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To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2005.01.042 Byline: Boris A. Zelle (a)(b), Martin Panzica (a), Molly T. Vogt (b), Nicola A. Sittaro (c), Christian Krettek (a), Hans C. Pape (a) Keywords: Injury; Compensation; Outcome Abstract: Previous studies have shown that work-related injuries are often associated with inferior outcomes. The aim of the current study was to compare the long-term functional outcome after polytrauma between work-related and non-work-related injuries at a minimum follow-up of 10 years. Author Affiliation: (a) Department of Trauma Surgery, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany (b) Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA (c) Department for Epidemiological Research, Hannover-Re, Hannover, Germany Article History: Received 28 May 2004; Revised 11 January 2005 Article Note: (footnote) This study was performed at the Department of Trauma Surgery at Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.

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Physical impairment is well-known to last for many years after a severe injury, and there is a high impact on the quality of the survivor’s life. The purpose of this study was to examine if this is also true for psychological impairment with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder or depression after polytrauma. Retrospective cohort outcome study. Level I trauma centre. 637 polytrauma trauma patients who were treated at our Level I trauma centre between 1973 and 1990. Minimum follow-up was 10 years after the injury. Patients were asked to fill in a questionnaire, including parts of the Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale, the Impact of Event Scale-Revised and the German Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, to evaluate mental health. Clinical outcome was assessed before by standardised scores. Three hundred and twenty-four questionnaires were evaluated. One hundred and forty-nine (45.9%) patients presented with symptoms of mental impairment. Quality of life was significantly higher in the mentally healthy group, while the impaired group achieved a lower rehabilitation status. Mental impairment can be found in multiple trauma victims, even after 10 years or more. Treating physicians should not only focus on early physical rehabilitation but also focus on early mental rehabilitation to prevent long-term problems in both physical and mental disability.

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International Eli Ziv, MD, FAAOS, an orthopaedic surgeon from California,recently spent two weeks in Ukraine on a medical missionwith the charity Global Response Management. Eli Ziv, MD, FAAOS (left), discusses external fixatoralignment with a local surgeon while treating patients inthe Donbas region in UkraineCourtesy of Eli Ziv, MD, FAAOS Eli Ziv, MD, FAAOS, entering Ukraine for his medical missionto the frontline of the Ukraine-Russia conflictCourtesy of Eli Ziv, MD, FAAOS. [Extracted from the article]

Loss of follow-up represents a potential source of bias. Suggested guidelines propose 20 loss of follow-up as acceptable. However, these guidelines have not been established through scientific investigations. The goal of this study was to evaluate how loss of follow-up influences the statistical significance in a trauma database.

The long-term clinical status of surviving patients with multiple injuries has not been well described. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term outcome of acetabular and lower limb injuries.

The long-term clinical status of surviving patients with multiple injuries has not been well described. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether certain injury patterns predispose a patient to a poor clinical outcome 10 or more years after multiple injuries.

The aim of this study was to examine the long-term physical and psychological consequences of multiple blunt forced trauma at ≥10-year follow-up for patients with and without traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Previous studies documented that premenopausal women better tolerate severe injuries than men in regards to mortality and intensive care complications. We test the hypothesis whether surviving women have a better long-term outcome than surviving men.

The aim of this article is to provide a concise review of the basic science of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) and to perform a systematic review of the literature for the use of ESWT in the treatment of fractures and delayed unions/nonunions.

The information about the long-term mortality and causes of death after multiple injuries is sparse. In general, most follow-up studies report on 1 year to 3 years maximum follow up. The current literature focuses on causes of death immediately after trauma or during the initial in-hospital stay. We report on long-term mortality and causes of death in patients with multiple injures up to 30 years after the initial injury.

Fractures of the scapula account for 3 to 5 of all fractures of the shoulder girdle39–41and make up less than 1 of all broken bones.42Scapula fractures typically occur after high-energy trauma, and approximately 90 of the patients have associated injuries.39,43

The management of unstable distal tibia fractures remains challenging. The mechanism of injury and the prognosis of these fractures are different from pilon fractures, but their proximity to the ankle makes the surgical treatment more complicated than the treatment tibial midshaft fractures. A variety of treatment methods have been suggested for these injuries, including nonoperative treatment, external fixation, intramedullary nailing, and plate fixation. However, each of these treatment options is associated with certain challenges. Nonoperative treatment may be complicated by loss of reduction and subsequent malunion. Similarly, external fixation of distal tibia fractures may result in insufficient reduction, malunion, and pin tract infection. Intramedullary nailing can be considered the “gold standard” for the treatment of tibial midshaft fractures, but there are concerns about their use in distal tibia fractures. This is because of technical difficulties with distal nail fixation, the risk of nail propagation into the ankle joint, and the discrepancy between the diaphyseal and metaphyseal diameter of the intramedullary canal. Open reduction and internal plate fixation results in extensive soft tissue dissection and may be associated with wound complications and infections. The optimal treatment of unstable distal tibia without articular involvement remains controversial.

Fractures of the clavicle were reported to represent 2.6% of all fractures1with an overall incidence of 64 per 100,000 per year (1987, Malmö, Sweden).2Midshaft fractures account for approximately 69% to 81% of all clavicle fractures.1-4Treatment options for acute midshaft clavicle fractures include nonoperative treatment (mostly sling or figure-of-eight bandage), open reduction and internal fixation with plates, and closed or open reduction and internal fixation with intramedullary pins, wires, or a nail. Most surgeons prefer nonoperative treatment of nondisplaced midshaft clavicle fractures. However, the optimal treatment option for isolated acute displaced midshaft clavicle fractures remains controversial.

SI joint dislocations are serious injuries. They are often associated with posterior fractures or anterior ring disruptions. This case report documents the outcome of a patient with an uncommon injury involving bilateral SI joint dislocation without associated anterior pelvic injuries or posterior pelvic fracture.

This case report draws attention to the upper sympathetic trunk lesion as a complication of video-assisted thoracic spine surgery. A 39-year-old man developed an upper sympathetic trunk lesion after right-sided thoracoscopic fracture stabilization of T5 and T6. Dizziness and reduced perspiration persisted at the most recent follow-up 8 months after surgery. This rare complication can be overlooked and remain undiagnosed. Diagnosis is based on clinical symptoms and neurologic examination. There are no treatment options. Symptoms can be bothersome for the patient and may persist. In the upper thoracic spine, the course of the sympathetic trunk lies in close proximity of the vertebral bodies; thus, care must be taken to avoid it when resecting the posterior parts of the vertebral body.

This study reports on 92 patients treated with circumferential lumbar fusions for degenerative conditions. The elected procedure was a circumferential fusion using transpedicular stabilization. Two groups were examined depending on whether they were stabilized anteriorly with autogenous bicortical iliac crest graft (n 38) or with an ALIF carbon fiber cage implant (n 54). The patients were evaluated for clinical and radiographic outcome. The minimum follow-up interval was at least 12 months. Fusion rates, postoperative loss of correction, and clinical results, including pain at the bone donor site, neurologic function, satisfaction, depression, and consumption of analgesics, were not significantly different between patients with autogenous bone graft and patients with carbon cage. This study failed to prove major advantages of the carbon cages in the clinical and radiologic outcome.

IMPORTANCE: Despite the widespread use of systemic antibiotics to prevent infections in surgically treated patients with fracture, high rates of surgical site infection persist. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of intrawound vancomycin powder in reducing deep surgical site infections. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This open-label randomized clinical trial enrolled adult patients with an operatively treated tibial plateau or pilon fracture who met the criteria for a high risk of infection from January 1, 2015, through June 30, 2017, with 12 months of follow-up (final follow-up assessments completed in April 2018) at 36 US trauma centers. INTERVENTIONS: A standard infection prevention protocol with (n = 481) or without (n = 499) 1000 mg of intrawound vancomycin powder. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was a deep surgical site infection within 182 days of definitive fracture fixation. A post hoc comparison assessed the treatment effect on gram-positive and gram-negative-only infections. Other secondary outcomes included superficial surgical site infection, nonunion, and wound dehiscence. RESULTS: The analysis included 980 patients (mean [SD] age, 45.7 [13.7] years; 617 [63.0%] male) with 91% of the expected person-time of follow-up for the primary outcome. Within 182 days, deep surgical site infection was observed in 29 of 481 patients in the treatment group and 46 of 499 patients in the control group. The time-to-event estimated probability of deep infection by 182 days was 6.4% in the treatment group and 9.8% in the control group (risk difference, –3.4%; 95% CI, –6.9% to 0.1%; P = .06). A post hoc analysis of the effect of treatment on gram-positive (risk difference, –3.7%; 95% CI, –6.7% to –0.8%; P = .02) and gram-negative-only (risk difference, 0.3%; 95% CI, –1.6% to 2.1%; P = .78) infections found that the effect of vancomycin powder was a result of its reduction in gram-positive infections. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Among patients with operatively treated tibial articular fractures at a high risk of infection, intrawound vancomycin powder at the time of definitive fracture fixation reduced the risk of a gram-positive deep surgical site infection, consistent with the activity of vancomycin. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02227446

Isolated posterolateral corner (PLC) injuries are rarely seen with tibial plateau fractures and can be missed during the initial assessment. The objective of this paper is to present a case of a Schatzker type 2 tibial plateau fracture with associated isolated PLC injury and give a discussion on physical exam, diagnostic studies, and treatment options. A twenty-five-year-old female sustained a concomitant Schatzker type 2 fracture and PLC injury. Magnetic Resonance Imaging showed an isolated PLC disruption. Open reduction-internal fixation was performed with subsequent PLC repair. At sixteen months postoperatively, the patient had full range of motion and strength of her knee and no signs of laxity. This case emphasizes the importance of physical exam and appropriate imaging modalities in order to diagnose and treat this significant injury in a prompt fashion. In this case, surgical fracture fixation and subsequent repair of the PLC provided a good clinical outcome.