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The optimal entry point for antegrade intramedullary nailing of femoral shaft fractures remains controversial. The purpose of this systematic review was to determine whether there is a difference in operative parameters, healing, and functional outcome when comparing the greater trochanter (GT) and piriformis fossa (PF) entry points. A systematic search of multiple databases and 3 major orthopedic meetings (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Canadian Orthopaedic Association, and Orthopaedic Trauma Association) was conducted. Four studies (570 patients) met the inclusion criteria. Mean patient age was 34.5 years, and 60.4% were male. The GT entry point was associated with significantly shorter operative (mean difference [MD], −20.05 minutes [95% confidence interval (CI), −23.09 to −17.02]; The optimal entry point for antegrade intramedullary nailing of femoral shaft fractures remains controversial. The purpose of this systematic review was to determine whether there is a difference in operative parameters, healing, and functional outcome when comparing the greater trochanter (GT) and piriformis fossa (PF) entry points. A systematic search of multiple databases and 3 major orthopedic meetings (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Canadian Orthopaedic Association, and Orthopaedic Trauma Association) was conducted. Four studies (570 patients) met the inclusion criteria. Mean patient age was 34.5 years, and 60.4% were male. The GT entry point was associated with significantly shorter operative (mean difference [MD], −20.05 minutes [95% confidence interval (CI), −23.09 to −17.02]; P <.00001) and fluoroscopy times (MD, −24.55 seconds [95% CI, −43.23 to −5.86]; P =.01). There was no significant difference in nonunion (risk ratio [RR], 0.74 [95% CI, 0.35 to 1.58]; P =.44) and delayed union rates (RR, 0.94 [95% CI, 0.41 to 2.14]; P =.88) between the 2 entry points. Heterogeneity in outcome measures reported prevented pooled analysis of functional outcomes. This review supports the use of the GT entry point during antegrade nailing of femoral shaft fractures over the PF entry point, with regard to shorter operative and fluoroscopy times. Healing and complication rates were not related to the entry point. Further study is required to determine the effect of each entry point on the surrounding soft tissue structures and ultimately its impact on postoperative function. [ Orthopedics. 2016; 39(1):e43–e50.]

The repair of segmental bone defects remains a significant challenge for orthopaedic surgeons. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have successfully promoted the repair of acute defects in animal models; however, the ability of EPCs to induce the repair of chronic nonhealing defects, such as those often encountered clinically, has not been investigated. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the ability of EPCs delivered in delayed fashion to induce the repair of nonhealing defects in a clinically relevant model. In order to simulate delayed treatment, 5 mm segmental defects in Fischer 344 rat femora were treated with bone marrow-derived EPCs on a Gelfoam scaffold at 3 weeks post creation of the defect. At ten weeks posttreatment, 100% of EPC-treated defects achieved union, whereas complete union was only achieved in 37.5% of defects treated with Gelfoam alone. Furthermore, significant increases in ultimate torque (p=0.022) and torsional stiffness (p=0.003) were found in EPC-treated defects compared to controls. Critically, no differences in outcomes were observed between acute and delayed EPC treatments. These results suggest that EPCs can enhance bone healing when applied in an acute or delayed fashion and that their use may represent a clinically translatable therapy for bone healing in humans.

Acute compartment syndrome (ACS) is a potentially reversible orthopedic surgical emergency leading to tissue ischemia and ultimately cell death. Diagnosis of ACS can be challenging, as neither clinical symptoms nor signs are sufficiently sensitive. The cardinal symptom associated with ACS is pain reported in excess of what would otherwise be expected for the underlying injury, and not reasonably managed by opioid-based analgesia. Regional anesthesia (RA) techniques are traditionally discouraged in clinical settings where the development of ACS is a concern as sensory and motor nerve blockade may mask symptoms and signs of ACS. This Education article addresses the most common trauma and elective orthopedic surgical procedures in adults with a view towards assessing their respective risk of ACS and offering suggestions regarding the suitability of RA for each type of surgery.

Observational studies have suggested that accelerated surgery is associated with improved outcomes in patients with a hip fracture. The HIP ATTACK trial assessed whether accelerated surgery could reduce mortality and major complications. HIP ATTACK was an international, randomised, controlled trial done at 69 hospitals in 17 countries. Patients with a hip fracture that required surgery and were aged 45 years or older were eligible. Research personnel randomly assigned patients (1:1) through a central computerised randomisation system using randomly varying block sizes to either accelerated surgery (goal of surgery within 6 h of diagnosis) or standard care. The coprimary outcomes were mortality and a composite of major complications (ie, mortality and non-fatal myocardial infarction, stroke, venous thromboembolism, sepsis, pneumonia, life-threatening bleeding, and major bleeding) at 90 days after randomisation. Patients, health-care providers, and study staff were aware of treatment assignment, but outcome adjudicators were masked to treatment allocation. Patients were analysed according to the intention-to-treat principle. This study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02027896). Between March 14, 2014, and May 24, 2019, 27 701 patients were screened, of whom 7780 were eligible. 2970 of these were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive accelerated surgery (n=1487) or standard care (n=1483). The median time from hip fracture diagnosis to surgery was 6 h (IQR 4–9) in the accelerated-surgery group and 24 h (10–42) in the standard-care group (p<0·0001). 140 (9%) patients assigned to accelerated surgery and 154 (10%) assigned to standard care died, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0·91 (95% CI 0·72 to 1·14) and absolute risk reduction (ARR) of 1% (−1 to 3; p=0·40). Major complications occurred in 321 (22%) patients assigned to accelerated surgery and 331 (22%) assigned to standard care, with an HR of 0·97 (0·83 to 1·13) and an ARR of 1% (−2 to 4; p=0·71). Among patients with a hip fracture, accelerated surgery did not significantly lower the risk of mortality or a composite of major complications compared with standard care. Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Background Despite modern fracture management techniques allowing for near anatomic reduction of acetabular fractures, there continues to be a risk of posttraumatic arthritis and need for total hip arthroplasty (THA). Few well-controlled studies have compared THA after acetabular fractures with THAs performed for other indications in terms of survivorship or complications, and none, to our knowledge, present 10-year survivorship data in this setting. Questions/purposes (1) How does the 10-year survival of THA compare between those patients who underwent THA after an acetabular fracture and those who underwent THA for primary arthritis or avascular necrosis (AVN)? (2) Is there an increased risk of serious complications like infection, dislocation, and aseptic loosening as well as heterotopic ossification associated with a THA performed after a previous acetabular fracture? Methods This retrospective case-control study compared findings of patients who underwent THA after acetabular fracture versus a matched cohort of patients who had received a primary THA for primary osteoarthritis or AVN. Between 1987 and 2011, we performed 95 THAs after acetabular fracture; of those, 74 (78%) met inclusion criteria and had documented followup beyond 2 years in our institutional registry. We selected 74 matched patients based on an algorithm that matched patients based on preoperative diagnosis, date of operation, age, gender, and type of prosthesis. During this time, we performed approximately 8000 THAs that were potentially available for matching based on complete followup beyond 2 years. We compared cases and control subjects using the Kaplan-Meier survivorship estimator as well as a comparison of the proportions in each group that developed major complications (including infection, dislocation, loosening, and heterotopic ossification) based a retrospective chart review. Results The 10-year survivorship after THA was lower in patients with a previous acetabular fracture than in the matched cohort (70%, 95% confidence interval [CI], 64%–78%, versus 90%, 95% CI, 86–95%; p < 0.001). There was no difference in the 10-year survival rate for those patients whose acetabular fracture was initially treated conservatively and those treated by open reduction and internal fixation. Patients with previous acetabular fracture had a higher likelihood of developing infection (7% [five of 74] versus 0% [zero of 74]; odds ratio [OR], 11.79; p = 0.028), dislocation (11% [eight of 74] versus 3% [two of 74]; OR, 4.36; p = 0.048), or heterotopic ossification (43% [32 of 74] versus 16% [12 of 74]; OR, 3.93; p < 0.001). Conclusions In this case-control study, patients with a prior acetabular fracture had markedly inferior 10-year survivorship and more frequent serious complications when compared with patients undergoing THA for primary osteoarthritis or AVN. Given these findings, management of these complex cases should be in highly specialized units where the expertise of arthroplasty and trauma reconstruction is available. Level of Evidence Level III, therapeutic study.

Reoperation rates are high after surgery for hip fractures. We investigated the effect of a sliding hip screw versus cancellous screws on the risk of reoperation and other key outcomes. For this international, multicentre, allocation concealed randomised controlled trial, we enrolled patients aged 50 years or older with a low-energy hip fracture requiring fracture fixation from 81 clinical centres in eight countries. Patients were assigned by minimisation with a centralised computer system to receive a single large-diameter screw with a side-plate (sliding hip screw) or the present standard of care, multiple small-diameter cancellous screws. Surgeons and patients were not blinded but the data analyst, while doing the analyses, remained blinded to treatment groups. The primary outcome was hip reoperation within 24 months after initial surgery to promote fracture healing, relieve pain, treat infection, or improve function. Analyses followed the intention-to-treat principle. This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00761813. Between March 3, 2008, and March 31, 2014, we randomly assigned 1108 patients to receive a sliding hip screw (n=557) or cancellous screws (n=551). Reoperations within 24 months did not differ by type of surgical fixation in those included in the primary analysis: 107 (20%) of 542 patients in the sliding hip screw group versus 117 (22%) of 537 patients in the cancellous screws group (hazard ratio [HR] 0·83, 95% CI 0·63–1·09; p=0·18). Avascular necrosis was more common in the sliding hip screw group than in the cancellous screws group (50 patients [9%] vs 28 patients [5%]; HR 1·91, 1·06–3·44; p=0·0319). However, no significant difference was found between the number of medically related adverse events between groups (p=0·82; appendix); these events included pulmonary embolism (two patients [<1%] vs four [1%] patients; p=0·41) and sepsis (seven [1%] vs six [1%]; p=0·79). In terms of reoperation rates the sliding hip screw shows no advantage, but some groups of patients (smokers and those with displaced or base of neck fractures) might do better with a sliding hip screw than with cancellous screws. National Institutes of Health, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Stichting NutsOhra, Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development, Physicians' Services Incorporated.