Functional Outcomes of Patients with Schizophrenia After Hip Fracture Surgery
Thirty-eight patients with schizophrenia were compared with 170 geriatric patients without schizophrenia who underwent a surgical procedure for a hip fracture.
Read the full article here.
The Challenges of Post-Treatment Care for Patients with Schizophrenia
The worldwide incidence of mental illness seems to be on the rise—and along with it a widespread recognition that this “epidemic” should receive at least as much attention as other health conditions. At the same time, many societies have transitioned to noninstitutionalized care for patients with severe mental health diagnoses. This parallel phenomenon has resulted in more individuals with mental and emotional challenges being cared for by their families and communities.
Orthopaedic surgeons are often asked what the prognosis is for recovery in a patient with a substantive mental health diagnosis, but only a few scholarly attempts have been made to answer that question. In the May 5, 2021 issue of JBJS, Ng et al. provide meaningful data regarding the concomitant diagnosis of schizophrenia among patients in their early 70s who experienced a hip fracture. One-year post-treatment results from this cohort study showed no differences in mortality or surgical or medical complications between patients with and matched patients without schizophrenia. These good-news findings are largely indicative of the high level of care hip fracture patients receive in the authors’ institution, which includes close collaboration among surgeons, geriatrists, physical therapists, and psychiatric clinicians.
However, the 1-year functional outcomes, as measured with the Modified Barthel Index, were worse in the cohort with schizophrenia. I think this is probably related to the difficulty of encouraging patients to participate in standardized rehabilitation processes, challenges associated with self-care, and potentially less-than-optimal social support.
We certainly need more research into determining the best peri- and post-treatment care for orthopaedic patients with severe mental health issues. Ideally, future investigations of these questions will focus on interactions between mental health professionals and surgical and rehabilitation teams. It is my hope that this study by Ng et al. will stimulate that type of research.
Click here for a downloadable Infographic summarizing this study.
Marc Swiontkowski, MD
JBJS Editor-in-Chief
Home in on Bone Health in Patients with Fragility Fractures
OrthoBuzz occasionally receives posts from guest bloggers. This guest post comes from James Blair, MD, in response to a recent edition of the OrthoJOE podcast.
Geriatric hip fractures are among the fastest growing subset of injuries that orthopaedic surgeons treat. Often these injuries are the first objective signs of osteoporosis. While the surgical treatment of these fractures continues to improve, orthopaedic surgeons may be neglecting their role in triggering investigations into the underlying bone health of these patients.
A recent insurance database analysis by Sara Cromer, MD, presented at the Endocrine Society’s 2021 Annual Meeting, demonstrated a substantial drop in the use of bone-directed medications over the past decade, despite the rise in the number of osteoporotic-related fractures. It is unclear why this trend has occurred, but the main concern is that new diagnoses of osteoporosis are being overlooked.
This concern arose during a recent OrthoJOE podcast focused on distal radial fractures. OrthoEvidence Editor-in-Chief Dr. Mo Bhandari alluded to the confusion over who is responsible for bone-health intervention during treatment of a fragility fracture: the inpatient orthopaedic surgery team, the hospitalist, or the patient’s family physician or internist. “The thought is that someone is going to manage this,” Dr. Bhandari states. “Everyone is looking at everyone else, and it’s not happening.”
In fragility-fracture cases, JBJS Editor-in-Chief Dr. Marc Swiontkowski emphasized the importance of orthopaedic surgeons initiating investigations into their patients’ bone quality with evaluations of vitamin D, ionized calcium, and parathyroid and thyroid hormone levels. “We are failing miserably at this,” Dr. Swiontkowski laments, recalling seeing 3 elderly patients in a single day with a hip fracture that was preceded by a distal radial fracture a decade earlier–with no bone-health investigation ever performed at that time.
Initiatives like the American Orthopaedic Association’s (AOA’s) “Own The Bone” program try to raise awareness of our broader responsibility as orthopaedic surgeons when treating osteoporotic fractures such as those of the proximal femur, distal radius, and vertebrae. Drs. Bhandari and Swiontkowski strongly believe that the orthopaedic surgeon must claim ownership of their patients’ bone health, not necessarily by medically managing such cases, but by initiating a dialog with the patient’s primary care physician and/or rheumatologist/endocrinologist.
Click here to find out more about the AOA’s “Own The Bone” program.
James A. Blair, MD is the Director of Orthopaedic Trauma at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University and a member of the JBJS Social Media Advisory Board.
What’s New in Orthopaedic Rehabilitation 2020
Every month, JBJS publishes a review of the most pertinent and impactful studies published in the orthopaedic literature during the previous year in 13 subspecialties. Click here for a collection of all such OrthoBuzz specialty-update summaries.
This month, co-author Nitin B. Jain, MD selected the most clinically compelling findings from the >30 studies summarized in the November 18, 2020 “What’s New in Orthopaedic Rehabilitation.”
Hip Fracture
–A retrospective cohort study of >43,000 patients with hip fracture and dementia1 found that more frequent, earlier, and larger amounts of postoperative, in-hospital rehabilitation were associated with better recovery in activities of daily living after discharge.
Rotator Cuff
–A cohort study used propensity-score techniques to compare surgical treatment with nonoperative treatment in 127 patients with symptomatic rotator cuff tears.2 At the 18-month follow-up, patients who underwent operative treatment had significantly better shoulder pain and function outcomes than those who underwent nonoperative treatment.
Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL)
–A large prospective multicenter study investigating how rehabilitation factors affect the risk of revision ACL procedures after primary reconstruction yielded good news and bad news about the use of an ACL derotational brace for return to activity. Good: Those using the brace had much-improved KOOS scores at 2 years. Bad: Use of the brace doubled the odds of requiring another surgery within 2 years.
Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA)
–A randomized controlled trial (RCT) of >300 patients who underwent TKA compared traditional in-home or at-clinic rehabilitation with virtual rehabilitation. The 3 main findings after 12 weeks were as follows:
- The virtual rehab group had a significantly lower median cost.
- Virtual rehab was not inferior based on KOOS assessments.
- There were fewer rehospitalizations in the virtual-rehab group.
Orthobiologics
–An RCT compared the efficacy of an ultrasound-guided injection of leukocyte-rich platelet-rich plasma (PRP), leukocyte-poor PRP, and a control saline injection to treat patellar tendinopathy.3 At the 1-year follow-up, neither PRP formulation was found to be more efficacious than the control injection.
References
- Uda K, Matsui H, Fushimi K, Yasunaga H. Intensive in-hospital rehabilitation after hip fracture surgery and activities of daily living in patients with dementia: retrospective analysis of a nationwide inpatient database. Arch Phys Med Rehabil.2019 Dec;100(12):2301-7.
- Jain NB, Ayers GD, Fan R, Kuhn JE, Warner JJP, Baumgarten KM, Matzkin E, Higgins LD. Comparative effectiveness of operative versus nonoperative treatment for rotator cuff tears: a propensity score analysis from the ROW cohort. Am J Sports Med.2019 Nov;47(13):3065-72. Epub 2019 Sep 13.
- Scott A, LaPrade RF, Harmon KG, Filardo G, Kon E, Della Villa S, Bahr R, Moksnes H, Torgalsen T, Lee J, Dragoo JL, Engebretsen L. Platelet-rich plasma for patellar tendinopathy: a randomized controlled trial of leukocyte-rich PRP or leukocyte-poor PRP versus saline.
Less Drinking/Smoking Associated with Fewer Hip Fractures
OrthoBuzz occasionally receives posts from guest bloggers. This guest post comes from Shahriar Rahman, MS in response to a recent study in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Hip fractures are an important cause of morbidity and mortality among the elderly population worldwide. However, age-adjusted hip fracture incidence has decreased in the US over the last 2 decades. While many attribute the decline to improved osteoporosis treatment, the definitive cause remains unknown. A population-based cohort study of participants in the Framingham Heart Study prospectively followed a cohort of >10,000 patients for the first hip fracture between 1970 and 2010.
The age-adjusted incidence of hip fracture decreased by 4.4% per year during this study period. That decrease in hip fracture incidence was coincident with a decrease over those same 4 decades in rates of smoking (from 38% in 1970 to 15% by 2010) and heavy drinking (from 7% to 4.5%), with subjects born more recently having a lower incidence of hip fracture for a given age. Meanwhile, during the study period, the prevalence of other hip-fracture risk factors–such as being underweight, being obese, and experiencing early menopause–remained stable.
This study’s findings should be interpreted in light of 2 major limitations. First of all, there was a lack of contemporaneous bone mineral density data across the study period; secondly, all the study subjects were white. Nevertheless, these findings should encourage physicians to continue carefully managing patients who have osteoporosis and at the same time caution them against smoking and heavy drinking.
Shahriar Rahman, MS is an assistant professor of orthopaedics and traumatology at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital in Bangladesh and a member of the JBJS Social Media Advisory Board.
What’s New in Orthopaedic Trauma 2020
Every month, JBJS publishes a review of the most pertinent and impactful studies published in the orthopaedic literature during the previous year in 13 subspecialties. Click here for a collection of OrthoBuzz summaries of these “What’s New” articles. This month, co-author Niloofar Dehghan, MD, selected the 5 most clinically compelling findings from the >20 studies summarized in the July 1, 2020 “What’s New in Orthopaedic Trauma.”
Hip Fracture
—An international randomized controlled trial (RCT) of hip fracture patients ≥45 years of age1 compared outcomes among 1,487 who underwent an “accelerated” surgical procedure (within 6 hours of diagnosis) and 1,483 who received “standard care” (surgery within 24 hours of diagnosis). Mortality and major complication percentages were similar in both groups, but it is important to note that even the standard-care group had a relatively rapid median time-to-surgery of 24 hours.
—An RCT of nearly 1,500 patients who were ≥50 years of age and followed for 2 years2 compared total hip arthroplasty (THA) with hemiarthroplasty for the treatment of displaced femoral neck fractures. There was no between-group difference in the need for secondary surgical procedures, but hip instability or dislocation occurred in 4.7% of the THA group versus 2.4% of the hemiarthroplasty group. Functional outcomes measured with the WOMAC index were slightly better (statistically, but not clinically) in the THA group. Serious adverse events were high in both groups (41.8% in the THA group and 36.7% in the hemiarthroplasty group). Although the authors conclude that the advantages of THA may not be as compelling as has been purported, THA’s benefits may become more pronounced with follow-up >2 years.
—A preplanned secondary analysis of data from the FAITH RCT examined the effect of posterior tilt on the need for subsequent arthroplasty among older patients with a Garden I or II femoral neck fracture who were treated with either a sliding hip screw or cannulated screws. Patients with a posterior tilt of ≥20° had a significantly higher risk of subsequent arthroplasty (22.4%) compared with those with a posterior tilt of <20° (11.9%). In light of these findings, instead of internal fixation, primary arthroplasty may be an appropriate treatment for older patients who have Garden I and II femoral neck fractures with posterior tilt of >20°.
Ankle Syndesmotic Injury
—An RCT that compared ankle syndesmosis fixation using a suture button with fixation using two 3.5-mm screws3 found a higher rate of malreduction at 3 months postoperatively with screw fixation (39%) than with suture button repair (15%). With the rate of reoperation also higher in the screw group due to implant removal, these findings add to the preponderance of recent evidence that the suture button technique is preferred.
Wound Management
—A 460-patient RCT examining the cost-effectiveness of negative-pressure wound therapy4 for initial wound management in severe open fractures of the lower extremity found the technique to be associated with higher costs and only marginal improvement in quality-adjusted life-years for patients.
References
- HIP ATTACK Investigators. Accelerated surgery versus standard care in hip fracture (HIP ATTACK): an international, randomised, controlled trial. Lancet.2020 Feb 29;395(10225):698-708. Epub 2020 Feb 9.
- Bhandari M, Einhorn TA, Guyatt G, Schemitsch EH, Zura RD, Sprague S, Frihagen F, Guerra-Farfán E, Kleinlugtenbelt YV, Poolman RW, Rangan A, Bzovsky S, Heels-Ansdell D, Thabane L, Walter SD, Devereaux PJ; HEALTH Investigators. Total hip arthroplasty or hemiarthroplasty for hip fracture. N Engl J Med.2019 Dec 5;381(23):2199-208. Epub 2019 Sep 26.
- Sanders D, Schneider P, Taylor M, Tieszer C, Lawendy AR; Canadian Orthopaedic Trauma Society. Improved reduction of the tibiofibular syndesmosis with TightRope compared with screw fixation: results of a randomized controlled study. J Orthop Trauma.2019 Nov;33(11):531-7.
- Petrou S, Parker B, Masters J, Achten J, Bruce J, Lamb SE, Parsons N, Costa ML; WOLLF Trial Collaborators. Cost-effectiveness of negative-pressure wound therapy in adults with severe open fractures of the lower limb: evidence from the WOLLF randomized controlled trial. Bone Joint J.2019 Nov;101-B(11):1392-401.
Preop Nerve Blocks for Hip Fractures – Sooner Is Better
The benefits of peripheral nerve blocks for pain control and decreased use of opioids has been well-established for several orthopaedic procedures. In the May 20, 2020 issue of The Journal, a prospective cohort study by Garlich et al. shows that administering such a block earlier rather than later significantly benefits elderly patients awaiting surgery for a hip fracture.
The authors looked at whether the time to block (TTB) with a fascia iliaca nerve block (FIB) in a cohort of 107 patients who sustained a hip fracture affected preoperative opioid consumption and postoperative pain scores. They also examined the relationship between TTB and length of stay and adverse events related to opioids. All FIBs were performed between the time of emergency department arrival and ≥4 hours prior to surgery. Those parameters allowed time for the block to work and also time for the patients in this cohort to request pain medication.
Preoperatively, 72% of all opioid consumption took place prior to block placement. Patients experiencing a faster TTB consumed fewer opioids preoperatively and also on postoperative days 1 and 2, although the day-2 differences were not statistically significant. More specifically, Garlich et al. found a 63.7% reduction in the median preoperative opioid consumption in those with a TTB <8.5 hours from the time of arrival, relative to those whose TTB was ≥8.5 hours.
In addition, patients with a TTB <8.5 hours had significantly lower pain scores on postoperative day 1, and their hospital stays were significantly shorter than those who received blocks ≥8.5 hours after arrival (4.0 days versus 5.5 days). There were no differences in opioid-related adverse events between the TTB groups, although commentator Dr. Patrick Schottel notes that the study was underpowered to definitively discern those between-cohort differences.
Overall, this important study shows that early preoperative FIB reduces perioperative opioid consumption in geriatric patients with hip fractures, in addition to decreasing their pain scores and length of hospital stay. Further investigation is needed to determine the optimal timing for administering preoperative blocks in this vulnerable population.
Matthew R. Schmitz, MD
JBJS Deputy Editor for Social Media
Romosozumab for Hip Fractures: All That Glitters Is Not Gold
We have all come to realize that promising results from lab studies or preclinical trials in animal models do not always translate into meaningful clinical benefits in humans. Yet it is vitally important to perform those human trials to ascertain that knowledge. This is demonstrated by Schemitsch et al. in the April 15, 2020 edition of The Journal. The authors performed a Level I, double-blinded, randomized controlled trial comparing varying doses of romosozumab to placebo in the treatment of older patients with a hip fracture.
Romosozumab is a sclerostin-inhibiting antibody that helps increase bone formation while decreasing resorption. It is indicated to treat osteoporosis in postmenopausal women, in whom the drug has been shown to increase bone mineral density and reduce the risk of fragility fractures. In multiple preclinical studies, romosozumab has increased bone mass and bone strength in rodent osteotomy models, suggesting it might possibly promote fracture healing in people.
In the current study, Schemitsch et al. randomized patients between 55 and 95 years old who had a low-energy hip fracture amenable to internal fixation to receive 3 postsurgical subcutaneous injections of romosozumab at doses of either 70 mg (60 patients), 140 mg (93 patients), or 210 mg (90 patients), or to receive 3 placebo injections (89 patients). The primary end point was the validated “timed Up and Go” (TUG) score. The authors also measured the Radiographic Union Scale for Hip (RUSH) score, and hip pain on a visual analog scale (VAS).
The authors enrolled 325 patients, with 263 (79.2%) reaching the 24-week follow up and 229 (69.0%) reaching the 52-week follow up. They found no statistically significant between-group differences in the TUG, with all patients improving and plateauing at week 20. Similarly, there were no differences between any of the treatment arms in time to radiographic healing, RUSH scores, or VAS. The safety profile of the medication was similar between the 3 romosozumab doses and the placebo.
Romosozumab may increase bone mineral density and reduce the risk of fragility fracture in patients with osteoporosis, but when it comes to helping heal hip fractures, it did not prove to be more advantageous than placebo. This shows, yet again, that what may glitter in animal studies may not necessarily shine like gold in clinical trials with people.
Matthew R. Schmitz, MD
JBJS Deputy Editor for Social Media
What’s New in Orthopaedic Trauma 2019
Every month, JBJS publishes a review of the most pertinent and impactful studies published in the orthopaedic literature during the previous year in 13 subspecialties. Click here for a collection of all OrthoBuzz Specialty Update summaries.
This month, Chad A. Krueger, MD, JBJS Deputy Editor for Social Media, selected the five most clinically compelling findings from among the 25 noteworthy studies summarized in the July 3, 2019 “What’s New in Orthopaedic Trauma” article.
Proximal Humeral Fractures in the Elderly
–A recent meta-analysis1 analyzing data from >1,700 patients older than 65 who experienced a proximal humeral fracture found no difference in Constant-Murley scores at 1 year between those treated operatively (most with ORIF using a locking plate) and those treated nonoperatively. There was also no between-group difference with respect to reoperation rates among a subgroup of patients from the 7 randomized trials examined in the meta-analysis.
Elbow Dislocation
–A study using MRI to evaluate soft-tissue injuries in 17 cases of “simple elbow dislocation”2 found that the most common soft-tissue injury was a complete tear of the anterior capsule (71% of cases), followed by complete medial collateral ligament (MCL) tears (59%) and lateral collateral ligament tears (53%). These findings challenge previous theories positing that elbow instability starts laterally, with the MCL being the last structure to be injured.
Pertrochanteric Hip Fractures
–A trial randomized 220 patients with a pertrochanteric fracture to receive either a short or long cephalomedullary nail.3 There were no significant differences between the 2 groups at 3 months postsurgery in terms of Harris hip and SF-36 scores, but patients treated with the short nail had significantly shorter operative times, less blood loss, and shorter hospital stays. The incidence of peri-implant fractures between the 2 devices was similar.
Ankle Syndesmosis Injuries
–A randomized trial involving 97 patients with syndesmosis injuries compared functional and radiographic outcomes between those treated with a single syndesmotic screw and those treated with suture-button fixation. At 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years after surgery, patients in the suture-button group had better AOFAS scores than those in the screw group. CT scans at 2 years revealed a significantly higher tibiofibular distance among the screw group, an increase in malreduction that was noted only after screw removal. That finding could argue against early routine syndesmotic screw removal.
Infection Prevention
–A randomized trial among 470 patients4 facing elective removal of hardware used to treat a below-the-knee fracture compared the effect of intravenous cefazolin versus saline solution in preventing surgical site infections (SSIs). The SSI rate was surprisingly high in both groups (13.2% in the cefazolin group and 14.9% in the saline-solution group), with no statistically significant between-group differences. The authors recommend caution in interpreting these results, noting that there may have been SSI-diagnosis errors and that local factors not applicable to other settings or regions may have contributed to the high SSI rates.
References
- Beks RB, Ochen Y, Frima H, Smeeing DPJ, van der Meijden O, Timmers TK, van der Velde D, van Heijl M, Leenen LPH,Groenwold RHH, Houwert RM. Operative versus nonoperative treatment of proximal humeral fractures: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and comparison of observational studies and randomized controlled trials. J Shoulder Elbow Surg.2018 Aug;27(8):1526-34. Epub 2018 May 4.
- Luokkala T, Temperley D, Basu S, Karjalainen TV, Watts AC. Analysis of magnetic resonance imaging-confirmed soft tissue injury pattern in simple elbow dislocations. J Shoulder Elbow Surg.2019 Feb;28(2):341-8. Epub 2018 Nov 8.
- Shannon S, Yuan B, Cross W, Barlow J, Torchia M, Sems A. Short versus long cephalomedullary nailing of pertrochanteric hip fractures: a randomized prospective study. Read at the Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association; 2018 Oct 17-20; Orlando, FL. Paper no. 68.
- Backes M, Dingemans SA, Dijkgraaf MGW, van den Berg HR, van Dijkman B, Hoogendoorn JM, Joosse P, Ritchie ED,Roerdink WH, Schots JPM, Sosef NL, Spijkerman IJB, Twigt BA, van der Veen AH, van Veen RN, Vermeulen J, Vos DI,Winkelhagen J, Goslings JC, Schepers T; WIFI Collaboration Group. Effect of antibiotic prophylaxis on surgical site infections following removal of orthopedic implants used for treatment of foot, ankle, and lower leg fractures: a randomized clinical trial. 2017 Dec 26;318(24):2438-45.
More Mortality Data on Hip Fractures in the Elderly
OrthoBuzz occasionally receives posts from guest bloggers. This guest post comes from Matthew Herring, MD, in response to a recent study in the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma.
Among the elderly, low-energy hip fractures are common injuries that almost all orthopaedic surgeons encounter. While operative management is typically the standard of care, there are some patients for whom nonoperative treatment is most aligned with their goals of care, usually because of chronic disease, fragility, and/or high risk of perioperative mortality.
When counseling elderly patients and family members about the risks and benefits of surgical management for a hip fracture, we have abundant data. We can estimate the length of rehabilitation, discuss the likelihood of regaining independence with ambulation, and quote the 30-day, 1-year, and 5-year mortality statistics. But what about the risks and benefits of nonoperative care? How long do these patients live? How many are alive 1 year after the fracture?
Chlebeck and colleagues attempt to answer those questions with a retrospective cohort study of 77 hip fracture patients who were treated nonoperatively and a matched cohort of 154 operatively treated hip fracture patients. Nonoperative management was chosen only after a palliative-care consult was obtained and after a thorough multidisciplinary discussion of treatment goals with the patient and family. Patients who elected nonoperative care were treated with early limited weight bearing and a focus on maximizing comfort. Researchers established a comparative operative cohort through 2:1 matched pairing, controlling for age, sex, fracture type, Charlson Comorbidity Index, preinjury living situation, preinjury ambulatory status, and presence of dementia and cardiac arrhythmia.
As one might expect, there was significantly lower mortality in the operative group. The in-hospital, 30-day, and 1-year mortality for nonoperatively treated patients was 28.6%, 63.6%, and 84.4% respectively. The mortality rates seen in the operative cohort were 3.9%, 11.0%, and 36.4% respectively. A Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed the median life expectancy in the nonoperative cohort to be 14 days, versus 839 days in the operative group (p <0.0001). Interestingly, the researchers found no difference in hospital length of stay between the two groups (5.4 vs. 7.7 days; p=0.10).
These results provide useful references for orthopedic surgeons to use when counseling hip fracture patients and their families. Surgical intervention remains the standard of care in most instances, and this study suggests that operative care offers a significant mortality benefit over nonoperative care even in relatively unhealthy patients, like those selected for the matched operative cohort.
This study also gives us data to help guide the expectations of patients who decide surgery is not in line with their wishes. Half of the patients who elected nonoperative care in this study died within 14 days of admission, and only 15.6% were still alive at 1 year. Additionally, choosing nonoperative care does not lengthen hospitalization, suggesting that these patients can be quickly transferred to a more comfortable setting.
Matthew Herring, MD is a fellow in orthopaedic trauma at the University of California, San Francisco and a member of the JBJS Social Media Advisory Board.
Try Clinical Classroom
Recent Comments