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OBJECTIVE: Tranexamic acid (TXA) and the hemostatic agent Floseal® have already been used to minimize bleeding during total knee arthroplasty (TKA). METHODS: We conducted a prospective, randomized study of 90 patients with indications for TKA. Following inclusion, the participants were randomly allocated in blocks to the following 3 groups: control, Floseal® and TXA. Bleeding parameters, including decreases in hemoglobin (Hb), drain output, number of blood transfusions and complications, were assessed. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02152917. RESULTS: The mean decrease in Hb was highest in the control group (4.81±1.09 g/dL), followed by the Floseal® (3.5±1.03 g/dL) and TXA (3.03±1.2 g/dL) groups. The Floseal® and TXA groups did not differ, and both performed better than the control group. The mean total drain output was 901.3±695.7 mL in the control group, 546.5±543.5 mL in the TXA group and 331.2±278.7 mL in the Floseal® group. Both TXA and Floseal® had significantly less output than the control group, and Floseal® had significantly less output than TXA. The number of blood transfusions was very small in all 3 groups. CONCLUSION: The use of TXA or Floseal® was associated with less blood loss than that of the control group among patients undergoing primary TKA, as measured both directly (intraoperative bleeding + drainage) and on the basis of a decrease in Hb, without differences in the rate of complications. TXA and Floseal® showed similar decreases in Hb and total measured blood loss, but the drain output was smaller in the Floseal® group.

OBJECTIVE: To establish the risk factors for joint infection by oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) using clinical and epidemiological data. METHODS: All septic arthritis cases of the knee and hip diagnosed and treated in our institution from 2006 to 2012 were evaluated retrospectively. Only patients with cultures identified as microbial agents were included in the study. The clinical and epidemiological characteristics of the patients were analyzed, seeking the differences between populations affected by MRSA and oxacillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). RESULTS: S. aureus was isolated in thirty-five patients (46.0%) in our total sample, 25 in the knee and 10 in the hip. Of these 35 patients, 22 presented with MSSA and 13 presented with MRSA. Provenance from a health service-related environment, as described by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was the only variable associated with oxacillin-resistant strains of this bacterium (p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Provenance from a health service-related environment was associated with a higher incidence of MRSA-related septic arthritis, suggesting that this agent should be considered in the initial choice of antibiotic treatment. Previous surgeries of the knee or affected limb and the absence of leukocytes might also be related to infection with this agent.

OBJECTIVES: Healing is an event that is fundamental to the success of total knee arthroplasty. The aims of the present study were to compare the rates of complications related to wound healing between two groups of volunteers submitted to total knee arthroplasty and to evaluate the effects of postoperative oxygen supplementation by means of a nasal catheter. METHOD: A total of 109 patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty were randomized into two groups, namely, groups that did and did not receive postoperative oxygen supplementation via a nasal catheter. The surgical wound was monitored every day during the hospital stay and on the 7th, 14th, 21st, 30th and 42nd postoperative days. Characteristics related to healing were observed, including hyperemia, dehiscence, necrosis, phlyctenules and deep and superficial infection. RESULTS: There were no cases of deep infection. Hyperemia was statistically correlated with the total number of complications in the groups, with oxygen demonstrated to be a protective factor against hyperemia. Approximately 30% of the patients who exhibited hyperemia had other complications, independent of oxygen supplementation. CONCLUSION: Oxygen supplementation following total knee arthroplasty was shown to be effective in diminishing hyperemia around the operative wound. The development of hyperemia was a precursor to other complications, irrespective of whether oxygen supplementation was used.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the results of the treatment of patients with isolated meniscal injuries of different etiologies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 435 patients of both sexes and different age groups underwent meniscectomy after their isolated meniscal injuries were clinically diagnosed and confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS: Most patients achieved good results and were able to return to the activities they had practiced prior to surgery without major limitations. CONCLUSIONS: Meniscectomy for the treatment of traumatic meniscal injury provides better results than meniscectomy for the treatment of degenerative meniscal injury. The results of meniscectomy for the treatment of meniscal injury due to fatigue are similar to those of meniscectomy for the treatment of traumatic meniscal injury, although the risk of osteonecrosis development is higher.OBJETIVO: Avaliar os resultados do tratamento de pacientes com lesão meniscal isolada de diversas etiologias. MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: 435 pacientes de ambos os sexos, de diferentes faixas etárias, foram submetidos a meniscectomia depois que a lesão meniscal isolada foi diagnosticada clinicamente e confirmada por ressonância nuclear magnética. RESULTADOS: A maioria dos pacientes obteve bom resultado, retornando às atividades que exerciam antes da cirurgia, sem limitações relevantes. CONCLUSÕES: No tratamento da lesão meniscal traumática, a meniscectomia dá melhores resultados do que no tratamento da lesão meniscal degenerativa. No tratamento da lesão meniscal por fadiga, a meniscectomia dá resultados semelhantes aos obtidos no tratamento da lesão meniscal traumática, apesar de haver maior risco de ocorrência de osteonecrose.

Randomized clinical trials are considered to be the gold standard of evidence-based medicine nowadays. However, it is important that we point out some limitations of randomized clinical trials relating to surgical interventions. There are limitations that affect the external and internal validity of many surgical study designs. Some limitations can be bypassed, but can make it more difficult for the study to be carried out. Other limitations cannot be bypassed. When it is intended to extrapolate the result of a randomized clinical trial, the premise is that the performed or to be performed intervention will be similar wherever applied and/or for every doctor using it. However, no matter how standardized the technique may be, the results are not similar for all surgeons, which implies a significant limitation to surgical randomized clinical trials concerning external validity. When considering the various limitations presented for performing surgical trials capable of generating scientific evidence within the patterns currently proposed in the evidence level classifications of medical publications, it is necessary to rethink whether those scientific evidence levels are similarly applicable to surgical works and to nonsurgical trials. We currently live in a time of supposed ''inferiority'' of surgical scientific works under the optics of the current quality criteria for a ''suitable'' clinical trial

OBJECTIVES: To clinically and epidemiologically characterize a population diagnosed with and treated for septic arthritis of the knee, to evaluate the treatment results and to analyze the differences between patients with positive and negative culture results, patients with Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial isolates and patients with S. aureus- and non-S. aureus-related infections. METHODS: One hundred and five patients with septic knee arthritis were included in this study. The clinical and epidemiological data were evaluated. Statistical analysis was performed to compare patients with and without an isolated causative agent, patients with Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens and patients with S. aureus-related and non S. aureus-related infections. RESULTS: Causative agents were isolated in 81 patients. Gram-positive bacteria were isolated in 65 patients and Gram-negative bacteria were isolated in 16 patients. The most commonly isolated bacterium was S. aureus. Comparing cases with an isolated pathogen to cases without an isolated pathogen, no differences between the studied variables were found except for the longer hospital stays of patients in whom an etiological agent was identified. When comparing Gram-positive bacteria with Gram-negative bacteria, patients with Gram-positive-related infections exhibited higher leukocyte counts. Patients with S. aureus-related infections were more frequently associated with healthcare-related environmental encounters. CONCLUSION: S. aureus is the most common pathogen of septic knee arthritis. Major differences were not observed between infections with isolated and non-isolated pathogens and between infections with Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. S. aureus infections were more likely to be associated with a prior healthcare environment exposure.