Risk Factors for Persistent Opioid Use after Bunion Surgery
OrthoBuzz has previously reported on studies examining the narcotic-prescribing patterns of foot and ankle surgeons. New findings published by Finney et al. in the April 17, 2019 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery strongly suggest that the single most powerful and modifiable risk factor for persistent opioid use after bunion surgery was the opioid dose perioperatively prescribed by the surgeon.
The authors analyzed a US private-insurance database to identify >36,500 opioid-naïve patients (mean age, 49 years; 88% female) who underwent one of three surgical bunion treatments. Among those patients, the rate of new persistent opioid use (defined as filling an opioid prescription between 91 and 180 days after the surgery) was 6.2%, or >2,200 individuals. The authors found that patients who underwent a first metatarsal-cuneiform arthrodesis were more likely to have new persistent opioid use, compared with those who received a distal metatarsal osteotomy, which was the most common procedure performed in this cohort. Additional findings included the following:
- Patients who filled an opioid prescription prior to surgery were more likely to continue to use opioids beyond 90 days after surgery.
- Patients who resided in regions outside the Northeastern US demonstrated significantly higher rates of new persistent opioid use.
- The presence of medical comorbidities, preexisting mental health diagnoses, and substance-use disorders were associated with significantly higher new persistent opioid use.
However, physician prescribing patterns had the biggest influence on new persistent opioid use. A total prescribed perioperative opioid dose of >337.5 mg (equivalent to approximately 45 tablets of 5-mg oxycodone) was the major modifiable risk factor for persistent opioid use in this cohort. The authors also pointed out that 45 tablets of 5-mg oxycodone “is a relatively low amount when compared with common orthopaedic prescribing patterns” (see related JBJS study).
As orthopaedic surgeons in all subspecialties rethink their narcotic-analgesic prescribing habits, they should remember that regional anesthesia and non-opiate oral pain-management protocols have had a positive impact on pain management while minimizing narcotic use. The smallest dose of opioids for the shortest period of time seems to be a good rule of thumb.
Diagnosing PJI: When The “Urine Dipstick” Outperforms Conventional Labs
Despite what seems like a new, high-quality study being published on the topic every week or so, orthopaedic surgeons still have an extremely hard time determining whether a prosthetic hip or knee is infected or not. We have an array of available tests and the relatively easy-to-follow criteria for a periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) from the Musculoskeletal Infection Society (MSIS), but a large number of these patients still fall into the gray zone of “possibly infected.” This predicament is especially thorny in patients who received antibiotics just prior to the diagnostic workup, which interferes with the accuracy of many tests for PJI.
In the April 17, 2019 issue of The Journal, Shahi et al. remind orthopaedic surgeons about a valuable tool that can be used in this scenario. Their retrospective study looked at 121 patients who had undergone revision hip or knee arthroplasty due to an MSIS criteria-confirmed periprosthetic infection. Shahi et al. sought to determine which diagnostic tests were least affected by prior antibiotic administration. The authors found that erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) level, synovial white blood cell (WBC) count, and polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) percentage were all significantly lower in the 32% of patients who had received antibiotics within 2 weeks of those tests, compared with the 68% who did not receive antibiotics. The only test that was found not to be significantly affected by the prior admission of antibiotics was the urine-based leukocyte esterase strip test.
Considering the ease and rapidity with which a leukocyte esterase test can be performed and evaluated (at a patient’s bedside, with immediate results), its low cost, and the fact that it is included in the MSIS criteria, these findings are very important and useful. While we would prefer that patients with a possibly infected total hip or knee not receive antibiotics prior to their diagnostic workup, previous antibiotic exposure remains a relatively common scenario. The findings from this study can assist us in those difficult cases, and they add further evidence to support the value and reliability of the easy-to-perform leukocyte esterase test.
Chad A. Krueger, MD
JBJS Deputy Editor for Social Media
What’s New in Sports Medicine 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, Albert Gee, MD, a co-author of the April 17, 2019 “What’s New in Sports Medicine,” selected the five most clinically compelling findings from among the 30 noteworthy studies summarized in the article.
Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Reconstruction
–Norwegian researchers randomized 120 patients to undergo either single-bundle or double-bundle ACL reconstruction and followed them for 2 years.1 They found no difference between the 2 techniques in any patient-reported outcome, knee laxity measurements, or activity levels. These results, along with the preponderance of evidence from other comparative trials over the last 5 years, strongly suggest that routine use of 2 bundles to primarily reconstruct a torn ACL adds no clinical benefit over a well-positioned single-bundle reconstruction.
Knee Cartilage Repair
–A randomized study compared long-term patient outcomes after knee cartilage repair using microfracture versus mosaicplasty.2 Included patients had 1 or 2 focal femoral lesions measuring between 2 and 6 cm2. Better outcomes after a minimum of 15 years of follow-up were found in the mosaicplasty group. Although there were only 20 patients in each arm, the Lysholm-score differences between the groups were both clinically important and statistically significant. More patients in the mosaicplasty group than in the microfracture group said they would have the surgery again, knowing their 15-year outcome.
Rotator Cuff
–UK researchers randomized 313 patients with ≥3 months of subacromial pain and an intact rotator cuff who had completed a nonoperative program of physical therapy and injection to 1 of 3 groups: arthroscopic subacromial decompression, diagnostic arthroscopy (“sham” surgery), or no intervention.3 At 6 months and 1 year, all groups demonstrated statistically significant and clinically important improvement, but patient-reported outcome scores were significantly better in both surgical groups compared with the no-treatment group. The data suggest that patients such as these improve over time, regardless of management, but that surgical decompression may offer a slight benefit over nonoperative management because of the placebo effect.
–A randomized controlled trial investigated the effect of a formal preoperative education program (2-minute video plus handout)4 about postoperative narcotic use, side effects, dependence risk, and addiction potential among >130 patients undergoing arthroscopic rotator cuff repair surgery. The education group consumed 33% less narcotic medication at 6 weeks and 42% less at 12 weeks compared with the control group. Among the more than one-quarter of the patients who had used opioids prior to surgery, those randomized to the education group were 6.8 times more likely than controls to discontinue narcotic use during the study period.
Hip Arthroscopy
–A randomized controlled trial of >300 patients compared hip arthroscopy and “best conservative care” for treating femoroacetabular impingement (FAI).5 Only 8% of patients crossed over from conservative care to the surgical group. The mean adjusted difference in iHOT-33 scores at 1 year was 6.8, in favor of hip arthroscopy. However, adverse events were more frequent in the arthroscopy cohort, and a within-trial economic evaluation suggested that hip arthroscopy was not cost-effective compared with conservative care during the 1-year trial period.
References
- Aga C, Risberg MA, Fagerland MW, Johansen S, Trøan I, Heir S, Engebretsen L. No difference in the KOOS Quality of Life Subscore between anatomic double-bundle and anatomic single-bundle anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction of the knee: a prospective randomized controlled trial with 2 years’ follow-up. Am J Sports Med.2018 Aug;46(10):2341-54. Epub 2018 Jul 18.
- Solheim E, Hegna J, Strand T, Harlem T, Inderhaug E. Randomized study of long-term (15-17 years) outcome after microfracture versus mosaicplasty in knee articular cartilage defects. Am J Sports Med.2018 Mar;46(4):826-31. Epub 2017 Dec 18.
- Beard DJ, Rees JL, Cook JA, Rombach I, Cooper C, Merritt N, Shirkey BA, Donovan JL, Gwilym S, Savulescu J,Moser J, Gray A, Jepson M, Tracey I, Judge A, Wartolowska K, Carr AJ; CSAW Study Group. Arthroscopic subacromial decompression for subacromial shoulder pain (CSAW): a multicentre, pragmatic, parallel group, placebo-controlled, three-group, randomised surgical trial. Lancet. 2018 Jan 27;391(10118):329-38. Epub 2017 Nov 20.
- Syed UAM, Aleem AW, Wowkanech C, Weekes D, Freedman M, Tjoumakaris F, Abboud JA, Austin LS. Neer Award 2018: the effect of preoperative education on opioid consumption in patients undergoing arthroscopic rotator cuff repair: a prospective, randomized clinical trial. J Shoulder Elbow Surg.2018 Jun;27(6):962-7. Epub 2018 Mar 26.
- Griffin DR, Dickenson EJ, Wall PDH, Achana F, Donovan JL, Griffin J, Hobson R, Hutchinson CE, Jepson M,Parsons NR, Petrou S, Realpe A, Smith J, Foster NE; FASHIoN Study Group. Hip arthroscopy versus best conservative care for the treatment of femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (UK FASHIoN): a multicentre randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2018 Jun 2;391(10136):2225-35. Epub 2018 Jun 1.
Coordinated Geriatric Hip Fracture Programs: They Work
The practice of using a geriatrician- or a hospitalist-based co-management team to care for elderly patients who are admitted to the hospital for treatment of fragility fractures or other orthopaedic procedures is now more than a decade old. These services have grown in popularity because patients are living longer with comorbidities and becoming more complex to manage medically, and because shift-based hospitalist practices have become more common. These coordinated partnerships help the hospitalist- or geriatrician-led medical team optimize the patient’s care medically, while allowing the orthopaedic surgeon to focus on the patient’s musculoskeletal condition. The consensus I have heard is that patients are better off with these co-management systems, but hard evidence has been sparse.
In the April 17, 2019 issue of The Journal, Blood et al. report on the use of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Global Trigger Tool to assess the adverse-event impact of a Geriatric Hip Fracture Program (GHFP). In a bivariate analysis of pre- and post-GHFP data, the authors document a decrease in the rate of adverse events and shorter lengths of stay among elderly hip-fracture patients after GHFP implementation. However, multivariable analysis confirmed only a trend toward decreasing adverse-event rates after the implementation of the program. This study also seems to confirm what many of us already know empirically—that hip-fracture patients with severe medical comorbidities (i.e., a high Charlson Comorbidity Index) are at increased risk of adverse events no matter what system of care they receive.
Still, what most orthopaedic surgeons have felt was a “no-brainer,” coordinated approach to optimizing patient care and decreasing adverse events now has more evidence of effectiveness. Because such programs decrease both adverse events and length of stay among elderly patients hospitalized for a hip fracture, orthopaedic surgeons everywhere should advocate for increased geriatrician training to support this movement. Furthermore, these findings should encourage further research into additional patient-centric medical care strategies that could improve outcomes for these patients.
Marc Swiontkowski, MD
JBJS Editor-in-Chief
Durability of Constrained Liners in Revision THA
The indications for treating total hip arthroplasty (THA) dislocations by cementing a constrained polyethylene liner into a well-fixed, retained acetabular component at the time of revision are narrow. That’s largely due to concerns about the durability of the resulting acetabular construct. Now, thanks to a study by Brown et al. in the April 3, 2019 issue of JBJS, hip surgeons have some hard data about the long-term outcomes of this approach.
After reviewing 125 cases in which a constrained liner was cemented into a retained, osseointegrated acetabular component during revision THA, with a mean follow-up of 7 years, the authors found that:
- Survivorship free from revision for instability was 86% at 5 years and 81% at 10 years. The cumulative incidence of instability at 7 years was 18%.
- Survivorship free from aseptic acetabular component revision was 78% at 5 years and 65% at 10 years. The most common failure mechanism was dissociation of the constrained liner from the retained component.
- Harris hip scores (HHS) did not improve significantly after revision. This finding is consistent with prior research that shows better post-revision HHS scores in patients whose revisions include the entire acetabular component.
- Position of the retained cup did not affect implant survivorship or risk of dislocation.
The authors mention alternative strategies for reducing the risk of dislocation after revision THA, such as the use of large-diameter heads and dual-mobility constructs. Still, they conclude that this constrained-liner approach, in the setting of a relatively well-positioned acetabular component, is a viable and durable THA revision option, especially for those “with a compromised abductor mechanism, recurrent instability, [and] a well-fixed and well-positioned acetabular component, for whom an acetabular revision would not be tolerated.”
Patient-Specific Instruments’ Effects on TKA Revision
Whenever we introduce new technology or techniques in hopes of improving orthopaedic surgery, at least one of two criteria should be met: The new technology should improve the outcome at a maintained cost, or it should decrease cost while maintaining at least an equivalent outcome. If neither of these conditions is met, we need to think twice about adopting it. To help us answer these “value” questions, we need relevant data. This is why studies such as the one by McAuliffe et al. in the April 3, 2019 issue of The Journal are so important.
The authors use the Australian Orthopaedic Association National Joint Replacement Registry to compare the rate of revision between 3 types of primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA):
- Those performed with image-derived instrumentation (IDI, i.e., patient-specific cutting jigs)
- Those performed using computer navigation
- Those using neither technology
McAuliffe et al. found no significant differences between groups in terms of cumulative percent revision at 5 years. Subgroup analysis revealed a higher rate of revision (hazard ratio [HR] 1.52, p = 0.01) for the IDI group relative to the computer-navigated group when patients were ≤65 years old. In addition, the IDI group had a much higher rate of patellar revision when patients received posterior-stabilized knees (HR of 5.33 when compared with the computer-navigated group, and HR of 4.16 when compared with the neither-technology group).
This study seems to suggest that whatever the benefits of IDI may be in terms of attaining a “proper” mechanical axis during TKA, IDI does not translate into a lower revision rate. And when these revision data are viewed in the face of the added costs associated with IDI, it makes little sense to advocate for the widespread use of this technology for TKA at this time.
While this study focused on TKAs, the take-home message can be extended. Orthopaedic surgery is by nature complex, requiring that multiple steps be performed in harmony to produce an optimal outcome. It is easy for us to focus on (and measure) a couple of key outcome variables and base our opinions of a technique’s or technology’s success on such findings. But when it comes to “novel” techniques and technological “breakthroughs,“ we need a lot of data on many different variables before we can make meaningful conclusions, change our practice, and advise our patients.
Chad A. Krueger, MD
JBJS Deputy Editor for Social Media
Clavicle Fracture Research: Enough Already?
Orthopaedic surgeons and their staffs are aware of the paradigm shift that has taken place in the last 10 to 15 years regarding the treatment of clavicle fractures. Interest in the outcome differences between surgical and nonsurgical treatment has grown substantially since the 2007 Canadian Orthopaedic Trauma Society publication in JBJS showed that, relative to nonoperative treatment, plate fixation of displaced midshaft clavicle fractures resulted in improved functional outcomes and fewer malunions in active adult patients. Since that time, The Journal alone has published 14 articles related to management of clavicle fractures. In addition, the orthopaedic literature contains a number of well-conducted meta-analyses on the topic, comparing both nonoperative and surgical treatment as well as different methods of surgical fixation.
So, with all this evidence, why have we published the randomized controlled trial on this topic by King et al. in the April 3, 2019 issue of The Journal? Partly because the authors build upon our knowledge by comparing a relatively new fixation device (a flexible intramedullary locked nail) to a more standard treatment (an anatomically contoured plate). These plate and nail devices are very different from one another in terms of mechanics and surgical technique, and the flexible nail used in this study is much different than the rigid, straight nails or pins that have been used in the past.
A union rate of 100% was observed in both groups, but the authors found that the flexible nail was significantly faster in terms of operative time. (A single surgeon experienced with both devices performed all 72 surgeries.) They also found that the DASH scores between the groups were similar until the 12 month follow-up, at which point the flexible intramedullary nail group had statistically better scores. The authors concede, however, that the 12-month DASH-score difference “might not be clinically relevant.”
There is one other reason why we deemed this article important: The flexible intramedullary device used in this study is substantially more expensive than prior fixation devices that have been shown to effectively treat clavicular fractures. King et al. did not compare device costs, but whenever we study a device that adds to the total cost of care we should attempt to prove that it adds enough patient benefit to warrant the added expense. As the authors conclude, both devices evaluated in this study appear to be effective at treating displaced/shortened clavicular fractures, and there are a number of other factors that both the surgeon and patient should consider (such as surgeon skill and experience and cosmetic results) when deciding which treatment to use.
Marc Swiontkowski, MD
JBJS Editor-in-Chief
Weight Training-Induced Bilateral Knee Dislocation
You know you’re having a bad day at the gym when both your knees dislocate during a leg-press workout. That is what happened to a 44-year-old male recreational weight lifter who “locked out” both his knees while trying to press 1,100 lbs. This unusual case is described in the latest issue of JBJS Case Connector.
Knee joint dislocations are true emergencies because of the potential for concomitant neurovascular injury. This patient was transferred to a tertiary academic hospital for emergency closed reduction and application of knee-spanning external fixators. Although both tibiae were dislocated anteriorly, both lower extremities were neurovascularly intact.
One month after the initial injury, the external fixators were removed and the knees were placed in bilateral hinged braces. MRI performed shortly thereafter revealed tears of multiple ligaments and distal popliteus tendon tears in both knees. At 4 months postinjury, the patient underwent left-side ACL reconstruction, PCL reconstruction, FCL repair and reconstruction, popliteal reconstruction with allograft, and a popliteofibular ligament reconstruction. Seven months after that, he underwent similar procedures on the right side.
At the most recent postsurgical follow-up, 17 months after the initial injury, the range of motion in both knees was 0° to 130°, and the patient was able to participate in straight line running, squats, and cycling.
The authors emphasize that any locking of the knees results in 5° to 10° of hyperextension, which places an increased load across the ACL. Add to that the heavy weight and the abrupt increase in velocity at the extreme range of motion, and you have a recipe for serious injury. The authors conclude that “the risk of knee dislocation can be reduced by avoiding locking and hyperextension of the knees during any type of leg press or squatting exercise.”
For more information about JBJS Case Connector, watch this video featuring JBJS Editor in Chief Dr. Marc Swiontkowski.
Don’t Overlook Possible Osteoid Osteoma in Kids with Hip Pain
Orthopaedists are seeing an increasing number of active, young patients with hip pain. A study by May et al. in the March 20, 2019 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery strongly suggests that osteoid osteoma (OO)—a small, benign tumor characterized by dense sclerotic bone tissue—should not be overlooked in the differential diagnosis when working up these patients.
The authors identified and reviewed the records of 50 children and adolescents (mean age of 12.4 years) at their tertiary-care pediatric center who had received a diagnosis of OO within or around the hip between 2003 and 2015. Nighttime hip and/or thigh pain (90%) and symptom relief with NSAIDs (88%) were common clinical findings.
Sclerosis/cortical thickening was visible in 58% of the radiographs. Perilesional edema and a radiolucent nidus was found on all 43 of the available CT scans, leading the authors to conclude that “CT scans provide definitive diagnosis” of OO.
Unfortunately, 46% of these patients initially received an alternative diagnosis, the most common of which was femoroacetabular impingement (FAI), and a delay in diagnosis of >6 months occurred in 43% of patients. The authors note that concerns regarding radiation exposure have led some clinicians to order MRI rather than CT when evaluating pediatric hip disorders, but this study found that identifying an OO nidus with MRI was not as accurate as doing so with CT.
Regarding treatment, among the 41 patients who ultimately underwent percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) to treat OO, 93% achieved complete post-RFA symptom resolution. Complications from RFA occurred in 7% of patients who underwent the procedure.
Autophagy: A Culprit in Aseptic Implant Loosening?
This post comes from Fred Nelson, MD, an orthopaedic surgeon in the Department of Orthopedics at Henry Ford Hospital and a clinical associate professor at Wayne State Medical School. Some of Dr. Nelson’s tips go out weekly to more than 3,000 members of the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS), and all are distributed to more than 30 orthopaedic residency programs. Those not sent to the ORS are periodically reposted in OrthoBuzz with the permission of Dr. Nelson.
Periprosthetic membranes are fibrous granulomatous tissues composed of wear debris and numerous cell types, including fibroblasts, macrophages, osteoclasts (OCs), osteoblasts (OBs), osteocytes (OSTs), mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), synovial cells, endothelial cells, and, rarely, lymphocytes. Macrophages ingest wear debris, resulting in the production of proinflammatory factors such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF); interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, IL-17; macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF); and reactive oxygen species. In addition, macrophages can differentiate into OCs, which can induce the fibroblast cytokines that contribute to bone resorption.
Autophagy is the basic catabolic mechanism that degrades/recycles unnecessary or dysfunctional cellular components through the action of lysosomes. The breakdown of cellular components promotes cellular survival during stress, such as starvation, by maintaining cellular energy levels. In most instances, autophagy does not lead to cell death. Although the products of autophagy are typically recycled intracellularly, they may also be secreted.
Autophagy is also important for the differentiation of OBs, OSTs, and OCs. In addition, autophagy is involved in OB mineralization, and autophagy proteins are required for OC bone resorption. Autophagy appears to be triggered by wear debris in OCs, OBs, and macrophages, where the process promotes the secretion of proinflammatory proteins associated with the development of aseptic loosening. Autophagy can also be involved in the secretion of proteins such as chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2) and leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), which were both overexpressed in aseptic loosening in a rat model.
Autophagy inhibition has been shown to decrease osteolysis severity in animal models. For example, 3-methyladenine inhibition of the autophagy response to TiAl6V4 particles improved bone microarchitecture in a murine calvaria resorption model. Although autophagy will probably not be the final answer for prosthetic loosening, it is an avenue that should prompt future research into new therapeutic approaches.
Reference
Camuzard O, Breuil V, Carle GF, Pierrefite-Carle V. Autophagy Involvement in Aseptic Loosening of Arthroplasty Components. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2019 Mar 6;101(5):466-472. doi: 10.2106/JBJS.18.00479. PMID: 30845042
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