April 27, 2023 | Today’s News

AAOS Board Urges Fellows to #VOTE4SOP

AAOS President Kevin J. Bozic, MD, MBA, FAAOS, and the Board of Directors urge AAOS Fellows to support a proposed amendment to the Standards of Professionalism (SOPs) on Professional Relationships. The proposed change is an affirmative statement that AAOS supports the fair treatment of every AAOS member and says that harassment, bullying, and discrimination have no place in orthopaedics. Ballots will shortly be distributed to AAOS Fellows to allow voting on one proposed bylaws amendment, one SOP amendment, and nine five-year resolutions.

Read more about the Professional Compliance Program and the amendment to the SOP on Professional Relationships…

Study: What Factors Are Associated with 30-day Mortality after TKA?

The Journal of Knee Surgery published a database study of 326,157 patients which evaluated the risk factors associated with 30-day mortality following total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Patients were divided in two cohorts: 30-day mortality (n = 320) and mortality-free (n = 325,837). Patient demographics, preoperative comorbidities, and preoperative diagnoses were compared. Overall, the mortality rate was 0.098 percent. There were no significant associations between mortality and race or BMI; however, older age and male gender were factors associated with increased risk of mortality. Additionally, increased comorbidity burden and non-osteoarthritis preoperative diagnoses are associated with higher rates of 30-day postoperative mortality.

Read the abstract…

According to a randomized controlled study in the Journal of Pain Research, IV-administered dexamethasone after nerve block in patients undergoing ORIF for ankle fractures resulted in prolonged duration of nerve block and improved quality of early postoperative recovery. A total of 130 patients were randomized to receive ropivacaine only (group C) or ropivacaine with IV dexamethasone (group IV). The primary outcome was the incidence of rebound pain. Group IV had significantly lower pain scores 12 to 24 hours following surgery in addition to significantly reduced incidence of rebound pain when compared with group C.

Read the study…

A study investigating the association between insurance type and rate of surgery, the time to surgery, and the complication rate in patients with distal radius fractures found that older Medicaid patients experienced lower surgical rates. The retrospective cohort study was published in the Journal of Hand Surgery. Using the PearlDriver database, patients were divided by age (18 to 64 years versus ≥65 years) and further stratified based on insurance type (Medicare Advantage versus Medicaid-managed care versus commercial). There were no significant differences regarding complication rates between types of insurance. Medicaid patients aged <65 years had higher adjusted odds of malunion/nonunion.

Read the abstract…

The Journal of Spine Surgery published a retrospective review investigating whether a delay in the time to surgery (TTS) to treat lumbar disk herniation had any adverse effects on the patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in 87 patients without progressive neurological deficits. Patients were divided into two groups based on the TTS (<6 months, ≥6 months). The average TTS was 22.5 weeks. Of the patients with TTS <6 months, 90.2 percent achieved a clinically significant reduction in leg pain, compared with 80.8 patients of patients with TTS ≥6 months.

Read the study…

AAOS Encourages Members to Share Their Expertise by Presenting at the 2024 Annual Meeting in San Francisco

The AAOS 2024 Annual Meeting will be held Feb. 12 to 16, 2024, at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, and you are invited to join the Academy in planning ahead for another must-see educational experience. The AAOS Annual Meeting Committee has already begun to focus on building the most current and compelling educational program possible for San Francisco. If you have knowledge or research to share, you are encouraged to participate in the AAOS 2024 Annual Meeting call for abstracts, which is open at aaos.org/abstracts.

Read more…

Take Part in an AUC and CPG Development Work Group

AAOS is seeking volunteers to take part on the rating panel for the development of the Management of Hip Fractures in Older Adults Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC). Rating panelists will be charged with rating appropriateness of included treatments based on patient indications/scenarios via two rounds of voting. Additionally, AAOS will soon commence work on their next Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) on the Management of Rotator Cuff Injuries and is seeking volunteers to serve on the development work group. This guideline will be an update of the 2019 guideline. Applications will be reviewed and approved on a first-come, first-served basis.

Submit your application to take part in the AUC rating panel here…

Submit your application for the CPG Development Work Group here…

With OrthoInfo, the Academy’s patient education website, you can provide your patients with in-depth information—all written, reviewed, and regularly updated by orthopaedic experts. This includes a full range of articles about arthritis to help patients understand their condition and treatment options. Visit orthoinfo.org to discover a wealth of musculoskeletal health content that you can share with patients any time: you can print it, send it electronically, or link to it from your practice site. Or, add this QR code to your business cards, email signature, patient handouts, etc. to give patients direct access to the website.

Read “Arthritis of the Shoulder”…

Read “Arthritis of the Hand”…

Read “Rheumatoid Arthritis”…

Read “Cervical Spondylosis (Arthritis of the Neck)”…

Read “Patellofemoral Arthritis”…