs could be managed with revision total hip arthroplasty(THA).AIM To describe the surgical complexity and the procedure-related complication rates in patients with trochanteric nailing failure and treated with THA.METHODS Patients referred to our level I trauma center between April 2012 and July 2018 with failed cephalomedullary nailing following trochanteric fractures were retrospectively recruited.All patients underwent a salvage surgical procedure,i.e.,cephalomedullary nail removal and conversion to THA.The same surgical and anesthesiology team performed the surgical procedures under spinal anesthesia.All patients underwent clinical and radiographic follow-ups for at least 24 mo.Complications and re-operations were recorded.RESULTS Seventy-four patients met the inclusion criteria(male:29;female:45;mean age:73.8-years-old;range:65-89)and were included in the current study.The average operative time was 117 min(76-192 min).The average blood loss was 585 mL(430-1720 mL).Among the 74 patients,43(58.1%)required transfusion of three or more blood units.Two patients died within the 4th d after surgery because of pulmonary embolism,and 1 patient died 9 mo after surgery due to ischemic myocardial infarction.The complication rate in the 71 patients who completed the minimum 24-mo follow-up was 22.5%.In 3 cases out of 71(4.2%)periprosthetic acetabular fracture was observed during the followup.One of these periacetabular fractures occurred intraoperatively.An intraoperative periprosthetic femur fracture was observed in 5 patients out of 71(7.0%).Four of these patients needed a re-operation to fix the fracture with plates and cerclages;in one of these patients,femoral stem revision was also necessary.In 4 patients out of 71(5.6%),an early THA dislocation was observed,whereas in 1 case(1.4%)a late THA dislocation was observed.Three patients out of 71(4.2%)developed a periprosthetic joint infection during the study follow-up.CONCLUSION The present study demonstrated that salvage options for IFF fixation failure are complex procedures with a relevant intraoperative and postoperative complication rate.

Physiologic postoperative presepsin kinetics following primary cementless total hip arthroplasty:A prospective observational study

BACKGROUND Presepsin is an emerging biomarker in the diagnosis of sepsis.In the field of orthopaedics,it could be useful in diagnosing and managing periprosthetic joint infections.AIM To define the normal postoperative presepsin plasmatic curve,in patients undergoing primary cementless total hip arthroplasty(THA).METHODS Patients undergoing primary cementless THA at our Institute were recruited.Inclusion criteria were:Primary osteoarthritis of the hip;urinary catheter time of permanence<24 h;peripheral venous cannulation time of permanence<24 h;no postoperative homologous blood transfusion administration and hospital stay≤8 d.Exclusion criteria were:The presence of other articular prosthetic replacement or bone fixation devices;chronic inflammatory diseases;chronic kidney diseases;history of recurrent infections or malignant neoplasms;previous surgery in the preceding 12 mo;diabetes mellitus;immunosuppressive drug or corticosteroid assumption.All the patients received the same antibiotic prophylaxis.All the THA were performed by the same surgical and anaesthesia team;total operative time was defined as the time taken from skin incision to completion of skin closure.At enrollment,anthropometric data,smocking status,osteoarthritis stage according to Kellgren and Lawrence,Harris Hip Score,drugs assumption and comorbidities were recorded.All the patients underwent serial blood tests,including complete blood count,presepsin(PS)and C-reactive protein 24 h before arthroplasty and at 24,48,72 and 96 h postoperatively and at 3,6 and 12-mo follow-up.RESULTS A total of 96 patients(51 female;45 male;mean age=65.74±5.58)were recruited.The mean PS values were:137.54 pg/mL at baseline,192.08 pg/mL at 24 h post-op;254.85 pg/mL at 48 h post-op;259 pg/mL at 72 h post-op;248.6 pg/mL at 96-h post-op;140.52 pg/mL at 3-mo follow-up;135.55 pg/mL at 6-mo follow-up and 130.11 pg/mL at 12-mo follow-up.In two patients(2.08%)a soft-tissue infection was observed;in these patients,higher levels(>350 pg/mL)were recorded at 3-mo follow-up.CONCLUSION The dosage of plasmatic PS concentration is highly recommended in patients undergoing THA before surgery to exclude the presence of an unknown infection.The PS plasmatic concentration should be also assessed at 72 h postoperatively,evaluate the maximum postoperative PS value,and at 96 h post-operatively when a decrease of presepsin should be found.The lack of a presepsin decrease at 96 h post-operatively could be a predictive factor of infection.

Role of biomechanical assessment in rotator cuff tear repair: Arthroscopic vs mini-open approach

BACKGROUND Rotator cuff(RC)tears are one of the most frequent pathologies within the shoulder girdle.Hand dominance and older age are associated with RC tears.Two different surgical procedures,the mini-open(MO)and all-arthroscopic(AA)approach,represented the standard of treatment.AIM To compare the clinical and biomechanical outcomes of two surgical techniques(AA vs MO procedure)performed to address the painful shoulder syndrome with partial or total supraspinatus tendon tear.METHODS Eighty-eight participants,50 following RC repair with AA and 38 with MO approach,were recruited in the present cross-sectional case-control study(ORTHO-SHOULDER,Prot.0054602).All patients underwent postoperative clinical evaluation for pain(Visual analogic scale),impairment,and disability(disability of the arm,shoulder,and hand)and limitation in daily activity(Constant-Murley score).Patients’shoulder mobility was also assessed in our Laboratory of Functional Movement through a wearable inertial sensor and surface electromyography to monitor kinematics and muscle activity during the movement on the frontal(abduction/adduction)and sagittal(flexion-extension)planes.RESULTS No statistically significant differences between the two procedures were observed in either main clinical score or range of motion.A significant increase in velocity during the movement execution and a higher contribution of upper trapezius muscles were found in the AA group compared with MO patients.CONCLUSION In terms of clinical scores,our findings were in line with previous results.However,the use of technology-based assessment of shoulder mobility has revealed significant differences between the two techniques in terms of mean velocity and pattern of muscle activation.

Anterior vertebral body tethering for idiopathic scoliosis in growing children:A systematic review

BACKGROUND The management of idiopathic scoliosis(IS)in skeletally immature patients should aim at three-dimensional deformity correction,without compromising spinal and chest growth.In 2019,the US Food and Drug Administration approved the first instrumentation system for anterior vertebral body tethering(AVBT),under a Humanitarian Device Exception,for skeletally immature patients with curves having a Cobb angle between 35°and 65°.AIM To summarize current evidence about the efficacy and safety of AVBT in the management of IS in skeletally immature patients.METHODS From January 2014 to January 2021,Ovid Medline,Embase,Cochrane Library,Scopus,Web of Science,Google Scholar and PubMed were searched to identify relevant studies.The methodological quality of the studies was evaluated and relevant data were extracted.RESULTS Seven clinical trials recruiting 163 patients were included in the present review.Five studies out of seven were classified as high quality,whereas the remaining two studies were classified as moderate quality.A total of 151 of 163 AVBT procedures were performed in the thoracic spine,and the remaining 12 tethering in the lumbar spine.Only 117 of 163(71.8%)patients had a nonprogressive curve at skeletal maturity.Twenty-three of 163(14.11%)patients required unplanned revision surgery within the follow-up period.Conversion to posterior spinal fusion(PSF)was performed in 18 of 163(11%)patients.CONCLUSION AVBT is a promising growth-friendly technique for treatment of IS in growing patients.However,it has moderate success and perioperative complications,revision and conversion to PSF.

Plate vs reverse shoulder arthroplasty for proximal humeral fractures:The psychological health influence the choice of device?

BACKGROUND Proximal humeral fractures represent the third most common observed osteoporotic fracture;the treatment in three and four-part proximal humeral fractures in patients over 65 years is still controversial.Among the treatments described in literature,open reduction and internal fixation(O.R.I.F)and reverse shoulder arthroplasty(RSA)are gaining an increasing popularity.AIM To investigate the correct treatment for three and four-part proximal humeral fractures according to psychological aspects.METHODS It was conducted a prospective study with a series of 63 patients treated with O.R.I.F.(group A)and with RSA(group B)for three and four-part proximal humeral fractures according to Neer classification system.A conservative treatment group,as control,was finally introduced.One independent observer performed clinical and a psychological evaluation at one(T0),six(T1)and twelve months(T2)postoperatively.The Constant’s score and The Disabilities of the Arm,Shoulder and Hand(DASH score)were used for clinical evaluation,while General Anxiety Disorder-7(GAD-7)and Caregiver Strain Scale(CSS)were used for psychological evaluation.RESULTS At one month follow up in group A the mean values were DASH score 50.8,Constant score 36.1,GAD-7 score 5.4,CSS 5.0.For the group B,the average values at T0 were:DASH score 54.6,Constant score 32.0;GAD-7 score 6.4,CSS 6.2.At six months in group A the average values were DASH score 42.1,Constant score 47.3,GAD-7 score 4.3,CSS 3.9.For the group B,the average values at T1 were:DASH score 39.1,Constant score 43.2,GAD-7 score 5.7,CSS 5.5.At twelve months in the group A,the mean values were DASH score 32.8,Constant score 60.0,GAD-7 score 3.2,CSS 3.1.For the group B shown these mean values:DASH score 33.6,Constant score 52.9,GAD-7 score 4.3,CSS 4.5.We demonstrated a better clinical and psychological outcome at T2 in the group treated with osteosynthesis compared to the group treated with arthroplasty(Constant P=0.049,GAD-7 P=0.012 and CSS P=0.005).A better clinical and psychological outcome emerged in control group at T2 comparing with surgical group(DASH score P=0.014,Constant score P<0.001,GAD-7 P=0.002 and CSS P=0.001).CONCLUSION Both open osteosynthesis and reverse shoulder arthroplasty are valid treatments for proximal humeral fractures.According to the best osteosynthesis results the authors suggested to perform a psychological analysis for each patient in order to choose the appropriate treatment.