Today’s Top Story
Study: Higher-volume at trauma centers trends toward improved patient outcomes.
A study published online in the journal Annals of Surgery suggests that increased trauma center volume may be associated with improved patient outcomes. The authors conducted a retrospective cohort study across 287 centers involving 839,809 patients with injury severity score >15. They found that each 1 percent increase in trauma center volume over time was associated with a 73 percent increased likelihood of improving center-level standardized mortality ratio (SMR). Conversely, each 1 percent decrease in volume over time was associated with a 2-fold increase in odds of worsening SMR. In addition, the authors noted significant improvement in SMR emerged in Level I and Level II trauma centers following 3 or more preceding years of increasing volume. The authors note that the impact of volume should be taken into account when designating new trauma centers. Read more…
Read the abstract…
Other News
Medical societies offer support of bill to exempt certain CME and educational materials from Open Payments reporting.
STAT reports that, in a letter to the U.S. Senate, the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), the American Medical Association, and 105 other medical societies have voiced support for a proposal to exempt drug and device makers from reporting certain payments under the Open Payments (Sunshine Act) system. If enacted, the “Protect Continuing Physician Education and Patient Care Act” would exempt certain applicable manufacturers from reporting payments to support independent continuing medical educational (CME) programs and materials, and clarify that independent CME is exempt from reporting. Read more…
Read the bill…
Study: Preoperative rehab may improve 2-year outcomes for patients undergoing ACLR.
Findings published online in The American Journal of Sports Medicine suggest that preoperative rehabilitation may improve postoperative outcomes for up to 2 years following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). The research team compared outcomes from two cohorts, the Delaware-Oslo ACL Cohort (DOC), in which patients were treated with extended preoperative rehabilitation, including neuromuscular training, and the Multicenter Orthopaedic Outcomes Network (MOON) cohort, in which patients did not undergo extended preoperative rehabilitation. After adjustment for baseline International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score and Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), the research team found that DOC patients displayed significant and clinically meaningful differences in IKDC and KOOS scores at 2-year follow-up. In addition, they noted 72 percent of DOC patients returned to preinjury sports, compared to 63 percent of MOON patients. Read the abstract…
Study: Chevron, scarf osteotomy may offer similar long-term outcomes for correction of hallux valgus.
A study published in the July issue of the journal Foot & Ankle International finds similar long-term outcomes for patients undergoing hallux valgus correction using chevron or scarf osteotomy. The researchers conducted a randomized, controlled trial of 37 feet treated with chevron osteotomy and 36 feet treated with scarf osteotomy. At 14-year follow-up, they found that recurrence of hallux valgus in 28 feet in the chevron group and 27 feet in the scarf group had developed recurrence of hallux valgus. In addition, no patients in the chevron group and one patient in the scarf group had a reoperation of the same toe. Finally, current visual analog scale pain scores and results from the Short Form 36 questionnaire, the Manchester-Oxford Foot Questionnaire, and American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) rating system for the hallux metatarsophalangeal-interphalangeal scale did not significantly differ between groups. Read the abstract…
Submit your entries now! MORE Awards honor excellence in orthopaedic journalism.
The Media Orthopaedic Reporting Excellence (MORE) Awards recognizes and honors journalistic efforts that further the public’s understanding of musculoskeletal health issues and encourage healthy behaviors in the care of bones and joints. AAOS is asking members to submit stories from broadcast, radio, print, or website that accurately and compassionately highlight orthopaedic procedures, treatments, and preventive care and practices. Stories must have been published or broadcast between Oct. 1, 2015 and Oct. 1, 2016. Winners will be recognized at the 2017 MORE Awards ceremony and dinner at the National Orthopaedic Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., on April 27, 2017. For more information, please contact Kelly King Johnson at 847-384-4033. Learn more…
Submit a story via email, at: media@aaos.org
User Group Forum now available for AJRR participants.
The American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR) has launched an online User Group Forum. The AJRR User Group Network was created to provide AJRR users the opportunity to engage with each other regarding the collection of data on hip and knee arthroplasty procedures. The new forum offers users from participating organizations the opportunity to ask questions, share lessons learned, and connect directly with each other. Read more…
Visit the AJRR site…
Call for volunteers: Evaluation Committees.
Aug. 1 is the last day to submit your application for a position on an Evaluation Committee. Members of Evaluation Committees write questions for Orthopaedic Self-Assessment Examinations. The following openings are available:
- Hip, Knee & Adult Reconstruction (one member)
- OKU (one member—oncology)
- Pediatric (chair, eight members)
- Sports Medicine (seven members)
Members of evaluation committees must be active fellows, emeritus fellows, candidate members, candidate member applicants for fellowship, or candidate member applicants for fellowship osteopathic. Members of the OKU evaluation committee must be active or emeritus fellows. All members must have a practice emphasis in the relevant topic. Learn more and submit your application…(member login required)
