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Background: Historically, failed conservative treatment for irreparably damaged distal radioulnar joints (DRUJs) is treated via distal ulnar resection or DRUJ fusion; complications include disabling painful convergence of the radius and ulnar stump during lifting Various treatments for radioulnar impingement include distal radioulnar Achilles tendon allograft interpositional arthroplasty. This technique does not adequately prevent radioulnar impingement and we explore an alternative treatment. Methods: We report 7 adult patients who failed Achilles tendon interposition, subsequently treated with Aptis total DRUJ prostheses (mean follow-up, 26 months; range, 7-40). Results: Revision to Aptis prosthesis produced clinically stable DRUJ, improved grip strength and painless lifting capabilities, high patient satisfaction, and no major complications. All returned to daily activities and even recreational sports. Conclusions: Tendon lacks biomechanical features key to the shock-absorbing function of cartilage--features it cannot deliver when used to prevent radioulnar convergence. We report Aptis DRUJ prosthesis as an alternative to the tendon allograft technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An 83-year-old male, status one year post-primary right reverse shoulder arthroplasty, presented with clinical and radiographic signs of shoulder instability. The patient subsequently underwent revision reverse shoulder arthroplasty with postoperative cultures growing Cryptococcus neoformans in all five tissue samples. He was placed on temporary fluconazole since he demanded to leave the hospital during a holiday weekend with plans to get readmitted later. IV amphotericin B was used as induction treatment for two weeks followed by PO voriconazole, which was taken by the patient until eight months postoperatively. He was followed up in the orthopedic clinic status post revision procedure at one and two months and was found to be progressing well. The patient presented to the emergency department eight months after the revision procedure for an unrelated concern that was inconsequential. There were no signs of infection as vital signs and laboratory markers were normal. At 18 months postoperatively, he presented to an outside facility with a left distal femur periprosthetic fracture around a total knee implant, for which open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) was performed. During this hospital stay, an orthopedic team, known to the authors, evaluated the patient. The right shoulder was stable and without pain, with vitals signs and laboratory markers showing no signs of infection. The patient reported that he continued to be employed as a maintenance worker at a motel. He was discharged soon and is living with current revision shoulder arthroplasty implants., Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024, Gabriel et al.)

Introduction Limited research exists on the association between coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) infection and outcomes following surgical fixation for humerus fractures. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of COVID-19 on the clinical outcomes of patients undergoing humerus fracture surgery. Methods Approval to utilize insurance claim data from the Change Healthcare dataset was obtained from the Datavant COVID-19 Research Database. Patients older than 55 years old who underwent humerus fracture surgery from April 1, 2020, to March 1, 2022, were included in the analysis. COVID-19 status, comorbidities, and adverse events were identified using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) diagnostic codes. Propensity score matching with age, sex, and comorbidities was completed to create a 1:10 matched COVID-19-negative cohort. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were performed to assess the association of COVID-19 positivity with perioperative adverse events. Results A total of 18,365 patients underwent humerus fracture surgery in this study, of which 132 (0.72%) tested positive for COVID-19. Univariate analysis found that COVID-19-positive patients were at higher risk for myocardial infarction (5.30% vs. 1.74%, p = 0.015) and acute kidney injury (28.79% vs. 12.50%, p < 0.001) when compared to the 1:10 matched COVID-19-negative cohort. In addition, multivariate logistic regression found that COVID-19-positive patients had higher odds of experiencing any adverse event (2.57; 95% CI: 1.69-3.91; p < 0.001) or a minor adverse event (2.44; 95% CI: 1.57-3.79; p < 0.001). Conclusion COVID-19-positive patients have increased odds of experiencing adverse events after undergoing humerus fracture surgery in comparison to a matched COVID-19-negative control. Findings from this study stress the importance of using COVID-19 status as a factor in predicting outcomes following orthopedic surgery in this patient population., Competing Interests: The authors have declared financial relationships, which are detailed in the next section., (Copyright © 2024, Scigliano et al.)

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of concomitant open distal clavicle excision (DCE) on postoperative clinical outcomes and incidence of acromial and scapular stress fractures (ASFs) in patients with symptomatic acromioclavicular joint osteoarthritis (ACJ OA) undergoing reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA)., Methods: A single-surgeon retrospective cohort study was conducted including patients who underwent primary elective RTSA with or without DCE from 2015 to 2019 with a minimum 6-month follow-up period. Shoulder active range of motion (AROM) and visual analog scale (VAS) pain were recorded preoperatively and postoperatively. ASFs and other adverse events were identified using postoperative notes and/or radiographs. Characteristics and outcomes were compared between the RTSA and RTSA-DCE groups., Results: Forty-six RTSA patients (mean age, 67.9±8.7 years; 60.9% male; mean follow-up, 24.9±16.6 months) and 70 RTSA-DCE patients (mean age, 70.2±8.9 years; 20.0% male; mean follow-up, 22.7±12.9 months) were included. There were no significant intergroup differences in rates of ASF (RTSA, 0.0% vs. RTSA-DCE, 1.4%; P=1.00), stress reactions (RTSA, 8.7% vs. RTSA-DCE, 11.4%; P=0.76), reoperation, revision, or infection (all P>0.05), or in pre-to-postoperative reduction in VAS pain (P=0.17) at latest follow-up. However, the RTSA-DCE group had greater pre-to-postoperative improvement in flexion AROM (RTSA, 43.7°±38.5° vs. RTSA-DCE, 59.5°±33.4°; P=0.03) and internal rotation (IR) AROM (P=0.02) at latest follow-up., Conclusions: Concomitant DCE in RTSA improves shoulder flexion and IR AROM, alleviates shoulder pain, and does not increase the risk of ASFs. Level of evidence: III.

Surgical release of elbow contracture is associated with injury to structures traversing the elbow. To date, only one other case report has been published describing anterior interosseous nerve (AIN) palsy that developed immediately after open elbow contracture release and debridement. Here we describe the unique case of a patient that developed AIN palsy 1 week after operation, including magnetic resonance imaging and electrodiagnostic studies, to shed some light on the etiology of this rare complication.