Collaborative Overview of coronaVIrus impact on ORTHopaedic training in the UK (COVI - ORTH UK).

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on the 11th of March 2020 with the NHS deferring all non-urgent activity from the 15th of April 2020. The aim of our study was to assess the impact of COVID-19 on Trauma and Orthopaedic trainees nationally. METHODS: Trauma and Orthopaedic (T&O) specialty trainees nationally were asked to complete an electronic survey specifically on the impact of COVID-19 on their training. This UK based survey was conducted between May 2020 and July 2020. RESULTS: A total of 185 out of 975 (19%) T&O specialty trainees completed the survey. Redeployment was experienced by 25% of trainees. 84% of respondents had experienced a fall in total operating numbers in comparison with the same time period in 2019. 89% experienced a fall in elective operating and 63% experienced a fall in trauma operating. The pandemic has also had an effect on the delivery of teaching, with face to face teaching being replaced by webinar-based teaching. 63% of training programmes delivered regular weekly teaching, whilst 19% provided infrequent sessions and 11% provided no teaching. CONCLUSION: This study has objectively demonstrated the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on all aspects of T&O training.

Coronavirus infection in hip fractures (CHIP) study.

AIMS: Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, incidence of hip fracture has not changed. Evidence has shown increased mortality rates associated with COVID-19 infection. However, little is known about the outcomes of COVID-19 negative patients in a pandemic environment. In addition, the impact of vitamin D levels on mortality in COVID-19 hip fracture patients has yet to be determined. METHODS: This multicentre observational study included 1,633 patients who sustained a hip fracture across nine hospital trusts in North West England. Data were collected for three months from March 2020 and for the same period in 2019. Patients were matched by Nottingham Hip Fracture Score (NHFS), hospital, and fracture type. We looked at the mortality outcomes of COVID-19 positive and COVID-19 negative patients sustaining a hip fracture. We also looked to see if vitamin D levels had an impact on mortality. RESULTS: The demographics of the 2019 and 2020 groups were similar, with a slight increase in proportion of male patients in the 2020 group. The 30-day mortality was 35.6% in COVID-19 positive patients and 7.8% in the COVID-19 negative patients. There was a potential association of decreasing vitamin D levels and increasing mortality rates for COVID-19 positive patients although our findings did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSION: In 2020 there was a significant increase in 30-day mortality rates of patients who were COVID-19 positive but not of patients who were COVID-19 negative. Low levels of vitamin D may be associated with high mortality rates in COVID-19 positive patients. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2021;103-B(4):782-787.

A Prospective Cohort Comparative Study of Rivaroxaban, Dabigatran, and Apixaban Oral Thromboprophylaxis in 2431 Hip and Knee Arthroplasty Patients: Primary Efficacy Outcomes and Safety Profile.

BACKGROUND: Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have promised superior efficacy to low molecular weight heparins in the prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in total hip and knee arthroplasty. However, there are concerns about raised associated bleeding and wound problems with these agents. This study aims to evaluate and compare the efficacy and safety of the 3 DOAC drugs: rivaroxaban, dabigatran and apixaban. METHODS: The primary outcome measures were rate of symptomatic VTE and major bleeding. Secondary outcome measures were wound healing problems and requirement for return to theater. A total of 2431 patients received one of the DOAC drugs as thromboprophylaxis following total hip arthroplasty (35 days) or total knee arthroplasty (14 days) between 2011 and 2015. Binary variables were compared between the 3 groups by using the chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test. Relative risks of selected primary and secondary end points were also calculated for the prespecified pairwise comparison. RESULTS: The overall symptomatic VTE rate was 2%. Rivaroxaban had a statistically significant superior efficacy for overall VTE prevention (0.8% vs 2.6%) compared with dabigatran (P < .01) and apixaban (P < .01), and deep vein thrombosis prevention (0.3% vs 2.2%) over dabigatran (P < .01). The overall rate of major bleeding was 1.2% with no significant difference observed between the 3 studied drugs. CONCLUSION: All 3 drugs had symptomatic VTE rates comparable with low molecular weight heparin from the published literature. Rivaroxaban appears to have superior efficacy in VTE prevention over apixaban and dabigatran. No statistical difference was observed for major bleeding with any of the 3 agents.

Giant schwannomas of the sciatic nerve.

We report a very rare case of giant schwannomas of the sciatic nerve in a 39-year-old woman who presented with increasing swelling and discomfort in the posterior aspect of her right thigh. We demonstrate that even with such large tumours, surgical excision could be successfully carried out to resolve all symptoms while causing no permanent nerve damage. It remains paramount that large soft tissue tumours get referred to a sarcoma centre and be managed by a specialist multidisciplinary team.

Use of oral direct factor Xa inhibiting anticoagulants in elective hip and knee arthroplasty: a meta-analysis of efficacy and safety profiles compared with those of low-molecular-weight heparins.

Assessing the efficacy and safety profiles of new oral direct Factor Xa (FXa) inhibiting anticoagulants compared with low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWHs) in elective total hip and knee arthroplasty (THA and TKA). The literature review only searched for randomised-controlled trials (RCTs) published before September 2011. Five eligible THA RCTs with a total of 12,184 patients and 5 eligible TKA RCTs with a total of 13,169 patients were identified. Mantel- Haenszel random-effects model was used to create meta-analyses of pooled data for each surgical group. The primary efficacy outcome was the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and all-cause mortality, and the primary safety outcome was the risk of major bleeding. The THA and TKA primary efficacy outcome meta-analyses calculated relative risks (RR) of 0.55 (95% confidence interval 0.32 to 0.94) and 0.68 (95% confidence interval 0.53 to 0.87), respectively in favor of the oral direct FXa inhibitors. The primary safety outcome meta-analyses for the THA and TKA surgical groups revealed an RR of 1.27 (95% confidence interval 0.56 to 2.86) and 0.94 (95% confidence interval 0.44 to 1.98), which shows no significant difference between oral FXa inhibitors and LMWHs. This review demonstrated that oral direct FXa inhibitors have a superior efficacy to LMWHs when used as thromboprophylaxis in both THA and TKA. The safety profile of these new oral anticoagulants was not significantly different to that of LMWHs.

Prostaglandin E(2) receptors as potential bone anabolic targets - selective EP4 receptor agonists.

Prostaglandin E(2) is known to be a potent metabolite in bone biology. Its effects are mediated via four receptor subtypes with different properties, effects and mechanisms of action. The EP2 and EP4 receptors have been extensively investigated as bone anabolic therapy targets in the literature. The aim of this review was to analyse the available evidence supporting the use of selective agonists for those receptors for anabolic bone application purposes. Although several studies report on the presence of the EP2 receptor in several cell types, efforts to directly confirm the presence of this receptor in human bone cells have not been successful. The EP4 receptor however has been identified in human bone cells and its significant role in bone biology has been demonstrated with the use of selective agonists, antagonists and transgenic small animals. The use of selective EP4 agonists reversed established osteoporotic changes, enhanced the boneimplant interface strength and was shown to have a synergistic effect when used with other bone cell targeting pharmacological agents such as BMP-2 and bisphosphonates. Further elucidation of the side-effect profile of prostanoid and non-prostanoid agonists is required for these agents to proceed towards clinical applications.

Patellar resurfacing in total knee arthroplasty: does design matter? A meta-analysis of 7075 cases.

BACKGROUND: Patellar resurfacing in total knee arthroplasty remains controversial. The aim of this study was to compare outcomes following total knee arthroplasty with patellar resurfacing with those following total knee arthroplasty without patellar resurfacing. We also sought to identify any correlation between outcomes and prosthetic design. METHODS: Eighteen Level-I randomized controlled trials with a cumulative sample size of 7075 knees (3463 in the resurfacing group and 3612 in the non-resurfacing group) satisfied the inclusion criteria. In the primary analysis, patellar resurfacing total knee arthroplasty was compared with non-resurfacing total knee arthroplasty, with use of reoperation rates, incidence of anterior knee pain, and functional scores as outcome measures. The secondary analysis focused on comparing patella-friendly and non-patella-friendly total knee arthroplasty designs with regard to the same three outcome measures. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between the resurfacing and non-resurfacing groups with regard to the incidence of anterior knee pain. A higher rate of reoperations was observed in the non-resurfacing group. Analysis of homogeneous data comparing patella-friendly with non-patella-friendly total knee arthroplasty designs demonstrated no differences in the incidence of reoperations. CONCLUSIONS: No evidence was found to suggest that either patellar resurfacing or the prosthetic design affects the clinical outcome of a total knee arthroplasty. The higher incidence of reoperations in the non-resurfacing group may be attributed to the fact that secondary patellar resurfacing adds a surgical option for the treatment of anterior knee pain following total knee arthroplasty, thus artificially increasing the rate of reoperations in the non-resurfacing group.

Nonunion of a scapular spine fracture: Case report and management with open reduction, internal fixation, and bone graft.

Fractures of the scapular spine are relatively uncommon. We report a case of a 39 year old male who developed an atrophic non-union scapular spine fracture entering the spino-glenoid notch. We describe our experience with this rare fracture pattern and identify the need for early internal fixation in the young, active and working population.