Search

The article presents a study on the twelve-month outcomes of a serious orthopaedic injuries due to sport and active recreation to patients that are admitted to Level 1 Trauma Centers in Melbourne, Victoria. It states that a total of 366 adults admitted to two Level 1 trauma centers for an orthopaedic sport and active recreation injury have participated to the study and they were captured by the Victorian Orthopaedic Trauma Outcomes Registry (VOTOR). It reveals that almost one quarter of the patients were still experiencing moderate to severe physical disability, and the increasing age and patterns of injury were the main predictors of a poor physical outcome at 12 months. It also emphasizes the importance of further investigation into sports and recreation injury.

Background: Hospitalised sport and active recreation injuries can have serious long-term consequences. Despite this, few studies have examined the long-term outcomes of these injuries. The purpose of this study was to establish whether patients hospitalised with orthopaedic sport and active recreation injuries, have returned to their pre-injury levels of health status and function, 12 months post injury and identify factors associated with poor outcomes. The present work was a cohort study with retrospective assessment of pre-injury status and prospective assessment of outcome at 12 months post injury., Methods: Adults with orthopaedic sport and active recreation injuries, captured by the Victorian Orthopaedic Trauma Outcomes Registry were recruited to the study. Pre-injury and 12-month outcomes were assessed using the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the extended Glasgow Outcome Scale. Differences in pre-injury and post-injury SF-36 scores were examined and demographic, injury, hospital and physical activity variables were assessed for associations with outcome using multivariate linear regression., Results: Of the 324 participants 98% were followed-up at 12 months post injury. At 12 months, participants reported a mean 7.0-point reduction in physical health (95% CI 5.8 to 7.8) and a 2.5-point reduction in mental health (95% CI 1.2 to 3.0), with 58% (95% CI 52.6% to 63.4%) reporting reduced function. Sporting group (p=0.001), Injury Severity Score >15 (p=0.007) and high pre-injury vigorous activity levels (p=0.04), were related to poorer physical health outcomes., Conclusions: At 12 months post injury, most participants reported large reductions in physical health and reduced function. This information is important for furthering our understanding of the burden of sport and active recreation injury and setting priorities for treatment and rehabilitation.

Study Design: Prospective cohort study., Objective: To identify factors that predict poor patient-reported outcomes in patients with traumatic vertebral body fracture(s) of the thoracic and/or lumbar spine without neurological deficit., Summary of Background Data: There is a paucity of information on factors that predict poor patient-reported outcomes in patients with traumatic vertebral body fracture(s) of the thoracic and/or lumbar spine without neurological deficit., Methods: Patients were identified from the Victorian Orthopaedic Trauma Outcomes Registry (VOTOR). VOTOR includes all patients with orthopaedic trauma admitted to the two adult Level 1 trauma centres in Victoria, Australia. Patient-reported outcomes and data on possible predictive factors, including demographic details, injury-related and treatment-based factors, were obtained from the VOTOR database. Patient-reported outcomes were measured at 12 months post-injury using the 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12), a Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) for pain, global outcome questions and data was collected on return to work or study. For the identification of predictive factors, univariate analyses of outcome vs. each predictor were carried out first, followed by logistic multiple regression., Results: 344 patients were eligible for the study and data were obtained for 264 (76.7%) patients at 12 months follow-up. Patients reported ongoing pain at 12 months post-injury (moderate-severe: 33.5%), disability (70.1%) and inability to return to work or study (23.3%). A number of demographic, injury-related and treatment-based factors were identified as being predictive of poor patient-reported outcomes. Patients who had associated radius fracture(s) were more likely to have moderate to severe disability (odds ratio (OR)=3.85, 95% confidence interval=1.30-11.39), a poorer physical health status (OR=3.73, 1.37-10.12) and moderate to severe pain (OR=3.23, 1.22-8.56) at 12 months post-injury than patients without radius fracture. Patients who did not receive compensation for work-related or road traffic-related injuries were less likely to report moderate to severe pain (OR=0.45, 0.23-0.90) or have a poorer mental health status (OR=0.17, 0.04-0.70) at 12 months post-injury than those who received compensation., Conclusions: The prognostic factors identified in this study may assist clinicians in the identification of patients requiring more intensive follow-up or additional rehabilitation to ultimately improve patient care., (Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Although orthopaedic trauma results in significant disability and substantial financial cost, there is a paucity of large cohort studies that collectively describe the functional outcomes of a variety of these injuries. The current study aimed to investigate the outcomes of patients admitted with a range of orthopaedic injuries to adult Level 1 trauma centres., Methods: Patients were recruited from the Victorian Orthopaedic Trauma Outcomes Registry (VOTOR), which included all patients with orthopaedic trauma admitted to the two adult Level 1 trauma centres in Victoria (Australia). Patients were categorised into three groups; isolated orthopaedic injuries, multiple orthopaedic injuries and orthopaedic and other injuries. Demographic and injury data were collected from the medical record and hospital/trauma databases, and functional outcome instruments were given at 6 months post-injury., Results: Of the 1303 patients recruited for VOTOR over a 12-month period, 1181 patients were eligible for the study and a response rate of 75.6% was obtained at 6 months post-injury. Patients reported ongoing pain (moderate-severe: 37.2%), disability (79.5%) and inability to return to work (35.2%). Poorer outcomes were evident in patients with orthopaedic and other injuries than those with single or multiple orthopaedic injuries alone., Conclusion: A large percentage of patients have ongoing pain and disability and a reduced capacity to return to work 6 months after orthopaedic trauma. Further research into the long-term outcomes of patients with orthopaedic injuries is required to identify patient subgroups and specific injuries and procedures that result in high morbidity.