Development and Validation of a New Patient-Reported Outcome Measure in the Arabic Language for Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis in Saudi Arabia.

Purpose: In Western countries, several patient-reported outcomes (PROs) measures have been developed and validated for knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients. While few PROs have been adopted for these patients in Saudi Arabia, which do not reflect all aspects of the Saudi socio-cultural context. Given this shortcoming, this study aimed to develop a new PRO measure in Arabic that covers all concepts related to health, function, and participation encompassing environmental and personal factors. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 73 males and females aged ≥55 diagnosed with radiographic knee OA recruited from the orthopedic and physiotherapy departments of five hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between September 2016 and March 2017. Physicians confirmed knee OA according to the American College of Rheumatology standards. We examined the psychometric properties of the new Arabic PRO measure. Results: The internal consistency and test-retest (a one-week interval) reliabilities were found acceptable and excellent with Cronbach's alpha and the intra-class correlation coefficient, ranging from 0.69 to 0.85 and 0.88 to 0.91, respectively. The construct validity was found fair with the correlation between the subscales Body Function and Physical Function (rs =0.63), Activity & Participation and Physical Function (rs =0.72), and Body Function and Bodily Pain (rs =0.58). We found a weak to fair correlation between the new Arabic PRO measure's subscales and the SF-36 physical composite scale (PCS: rs =0.34-0.69) compared to the mental-composite scale (MCS: rs =0.16-0.55). Conclusion: The 33-item new Arabic PRO measure is a well-accepted, reliable, and valid tool for use in knee OA patients in the Saudi cultural context.

INTRAOPERATIVE EVALUATION AND LEVEL OF CONTAMINATION DURING TOTAL KNEE ARTHROPLASTY.

Introduction: Despite numerous articles on intraoperative contamination in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) procedures, the available data on tissue contamination are scarce and mainly based on evaluating bacteriological swabs. Methods: Two hundred and forty specimens, divided between bone and soft tissue, were obtained from 40 consecutive unilateral primaries TKAs. The specimens were evaluated for aerobic and anaerobic bacterial growth. Colony-forming units/gram (CFU/g) were calculated on the contaminated specimens to determine the level of contamination. Results: The contamination rate in intraoperative specimens was 15% during TKA. The contamination level had a mean of 10.6 and a median of 5, ranging from 1-70 CFU/g. The most common contaminating organisms in all samples were Staphylococcus aureus (38.9%) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (30.6%). No clinical infections were detected in TKAs in the follow-up period. Conclusion: The contamination rate during TKA is relatively high, despite the practice of standard preventive measures. Contamination levels, measured by CFU/g, are considered low when compared to the infection threshold of 105 reported in the literature. However, contamination should not be underestimated due to the presence of foreign bodies (implants), which are known to significantly lower this threshold. Level of evidence IV; case series .

Introdução: Apesar dos inúmeros artigos sobre a contaminação intraoperatória em procedimentos de artroplastia total do joelho (ATJ), os dados disponíveis sobre a contaminação tecidual são escassos e baseiam-se principalmente na avaliação de swabs bacteriológicos. Métodos: Duzentos e quarenta espécimes, divididos entre ossos e tecidos moles, foram obtidos de 40 ATJ primárias unilaterais consecutivas. Os exemplares foram avaliados quanto ao crescimento bacteriano aeróbio e anaeróbio. As unidades formadoras de colônias/grama (UFC/g) foram calculadas nas amostras contaminadas para determinar o nível de contaminação. Resultados: A taxa de contaminação em espécimes intraoperatórios foi de 15% durante a ATJ. O nível de contaminação teve uma média de 10,6 e uma mediana de 5 variando de 1-70 UFC/g. Os organismos contaminantes mais comuns em todas as amostras foram Staphylococcus aureus (38,9%) e Staphylococcus epidermidis (30,6%). Nenhuma infecção clínica foi detectada nas ATJ durante o período de acompanhamento. Conclusão: A taxa de contaminação durante a ATJ é relativamente alta, apesar da prática de medidas preventivas padrão. Os níveis de contaminação, medidos por UFC/g, são considerados baixos quando comparados ao limiar de infecção de 105, relatado na literatura. No entanto, a contaminação não deve ser negligenciada devido à presença de corpos estranhos (implantes) que são conhecidos por reduzir significativamente esse limiar. Nível de evidência IV; series de casos.

Intraoperative evaluation and level of contamination during total knee arthroplasty / Avaliação e nível de contaminação intra-operatória durante a artroplastia total do joelho

ABSTRACT Introduction: Despite numerous articles on intraoperative contamination in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) procedures, the available data on tissue contamination are scarce and mainly based on evaluating bacteriological swabs. Methods: Two hundred and forty specimens, divided between bone and soft tissue, were obtained from 40 consecutive unilateral primaries TKAs. The specimens were evaluated for aerobic and anaerobic bacterial growth. Colony-forming units/gram (CFU/g) were calculated on the contaminated specimens to determine the level of contamination. Results: The contamination rate in intraoperative specimens was 15% during TKA. The contamination level had a mean of 10.6 and a median of 5, ranging from 1-70 CFU/g. The most common contaminating organisms in all samples were Staphylococcus aureus (38.9%) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (30.6%). No clinical infections were detected in TKAs in the follow-up period. Conclusion: The contamination rate during TKA is relatively high, despite the practice of standard preventive measures. Contamination levels, measured by CFU/g, are considered low when compared to the infection threshold of 105 reported in the literature. However, contamination should not be underestimated due to the presence of foreign bodies (implants), which are known to significantly lower this threshold. Level of evidence IV; case series .

RESUMO Introdução: Apesar dos inúmeros artigos sobre a contaminação intraoperatória em procedimentos de artroplastia total do joelho (ATJ), os dados disponíveis sobre a contaminação tecidual são escassos e baseiam-se principalmente na avaliação de swabs bacteriológicos. Métodos: Duzentos e quarenta espécimes, divididos entre ossos e tecidos moles, foram obtidos de 40 ATJ primárias unilaterais consecutivas. Os exemplares foram avaliados quanto ao crescimento bacteriano aeróbio e anaeróbio. As unidades formadoras de colônias/grama (UFC/g) foram calculadas nas amostras contaminadas para determinar o nível de contaminação. Resultados: A taxa de contaminação em espécimes intraoperatórios foi de 15% durante a ATJ. O nível de contaminação teve uma média de 10,6 e uma mediana de 5 variando de 1-70 UFC/g. Os organismos contaminantes mais comuns em todas as amostras foram Staphylococcus aureus (38,9%) e Staphylococcus epidermidis (30,6%). Nenhuma infecção clínica foi detectada nas ATJ durante o período de acompanhamento. Conclusão: A taxa de contaminação durante a ATJ é relativamente alta, apesar da prática de medidas preventivas padrão. Os níveis de contaminação, medidos por UFC/g, são considerados baixos quando comparados ao limiar de infecção de 105, relatado na literatura. No entanto, a contaminação não deve ser negligenciada devido à presença de corpos estranhos (implantes) que são conhecidos por reduzir significativamente esse limiar. Nível de evidência IV; series de casos.

Obesity and Multisite Pain in the Lower Limbs: Data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative.

Background: Although several studies investigated the relationship between obesity, osteoarthritis, and pain, no study examined the association between obesity and multijoint pain in the lower limbs. The purpose of this study was to address this gap. Method: This cross-sectional study was performed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between March and April 2019. In this study, a total of 4,661 adults aged 45-79 years with or at high risk for knee osteoarthritis were included from the Osteoarthritis Initiative. The persons who had an elevated risk of developing symptoms of knee osteoarthritis during the study were defined as high risk for knee osteoarthritis. According to the body mass index, participants were categorized into three groups: normal weight (n = 1,068), overweight (n = 1,832), and obese (n = 1,761). Logistic regression was used to examine the association between obesity and multisite pain. Results: The odds of multisite pain was associated significantly (p < 0.001) by 1.36 times higher with obesity than normal weight, no, or sigle-site pain, even after adjusting for sociodemographic and health variables. Conclusion: Obesity is associated with an increased likelihood of multisite pain in the lower limbs. The results enable clinicians to adopt better standards of practice for the prevention and screening of multisite pain in this community.

Knee pain and health-related quality of life among older patients with different knee osteoarthritis severity in Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVE: There is a lack of knowledge about health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Saudi patients with musculoskeletal impairment, particularly among older adult populations. Thus, the current research aimed to determine the association of knee osteoarthritis (OA) severity with knee pain (KP) and HRQoL among older patients in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: In a multicenter cross-sectional study, we recruited 209 consecutive males and females aged ≥55 years with radiographically diagnosed knee OA from five hospitals across Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. According to the Kellgren & Lawrence classification, patients were classified into two groups: mild/moderate knee OA (n = 126) and severe knee OA (n = 83). KP and HRQoL were assessed using the pain visual analogue scale (VAS) and the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), respectively. A higher score on the pain VAS and the SF-36 represented worse KP and better HRQoL, respectively. RESULTS: Severe knee OA was significantly associated with an increased score of 3.47 (p <.0001) points on the pain VAS compared with the score reported by patients with mild/moderate knee OA. Additionally, it was significantly associated with reduced scores of 6.83 and 5.82 (both: p <.0001) points on the physical and mental composite summary subscales of the SF-36, respectively, compared with the scores of patients with mild/moderate knee OA, even after adjusting for all covariates. CONCLUSION: Older patients with severe knee OA had significantly worse KP and reduced HRQoL compared to patients with mild/moderate knee conditions, even after controlling for confounders.