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Study Design: It is a retrospective analysis of 1806 consecutive cervical magnetic resonance images taken in weight-bearing flexion, neutral, and extension positions.Objective: The aim was to identify the kinematic characteristics of patients with cervical imbalance. Additionally, factors were analysed in the neutral position that could predict the characteristics. Little is known about the kinematic characteristics during cervical flexion and extension positions of the patient with cervical imbalance (cervical sagittal vertical axis (cSVA) in neutral position ≥ 40 mm).Methods: After evaluating the whole images, cervical imbalance group (cSVA ≥ 40 mm, n = 43) and matched control group (< 40 mm, n = 43) were created using propensity score adjusting for age, gender, and cervical alignment. They were compared for cervical motion, changes in disc bulge, and ligamentum flavum (LF) bulge from flexion to extension. Multinomial logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis were calculated to verify the predictive factors and cut-off value of the identified characteristics.Results: There were no significant differences in range of motion and the change in bulged discs. There was significant difference in the presence of LF bulge from flexion to extension (p = 0.023); the incidence of LF bulge increased sharply from neutral to extension in imbalance group, while there was linear increase in control group. The canal diameter (odds ratio = 0.61, p = 0.002) and disc height (odds ratio = 1.60, p = 0.041) showed significant relationship with the segments with LF bulge observed in extension but not in neutral position in the imbalance group; the cut-off values were 10.7 mm for canal diameter (sensitivity 82.5%, specificity 66.7%) and 7.1 mm for disc height (70.8%, 58.5%).Conclusion: Patients with cervical imbalance had a stark increase in LF bulge from the neutral to extension position. Canal diameter < 10.7 mm and disc height > 7.1 mm on neutral images may predict the segments with LF bulge observed in extension, but not in the neutral position.Level Of Evidence: II (Diagnostic: individual cross-sectional studies with consistently applied reference standard and blinding). These slides can be retrieved from Electronic Supplementary Material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study defined the incidence and trends of surgeries performed for patients with cervical disc degeneration with and without tobacco use disorder (TUD).Methods: This study utilized the Humana Inc. database between 2007 and 2013 to identify patients with cervical disc degeneration with or without myelopathy. International Classification of Diseases, ninth revision (ICD-9) and Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes determined the initial diagnosis of disc degeneration, myelopathy status and TUD, whether patients received surgery, and TUD status at surgery.Results: The prevalence of disc degeneration with myelopathy increased by 32.8% between 2007 and 2013, while disc disease with myelopathy and TUD increased by 91.6%. For patients without myelopathy, the prevalence of disc degeneration alone increased by 65.4%, and disc degeneration with myelopathy increased by 148.7%. Of myelopathy patients, 1717 (6.4%) had TUD and 1024 (59.6%) received surgery, compared to 6508 patients without TUD (26.1%). For patients without myelopathy, 11,337 (3.5%) had TUD and 787 (6.9%) underwent surgery, compared to 9716 patients (3%) without TUD. Of surgical patients, 781 (76.3%) with myelopathy and TUD still had a TUD diagnosis at surgery, and 542 (68.9%) of patients without myelopathy still had a TUD diagnosis at surgery.Conclusions: The prevalence of degenerative disc disease and TUD has increased more than disc disease alone. Patients with TUD were more likely to get surgery, and to have surgeries earlier than patients without TUD. Patients with TUD at the time of the diagnosis of their disc degeneration likely still had a TUD diagnosis at the time of surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Nonunion of bicondylar tibial plateau (BTP) fractures following open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) is rare but challenging. We report a case series of aseptic BTP nonunions, approaches to treatment, and long-term outcomes., Methods: Retrospective case series of aseptic nonunion in operatively treated BTP fractures. Cases with deep infection prior to a revision were excluded. Demographic, injury, and initial fixation characteristics were collected. Clinical course following diagnosis of nonunion was reviewed. Revision operation characteristics, timing, and outcomes were recorded., Results: 13 patients with aseptic nonunion were identified from 508 BTP fractures. Mean (SD) follow-up was 5.2 years (4.6) from the first revision operation for nonunion. Nine patients underwent revision ORIF, which led to union in 6/9 cases. Two patients had total knee arthroplasty (TKA) performed as the initial revision operation for nonunion. One patient was treated with bone grafting without revision of implants and one patient was lost to follow-up after diagnosis of nonunion. Three patients subsequently had TKA performed following failed revision ORIF. In total 5/13 patients underwent TKA., Conclusions: Revision ORIF of aseptic nonunion of a BTP fracture often leads to successful union. However, TKA may be utilized in select cases and at a higher rate than in primary tibial plateau fractures., Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors have no conflict of interest to declare that are relevant to the content of this article. Ethical approval: Approval was granted by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the primary treating institution., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag France SAS, part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: Concerns regarding the ongoing opioid epidemic have led to the implementation of standardized postoperative opioid-prescribing protocols for many common hand surgical procedures. This study investigated patient- and procedure-specific factors affecting adherence to a standardized postoperative opioid-prescribing protocol after cubital tunnel surgery., Methods: A retrospective review of patients who underwent primary cubital tunnel surgery within one academic medical system between October 1, 2016 (after the implementation of a standardized postoperative opioid-prescribing protocol) and March 1, 2020 was performed. Patients aged <18 years or with a history of revision surgery, prior traumatic ulnar nerve injury, additional concurrent surgical procedures, or a surgeon not participating in the protocol were excluded. Patient demographics, comorbidities, prior opioid history, and surgical variables were recorded. The primary outcome was adherence to the standardized postoperative opioid-prescribing protocol. A bivariate statistical analysis was performed., Results: Ninety-eight patients were included. The median initial postoperative prescription amount was 75 morphine equivalent units (100% of protocol target) for 78 patients (80% of cohort) who underwent in situ decompression and 75 morphine equivalent units (50% of protocol target) for 20 patients (20% of cohort) who underwent decompression with ulnar nerve transposition. Forty-nine percent of initial opioid prescriptions adhered to protocol, compared with 26% below target and 26% above target. In the bivariate analysis, recent opioid prescriptions within 3 months preoperatively were associated with improved prescriber protocol adherence; longer tourniquet time and anterior transposition were associated with prescriptions below target, and in situ decompression was associated with prescriptions above target., Conclusions: Variation in postoperative opioid-prescribing patterns persists despite the implementation of a standardized postoperative opioid-prescribing protocol. Recent opioid prescriptions were associated with protocol adherence, possibly reflecting increased provider vigilance in this patient population. Differing target prescription amounts for in situ decompression versus decompression with anterior transposition may be unnecessary., Type of Study/level of Evidence: Therapeutic IV., Competing Interests: No benefits in any form have been received or will be received related directly to this article., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Background: Concerns regarding the ongoing opioid epidemic have led to heightened scrutiny of postoperative opioid prescribing patterns for common orthopedic surgical procedures. This study investigated patient- and procedure-specific risk factors for additional postoperative opioid rescue prescriptions following ambulatory cubital tunnel surgery., Methods: A retrospective review was performed of patients who underwent cubital tunnel surgery at 2 academic medical centers between June 1, 2015 and March 1, 2020. Patient demographics, comorbidities, prior opioid history, and surgical variables were recorded. The primary outcome was postoperative rescue opioid prescription. Univariate and bivariate statistical analyses were performed., Results: Two hundred seventy-four patients were included, of whom 171 (62%) underwent in situ ulnar nerve decompression and 103 (38%) underwent ulnar nerve decompression with anterior transposition. The median postoperative opioid prescription amount was 90 morphine equivalent units (MEU) for the total cohort, 77.5 MEU for in situ ulnar nerve decompression, and 112.5 MEU for ulnar nerve decompression with transposition. Twenty-two patients (8%) required additional rescue opioid prescriptions postoperatively. Female sex, fibromyalgia, chronic opioid use, chronic pain diagnosis, and recent opioid were associated with the need for additional postoperative rescue opioid prescriptions., Conclusions: While most patients do not require additional rescue opioid prescriptions after cubital tunnel surgery, chronic pain patients and patients with pain sensitivity syndromes are at risk for requiring additional rescue opioid prescriptions. For these high-risk patients, preoperative collaboration of a multidisciplinary team may be beneficial for developing a perioperative pain management plan that is both safe and effective., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Objectives: To compare clinical and radiographic outcomes after retrograde intramedullary nailing (rIMN) versus locked plating (LP) of "extreme distal" periprosthetic femur fractures, defined as those that contact or extend distal to the anterior flange., Design: Retrospective review., Setting: Eight academic level I trauma centers., Patient Selection Criteria: Adult patients with periprosthetic distal femur fractures at or distal to the anterior flange (OTA/AO 33B-C[VB1]) treated with rIMN or LP., Outcome Measures and Comparisons: The primary outcome was reoperation to promote healing or to treat infection (reoperation for elective removal of symptomatic hardware was excluded from this analysis). Secondary outcomes included nonunion, delayed union, fixation failure, infection, overall reoperation rate, distal femoral alignment, and ambulatory status at final follow-up. Outcomes were compared between patients treated with rIMN or LP., Results: Seventy-one patients treated with rIMN and 224 patients treated with LP were included. The rIMN group had fewer points of fixation in the distal segment (rIMN: 3.5 ± 1.1 vs. LP: 6.0 ± 1.1, P < 0.001) and more patients who were allowed to weight-bear as tolerated immediately postoperatively (rIMN: 45%; LP: 9%, P < 0.01). Reoperation to promote union and/or treat infection was 8% in the rIMN group and 16% in the LP group ( P = 0.122). There were no significant differences in nonunion ( P > 0.999), delayed union ( P = 0.079), fixation failure ( P > 0.999), infection ( P = 0.084), or overall reoperation rate ( P > 0.999). Significantly more patients in the rIMN group were ambulatory without assistive devices at final follow-up (rIMN: 35%, LP: 18%, P = 0.008)., Conclusions: rIMN of extreme distal periprosthetic femur fractures has similar complication rates compared with LP, with a possible advantage of earlier return to weight-bearing. Surgeons can consider this treatment strategy in all fractures with stable implants and amenable prosthesis geometry, even extreme distal fractures., Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Socioeconomic factors have been implicated in delayed presentation for compressive neuropathies of the upper extremity. Our article seeks to elucidate the effect of socioeconomic factors on self-reported symptom duration and objective disease severity at presentation for cubital tunnel syndrome., Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 207 patients with surgical management of cubital tunnel syndrome at 2 institutions between June 1, 2015, and March 1, 2020. Exclusion criteria included age under 18 years, revision surgery, lack of preoperative electrodiagnostic studies, and concurrent additional surgeries. Response variables were self-reported symptom duration, time from presentation to surgery, McGowan grade, and electrodiagnostic measures. Explanatory variables included age, sex, white race, diabetes mellitus, depression, anxiety, and the Distressed Communities Index., Results: Symptom duration was associated with nonwhite race, and time from presentation to surgery was associated with insurance provider. More clinically severe disease was associated with older age, male sex, and not having carpal tunnel syndrome. Nonrecordable sensory nerve action potential latency was associated with older age, higher body mass index, male sex, diabetes mellitus, and unemployment. Nonrecordable conduction velocities were associated with older age, and having fibrillations at presentation was associated with older age, male sex, and unemployment., Conclusions: Economic distress is not associated with self-reported symptom duration, time from presentation to surgery, or presenting severity of cubital tunnel syndrome. White patients presented with shorter self-reported symptom duration. Insurance type was associated with delay from presentation to surgery. Older age and male sex were risk factors for more clinically severe disease at presentation., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: D.Z. receives research grant funding from Akcea Therapeutics, and honoraria for lectures from Alnylam Pharmaceuticals. The remaining authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Background: Ulnar neuropathy at the elbow is the second most common upper extremity compressive neuropathy and surgical treatment often involves surgical trainee involvement. The primary aim of this study is to determine the effect of trainees and surgical assistants on outcomes surrounding cubital tunnel surgery. Methods: This retrospective study included 274 patients with cubital tunnel syndrome who underwent primary cubital tunnel surgery at two academic medical centres between 1 June 2015 and 1 March 2020. The patients were divided into four main cohorts based on primary surgical assistant: physician associates (PA, n = 38), orthopaedic or plastic surgery residents ( n = 91), hand surgery fellows ( n = 132), or both residents and fellows ( n = 13). Exclusion criteria included patient age <18 years, revision surgery as the index procedure, prior traumatic ulnar nerve injury and concurrent procedures not related to cubital tunnel surgery. Demographics, clinical variables and perioperative findings were collected through chart reviews. Univariate and bivariate analyses were performed, and p < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Patients in all cohorts had similar demographic and clinical characteristics. There was a significantly higher rate of subcutaneous transposition in the PA cohort (39.5% PA vs. 13.2% Resident vs. 19.7% Fellow vs. 15.4% Resident + Fellow). Presence of surgical assistants and trainees had no association with length of surgery, complications and reoperation rates. Although male sex and ulnar nerve transposition were associated with longer operative times, no explanatory variables were associated with complications or reoperation rates. Conclusions: Surgical trainee involvement in cubital tunnel surgery is safe and has no effect on operative time, complications or reoperation rates. Understanding the role of trainees and measuring the effect of graduated responsibility in surgery is important for medical training and safe patient care. Level of Evidence: Level III (Therapeutic).

Study Design: This is a retrospective analysis of kinematic magnetic resonance images (kMRI)., Objective: To assess the association of cervical paraspinal muscle with cervical sagittal balance and degenerative spinal disorders., Summary of Background Data: Although the effects of spinal disorders and cervical imbalance on patient's symptoms have been well described, the relationship of the cervical muscle quality and volume to cervical imbalance or spinal disorders is not well established., Materials and Methods: In total, 100 kMRI taken in a neutral weight-bearing position were analyzed. The adjusted cross-sectional area ratio (aCSA ratio: the value of muscle CSA divided by the vertebral CSA) and fat infiltration ratio of the transversospinalis muscles at C4 and C7 vertebral levels were measured using axial slice of kMRI. The correlation with cervical balance parameters [Oc-C2 angle, C2-C7 angle, C7-T1 angle, C7 slope, T1 slope, cranial tilt, cervical tilt, thoracic inlet angle (TIA), and neck tilt] and cervical degenerative disorders (disk degeneration, Modic change, and spondylolisthesis) were evaluated., Results: The aCSA ratio at C4 correlated with C2-C7 angle (r=0.267), C7 slope (r=0.207), T1 slope (r=0.221), disk degeneration at C3-4, C4-5, C5-6 (r=-0.234, -0.313, -0.262) and spondylolisthesis at C3 (anterior: r=-0.206, posterior: r=-0.249). The aCSA ratio at C7 correlated with disk degeneration at C3-4, C4-5, C5-6, C6-7 (r=-0.209, -0.294, -0.239, -0.209). The fat infiltration ratio at C4 correlated with TIA (r=0.306) and neck tilt (r=0.353), likewise the ratio at C7 correlated with TIA (r=0.270) and neck tilt (r=0.405). All correlations above were statistically significant with P<0.05., Conclusions: The paraspinal muscle volume showed significant relationship with the cervical balance parameters and disk degeneration. While, paraspinal muscle quality related to the thoracic inlet parameters. Our findings can be an important step to develop the knowledge of the association between cervical muscle and cervical degenerative disorders, as well as the sagittal balance of the cervical spine., Level of Evidence: Level III.