Faculty Bibliography

Introduction/UNASSIGNED:The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of delayed closures, whether delayed primary closure (DPC) or split-thickness skin grafting (STSG), of operatively treated forearm fractures on short-term soft tissue outcomes. Methods/UNASSIGNED:In this retrospective cohort comparative study of two academic-level one trauma centers from 2010 to 2020, adult patients with diaphyseal forearm fractures who underwent open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) were either closed primarily at index surgery, or underwent delayed closure, either with DPC or with a STSG. Primary outcome measures were soft-tissue outcomes as measured by wound healing (delayed healing, dehiscence, or skin breakdown) and fracture-related infection (FRI) at time of final follow-up. Results/UNASSIGNED:Eighty-one patients with 81 diaphyseal forearm fractures underwent ORIF with a mean follow-up of 14.3 months. Forty-one fractures (50.6%) were open injuries. Thirteen patients (16.0%) were unable to be closed primarily and underwent an average of 2.46 ± 0.7 surgeries including final coverage, with an average of 4.31 ± 2.8 days to final coverage. Four patients (30.8%) underwent DPC and 9 (69.2%) underwent STSG. Five (6.6%) patients in the delayed closure group had pre-operative compartment syndrome and underwent formal two-incision fasciotomies. There were no significant differences between delayed versus primary closure in wound healing complication rates, FRI, or radiographic union. Conclusions/UNASSIGNED:Diaphyseal forearm fractures that undergo ORIF have equivalent short-term soft tissue outcomes when closed primarily at index surgery or when closed in a delayed fashion.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:Chronic use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for the treatment of depression has been linked to an imbalance in bone metabolism leading to osteoporosis. More recently, the use of SSRIs in murine models has been shown to delay bone healing both in vivo and in vitro by decreasing the osteoblastic differentiation and mineralization. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether or not chronic use of SSRI's in nonunion patients increases their time to union after surgical intervention. METHODS:We retrospectively analyzed 343 patients in a nonunion database to determine which patients were on SSRI medication. Of these patients, 139 could be contacted and of those 102 were not taking SSRIs and 37 were taking SSRIs. Patient's time to union from nonunion surgical intervention between each cohort at our institution was recorded as the primary outcome. Patient's medical comorbidities that could affect union rates such as diabetes and smoking status were also noted. Baseline Short Musculoskeletal Function Assessment (SMFA) index for bother and function were recorded from the time of nonunion surgery as well as last follow-up. RESULTS:Compared to recent census data, we found significantly more patients in the nonunion cohort using SSRIs (26.6%) than patients in the general population using any type of antidepressant (11%). There was no significant difference in the patients' baseline characteristics other than patients on SSRI treatment had a higher body mass index (BMI) and age (p = 0.048 and p = 0.043, respectively). There was no significant difference noted in the fracture types (p = 0.2063). Patients on SSRIs had a higher SMFA bother index and function index on follow-up (p = 0.0103, p = 0.0147). Patients in the SSRI group had a mean time to union from nonunion surgery of 6.1 months compared to 6.0 in patients without SSRI usage (p = 0.74). These did not reach statistical significance when subcohort analysis for long bone fractures was performed for the femur, tibia, and humerus. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:To our knowledge, this is the first clinical study to investigate the effects of SSRIs on fracture healing. While in vivo and in vitro murine models have shown that SSRIs can have a deleterious effect on osteoblastic activity, our retrospective analysis did not show a significant difference in time to union between patients with chronic SSRI use and patients who have not been on SSRIs. However, this investigation did show a higher incidence of SSRI use in the nonunion cohort when compared to the general population. In the context of the recent animal model study, this may point to a negative effect of SSRI use on the acute fracture healing process.

Background Smoking, obesity, and being below a healthy body weight are known to increase all-cause mortality rates and are considered modifiable risk factors. The purpose of this study is to assess whether adding these risk factors to a validated geriatric inpatient mortality risk tool will improve the predictive capacity for hip fracture patients. We hypothesize that the predictive capacity of the Score for Trauma Triage in the Geriatric and Middle-Aged (STTGMA) tool will improve. Methodology Between October 2014 and August 2021, 2,421 patients >55-years-old treated for hip fractures caused by low-energy mechanisms were analyzed for demographics, injury details, hospital quality measures, and mortality. Smoking status was recorded as a current every-day smoker, former smoker, or never smoker. Smokers (current and former) were compared to non-smokers (never smokers). Body mass index (BMI) was defined as underweight (<18.5 kg/m²), healthy weight (18.5-24.9 kg/m²), overweight (25.0-24.9 kg/m²), or obese (>30 kg/m²). The baseline STTGMA tool for hip fractures (STTGMAHIP_FX_SCORE) was modified to include patients' BMI and smoking status (STTGMA_MODIFIABLE), and new mortality risk scores were calculated. Each model's predictive ability was compared using DeLong's test by analyzing the area under the receiver operating curves (AUROCs). Comparative analyses were conducted on each risk quartile. Results A comparison of smokers versus non-smokers demonstrated that smokers experienced higher rates of inpatient (p = 0.025) and 30-day (p = 0.048) mortality, myocardial infarction (p < 0.01), acute respiratory failure (p < 0.01), and a longer length of stay (p = 0.014). Comparison among BMI cohorts demonstrated that underweight patients experienced higher rates of pneumonia (p = 0.033), decubitus ulcers (p = 0.046), and the need for an intensive care unit (ICU) (p < 0.01). AUROC comparison demonstrated that STTGMA_MODIFIABLE significantly improved the predictive capacity for inpatient mortality compared to STTGMAHIP_FX_SCORE (0.792 vs. 0.672, p = 0.0445). Quartile stratification demonstrated the highest risk cohort had a longer length of stay (p < 0.01), higher rates of inpatient (p < 0.01) and 30-day mortality (p < 0.01), and need for an ICU (p < 0.01) compared to the minimal risk cohort. Patients in the lowest risk quartile were most likely to be discharged home (p < 0.01). Conclusions Smoking, obesity, and being below a healthy body weight increase the risk of perioperative complications and poor outcomes. Including smoking and BMI improves the STTGMAHIP_FX_SCORE tool to predict mortality and risk stratify patient outcomes. Because smoking, obesity, and being below a healthy body weight are modifiable patient factors, providers can counsel patients and implement lifestyle changes to potentially decrease their risk of longer-term poor outcomes, especially in the setting of another fracture. For patients who are former smokers, providers can use this information to encourage continued restraint and healthy choices.

BACKGROUND:The ability to predict long-term outcomes following surgical fixation of proximal humerus fractures would help identify patients at risk of poor functional outcomes. The purpose of this study was to develop a simple score based on preoperative data that can accurately predict functional outcomes for patients following operative management of proximal humerus fractures. METHODS:Over a 12-year period, all proximal humerus fractures surgically treated with a locked proximal humerus plate at a single institution were enrolled in a prospective database. Inclusion criteria in this analysis were any patient with a minimum of a one-year functional outcome score. Patients were assigned to the poor outcome cohort if their Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) score at that time point was greater than 10 points above the mean DASH score. Logistic regression was used to build a predictive formula for cohort membership using p < 0.15 and an area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUROC) value was calculated to define the overall predictive capacity. RESULTS:A total of 165 patients with an average age of 60.91±13.5 years met the inclusion criteria, with 47 (28.5%) patients assigned to the poor outcome group and 118 (71.5%) patients assigned to the good outcome group. Older age (p = 0.088), BMI (p = 0.019), age-adjusted CCI (p = 0.001), non-Caucasian race (p = 0.017), no college degree (p < 0.0005), unemployed (p < 0.0005), and worker's compensation case (p = 0.002) were found to be significant predictors of poorer outcome and were used to create a final formula through logistic regression which predicted the probability of a poor outcome (Nagelkerke R Square = 0.403; Hosmer and Lemeshow = 0.902; AUROC = 0.839 [CI: 0.762-0.917]). Once each patient was assigned a score, cutoff values were defined that divided the cohort into three groups. High-risk patients had a score above 50%, and 19 (73.1%) of these patients had a poor outcome. CONCLUSIONS:The POSY score is a tool that can predict the functional outcome at one year or greater following surgical intervention for a proximal humerus fracture. Patients who score above 50% are considered at high risk for a poor functional outcome. In the era of value-based care, the POSY score may be used to direct resource utilization while improving outcomes.

Background The incidence of geriatric hip fractures, respiratory infections (e.g., coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), influenza), and mortality is higher during the fall and winter. The purpose of this study is to assess whether the addition of seasonality to a validated geriatric inpatient mortality risk tool will improve the predictive capacity and risk stratification for geriatric hip fracture patients. We hypothesize that seasonality will improve the predictive capacity. Methodology Between October 2014 and August 2021, 2,421 patients >55-year-old treated for hip fracture were analyzed for demographics, date of presentation, COVID-19 status (for patients after February 2020), and mortality. Patients were grouped by season based on their admission dates into the following four cohorts: fall (September-November), winter (December-February), spring (March-May), and summer (June-August). Patients presenting during the fall/winter and spring/summer were compared. The baseline Score for Trauma Triage in the Geriatric and Middle-Aged (STTGMA) tool for hip fractures (STTGMAHIP_FX_SCORE) and the seasonality iteration (STTGMA_SEASON) were also compared. Sub-analysis was conducted on 687 patients between February 2020 and August 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The baseline score (STTGMAHIP_FX_SCORE) and the COVID-19 iteration (STTGMACOVID_ORIGINAL_2020) were modified to include seasonality (STTGMA_COVID/SEASON). Patients were stratified by risk score and compared. The predictive ability of the models was compared using DeLong's test. Results For the overall cohort, patients who presented during the fall/winter had a higher rate of inpatient mortality (2.87% vs. 1.25%, p < 0.01). STTGMA_SEASON improved the predictive capacity for inpatient mortality compared to STTGMAHIP_FX_SCORE but not significantly (0.773 vs. 0.672, p = 0.105) On sub-analysis, regression weighting showed a coefficient of 0.643, with fall and winter having a greater absolute effect size (fall = 2.572, winter = 1.929, spring = 1.286, summer = 0.643). STTGMA_COVID/SEASON improved the predictive capacity for inpatient mortality compared to STTGMAHIP_FX_SCORE (0.882 vs. 0.581, p < 0.01) and STTGMACOVID_ORIGINAL_2020 (0.882 vs. 0.805, p = 0.04). The highest risk quartile contained 89.5% of patients who expired during their index inpatient hospitalization (p < 0.01) and 68.2% of patients who died within 30 days of discharge (p < 0.01). Conclusions Seasonality may play a role in both the incidence and impact of COVID-19 and additional respiratory infections. Including seasonality improves the predictive capacity and risk stratification of the STTGMA tool during the COVID-19 pandemic. This allows for effective triage and closer surveillance of high-risk geriatric hip fracture patients by better accounting for the increased respiratory infection incidence and the associated mortality risk seen during fall and winter.

PURPOSE/UNASSIGNED:The purpose of this study was to investigate if early postoperative ambulation metrics affect hospital quality measures and 1-year outcomes in operative hip fracture patients. METHODS/UNASSIGNED:A consecutive series of hip fracture patients [OTA/AO 31A, 31B, 32A-C] who underwent operative treatment were reviewed for demographic and clinical data. Chart review was performed to determine participation with physical therapy [PT] and ambulation distance on postoperative day (POD) 1, 3, and 5. POD1 ambulators and non-ambulators were statistically compared. Outcome correlates of postoperative ambulation distance were investigated by univariate and multivariate linear and logistic regression. RESULTS/UNASSIGNED: = 0.0353). CONCLUSIONS/UNASSIGNED:Failure to ambulate on POD1 following hip fracture surgery in >55 years is associated with an increased risk of in-hospital complications and mortality. Every effort should be made address this modifiable risk factor and mobilise patients on POD1 to improve patient outcomes.

SUMMARY/CONCLUSIONS:We present the case of a 53-year-old male laborer who slipped and fell on ice and had acute right shoulder pain. Plain radiographs and a computed tomography scan of the scapula were obtained that demonstrated a comminuted and displaced extra-articular scapula body fracture with approximately 2 cm of medialization of the glenoid. The anatomy, examination, diagnosis, and surgical approach options are reviewed. In this case, open reduction and internal fixation of the scapula is performed through a modified Judet approach. At the 3-month postoperative visit, radiographs demonstrated a healed scapula fracture. The patient was allowed to return to work as a laborer. A modified Judet approach can be performed for surgical fixation of comminuted and displaced extra-articular scapula body fractures with excellent clinical results.

SUMMARY/CONCLUSIONS:This is the case of a 12-year-old boy presented with a displaced radial and ulnar shaft fracture. Historically, these fractures were managed conservatively with closed reduction and cast immobilization; however, there has been an increasing trend toward operative fixation. Malalignment is an indication for operative fixation of pediatric both bone forearm fractures. Flexible nailing was performed in this case because of the small incisions, minimal tissue disruption, shorter operative time, and ease of implant removal. Five years postoperatively, the patient's fracture was healed. Patient presented with an excellent clinical outcome including full range of motion and no pain. He had full strength of his arm and no deficits.

SUMMARY/CONCLUSIONS:A case of a 27-year-old man with a right-sided largely infra-foveal femoral head fracture dislocation with posterior wall acetabular fracture repaired via a Kocher-Langenbeck approach is presented. This is an atypical approach for fixation of the femoral head and acetabulum used because of the size and displacement of both the posterior wall fracture and the femoral head fracture. Indications for fixation of both the femoral head and the acetabulum include a displaced acetabular fracture with: (1) a fracture of the weight-bearing portion of the femoral head and/or (2) a fracture of the femoral head that engages the anterior or posterior wall. Overall, midterm outcomes are expected to be excellent to good if anatomic reduction and a concentrically stable hip joint is restored.