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Summary: Articular visualization is a challenging aspect of treating comminuted intraarticular distal humerus fractures (AO/OTA types 13B and 13C). Multiple surgical approaches have been described to improve articular visualization while minimizing morbidity to the patient. The anconeus hemipeel approach is a modified approach to the distal humerus involving retrograde reflection of the anconeus to provide improved exposure to the distal humerus. The anconeus hemipeel approach can be used in place of the olecranon osteotomy-which adds additional morbidity and complicates future arthroplasty options. This study describes the approach as a technical trick and reports the first clinical outcomes of patients treated with the anconeus hemipeel approach for exposure of the distal humerus without an olecranon osteotomy for the treatment of comminuted, intraarticular distal humerus fractures., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a rare, yet devastating complication with high mortality rates, unpredictable treatment outcomes, and high costs. The purpose of this study was to determine 90-day and 1-year mortality rates at a specialized PJI center, assess the impact of delayed referral to a PJI center on outcomes, and determine the cost of PJI treatment prior to referral to a PJI center., Methods: A review of our institution's PJI registry was performed to identify patients who had a chronic PJI treated with a 2-stage exchange arthroplasty at our PJI Center from 2017 to 2021. Patients not referred from an external location were excluded. Mortality at 90 days and 1 year was collected. The date of infection diagnosis until the date of referral was recorded. Outcomes were documented as failure of treatment at the final clinical follow-up. The number and type of prior infection treatments were documented for each patient. The estimated cost was calculated using established PJI literature., Results: There were 172 patients (182 joints) who met inclusion criteria during this timeframe. The 90-day and 1-year mortality rates were 0 and 3.9%, respectively. There was a higher failure rate in patients referred >90 days after the diagnosis of chronic PJI (23 versus 11%, P = 0.031). The total cost of PJI treatment prior to referral for this group of patients was $6.9 million., Conclusions: Implementation of a specialized PJI referral center leads to lower mortality rates, improved outcomes, and decreased cost for the health-care system., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR) and regenerative peripheral nerve interface (RPNI) prevent symptomatic neuroma formation in amputees. Forearm-level amputations present multiple muscular targets, making it challenging to determine the ideal treatment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the best TMR targets, role of RPNI, and appropriate patient-selection criteria in forearm-level amputations. We hypothesized that deep and distal TMR targets would best prevent symptomatic neuromas, RPNI would prove a success adjunct, and patients with poorly controlled diabetes would not develop symptomatic neuromas regardless of nerve management., Methods: We retrospectively identified forearm-level amputations performed between 2017 and 2022. Patients with TMR by outside providers, follow-up <6 months, or insufficient documentation were excluded. Demographics, surgical nerve management, and postoperative complications were collected. The primary outcome was development of a painful neuroma determined by the Eberlin criteria. Patients undergoing TMR were divided a priori into two groups, superficial and proximal versus deep and distal TMR targets, and were compared., Results: Thirty-nine patients met inclusion criteria, and 16 developed a symptomatic neuroma. No patients with a deep or distal TMR target developed a symptomatic neuroma. One nerve out of 12 treated with RPNI developed a symptomatic neuroma. No patient with poorly controlled diabetes developed a symptomatic neuroma, despite no advanced nerve management., Conclusions: In a case series of forearm amputations, deep and distal TMR targets prevented symptomatic neuroma formation more than superficial and proximal targets. Regenerative peripheral nerve interface is a useful adjunct for neuroma control, especially for the radial sensory nerve. Patients with poorly controlled diabetes may not require advanced nerve management., Level of Evidence: Level IV retrospective case series., 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.

The use of staple technology in the upper extremity has continued to evolve with the development of shape-memory alloys (SMAs) such as Nitinol that display superelastic properties that can be exploited for persistent compression. Clinical and biomechanical studies support the use of SMA staples for upper extremity fracture fixation and joint arthrodesis. To optimize biomechanical strength and clinical outcomes, it is recommended to place two staples, if possible, at the site of interest as well as to trough the staples to prevent hardware prominence., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Glenohumeral instability is a challenging problem in children and adolescents. For patients with anterior glenoid bone loss, the Latarjet procedure is an effective treatment option. However, concerns about coracoid size and morphology may limit its utilization within this patient population. The purpose of this study was to establish normative data on coracoid and glenoid size and morphology among a large cohort of adolescent patients and describe the anatomic relationships with demographic factors., Methods: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study of a consecutive series of 584 patients aged 12-21 years after a chest computed tomography scan for non-shoulder related trauma at a single level I trauma center. Demographic characteristics were collected from the electronic medical record, and the following coracoid anatomic measurements were obtained from computed tomography scans: coracoid length, coracoid thickness, coracoid width, glenoid height, and glenoid width. The ratio of coracoid thickness to glenoid width was calculated to estimate the percent bone loss that could be addressed with a traditional Latarjet coracoid transfer. To ensure reliability among 3 reviewers, all measured the same 25 scans and inter-rater reliability was excellent with all Kappa coefficients >0.81. The remaining scans were divided equally and assessed separately by these reviewers. Correlation coefficients were used to quantify the relationships between all anatomic measures and the age, weight, and height of individuals. Growth curves for each measurement were modeled using quantile regression with height and height∗height as predictors. Additionally, we stratified the growth curves by sex, when significant. Of the 584 subjects, 55% were male, and average age was 19 years (range 12, 21)., Results: All growth curves illustrated increase anatomic size across the height range of 145-190 cm. The growth curve including all patients (Fig. 1) illustrated that the 50% percentile of median coracoid length increased from approximately 28 to 32 mm. In addition to height, sex was a significant predictor for coracoid width and glenoid width. The median coracoid width increased from approximately 9.5 to 10.2 mm for females compared to an increased width from approximately 10 to 11 mm for males. The median glenoid width for females increased from approximately 21 to 25 mm and for males the median glenoid width increased from just under 22 to 25.5 mm., Conclusions: Among children and adolescents, coracoid and glenoid size are correlated with patient height. These data can help guide patient selection for the Latarjet procedure., (© 2023 The Authors.)

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic presented a novel challenge to modern healthcare systems and medical training. Resource allocation and risk mitigation dramatically affected resident training. The objective of this article is to develop new strategies to maintain a healthy, competent residency program while combating the unique challenges to resident education and wellness. In 2020, our institution implemented a revolving 3-Team system. While the "Inpatient-Team" delivered direct care, the "Back-up Team" and "Quarantine-Team" managed the telemedicine virtual clinic and education-wellness strategy, respectively. Our 3-Team system allowed delivery of safe, high-quality patient care while optimizing resident education, research, and wellness. The efficient use of technology led to both improved virtual education outside of the hospital and intentional wellness opportunities despite social distancing restrictions. Utilization of virtual platforms for patient care, education, research, and wellness grew out of necessity in this pandemic, yet represent an opportunity for lasting improvement. (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 31(3):150-154, 2022).

Following severe injury, biomineralization is disrupted and limited therapeutic options exist to correct these pathologic changes. This study utilized a clinically relevant murine model of polytrauma including a severe injury with concomitant musculoskeletal injuries to identify when bisphosphonate administration can prevent the paradoxical decrease of biomineralization in bone and increased biomineralization in soft tissues, yet not interfere with musculoskeletal repair., Introduction: Systemic and intrinsic mechanisms in bone and soft tissues help promote biomineralization to the skeleton, while preventing it in soft tissues. However, severe injury can disrupt this homeostatic biomineralization tropism, leading to adverse patient outcomes due to a paradoxical decrease of biomineralization in bone and increased biomineralization in soft tissues. There remains a need for therapeutics that restore the natural tropism of biomineralization in severely injured patients. Bisphosphonates can elicit potent effects on biomineralization, though with variable impact on musculoskeletal repair. Thus, a critical clinical question remains as to the optimal time to initiate bisphosphonate therapy in patients following a polytrauma, in which bone and muscle are injured in combination with a severe injury, such as a burn., Methods: To test the hypothesis that the dichotomous effects of bisphosphonates are dependent upon the time of administration relative to the ongoing biomineralization in reparative bone and soft tissues, this study utilized murine models of isolated injury or polytrauma with a severe injury, in conjunction with sensitive, longitudinal measure of musculoskeletal repair., Results: This study demonstrated that if administered at the time of injury, bisphosphonates prevented severe injury-induced bone loss and soft tissue calcification, but did not interfere with bone repair or remodeling. However, if administered between 7 and 21 days post-injury, bisphosphonates temporally and spatially localized to sites of active biomineralization, leading to impaired fracture callus remodeling and permanence of soft tissue calcification., Conclusion: There is a specific pharmacologic window following polytrauma that bisphosphonates can prevent the consequences of dysregulated biomineralization, yet not impair musculoskeletal regeneration., (© 2021. International Osteoporosis Foundation and National Osteoporosis Foundation.)

Purpose: The ideal method of central slip reconstruction is difficult to determine due to the multitude of techniques, nonstandardized outcome reporting, and small patient series in the literature. Although most boutonniere deformities may be treated with nonsurgical measures, chronic, subacute, or open injuries may require operative intervention. To aid surgeons in the choice of the ideal central slip reconstruction method, this biomechanical study compared the 3 most common methods performed at our institution: direct repair, lateral band centralization, and distally-based flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) slip repair., Methods: A boutonniere deformity was induced in 35 fresh-frozen cadaver digits. The central slip was repaired in 9 digits using a primary suture repair, in 9 digits using a lateral band centralization technique, and in 9 digits using a distally-based FDS slip reconstruction. A control group without injury was tested in 8 digits. Following repair or reconstruction, each digit was tested for load to failure, strain, and stiffness at the repair., Results: The average load to failure after central slip reconstruction was significantly greater for a distally based FDS slip method at 82.1 ± 14.6 N (95% CI, 62.2-101.9 N) than all other repair types. Although the FDS slip reconstruction was not as strong as the intact state (82.1 N vs 156.2 N, respectively), it was 2.6 times stronger than the lateral band centralization (82.1 N vs 31.6 N, respectively) and 3 times stronger than a primary repair (82.1 N vs 27.6 N, respectively)., Conclusions: Reconstruction of the central slip using a distally-based FDS slip provided the greatest biomechanical strength compared with the direct repair or lateral band centralization., Clinical Relevance: The use of a distally based reconstruction using FDS may allow for safer early motion., (Copyright © 2022 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Despite clinical and economic advantages, routine utilization of telemedicine remains uncommon. The purpose of this study was to examine potential disparities in access and utilization of telehealth services during the rapid transition to virtual clinic during the coronavirus pandemic., Design: Retrospective chart review., Setting: Outpatient visits (in-person, telephone, virtual-Doxy.me) over a 7-week period at a Level I Trauma Center orthopaedic clinic., Intervention: Virtual visits utilizing the Doxy.me platform., Main Outcome Measures: Accessing at least 1 virtual visit ("Virtual") or having telephone or in-person visits only ("No virtual")., Methods: All outpatient visits (in-person, telephone, virtual) during a 7-week period were tracked. At the end of the 7-week period, the electronic medical record was queried for each of the 641 patients who had a visit during this period for the following variables: gender, ethnicity, race, age, payer source, home zip code. Data were analyzed for both the total number of visits (n = 785) and the total number of unique patients (n = 641). Patients were identified as accessing at least 1 virtual visit ("Virtual") or having telephone or in-person visits only ("No virtual")., Results: Weekly totals demonstrated a rapid increase from 0 to greater than 50% virtual visits by the third week of quarantine with sustained high rates of virtual visits throughout the study period. Hispanic and Black/African American patients were able to access virtual care at similar rates to White/Caucasian patients. Patients of ages 65 to 74 and 75+ accessed virtual care at lower rates than patients ≤64 ( P  = .003). No difference was found in rates of virtual care between payer sources. A statistically significant difference was found between patients from different zip codes ( P  = .028)., Conclusion: A rapid transition to virtual clinic can be performed at a level 1 trauma center, and high rates of virtual visits can be maintained. However, disparities in access exist and need to be addressed., Competing Interests: Michael Bosse reports stock ownership in an orthopaedic implant company and grant funding from the Department of Defense. Joseph Hsu reports consultancy for Globus Medical and personal fees from Smith & Nephew speakers' bureau. All other authors do not have any conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association.)

Severely injured patients are beleaguered by complications during convalescence, such as dysregulated biomineralization. Paradoxically, severely injured patients experience the loss of bone (osteoporosis), resulting in diminished skeletal integrity and increased risk of fragility fractures; yet they also accrue mineralization in soft tissues, resulting in complications such as heterotopic ossification (HO). The pathophysiology leading to dysregulated biomineralization in severely injured patients is not well defined. It has been postulated that these pathologies are linked, such that mineralization is "transferred" from the bone to soft tissue compartments. The goal of this study was to determine if severe injury-induced osteoporosis and soft tissue calcification are temporally coincident following injury. Using a murine model of combined burn and skeletal muscle injury to model severe injury, it was determined that mice developed significant progressive bone loss, detectable as early as 3 days post injury, and marked soft tissue mineralization by 7 days after injury. The observed temporal concordance between the development of severe injury-induced osteoporosis and soft tissue mineralization indicates the plausibility that these complications share a common pathophysiology, though further experiments are required., Competing Interests: The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:Dr. Moore-Lotridge has no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.Dr. Ihejirka has no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.Ms. Gibson has no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.Dr. Posey is a member of the U.S. Air Force. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Air Force, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.Dr. Mignemi has no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.Dr. Cole has no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.Mr. Hawley has no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.Mr. Uppuganti has no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.Dr. Nyman has no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.Dr. Schoeencker is a member of the education advisory board at OrthoPediatrics, receives research funding from OrthoPediatrics, and research support from IONIS Pharmaceuticals, PXE International, the United States Department of Defense, and the National Institutes of Health., (© 2020 The Authors.)

Background: Following tissue injury, the acute phase response (APR) functions to survive and then repair injured tissue. An exuberant APR, which can be evoked by total knee arthroplasty (TKA), results in a hyper-inflammatory state, leading to pain, nausea, venous thromboembolism, or potentially life-threatening complications. Here, we observed the effects of peri-operative dexamethasone on the APR following TKA by trending C-reactive protein (CRP, mg/L) and fibrinogen (mg/dL). We hypothesize that the anti-inflammatory effects of dexamethasone can attenuate the APR after TKA and will be associated with decreased post-operative pain and nausea., Methods: A retrospective case-control study was performed on 188 unilateral TKA procedures. The patients were divided into a group receiving dexamethasone (10 mg intra-operatively and on post-operative day [POD] 1) and a group receiving no corticosteroids. Post-operative CRP, fibrinogen, morphine equivalents, and anti-emetic doses were recorded., Results: Compared to the non-steroid group, patients receiving dexamethasone yielded a significantly decreased CRP on POD0 (5.5 vs 8.3), POD1 (11.8 vs 22.0), and POD2 (85.5 vs 148.9). A significant decrease in fibrinogen in patients receiving dexamethasone was seen on POD2 (460.0 vs 530.2). There was an increase in fibrinogen within the dexamethasone cohort at the 2-week visit (535.4 vs 488.9). Post-operative morphine equivalents administered were significantly decreased in patients receiving dexamethasone, but no difference in anti-emetic use was appreciated., Conclusion: These data support the hypothesis that the APR following TKA can be attenuated pharmacologically by corticosteroids. Further studies are needed to determine whether the attenuation of the APR with the use of corticosteroids prevents complications following TKA., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The rate of venous thromboembolism in children with musculoskeletal infections (MSKIs) is markedly elevated compared with hospitalized children in general. Predictive biomarkers to identify high-risk patients are needed to prevent the significant morbidity and rare mortality associated with thrombotic complications. We hypothesize that overactivation of the acute phase response is associated with the development of pathologic thrombi and we aim to determine whether elevations in C-reactive protein (CRP) are associated with increased rates of thrombosis in pediatric patients with MSKI., Methods: A retrospective cohort study measuring CRP in pediatric MSKI patients with or without thrombotic complications., Results: The magnitude and duration of elevation in CRP values correlated with the severity of infection and the development of pathologic thrombosis. In multivariable logistic regression, every 20 mg/L increase in peak CRP was associated with a 29% increased risk of thrombosis (P<0.001). Peak and total CRP were strong predictors of thrombosis with area under the receiver-operator curves of 0.90 and 0.92, respectively., Conclusions: Future prospective studies are warranted to further define the discriminatory power of CRP in predicting infection-provoked thrombosis. Pharmacologic prophylaxis and increased surveillance should be strongly considered in patients with MSKI, particularly those with disseminated disease and marked elevation of CRP., Level of Evidence: Level III.

Background: Preoperative opioid use is widespread and associated with worse patient-reported outcomes following spine surgery., Objective: To calculate a threshold preoperative morphine equianalgesic (MEA) dose beyond which patients are less likely to achieve the minimum clinically important difference (MCID) following elective surgery for degenerative spine disease., Methods: The study included 543 cervical and 1293 lumbar patients. Neck Disability Index and Oswestry Disability Index scores were collected at baseline and 12 mo postoperatively. Preoperative MEA doses were calculated retrospectively. Multivariate logistic regression was then performed to determine the relationship between MEA dose and the odds of achieving MCID. As a part of this regression, Bayesian inference and Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods were used to estimate the values of inflection points (or "thresholds") in MEA., Results: Overall, 1020 (55.5%) patients used preoperative opioids. A total of 50.3% of cervical and 61.9% of lumbar patients achieved MCID. The final logistic regression model demonstrated that MCID achievement decreased significantly when mean preoperative MEA dose exceeded 47.8 mg/d, with a 95% credible interval of 29.0 to 60.0 mg/d., Conclusion: Minimum and maximum MEA doses exist, between which increasing opioid dose is associated with decreased ability to achieve clinically meaningful improvement following spine surgery. Patients with preoperative MEA dose exceeding 29 mg/d, the lower limit of the 95% credible interval for the mean MEA dose above which patients exhibit significantly decreased achievement of MCID, may be considered for preoperative opioid weaning.

Bone fractures create five problems that must be resolved: bleeding, risk of infection, hypoxia, disproportionate strain, and inability to bear weight. There have been enormous advancements in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that resolve these problems after fractures, and in best clinical practices of repairing fractures. We put forth a modern, comprehensive model of fracture repair that synthesizes the literature on the biology and biomechanics of fracture repair to address the primary problems of fractures. This updated model is a framework for both fracture management and future studies aimed at understanding and treating this complex process. This model is based upon the fracture acute phase response (APR), which encompasses the molecular mechanisms that respond to injury. The APR is divided into sequential stages of "survival" and "repair." Early in convalescence, during "survival," bleeding and infection are resolved by collaborative efforts of the hemostatic and inflammatory pathways. Later, in "repair," avascular and biomechanically insufficient bone is replaced by a variable combination of intramembranous and endochondral ossification. Progression to repair cannot occur until survival has been ensured. A disproportionate APR-either insufficient or exuberant-leads to complications of survival (hemorrhage, thrombosis, systemic inflammatory response syndrome, infection, death) and/or repair (delayed- or non-union). The type of ossification utilized for fracture repair is dependent on the relative amounts of strain and vascularity in the fracture microenvironment, but any failure along this process can disrupt or delay fracture healing and result in a similar non-union. Therefore, incomplete understanding of the principles herein can result in mismanagement of fracture care or application of hardware that interferes with fracture repair. This unifying model of fracture repair not only informs clinicians how their interventions fit within the framework of normal biological healing but also instructs investigators about the critical variables and outputs to assess during a study of fracture repair., Competing Interests: Compliance with Ethical StandardsFunding for this study was provided by the Vanderbilt Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation (J.G.S), the Caitlyn Lovejoy Foundation, and the National Institute of Health through RO1HL122238 (J.R.M) and RO1HL133153 (J.R.M). J.G.S. is a member of the education advisory board at Orthopediatrics, receives research funding from Orthopediatrics, and research support from IONIS Pharmaceuticals. J.G.S. and S.N.M.-L. receive research and training support from PXE International. All other authors have declared that no conflict of interest exists. In all studies where animals were involved, all applicable international, national, and institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.