Disrupting “Quorum Sensing” Could Help Fight Biofilms
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.
A biofilm is a complex combination of extracellular carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and one or more species of bacteria that may adhere to an orthopaedic implant and surrounding tissue (see related OrthoBuzz post). Staphylococci bacteria are believed to account for more than 50% of all biofilm infections of medical devices.
Researchers recently summarized what we know about the biofilm formation process.1 In the attachment phase, free-floating bacteria attach to a prosthetic surface via proteins. Extracellular DNA from autolysis add to the mix. Then begins the irreversible attachment phase, during which the initial bacteria are incarcerated while more free-floating bacteria are added. During this phase, autoinducers are expressed, which serve as inter- and intrabacterial signals.
In the presence of an adequate quorum of bacteria, the maturation phase begins, during which the bacterial population cohesively shifts from replication to expression of virulence factors such as secretion systems, toxins, or biofilm formation. A mature biofilm is immune-resistant, although bacterial replication decreases. In the dispersal phase bacteria become planktonic again, potentially available to repeat the process.
Once a biofilm has formed, antibiotic administration becomes problematic because of the toxicity of the high doses needed to treat biofilm colonies. An underlying challenge with pharmacologic intervention is the variety of quorum-sensing communication pathways between bacterial species. The authors suggest that a future biofilm-fighting strategy may be to force bacteria into biofilm-forming behavior before they reach the necessary critical density to become virulent, although this notion remains unexplored. Researchers are investigating other possible strategies to disrupt the quorum-sensing communication among bacteria that enable them to behave as a “social” group.
Reference
- Mooney JA, Pridgen EM, Manasherob R, Suh G, Blackwell HE, Barron AE, Bollyky PL, Goodman SB, Amanatullah DF. Periprosthetic bacterial biofilm and quorum sensing. J Orthop Res. 2018 Sep;36(9):2331-2339. doi: 10.1002/jor.24019. Epub 2018 May 24.
What’s New in Musculoskeletal Infection 2018
Every month, JBJS publishes a Specialty Update—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, Arvind Nana, MD, and his co-authors of the July 18, 2018 Specialty Update on Musculoskeletal Infection, selected the most clinically compelling findings from among the more than 130 studies summarized in the Specialty Update.
CDC Guidelines on Surgical Site Infection (SSI) Prevention
–The most provocative recommendation in the CDC SSI Prevention Guidelines,1 released in 2017, was to encourage administration of parenteral antimicrobial prophylaxis prior to surgery so that a bactericidal concentration is established in the tissue and serum when the incision is made. Postoperatively, the CDC recommended that antimicrobial prophylaxis not be administered in clean and clean-contaminated procedures after incision closure, even if a drain is present.
Treating Periprosthetic Infection
–When performing debridement to treat a periprosthetic joint infection, dilute methylene blue (0.1%) applied to the tissue prior to debridement (with removal of excess dye) may help surgeons visualize devitalized tissue (biofilm) that should be debrided at the time of infection.2,3
Wound Closure
–Two Level-I studies showed that specific wound-closure techniques can improve incisional perfusion. This was seen in the setting of ankle fracture with the Allgower-Donati suture technique4 and in elective total knee arthroplasty with a running subcuticular closure5.
Antimicrobial Prophylaxis
–Two studies reported on the microbiological impact of locally applied vancomycin powder.6,7 For patients who developed infections after surgery despite the application of vancomycin powder, a greater frequency of gram-negative organisms was identified, highlighting the importance of obtaining specimens for culture.
Hand Infections
–Atypical hand infections caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, non-tuberculous mycobacterium, and fungi are uncommon, making high-level clinical trials unrealistic. But these atypical infections are frequent enough that multiple cases are reported, drawing attention to the need for awareness of their clinical presentation,8 even in immunocompetent patients,9 and the need for understanding that cultures should be sent when suspicion is high, even if there is purulence consistent with a typical bacterial infection.10
References
- Berrios-Torres SI, Umscheid CA, Bratzler DW, Leas B, Stone EC, Kelz RR, Reinke CE, Morgan S, Solomkin JS, Mazuski JE, Dellinger EP, Itani KMF, Berbari EF, Segreti J, Parvizi J, Blanchard J, Allen G, Kluytmans JAJW, Donlan R, Schecter WP; Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guideline for the prevention of surgical site infection, 2017. JAMA Surg. 2017 Aug 1;152(8):784-91.
- Shaw JD, Miller S, Plourde A, Shaw DL, Wustrack R, Hansen EN. Methylene blue guided debridement as an intraoperative adjunct for the surgical treatment of periprosthetic joint infection. J Arthroplasty. 2017 Dec;32(12):3718-23.
- Parry JA, Karau MJ, Kakar S, Hanssen AD, Patel R, Abdel MP. Disclosing agents for the intraoperative identification of biofilms on orthopedic implants. J Arthroplasty. 2017 Aug;32(8):2501-4.
- Shannon SF, Houdek MT,Wyles CC, Yuan BJ, CrossWW3rd, Cass JR, Sems SA. Allgower-Donati versus vertical mattress suture technique impact on perfusion in ankle fracture surgery: a randomized clinical trial using intraoperative angiography. J Orthop Trauma. 2017 Feb;31(2):97-102.
- Wyles CC, Jacobson SR, Houdek MT, Larson DR, Taunton MJ, Sim FH, Sierra RJ, Trousdale RT. The Chitranjan Ranawat Award: running subcuticular closure enables the most robust perfusion after TKA: a randomized clinical trial. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2016 Jan;474(1):47-56.
- Adogwa O, Elsamadicy AA, Sergesketter A, Vuong VD, Mehta AI, Vasquez RA, Cheng J, Bagley CA, Karikari IO. Prophylactic use of intraoperative vancomycin powder and postoperative infection: an analysis of microbiological patterns in 1200 consecutive surgical cases. J Neurosurg Spine. 2017 Sep;27(3):328-34. Epub 2017 Jun 30.
- Chotai S, Wright PW, Hale AT, Jones WA, McGirt MJ, Patt JC, Devin CJ. Does intrawound vancomycin application during spine surgery create vancomycin-resistant organism? Neurosurgery. 2017 May 1;80(5):746-53.
- Lopez M, Croley J, Murphy KD. Atypical mycobacterial infections of the upper extremity: becoming more atypical? Hand (N Y). 2017 Mar;12(2):188-92. Epub 2016 Jul.
- Sotello D, Garner HW, Heckman MG, Diehl NN, Murray PM, Alvarez S. Nontuberculous mycobacterial infections of the upper extremity: 15-year experience at a tertiary care medical center. J Hand Surg Am. 2017 Dec 6:S0363-5023(16)30908-X. Epub 2017 Dec 6
- Kazmers NH, Fryhofer GW, Gittings D, Bozentka DJ, Steinberg DR, Gray BL. Acute deep infections of the upper extremity: the utility of obtaining atypical cultures in the presence of purulence. J Hand Surg Am. 2017 Aug;42(8):663.e1-8. Epub 2017 May 25.
Fluctuating Glucose Levels Linked to Post-TJA Problems
At any given time, a patient’s blood-glucose level is easy to measure. Beyond the standard pre/postoperative lab values, there are finger sticks, transdermal meters, and other modalities that make taking a patient’s glucose “snapshot” pretty straightforward. So why don’t we surgeons keep track of it more frequently before and after joint replacement, when, according to the prognostic study by Shohat et al. in the July 5, 2018 issue of JBJS, fluctuating glucose levels can have a critical impact on outcomes?
By retrospectively studying more than 5,000 patients who had undergone either total hip or total knee arthroplasty, the authors found that increased variability of glucose levels (measured by a coefficient of variation) was associated with increased risks of 90-day mortality, surgical-site infection, and periprosthetic joint infection. Specifically, the authors demonstrated that for every 10-percentage-point increase in the glycemic coefficient of variation, the risk of 90-day mortality increased by 26%, and the risk of periprosthetic or surgical-site infection increased by 20%. These are remarkable increases in extremely important outcome measures, and the associations held regardless of the patient’s mean glucose values prior to or after the surgery. In fact, some of the highest levels of glucose variability were found in patients who had well-controlled glucose levels preoperatively. Furthermore, as Charles Cornell, MD points out in a commentary on this study, “Glucose variability appears to affect surgical prognosis more than chronic hyperglycemia.”
These findings were surprising and a bit concerning. I don’t tend to order routine blood-glucose measurements postoperatively on patients who appear to be euglycemic based on preoperative testing. Yet, according to these data, maybe I should. Findings of high glucose variability postoperatively might now prompt me to consult with endocrine or perioperative medicine specialists or at least consider informing patients with fluctuating glucose levels that they may be at increased risk of serious postoperative complications.
Measuring a patient’s blood sugar is neither challenging nor prohibitively expensive. So why don’t we monitor it more closely? Probably because, until now, we have not had a compelling reason to do so with “low-risk” patients. What this study suggests is that our definition of a “low-risk” patient from a glycemic-control standpoint may be misinformed. And while further research needs to be performed to corroborate these findings, that is a pretty scary thought to digest.
Chad A. Krueger, MD
JBJS Deputy Editor for Social Media
What’s New in Adult Reconstructive Knee Surgery 2018
Every month, JBJS publishes a Specialty Update—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 most clinically compelling findings from among the more than 150 studies cited in the January 17, 2018 Specialty Update on Adult Reconstructive Knee Surgery.
Nonoperative Knee OA Treatment
—Intra-articular corticosteroid injections are commonly administered to mitigate pain and inflammation in knee osteoarthritis (OA). However, a randomized controlled trial of 140 patients found that 2 years of triamcinolone injections, when compared with saline injections, resulted in a significantly greater degree of cartilage loss without significant differences in symptoms.1
Non-Arthroplasty Operative Management
—Knee arthroscopy continues to be largely ineffective for pain relief and functional improvement in knee OA. A randomized controlled trial found no evidence that debridement of unstable chondral flaps found at the time of arthroscopic meniscectomy improves clinical outcomes.
—Cartilage restoration procedures continue to show varying degrees of success. Long-term results from a randomized trial demonstrated no significant differences in joint survivorship and function between patients undergoing microfracture versus autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) at 15 years of follow-up. Nearly 50% of patients in both groups had radiographic evidence of early knee OA.
Periprosthetic Joint Infection
—Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) remains a leading cause of failure following total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Successful treatment requires accurate diagnosis, and alpha-defensin was found to be both sensitive and specific in the diagnosis of PJI. However, it was not significantly superior to leukocyte esterase (LE) in cases of obvious infection.
—Reported rates of reinfection after 2-stage reimplantation for treatment of a first PJI can be as high as 19%. A 3-month course of oral antibiotics following 2-stage procedures significantly improved infection-free survival without complications.2
Post-TKA Complications from Opioids
—Amid ongoing concerns about opioid misuse, two studies3 suggested that preoperative opioid use was found to be an independent predictor of increased length of stay, complications, readmissions, and less pain relief following TKA.
References
- McAlindon TE, LaValley MP, Harvey WF, Price LL, Driban JB, Zhang M,Ward RJ. Effect of intra-articular triamcinolone vs saline on knee cartilage volume and pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a randomized clinical trial. 2017 May 16;317(19):1967-75.
- Frank JM, Kayupov E, Moric M, Segreti J, Hansen E, Hartman C, Okroj K,Belden K, Roslund B, Silibovsky R, Parvizi J, Della Valle CJ; Knee Society Research Group. The Mark Coventry, MD, Award: oral antibiotics reduce reinfection after two-stage exchange: a multicenter, randomized controlled trial. Clin Orthop Relat Res.2017 Jan;475(1):56-61.
- Rozell JC, Courtney PM, Dattilo JR, Wu CH, Lee GC. Preoperative opiate use independently predicts narcotic consumption and complications after total joint arthroplasty. J Arthroplasty.2017 Sep;32(9):2658-62. Epub 2017 Apr 12.
What’s New in Hip Replacement 2017
Every month, JBJS publishes a Specialty Update—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, James T. Ninomiya, MD, MS, lead author of the September 20, 2017 Specialty Update on Hip Replacement, selected the five most clinically compelling findings from among the more than 50 studies covered in the Specialty Update.
Obesity and THA Outcomes
–Obesity is a well-established risk factor for perioperative THA complications. A prospective registry-based study found that reoperation and implant revision or removal rates increased with increasing BMI. More specifically, increasing BMI was associated with increased rates of early hip dislocation and deep periprosthetic infection.
Infection Prevention
–Two studies 1, 2 demonstrated that patients who have intra-articular injections within 3 months prior to THA experienced nearly double the risk of periprosthetic infection in the first postoperative year, compared with those in noninjection control groups.
Surgical Approaches to THA
–A study of >2,100 patients revealed that, despite claims to the contrary, there were no differences in dislocation rates between those who underwent THA using the direct anterior approach and a propensity-score matched cohort who underwent THA using a posterior approach.3
OR Temperature
–What is the optimal temperature for an orthopaedic operating room? Anecdotes are often used to justify keeping operating rooms at uncomfortably high temperatures, which leads to discomfort and fatigue for members of the surgical team. A comprehensive literature review led authors to suggest that preoperative patient warming, intraoperative patient warming with forced-air devices, and keeping OR temperature at ≤19° C is the ideal combination for comfort while still maximizing patient safety and outcomes.
Return to Driving
–Following joint replacement, patients often ask when it will be safe to return to driving. A meta-analysis of 19 studies concluded that the mean time for return to baseline reaction time for braking was 2 weeks following a right-sided hip replacement and 4 weeks following a right-sided knee replacement.4 The authors stressed, however, that return-to-driving recommendations should be individualized for each patient.
References
- Schairer WW, Nwachukwu BU, Mayman DJ, Lyman S, Jerabek SA. Preoperative hip injections increase the rate of periprosthetic infection after total hip arthroplasty. J Arthroplasty. 2016 ;31(9)(Suppl):166–169.e1. Epub 2016 Apr 22.
- Werner BC, Cancienne JM, Browne JA. The timing of total hip arthroplasty after intraarticular hip injection affects postoperative infection risk. J Arthroplasty. 2016 ;31(4):820–3. Epub 2015 Sep 1.
- Maratt JD, Gagnier JJ, Butler PD, Hallstrom BR, Urquhart AG, Roberts KC. No difference in dislocation seen in anterior vs posterior approach total hip arthroplasty. J Arthroplasty. 2016 ;31(9)(Suppl):127–30. Epub 2016 Mar 15.
- van der Velden CA, Tolk JJ, Janssen RPA, Reijman M. When is it safe to resume driving after total hip and total knee arthroplasty? A meta-analysis of literature on post-operative brake reaction times. Bone Joint J. 2017 ;99-B(5):566–76.
No Surprise: Infection Biggest Culprit in Amputation for Failed TKA
Of the hundreds of thousands of total knee arthroplasties (TKAs) performed annually around the world, very few result in failure so irreparable that transfemoral amputation is the last resort. But what does “very few” really mean? In the December 7, 2016 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, Gottfriedsen et al. determine the cumulative incidence of amputation for failed TKAs among nearly 93,000 registered knee replacements performed in Denmark from 1997 to 2013.
The authors used a competing-risk model (which took into account the competing risk of death) to avoid overestimating incidence. From a total of 115 amputations performed for causes related to failed TKA, they calculated a cumulative 15-year incidence of amputation of 0.32%. They noted a tendency toward decreasing incidence during the 2008-2013 period, relative to the 1997-2002 period.
The three most common causes of post-TKA amputation were periprosthetic infection (83%), soft-tissue deficiency (23%), and severe bone loss (18%). The authors add, however, that the latter two causes are “most likely the result of long-term infection together with several revision procedures, in which soft tissue and bone stock are gradually damaged.”
The authors encourage orthopaedists to consider newer treatment options to avoid amputation (such as skin grafts and muscle flaps for soft-tissue loss), but they also assert that, in each individual case, those contemporary approaches should be balanced against the “psychological and physical strains related to repeated surgery performed in an attempt to salvage the knee.”
JBJS Webinar: Effective Management of the Infected Total Joint
The incidence of primary total knee and hip arthroplasty is increasing steadily. While the success rates of these procedures are remarkable, failures do occur, and periprosthetic joint infection is the leading culprit in such failures. The standard treatment when deep infection strikes is a two-stage revision.
On Monday, November 14, 2016 at 8:00 PM EST, The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery (JBJS) will host a complimentary webinar that examines prognostic factors affecting the success of two-stage revision arthroplasty for infected knees and hips.
- Tad M. Mabry, MD, coauthor of a matched cohort study in JBJS, will examine the impact of morbid obesity on the failure of two-stage revision TKA.
- JBJS author Antonia F. Chen, MD, will discuss results from a retrospective study that revealed an association between positive cultures at the time of knee/hip component reimplantation and the risk of subsequent treatment failure.
Moderated by JBJS Deputy Editor Charles R. Clark, MD, the webinar will include additional perspectives from two expert commentators—Daniel J. Berry, MD and Andrew A. Freiberg, MD. The last 15 minutes will be devoted to a live Q&A session, during which the audience can ask questions of all four panelists.
Seats are limited, so register now!
“Smart” Implant Coating Delivers Antibiotics in Presence of Bacteria
Despite advances in sterile techniques and evidence-based use of perioperative antibiotics, periprosthetic joint infections still occur in 1% of primary and 3% to 7% of revision total joint arthroplasties. But a “smart” antimicrobial polymer coating, described in the July 20, 2016 Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, has great potential to cut those percentages.
Stavrakis et al. devised a nontoxic, biodegradable polymer coating (called PEG-PPS for short) that locally delivers antibiotics (vancomycin and tigecycline in this study) both passively and actively, with the active release initiated by the presence of bacteria.
The authors tested the efficacy of the coating both in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, the release of antibiotics from the coating was enhanced in the presence of an oxidative environment, as would occur during a periprosthetic joint infection, demonstrating the coating’s “smartness.”
In vivo, using a mouse model of post-arthroplasty infection caused by Staphylococcus aureus, the authors showed radiographically that implants coated with PEG-PPS alone had a dramatic degree of periprosthetic osteolysis by postoperative day 7, compared with antibiotic-encapsulated PEG-PPS implants, which showed no detectable osteolysis. Similarly, the number of colony forming units of S. aureus cultured from implants on postoperative day 21 was significantly lower in the antibiotic-encapsulated implants than in the PEG-PPS-alone implants. (Interestingly, the tigecycline coating was more effective than the vancomycin coating in preventing bacterial colonization.)
While acknowledging that this proof-of-concept study needs to be replicated with other infectious organisms and in larger animals and humans, the authors conclude that PEG-PPS delivery of antibiotics has “great potential to minimize the incidence of postoperative infection following arthroplasty.”
What’s New in Shoulder and Elbow Surgery: Level I and II Studies
Every month, JBJS publishes a Specialty Update—a review of the most pertinent and impactful studies published in the orthopaedic literature during the previous year in 13 subspecialties. Here is a summary of selected findings from Level I and II studies cited in the October 21, 2015 Specialty Update on shoulder and elbow surgery:
Shoulder
–A prospective evaluation of 224 subjects with asymptomatic rotator cuff tears followed annually for an average of five years found that the risk of tear enlargement and muscle degeneration was greater in full-thickness tears, and that pain and supraspinatus muscle degeneration were associated with tear enlargement.
–The authors of a randomized trial comparing physical therapy and primary surgical repair for initial management of degenerative rotator cuff tears concluded that the effects of surgery were not profound enough to justify surgical management for patients who present initially with painful degenerative cuff tears.
–A randomized trial comparing clinical outcomes in 58 patients with a rotator cuff tear and symptomatic acromioclavicular joint arthritis found no differences in function or pain scores between those who underwent cuff repair + distal clavicle resection and those who underwent cuff repair alone.1
–After two years of follow-up, no differences in functional outcomes or rate or quality of postoperative tendon healing were found in a randomized trial comparing patients who received platelet-rich plasma following surgical cuff repair and those who did not.2
–In a three-way randomized trial comparing physical therapy, acromioplasty + physical therapy, and cuff repair + acromioplasty + physical therapy for treating symptomatic, nontraumatic supraspinatus tendon tears in patients older than 55, there were no between-group differences in the mean Constant score one year after treatment.3
–A randomized trial comparing treatments for calcific tendinitis found that ultrasound-guided needling plus a subacromial corticosteroid injection resulted in better functional scores and larger decreases in calcium-deposit size than extracorporeal shock wave therapy.4
–A randomized trial of 196 patients with recurrent traumatic anterior shoulder instability found no significant differences in WOSI and ASES scores or range of motion between groups that underwent open or arthroscopic stabilization procedures.
–A randomized study comparing the effectiveness of immobilization in abduction (15°) and external rotation (10°) versus adduction and internal rotation after primary anterior shoulder dislocation found that after two years, only 3.9% of patients in the abduction/external-rotation group had repeat instability, compared to 33.3% in the adduction/internal-rotation group.5 A separate randomized trial found no significant difference in instability recurrence after one year between a group immobilized in internal rotation (sling) and a group immobilized in adduction and external rotation (brace).6
–A randomized trial of 250 patients (mean age of 65 years) with displaced surgical neck fractures of the proximal humerus compared surgical treatment (internal fixation or hemiarthroplasty) with conservative treatment. Finding no statistically or clinically significant difference in outcomes, the authors concluded that these results do not support the recent trend toward surgical management for proximal humeral fractures.7
–A randomized trial comparing reverse shoulder arthroplasty with hemiarthroplasty for acute proximal humeral fractures found that after two years of follow-up, reverse arthroplasty yielded better functional scores, better active elevation, and fewer complications than hemiarthroplasty.8
–A randomized trial comparing the use of concentric and eccentric glenospheres in reverse shoulder arthroplasty revealed no differences in scapular notching rates or clinical outcomes at a minimum follow-up of two years.
–A systematic review comparing radiographic and clinical survivorship of all-polyethylene versus metal-backed glenoid components used in total shoulder arthroplasty found that all-poly glenoids had a higher rate of radiolucencies and radiographic loosening but a much lower rate of revision after a mean follow-up of 5.8 years.
–A retrospective review found that arthroscopic biopsy was much more accurate than fluoroscopically guided fluid aspiration in diagnosing periprosthetic shoulder infections caused by Propionibacterium acnes.
–In a randomized trial of 76 workers’-comp patients with a displaced midshaft clavicular fracture, those receiving surgical management had faster time to union and return to work and better Constant scores than those managed conservatively.9
–Two studies compared plate fixation with intramedullary fixation for stabilizing clavicular fractures. One that randomized 59 patients found no differences in functional outcomes or time to healing. The other, which randomized 120 patients, found no between-group differences in DASH or Constant-Murley scores, but shoulder function improved more quickly in the plate-fixation group.
–A study that compared standard arthroscopic capsular release with capsular release extending to the posterior capsule for treating frozen shoulder found no difference in postoperative clinical or range-of-motion outcomes between the two groups.10
Elbow
–A randomized trial comparing regional analgesia to local anesthetic injections in patients undergoing elbow arthroscopy found no differences in pain, oral analgesic use, or patient satisfaction within 48 hours after surgery.11
–A randomized trial comparing eccentric and concentric resistance exercises for the treatment of chronic lateral epicondylitis found that the eccentric-exercise group had faster pain regression, lower pain scores at 12 months, and greater strength increases.12
References
- Park YB, Koh KH, Shon MS, Park YE, Yoo JC. Arthroscopic distal clavicle resection in symptomatic acromioclavicular joint arthritis combined with rotator cuff tear: a prospective randomized trial. Am J Sports Med. 2015 Apr;43(4):985-90.Epub 2015 Jan 12.
- Malavolta EA, Gracitelli ME, Ferreira Neto AA, Assunção JH, Bordalo-RodriguesM, de Camargo OP. Platelet-rich plasma in rotator cuff repair: a prospective randomized study. Am J Sports Med. 2014 Oct;42(10):2446-54. Epub 2014 Aug 1.
- Kukkonen J, Joukainen A, Lehtinen J, Mattila KT, Tuominen EK, Kauko T, Aärimaa V.Treatment of non-traumatic rotator cuff tears: a randomised controlled trial with one-year clinical results. Bone Joint J. 2014 Jan;96-B(1):75-81.
- Kim YS, Lee HJ, Kim YV, Kong CG. Which method is more effective in treatment of calcific tendinitis in the shoulder? Prospective randomized comparison between ultrasound-guided needling and extracorporeal shock wave therapy. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2014 Nov;23(11):1640-6. Epub 2014 Sep 12.
- Heidari K, Asadollahi S, Vafaee R, Barfehei A, Kamalifar H, Chaboksavar ZA,Sabbaghi M. Immobilization in external rotation combined with abduction reduces the risk of recurrence after primary anterior shoulder dislocation. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2014 Jun;23(6):759-66. Epub 2014 Apr 13.
- Whelan DB, Litchfield R, Wambolt E, Dainty KN; Joint Orthopaedic Initiative for National Trials of the Shoulder (JOINTS).External rotation immobilization for primary shoulder dislocation: a randomized controlled trial. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2014 Aug;472(8):2380-6.
- Rangan A, Handoll H, Brealey S, Jefferson L, Keding A, Martin BC, Goodchild L,Chuang LH, Hewitt C, Torgerson D; PROFHER Trial Collaborators. Surgical vs nonsurgical treatment of adults with displaced fractures of the proximal humerus: the PROFHER randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2015 Mar 10;313(10):1037-47.
- Sebastiá-Forcada E, Cebrián-Gómez R, Lizaur-Utrilla A, Gil-Guillén V. Reverse shoulder arthroplasty versus hemiarthroplasty for acute proximal humeral fractures. A blinded, randomized, controlled, prospective study. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2014Oct;23(10):1419-26. Epub 2014 Jul 30
- Melean PA, Zuniga A, Marsalli M, Fritis NA, Cook ER, Zilleruelo M, Alvarez C.Surgical treatment of displaced middle-third clavicular fractures: a prospective, randomized trial in a working compensation population. J Shoulder Elbow Surg.2015 Apr;24(4):587-92. Epub 2015 Jan 22.
- Kim YS, Lee HJ, Park IJ. Clinical outcomes do not support arthroscopic posterior capsular release in addition to anterior release for shoulder stiffness: a randomized controlled study. Am J Sports Med. 2014 May;42(5):1143-9. Epub 2014 Feb 28.
- Wada T, Yamauchi M, Oki G, Sonoda T, Yamakage M, Yamashita T. Efficacy of axillary nerve block in elbow arthroscopic surgery: a randomized trial. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2014 Mar;23(3):291-6. Epub 2014 Jan 15.
- Peterson M, Butler S, Eriksson M, Svärdsudd K.A randomized controlled trial of eccentric vs. concentric graded exercise in chronic tennis elbow (lateral elbow tendinopathy). Clin Rehabil. 2014 Sep;28(9):862-72. Epub 2014 Mar 14.
Stop Smoking Before Joint Replacement—But for How Long?
The July 1, 2015 JBJS contains a database-driven analysis by Duchman et al. of more than 78,000 patients who underwent primary total hip or knee arthroplasty between 2006 and 2012. The authors found that the 10% who were current smokers had a higher rate of wound complications (1.8%), compared with rates in former smokers (1.3%) and nonsmokers (1.1%). Current smokers had approximately twice the rate of deep wound infections compared with former smokers or nonsmokers. The authors note, however, that periprosthetic infections—a specific complication of great interest to orthopaedists and patients—are not captured by the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database from which the analyzed data was extracted.
These findings align with several others that associate smoking with short-term postsurgical complications. However, commentators Jeffrey Cherian, DO and Michael Mont, MD note that this study’s definitions of “current” smokers (those who smoked within one year of surgery) and “former” smokers (those who did not smoke in the year prior to surgery but did smoke a pack a day or more for at least a year before that) leave surgeons “unable to adequately define a time point at which smoking should be stopped prior to surgery…to decrease the risk of adverse outcomes.” The commentators call for trials that more strictly stratify patients by tobacco usage so that surgeons can “evaluate the optimal time point for smoking cessation as well as the best programs and options for nicotine replacement.”
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