Today’s Top Story
CDC report looks at TKA trends.
A report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) examines hospitalization trends for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) among inpatients aged 45 years and older. The researchers drew data from 2000 through 2010 from the National Hospital Discharge Survey. Among the findings of the report:
- Over the term of the study, rates of TKA increased by 86 percent for men and 99 percent for women, yet the mean age decreased for all patients.
- The percentage of patients who were discharged home after TKA was greater in 2010 than in 2000.
- Women were more likely than men to be discharged home after TKA.
Other News
Study: Bone graft or substitute type may not influence outcomes for primary posterior spinal fusion with instrumentation.
Data published in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal Spine suggest that type of bone graft or substitute may not influence outcomes for patients who undergo primary posterior spinal fusion with instrumentation. The authors conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of 461 patients—152 patients were treated with autogenous iliac crest (AIC) bone graft, 199 with allograft, and 110 with bone substitute (BS). They found that patients in the BS group had significantly smaller preoperative curves and shorter operative times. However, the BS cohort had significantly longer hospital stays, used higher quantities of patient-controlled intravenous analgesia, and used epidurals longer. Patients in the AIC group used patient-controlled intravenous analgesia significantly longer. Overall, there were no differences between cohorts regarding curve type, number of levels fused, postoperative infections, pseudarthrosis, reoperations for any indication, and SRS-30 scores at most recent follow-up. Read the abstract…
Hospital ownership of physician practices increases likelihood of patients using that hospital.
According to a report from the National Bureau of Economic Research, hospital ownership of physician practices increases the likelihood that patients will go to hospitals that employ their physicians. The research team matched data on hospital admissions with information on physician practice ownership and found that hospital’s ownership of an admitting physician’s practice “dramatically” increased the probability that the physician’s patients would choose the owning hospital. Patients whose admitting physician were not owned by a hospital were more likely to choose low-cost and higher-quality facilities. Read more…(registration may be required)
Read the report…
Study: Adult bike injuries rose from 1998 to 2013.
Findings published in the Sept 1 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association examine trends in traumatic bicycle injuries among adults from 1998 through 2013. The researchers drew data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System—a national probability sample of approximately 100 emergency departments. They found that, over the course of the study period, the 2-year age-adjusted incidence of injuries increased by 28 percent, from 96 to 123 per 100,000 population, and the 2-year age-adjusted incidence of hospital admissions increased by 120 percent, from 5.1 to 11.2 per 100,000 population. In addition, the researchers noted that the percentage of injured cyclists with head injuries increased from 10 percent to 16 percent, while torso injuries increased from 14 percent to 17 percent. Overall, they found no significant change in the proportion of injured patients who were seen at large hospitals, and no significant change in sex ratio over time. Read more…
Read the study…
AAOS has published information on bicycle safety on its OrthoInfo website. Read more…
NCQA seeks public feedback on proposed changes to Patient-Centered Specialty Practice (PCSP) recognition program.
The non-profit National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) is seeking public feedback on proposed changes to its Patient-Centered Specialty Practice (PCSP) recognition program requirements. The organization states that the comment period “is an opportunity for providers, practices, consumers and other stakeholders to advise NCQA on the evaluation of specialty practices.” The public comment period ends on Sept. 18, at 5 p.m. ET. NCQA plans to review input and release the final standards and guidelines for PCSP 2016 recognition during March 2016. Read more…
Submit your comments…
Voting completed on AAOS resolutions and bylaw amendments.
Fellowship balloting on the 2015 AAOS resolutions and bylaw amendments concluded on Aug. 21. AAOS fellowship supported the recommendations on all six resolutions and three bylaw amendments. During the initial balloting period, 12 percent of eligible fellows voted, but by the end of the end of the second 30-day period, 20.7 percent of the fellowship had participated.
OKOJ September 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: “Complications of Vascular Access Lines in the Hand and Upper Extremity,” “Knot Tying 101: Hip To Be Square,” and “Recurrent Dupuytren Disease.” In addition, two new videos have been made available: “Technique for Tying a Square Knot,” and “Technique for Tying a Slip Knot.” 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)
September AAOS Now is now available online and in ePub format!
AAOS members will soon receive the print edition of the September issue of AAOS Now, but the electronic editions are already available on the AAOS Now website. This month’s issue includes an article on concussions on the playing field, a look at potential Independent Payment Advisory Board involvement in setting Medicare rates during 2017, a discussion on the use of preoperative magnetic resonance imaging for patients with biceps chondromalacia, and much more! Read more…
Read “Who Calls the Shots on the Playing Field?”…
Read “IPAB Could Set Rules for Medicare in 2017″…
Read “Biceps Chondromalacia: The Diagnostic Role of MRI”…
Download and read the ePub edition of AAOS Now…
The AAOS offices will be closed and AAOS Headline News Now will not be published on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 7. Publication will resume on Sept. 9.
