Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND: To compare 30-day outcomes in patients treated for a distal femur (DF) fracture with plate fixation (PF) or intramedullary nail (IMN). METHODS: Differences in rates of any adverse events (AAE), serious adverse events (SAE), infectious complications, and mortality were explored between groups in the ACS-NSQIP database. RESULTS: There were 511 PF and 44 IMN patients. The PF group and IMN groups had similar rates of AAEs (p = 0.35), SAEs (p = 0.46), infectious complications (p = 1.00), and mortality (p = 0.39). CONCLUSIONS: DF fractures treated with IMN have equivalent short-term outcomes compared to those treated with PF.

PURPOSE: To compare and contrast postoperative complications in the geriatric population following open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) for (DF) fractures relative to femoral neck (FN) fractures. METHODS: Patients aged 65 years and older in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database who underwent ORIF for FN fractures or DF fractures from 2005 to 2012 were identified. Differences in rates of any adverse events (AAEs), serious adverse events (SAEs), infectious complications, and mortality between groups were explored using univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: The DF cohort had a higher proportion of females (81.95% vs 71.35%, P < .001), were younger (79.41 +/- 7.93 vs 82.11 +/- 7.26 years old, P < .001), and had a lower age adjusted modified Charlson comorbidity index score (4.22 +/- 1.32 vs 4.49 +/- 1.35, P = .02). Cases with DF and FN did not differ in AAE (20.05% vs 20.20%, P = .94), SAE (12.03% vs 13.19%, P = .51), infectious complication (4.26% vs 4.22%, P = .97), hospital length of stay (7.32 +/- 6.73 days vs 7.02 +/- 10.67 days, P = .59), or mortality rates (4.51% vs 5.99%, P = .23). Multivariate analyses revealed that fracture type did not impact AAE (P = .28), SAE (P = .58), infectious complications (P = .83), or mortality (P = .85) rates. CONCLUSION: Postoperative morbidity and mortality of geriatric patients who sustain DF and FN fractures treated operatively were comparable. This information can be used when risk stratifying and prognosticating for elderly patients undergoing these procedures.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of diabetes mellitus (DM) and associated complications on cost, length of stay, and inpatient mortality after open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) of an ankle fracture, and the implications of these variables during a time of health care payment reform. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: The Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System database, which includes all admissions to New York State hospitals from 2000 to 2011. PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS: A total of 58,748 patients were identified as having undergone the primary procedure of ORIF of the ankle (ICD-9-CM procedure code 79.36). INTERVENTION: ORIF of the ankle. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Cost, length of stay, and inpatient mortality. RESULTS: Of the 58,748 patients evaluated, 7501 (12.8%) had DM. Mean length of stay and total hospital charges were significantly greater for the DM cohort compared to the without DM cohort (P < 0.01). Patients with DM had greater Charlson Comorbidity Index scores and greater in-hospital mortality than patients without DM (both P < 0.01). Of the patients with diabetes, 1098/7501 had complicated diabetes mellitus (C-DM). Patients with C-DM stayed 2.4 days longer and were $6895 more costly than those with diabetes alone (both P < 0.01). Patients with C-DM also had a significantly higher in-hospital mortality rate than those with diabetes alone. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with diabetes admitted to the hospital for ankle ORIF have more expensive hospital stays and higher in-hospital mortality rates than patients without diabetes. The presence of diabetic complications further increases these risks. These data will help provide risk-adjustment for future health care payment reform initiatives. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

OBJECTIVE: There continues to be controversy over whether operative delay is necessary for patients on antiplatelet therapy, particularly for elderly patients with hip fractures. This study sought to assess current clinical practices of orthopedic surgeons regarding perioperative management of these patients. METHODS: A 12-question, Web-based survey was distributed to orthopedic surgeons via e-mail. Questions regarding timing of surgery assumed patients were on antiplatelet therapy and assessed attitudes toward emergent and nonemergent orthopedic cases as well as operative delay for specific closed fracture types. Responses were compared using unpaired, 2-tailed Student t tests for continuous variables and Pearson chi-square tests with odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for categorical variables. Statistical significance was defined as a P value <.05. RESULTS: Overall 67 orthopedic surgeons responded. Fifty-two percent (n = 35) of the respondents described their practice as academic. Thirty-nine percent (n = 25) of the surgeons indicated that no delay was acceptable for urgent but nonemergent surgery, and 78% (n = 50) reported no delay for emergent surgery was acceptable. Sixty-eight percent (n = 46) of respondents felt patients on antiplatelet therapy with closed hip fractures did not require operative delay. Surgeons who opted for surgical delay in hip fractures were more likely to delay surgery in other lower extremity fracture types (OR = 16.4, 95% CI 4.48-60.61, P < .001). Sixty-four percent (n = 41) of the surgeons indicated there was no protocol in place at their institution. CONCLUSIONS: There continues to be wide variability among orthopedic surgeons with regard to management of patients with fracture on antiplatelet therapy. Over a quarter of surgeons continue to opt for surgical delay in patients with hip fracture. This survey highlights the need to formulate and better disseminate practice management guidelines for patients with fracture on antiplatelet therapy, particularly given the aging population in the United States.

OBJECTIVES:: To quantify the impact of compartment syndrome in the setting of tibial shaft fracture on hospital length of stay and total hospital charges. DESIGN:: Retrospective case-control study. SETTING:: All New York State hospital admissions from 2001-2011, as recorded by the New York Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS) database. PATIENTS:: 33,629 inpatients with isolated open or closed fractures of the tibia and/or fibula (AO/OTA 41-43). 692 patients developed a compartment syndrome in the setting of tibia fracture. All patients were filtered to ensure none had other complications or medical comorbidities that would increase length of stay or total hospital charges. INTERVENTION:: Fasciotomy and delayed closure in patients who developed a compartment syndrome. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE:: Hospital length of stay (days) and total inflation-adjusted hospital charges RESULTS:: A total of 33,629 patients with tibial shaft fracture were included in the study. There were 32,937 patients who did not develop a compartment syndrome. For this group, the mean length of stay was 6 days and the mean inflation-adjusted hospital charges were $34,000. Patients who developed compartment syndrome remained in-house for an average of 14 days with average charges totaling $79,000. These differences were highly significant for both lengths of stay and hospital charges (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION:: Besides the obvious physical detriment experienced by patients with compartment syndrome, there is also a significant economic impact to the healthcare system. Compartment syndrome following a tibial fracture more than doubles length of stay and total hospital charges. These findings highlight the need for a standardized care algorithm aimed towards efficiently and adequately treating acute compartment syndrome. Such an algorithm would optimize cost of care and presumably decrease length of stay. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE:: Economic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the relationship between mechanism of injury and mortality in geriatric trauma patients and the ability of existing injury severity indices (ISIs) to assess mortality. DESIGN: Retrospective review. SETTING: Urban level 1 trauma center. PARTICIPANTS: Four thousand five hundred forty-five trauma patients age >/=55 presenting between 2008 and 2011. INTERVENTION: Low-energy (LE-GTP) and high-energy (HE-GTP) geriatric trauma patient cohorts were created based on ICD-9 injury codes. Existing ISIs were evaluated for their ability to predict in-hospital mortality using the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUROC). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mortality. RESULTS: The Trauma Score-Injury Severity Score (TRISS) was the most predictive ISI for both cohorts and was deemed to have moderate predictive capacity (AUROC: 0.82) in LE-GTP and excellent predictive capacity (AUROC: 0.91) in the HE-GTP. For, HE-GTP each 1-year increase in age was associated with a 12% increase risk of mortality versus 6% for LE-GTP. Preexisting conditions (PECs) were distributed differently between the cohorts with significantly more PECs in the LE-GTP (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Existing ISIs have fair-to-moderate predictive capacity for in-hospital morality in LE-GTPs and moderate-to-excellent predictive capacity in HE-GTPs. LE-GTPs and HE-GTPs are distinct cohorts that should be evaluated separately. Combining the cohorts underestimates both the effect of age on HE-GTPs and the effect of PECs on LE-GTPs while overestimating the effect of PECs on HE-GTPs. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Today's increasingly complex health-care landscape requires that physicians take an active role in minimizing health-care costs and expenditures. Judicious choice of implants, a fracture-driven treatment algorithm, capitation models, use of generic fracture implants, and reuse of external fixation constructs all represent mechanisms that can result in substantial savings. In some health-care environments, these cost savings programs may be directly linked to physician reimbursement in the form of gainsharing plans. Evidence-based critical evaluations of implant usage patterns are necessary to help control implant-related health-care spending but are lacking in the current literature. Physicians need to acknowledge their influence and responsibility in this realm and assume an active role to help reduce costs.

INTRODUCTION: Elderly patients are at risk of fracture nonunion, given the potential setting of osteopenia, poorer fracture biology, and comorbid medical conditions. Risk factors predicting fracture nonunion may compromise the success of fracture nonunion surgery. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of patient age on clinical and functional outcome following long bone fracture nonunion surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data identified 288 patients (aged 18-91) who were indicated for long bone nonunion surgery. Two-hundred and seventy-two patients satisfied study inclusion criteria and analyses were performed comparing elderly patients aged >/=65 years (n = 48) with patients <65 years (n = 224) for postoperative wound complications, Short Musculoskeletal Functional Assessment (SMFA) functional status, healing, and surgical revision. Regression analyses were performed to look for associations between age, smoking status, and history of previous nonunion surgery with healing and functional outcome. Twelve-month follow-up was obtained on 91.5% (249 of 272) of patients. RESULTS: Despite demographic differences in the aged population, including a predominance of medical comorbidities (P < .01) and osteopenia (P = .02), there was no statistical differences in the healing rate of elderly patients (95.8% vs 95.1%, P = .6) or time to union (6.2 +/- 4.1 months vs. 7.2 +/- 6.6, P = .3). Rates of postoperative wound complications and surgical revision did not statistically differ. Elderly patients reported similar levels of function up to 12 months after surgery. Regression analyses failed to show any significant association between age and final union or time to union. There was a strong positive association between smoking and history of previous nonunion surgery with time to union. Age was associated (positively) with 12-month SMFA activity score. CONCLUSIONS: Smoking and failure of previous surgical intervention were associated with nonunion surgery outcomes. Patient's age at the time of surgery was not associated with achieving union. Advanced age was generally not associated with poorer nonunion surgery outcomes.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to compare the functional outcomes and quality of life of older and younger patients with similarly treated distal femur fractures. METHODS: We conducted an assessment of 57 patients who sustained distal femur fractures (Orthopaedic Trauma Association Type 33B, C) and underwent surgical treatment at our academic medical center. Patients were divided into 2 groups for analysis: an elderly cohort of patients aged 65 or older and a comparison cohort of patients younger than age of 65. A retrospective review of demographics, preoperative ambulatory status, radiographic data, and physical examination data was collected from the medical records. Follow-up functional data were collected via telephone at a mean of 2.5 years (range 6 months-8 years) using a Short Musculoskeletal Functional Assessment (SMFA). All patients underwent standard operative treatment of either nail or plate fixation. RESULTS: There was no statistical difference in gender, fracture type, surgical technique, surgeon, or institution where the surgery was performed. The percentage of patients with healed fractures at 6-months follow-up was not significantly different between the cohorts. The elderly cohort had slightly worse knee range of motion at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively but there was not a statistically significant difference between the groups. The SMFA Daily Activity, Functional, and Bother indices were significantly worse in the older cohort (P < .01, P = .01, P = .02, respectively). However, there was no significant difference in the SMFA Emotional or Mobility indices. CONCLUSION: Despite lower quality of life and functional scores, this study suggests that relatively good clinical outcomes can be achieved with surgical fixation of distal femoral fractures in the elderly patients. Age should not be used as a determinate in deciding against operative treatment of distal femur fractures in the elderly patients.

Open knee joint injuries are potentially devastating injuries if not properly diagnosed and treated. Current diagnostic techniques, such as the saline load test (SLT), are based on outdated literature. Diagnosis of traumatic arthrotomies via the presence of intra-articular air on computed tomography (CT) scan has recently been shown to be 100% sensitive and specific to detect these injuries. Additionally, open knee joint injuries have a high rate of associated periarticular fractures (51%). The workhorse open surgical approach to the knee is the medial parapatellar approach; however, arthroscopic irrigation and debridement (I&D) should be considered in the setting of small puncture wounds (e.g., gunshot wounds). Antibiotic therapy following I&D of an open knee joint injury includes 24 to 48 hours of intravenous antibiotics. Oral antibiotic therapy can be administered afterwards for 3 to 5 days if the original injury was grossly contaminated. Ultimately, a unified management algorithm for open knee joint injuries based on current literature should be followed to ensure appropriate diagnosis and treatment of this potentially devastating injury.