Immediate Pain Relief at Time of Corticosteroid Injection for Idiopathic Adhesive Capsulitis as a Predictor of Eventual Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Corticosteroid injection and physical therapy remain the mainstay of treatment for idiopathic adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder; however, a certain percentage of patients will not improve using these interventions and will require manipulation under anesthesia (MUA) and/or lysis of adhesions (LOA). PURPOSE: To evaluate whether the immediate pain reduction after fluoroscopic-guided, mixed anesthetic-corticosteroid injection for idiopathic adhesive capsulitis is related to the eventual need for LOA/MUA or a repeat glenohumeral steroid injection. STUDY DESIGN: Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: This single-institution study involved patients undergoing fluoroscopic glenohumeral corticosteroid injection for a diagnosis of idiopathic adhesive capsulitis between 2010 and 2017. Included were patients with a minimum of 1-year postinjection follow-up and visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores from immediately before and after the injection. The primary analysis was the relationship between patients with an immediate change in VAS score after injection and those who underwent LOA/MUA. A repeat glenohumeral injection was also evaluated as an outcome. Receiver operator characteristic curves and a multivariate binomial logistic regression analysis were performed. RESULTS: Overall, 739 shoulders in 728 patients (mean age, 52.6 years; 68% women) were included, of which 38 (5.1%) underwent LOA/MUA and 209 (28%) underwent repeat injections. The immediate change in the VAS score was not significantly associated with the eventual need for LOA/MUA. Preinjection VAS and immediate postinjection VAS scores were not significant predictors of eventual LOA/MUA or subsequent injection. For all 3 predictors, the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve classified them as extremely poor discriminators. CONCLUSION: The immediate pain response to a fluoroscopic-guided glenohumeral injection for idiopathic shoulder adhesive capsulitis was not predictive of the eventual need for LOA/MUA or subsequent injection. Patients can be counseled that even if their initial pain response to an injection is poor, they still have an excellent chance of avoiding surgery, as the overall rate of LOA/MUA was low (5.1%).

Percutaneous Medial Collateral Ligament Release Improves Medial Compartment Access During Knee Arthroscopy.

PURPOSE: To quantify intraoperative joint space widening afforded by the outside-in, percutaneous release of the medial collateral ligament (MCL) and to evaluate its impact on medial compartment width and functional outcomes at 6-week follow-up for patients undergoing a partial medial meniscectomy without postoperative bracing. METHODS: Patients with posteromedial meniscus tears and no evidence of ipsilateral knee pathology, undergoing partial medial meniscectomy, were enrolled. Intraoperatively, medial compartment width was quantified with fluoroscopy before and after the percutaneous MCL release with an 18-gauge spinal needle proximal to the joint line. At 6-week follow-up, valgus stress radiographs re-evaluated medial compartment width. International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) and Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) scores were completed preoperatively and at 6-week follow-up to evaluate functional outcomes. A paired sample t test performed at a 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to compare these variables. RESULTS: Forty-two patients, mean (± standard deviation) age 55.3 ± 10.7 years, were available for analysis of intraoperative medial compartment widening. Medial compartment width increased from 5.95 ± 1.32 to 11.09 ± 1.74 mm intraoperatively after MCL release. At 6-week follow-up, radiographic assessment demonstrated a mean medial compartment width of 5.85 ± .99 mm, which represented an insignificant change compared with the preoperative value (CI -0.68 to .33, P = .474). PROMIS and IKDC scores significantly improved from baseline, with increases of 6.9 ± 12.4 (CI 2.0 to 11.8, P = .008) and 11.7 ± 17.8 (CI 4.7 to 18.8, P = .002), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Percutaneous MCL release during knee arthroscopy improves visualization and facilitates instrumentation by providing an almost 2× wider working space within the medial tibiofemoral joint. In this study, the performance of percutaneous MCL release did not result in any complications. Radiographic and clinical resolution of iatrogenic laxity was demonstrated by 6-weeks postoperatively, without the use of postoperative bracing. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV, therapeutic case series.

The Outside-In, Percutaneous Release of the Medial Collateral Ligament for Knee Arthroscopy.

The outside-in, percutaneous release of the medial collateral ligament (MCL) is a technique used to increase the medial tibiofemoral joint space during arthroscopy to facilitate the use of instrumentation and improve visualization without causing iatrogenic cartilage damage. A recent systematic review of the literature has shown this technique to be efficacious and safe, with no evidence of associated short- or long-term complications. This technique has been used for this indication by the senior author without requiring any deviation from our institution's standard protocol for knee arthroscopy. In an attempt to standardize this technique's utilization and allow for further evaluation in the literature, the senior author's method for this percutaneous, outside-in approach of "pie crusting" the MCL is described.

Therapeutic postoperative anticoagulation is a risk factor for wound complications, infection, and revision after shoulder arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between postoperative therapeutic anticoagulation, wound complications, infection, and revision. METHODS: Using a national insurance database from 2007 to 2016, patients who underwent shoulder arthroplasty with an indication for postoperative therapeutic anticoagulation in the case of atrial fibrillation or acute postoperative venous thromboembolism were identified. Those with a prescription for a therapeutic anticoagulant within 2 weeks of surgery were identified and compared with controls without postoperative therapeutic anticoagulant prescriptions. Wound complications and postoperative infection at 3 and 6 months, and revision shoulder arthroplasty at 6 months and all time points were then compared in the database using a multivariable logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: A total of 17,272 patients were included, including 684 patients who received therapeutic anticoagulation and 16,588 controls. Patients receiving therapeutic anticoagulation experienced increased wound complications at 3 months (odds ratio [OR] 3.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.0-4.6, P < .0001) and 6 months (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.7-3.8, P < .0001). Patients receiving therapeutic anticoagulation also experienced increased rates of wound infection at 3 months (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1-2.0, P = .007) and 6 months (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.4-2.3, P < .0001). Finally, patients receiving therapeutic anticoagulation experienced increased rates of revision surgery at 6 months (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.3-2.5, P = .0003) and within 9 years (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1-2.0, P = .007). CONCLUSIONS: Wound complications and revision rates in patients undergoing shoulder arthroplasty who require postoperative therapeutic anticoagulation are significantly elevated compared with controls.

Associated Morbidity After the Percutaneous Release of the Medial Collateral Ligament for Knee Arthroscopy.

PURPOSE: To summarize available data on the morbidity associated with percutaneous release of the medial collateral ligament (MCL) of the knee during arthroscopy via a "pie-crusting" technique. METHODS: A search of the literature was performed using the MEDLINE and Web of Science databases to identify studies examining the morbidity of percutaneous MCL release during arthroscopy. Only English-language articles were included; technical articles and studies not focused on the use of this technique were omitted. Two independent reviewers performed the literature search, data extraction, and quality assessment. The outcomes analyzed included resultant knee instability, functional outcome scores, visual analog scale pain scores, and saphenous nerve or greater saphenous vein injury. RESULTS: Six studies met the eligibility criteria. The studies included a total of 234 knees undergoing MCL release, with a mean patient age of 41.1 years. This MCL release typically generated grade I MCL laxity, which usually diminished or resolved over time and did not require brace application. The functional outcome scores of patients undergoing MCL release did not differ from those of patients undergoing the same procedure without MCL release. Postoperative pain was not significantly different between patients who underwent MCL release and those who did not. There was a 0% incidence of injury to the saphenous nerve or greater saphenous vein with MCL release in the included studies. CONCLUSIONS: Percutaneous MCL release during knee arthroscopy is a method of increasing the medial tibiofemoral joint space without causing any significant short- or long-term complications including residual valgus instability, pain, loss of function, or damage to surrounding structures. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV, systematic review of Level IV studies.