Today’s Top Story
Study: Knee OA study emphasizes need to “reduce risk factors.”
A study published online in the journal Arthritis Care & Research suggests high annual rates of onset of knee symptoms and, according to the authors, emphasizes “the urgency of clinical and public health collaborations that reduce risk factors for, and manage the impact of” knee osteoarthritis (OA). The authors drew data on 1,518 patients aged 45 years or older who participated in the Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project, all of whom had symptomatic OA at baseline. At median 5.5-year follow-up, they found that the average incidence rates were symptoms, 6 percent; radiographic OA, 3 percent; symptomatic OA, 2 percent; severe radiographic OA, 2 percent; and severe symptomatic OA, 0.8 percent. Across outcomes, incidence rates were highest among those with the following baseline characteristics: age ≥ 75 years, obese, a history of knee injury, or an annual household income ≤ $15,000. Read more…
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Other News
Study: Functional capacity may predict likelihood of mortality for non-cardiac surgery.
Findings published in the July issue of the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia suggest that functional capacity may be an independent predictor of mortality within the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification system. The research team conducted a retrospective, observational cohort study of 12,324 patients who underwent non-cardiac surgery between 1998 and 2009. They found that the odds ratio for mortality was 1.92 for ASA class II-B over ASA class III-A patients, 1.29 for ASA class III-B over ASA class IV-A patients, and 2.03 for ASA class IV-B over ASA class V patients, even though, by definitions, the higher class carries a greater disease burden. “Functional dependence may be an indication for increasing a patient’s ASA class by 1 class-point to better reflect his or her perioperative risk,” the research team writes, “but prospective validation of these findings is recommended, as this is a preliminary study.” Read more…
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Study: Overuse injuries among high school athletes appear to vary by sex and sport.
Data from a study published in The Journal of Pediatrics suggest that overuse injury patterns among high school athletes may vary by sex and sport. The researchers reviewed information on overuse injury from the High School Reporting Information Online database from academic years 2006/2007 through 2011/2012. They noted a total of 2,834 overuse injuries reported across 18,889,141 athletic exposures. The researchers found that girls had greater rates of overuse injury compared to boys. Overall, the greatest rates of overuse injury were in girls’ track and field and girls’ field hockey. Overuse injuries represented 7.7 percent of all injuries, ranging from a low of 1.4 percent of all boys’ ice hockey injuries to a high of 55.7 percent of all boys’ swimming and diving injuries. Overall, overuse injuries were evenly distributed across athletes in each year of high school, but the researchers noted distinct differences by sex. Read more…
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Study: Many high school coaches recognize concussion signs, but fewer follow guidelines.
According to survey information presented at the annual meeting of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, many high school coaches have a good understanding of the signs and symptoms of concussion, but may often fail to follow recommended management guidelines. The research team conducted an online survey of 104 Massachusetts’ public high school coaches and directly interviewed 12 coaches. They found that most coaches correctly identified symptoms such as confusion (94 percent), headache (94 percent), dizziness (91 percent), blurred vision (90 percent), loss of consciousness (87 percent), nausea (82 percent), and amnesia (75 percent) as indicators of concussion. However, only 42 percent recognized sleep problems as a potential sign of concussion. In addition, although more than 90 percent of coaches knew appropriate management strategies in typical concussion scenarios, when faced with atypical scenarios, only 57 percent would appropriately remove an athlete from play. The research was reported in MedPage Today. Read more…
California.
AMA Wire reports that an appeals court in California has upheld the state’s cap on noneconomic damages in medical liability cases. The plaintiff in a recent lawsuit had claimed that the state’s $250,000 cap was unconstitutional. “All of [the plaintiff’s] arguments […] are ultimately grounded on the assertion she is entitled to seek noneconomic damages sufficient to cover attorney fees,” the court wrote. “No California court has ever endorsed such a proposition […] it is contrary to many well-established legal principles.” Read more…
OKOJ July updates now online!
Check out the new topics and video in the Orthopaedic Knowledge Online Journal (OKOJ) on the AAOS OrthoPortal website. The following topics have been recently added or updated: “Distal Humerus Fractures: Parallel Versus Orthogonal Plating,” and “Use of 90–90 Plating for Distal Humeral Fractures.” A new guest editorial, “Plating of Distal Humerus Fractures,” has also been made available. OKOJ now offers full-text, downloadable PDFs for articles in recent issues, with more on the way! View these topics and more…(member login required)
Last call: Submit papers now for Kappa Delta and OREF Clinical Research Awards.
July 1, 2015 is the deadline for receipt of manuscripts submitted for the 2016 Kappa Delta Awards and the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF) Clinical Research Award. Up to two $20,000 Kappa Delta awards (Elizabeth Winston Lanier Award and Ann Doner Vaughan Award), one $20,000 Kappa Delta Young Investigator award, and one $20,000 OREF award will be bestowed, provided manuscripts of requisite quality are submitted. Manuscripts should represent a large body of cohesive scientific work, generally reflecting years of investigation. If the submission reflects a single project, it should be of high significance and impact. Manuscripts must be submitted by members (or candidate members) of the AAOS, Orthopaedic Research Society, Canadian Orthopaedic Association, or Canadian Orthopaedic Research Society. Submissions for the 2016 Kappa Delta and OREF Clinical Research Awards will be accepted in electronic format only. A PDF of the entire submission must be emailed no later than 11:59 p.m. CT on July 1, 2015. Late submissions will not be considered. Read more…
kappadelta@aaos.org
Last call: Committee positions closing soon!
A number of openings on the AAOS Committee Appointment Program website are closing June 30. Act now to apply for the following positions:
- Committee on Professionalism (chair, two member openings)
- Judiciary Committee (two members)
Learn more and submit your application…(member login required)
