The role of the patellar tendon angle and patellar flexion angle in the interpretation of sagittal plane kinematics of the knee after knee arthroplasty: A modelling analysis

BACKGROUND: Many different measures have been used to describe knee kinematics. This study investigated the changes of two measures, the patellar tendon angle and the patellar flexion angle, in response to variations in the geometry of the knee due to surgical technique or implant design. METHODS: A mathematical model was developed to calculate the equilibrium position of the extensor mechanism for a particular tibiofemoral position. Calculating the position of the extensor mechanism allowed for the determination of the patellar tendon angle and patellar flexion angle relationships to the knee flexion angle. The model was used to investigate the effect of anterior-posterior position of the femur, change in joint line, patellar thickness (overstuffing, understuffing), and patellar tendon length; these parameters were varied to determine the effect on the patellar tendon angle/knee flexion angle and patellar flexion angle/knee flexion angle relationships. RESULTS: The patellar tendon angle was a good indicator of anterior-posterior femoral position and change in patellar thickness, and the patellar flexion angle a good indicator of change in joint line, and patellar tendon length. CONCLUSIONS: The patellar tendon angle/knee flexion angle relationship was found to be an effective means of identifying abnormal kinematics post-knee arthroplasty. However, the use of both the patellar tendon angle and patellar flexion angle together provided a more informative overview of the sagittal plane kinematics of the knee

Return to Driving After Hip and Knee Arthroscopic Procedures: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Hip and knee arthroscopies are common orthopaedic procedures. As patients are looking to return to their regular schedules and regain their independence post-surgery, physicians often encounter the question of, “when can I drive again?” While safety of the patient is of the utmost importance when making these recommendations, it is equally important to consider the possibility of harm to others and potential legal ramifications. The purpose of this study is to consolidate evidence from available literature and undertake a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine when it is safe for patients to return to driving after hip and knee arthroscopic procedures.  Methods:  A systematic review was conducted using PRISMA guidelines. OVID, EMBASE, and COCHRANE databases were searched through June 2020 for articles containing keywords and/or MeSH terms “Hip arthroscopy” and “knee arthroscopy” in conjunction with “total brake response time” or “reaction time” in the context of automobile driving. Title review and full article review were done to assess quality and select relevant articles. Review Manager Version 5.4 was utilized for statistical analysis.   Results: 8 papers were included in the meta-analysis of Brake Reaction Time (BRT). Meta-analysis of all Knee BRTs showed times slower-than or equal-to-baseline BRTs through 5 weeks, with a trend of improving BRT from 6 to 10 weeks (only weeks 8 and 10 were significant P < 0.05). Of all Hip BRTs, week 2 showed slower-than-baseline BRTs, but after week 4 demonstrated a trend toward faster BRTs through week 8 (only week 8 was significant P < 0.05).   Conclusion: BRTs met baseline/control values and continued to improve after 6 weeks following knee arthroscopy and after 4 weeks following hip arthroscopy. Based on these results it would be safe to recommend return to driving at 6 weeks after knee arthroscopy and 4 weeks after hip arthroscopic procedures.  &nbsp

The role of the patellar tendon angle and patellar flexion angle in the interpretation of sagittal plane kinematics of the knee after knee arthroplasty: A modelling analysis

BACKGROUND: Many different measures have been used to describe knee kinematics. This study investigated the changes of two measures, the patellar tendon angle and the patellar flexion angle, in response to variations in the geometry of the knee due to surgical technique or implant design. METHODS: A mathematical model was developed to calculate the equilibrium position of the extensor mechanism for a particular tibiofemoral position. Calculating the position of the extensor mechanism allowed for the determination of the patellar tendon angle and patellar flexion angle relationships to the knee flexion angle. The model was used to investigate the effect of anterior-posterior position of the femur, change in joint line, patellar thickness (overstuffing, understuffing), and patellar tendon length; these parameters were varied to determine the effect on the patellar tendon angle/knee flexion angle and patellar flexion angle/knee flexion angle relationships. RESULTS: The patellar tendon angle was a good indicator of anterior-posterior femoral position and change in patellar thickness, and the patellar flexion angle a good indicator of change in joint line, and patellar tendon length. CONCLUSIONS: The patellar tendon angle/knee flexion angle relationship was found to be an effective means of identifying abnormal kinematics post-knee arthroplasty. However, the use of both the patellar tendon angle and patellar flexion angle together provided a more informative overview of the sagittal plane kinematics of the knee

Changing device regulations in the European Union – impact on research, innovation and clinical practice

Background Up until 2017, medical devices were placed on the European Union’s (EU) single market in accordance with either Medical Device Directive 93/42/EEC for general medical devices or Medical Device Directive 90/385/EEC for active implantable devices. However, some devices that complied with these directives still failed catastrophically. In the orthopaedic device field, these failures were most pronounced in metal-on-metal hip devices causing severe patient morbidity with increased need for revision surgery which had unpredictable outcomes. Subsequently, the newly introduced Medical Device Regulations 2017/745 are aimed at addressing patient safety based on previous experience and thorough device assessment prior to and post-release on the EU single market; to accommodate for this they are substantially different (and more stringent). This poses a greater challenge for manufacturers and regulatory bodies in terms of time and resources. Methods A review of the EU directives and published literature was undertaken. This review provides the rationale behind this change and its potential impact on research, industry, and clinical practice. Discussion The change in legal requirements for the medical devices to be put on the EU single market ultimately leads to increased patient safety, which is supported by clinical professionals. The new requirements for data transparency, post-market surveillance, and implant information availability increase the chance of catastrophic failure prevention. However, the exact method of implementation remains uncertain, and some essential rules on the data requirements for compliance have not yet been published by the EU. These limitations may limit the availability of products on the market including withdrawal of existing devices and a decrease in new medical device innovation. It is speculated that lack of new technologies within the medical device area can dramatically affect patient safety itself by not allowing potentially safer materials and methods on the EU single market, as the focus for the manufacturer becomes existing devices

How Accurate is the Use of Contralateral Implant Size as a Template in Bilateral Hemiarthroplasty?

Purpose Accurately predicting implant size for hemiarthroplasties offers an important contribution to theatre efficiency and patients’ intraoperative care. However, pre-operative sizing using templating of implants in hip fracture patients requiring a hemiarthroplasty is often difficult due to non-standard radiographs, absence of a calibration marker, poor marker placement, variable patient position, and in many institutions a lack of templating facilities. In patients who have previously undergone a hemiarthroplasty on the contralateral side, surgeons can use the contralateral implant size for pre-operative planning purposes. However, the accuracy of doing this has not previously been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the reliability of using an in situ contralateral implant as a predictor of implant size on the contralateral side. Methods A retrospective review of our local neck of femur fracture (NOF) database was undertaken to identify patients who had bilateral hip hemiarthroplasty. Operative records were reviewed to establish the size of prostheses used at operation. Correlation, agreement, and reliability analysis were performed using the least squares, Bland–Altman plot, and intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) methods, respectively. Results Operative records were identified for 45 patients who had bilateral hemiarthroplasties. There was a difference in implant size used in 58% of cases. Of these 77% required a larger implant on the right. Implant sizes were within 1 mm of the contralateral side in 78% and within 2 mm in 91% of patients. However, in 9% of patients, there was a discrepancy greater than 2 mm with some cases having up to 6 mm discrepancy. Correlation coefficient was 0.83 and the ICC 0.90. Conclusions The findings in this study indicated that using the size of a contralateral implant can be used as a reliable indicator of head size in cases of bilateral hemiarthroplasty. However, the surgeon should remain cautious as there is a one in ten chance of there being a 3 mm or more difference in implant size

To stop or not to stop: what should we be doing with biologic DMARDs when patients undergo orthopaedic surgery?

Management of biologic DMARDs in patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery is variable; flare avoidance is a priority

Doctor when can I drive? A systematic review and meta-analysis of return to driving after total hip arthroplasty

Background/Objective: Advice given to patients on driving resumption after total hip arthroplasty (THA) is inconsistent. Due to a lack of clear guidelines, surgeons’ recommendations range between 4–8 weeks after surgery to resume driving. Delays in driving return can have detrimental social and economic impact. However, it is important to ensure patients only resume driving once safe. This study presents a systematic review and meta-analysis of driving simulation studies after THA to establish when patients can safely return to driving postoperatively. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis using PRISMA guidelines was undertaken. Titles and abstracts were screened for inclusion, data was extracted, and studies assessed for bias risk. Review Manager, was used for statistical analysis. Values for brake reaction time (BRT) were included for meta-analysis. Results: 14 articles met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 7 measured BRT and were included in the meta-analysis. Pooled means of both right and left THA showed BRT around or above preoperative baseline at 1 week, 2 weeks and 3 weeks, and below baseline at 6 weeks, 12 weeks, 32 weeks and 52 weeks. Of these, the pooled means at 6, 32, and 52 weeks were significant (p < 0.05). Studies not meeting meta-analysis inclusion criteria were included in a qualitative analysis, examining self-reported postoperative driving return times which ranged from 6 days to over a year or in rare cases, never. Majority of patients (n = 960) self-reported driving return within approximately 6 weeks (pooling of mean values 32.9 days). Conclusions: The mean return to driving time recommended in the literature was 4.5 weeks. Based upon BRT meta-analysis, a return to baseline braking performance was noted at 6 weeks postoperatively. However, driving is a complex skill, and patient recommendation should be individualised based on factors such as vehicle transmission type, THA technique, surgical side, medication and comorbidities

Event-based knowledge elicitation of operating room management decision-making using scenarios adapted from information systems data

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>No systematic process has previously been described for a needs assessment that identifies the operating room (OR) management decisions made by the anesthesiologists and nurse managers at a facility that do not maximize the efficiency of use of OR time. We evaluated whether event-based knowledge elicitation can be used practically for rapid assessment of OR management decision-making at facilities, whether scenarios can be adapted automatically from information systems data, and the usefulness of the approach.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A process of event-based knowledge elicitation was developed to assess OR management decision-making that may reduce the efficiency of use of OR time. Hypothetical scenarios addressing every OR management decision influencing OR efficiency were created from published examples. Scenarios are adapted, so that cues about conditions are accurate and appropriate for each facility (e.g., if OR 1 is used as an example in a scenario, the listed procedure is a type of procedure performed at the facility in OR 1). Adaptation is performed automatically using the facility's OR information system or anesthesia information management system (AIMS) data for most scenarios (43 of 45). Performing the needs assessment takes approximately 1 hour of local managers' time while they decide if their decisions are consistent with the described scenarios. A table of contents of the indexed scenarios is created automatically, providing a simple version of problem solving using case-based reasoning. For example, a new OR manager wanting to know the best way to decide whether to move a case can look in the chapter on "Moving Cases on the Day of Surgery" to find a scenario that describes the situation being encountered.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Scenarios have been adapted and used at 22 hospitals. Few changes in decisions were needed to increase the efficiency of use of OR time. The few changes were heterogeneous among hospitals, showing the usefulness of individualized assessments.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our technical advance is the development and use of automated event-based knowledge elicitation to identify suboptimal OR management decisions that decrease the efficiency of use of OR time. The adapted scenarios can be used in future decision-making.</p

Living knowledge of the healing plants: Ethno-phytotherapy in the Chepang communities from the Mid-Hills of Nepal

Contribution of indigenous knowledge in developing more effective drugs with minimum or no side effects helped to realise importance of study of indigenous remedies and the conservation of biological resources. This study analysed indigenous knowledge regarding medicinal plants use among the Chepang communities from ward number 3 and 4 of Shaktikhor Village Development Committee located in the central mid hills of Nepal. Data were collected in a one-year period and included interviews with traditional healers and elders. Chepangs are rich in knowledge regarding use of different plants and were using a total 219 plant parts from 115 species including one mushroom (belonging 55 families) for medicinal uses. Out of these, 75 species had 118 different new medicinal uses and 18 of them were not reported in any previous documents from Nepal as medicinal plants. Spiritual belief, economy and limitation of alternative health facilities were cause of continuity of people's dependency on traditional healers. Change in socio-economic activities not only threatened traditional knowledge but also resource base of the area. Enforcement of local institution in management of forest resources and legitimating traditional knowledge and practices could help to preserve indigenous knowledge