OrthoInfo, the AAOS patient education website, is seeking an editor-in-chief to help guide its continued success. The website is a leading online resource for orthopaedic information; approximately 2.5 million internet users from around the world visit OrthoInfo each month. The website features more than 400 articles and videos on orthopaedic conditions, surgical procedures, nonsurgical treatments, and injury prevention. The editor-in-chief leads the OrthoInfo Editorial Board in content development, recruits new authors, and peer reviews articles each month. The editor-in-chief also serves on the AAOS Communications Committee. The application deadline is Sept. 25
Study: Effect of Personalized Phone Call Intervention on Post-discharge Outpatient Adherence
A study published in the Sept. 15 issue of the Journal of the AAOS ® analyzed the impact of a personalized post-discharge phone call on outpatient clinic attendance. Patients treated at an urban level 1 trauma center (n = 159) were given a reminder call three to five days after discharge; 33 percent were reached for a conversation, and 28 percent received a voicemail reminder. Overall, 86 patients (54 percent) attended their clinic appointments. Patients reached for a conversation were more likely to attend their appointment (70 percent) than those who received a voicemail (51 percent) or no contact (34 percent).
Study Assesses Impact of Dipyridamole-thallium Scanning on Cardiac Complications, Mortality in Hemiarthroplasty Patients
According to a study published online in the Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research, preoperative dipyridamole-thallium scanning (DTS) did not decrease 90-day cardiac complications or one-year mortality in femoral neck fracture patients undergoing hemiarthroplasty. A total of 113 patients underwent preoperative DTS and 731 did not (control group); a propensity score-matched cohort was created encompassing 452 patients with a 1:3 ratio of DTS to control patients. The rate of 90-day cardiac complications was 19.5 percent in the DTS group and 15.6 percent in the control group; one-year mortality rates were 10.6 percent and 13.3 percent, respectively.
Study Compares Bankart Repair with Remplissage Versus Bone Block Augmentation for Anterior Shoulder Instability
A study published online in Arthroscopy compared outcomes in bone augmentation procedures versus arthroscopic Bankart repair with remplissage to treat recurrent anterior shoulder instability with glenoid bone loss. Embase, Medline, and PubMed were queried for relevant articles from inception through June 2019. A total of 145 studies were identified, four of which were comparative studies. Overall, postoperative recurrence ranged from 0.0 percent to 42.8 percent for bone block augmentation and 0.0 percent to 15.0 percent for Bankart repair with remplissage. Among the comparative studies, the rates ranged from 5.7 percent to 11.6 percent and 0.0 percent to 13.3 percent, respectively.
Study Reviews Calcaneal Autograft Harvesting with a Reaming Graft Harvester
A retrospective study published online in Foot & Ankle International assessed the safety profile of calcaneal autograft harvesting using a reaming graft harvester. Between Aug. 1, 2015, and Dec. 15, 2018, 1,438 patients underwent calcaneal autograft harvesting using a power-driven reaming harvester at a single center; final analysis included 966 patients. Only one major complication occurred (0.1 percent), and there were 14 minor complications (1.4 percent).
President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order aimed at lowering prescription drug prices. Under the new order, Medicare would pay no more than the “most-favored-nation price” for costly Part B or Part D prescription drugs or biological products. The payment model will be tested to determine its effect on poor clinical outcomes and increased expenditures correlated with high drug costs.
Return to Sports in America Creates Quite the Conundrum
As many have wondered how and when sports would return in the United States in the early weeks and months of the COVID-19 pandemic, others have been involved in the logistics of how to bring sports back. During a panel discussion for the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Virtual Annual Meeting, Rick Wright, MD, FAAOS, chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., asked many involved in the resurgence of sports at the professional and collegiate levels just how this would happen.
