Orthopaedic surgery in severe bleeding disorders: a low-volume, high-cost procedure.

As more and more nations are scrutinizing their health care costs, attention has been focused on high-cost low-density disease. Assessment of actual total cost of care for haemophilia and its positive outcome becomes essential to justify support for these patients. In this study, we assessed hospital cost and diagnosis-related group (DRG) reimbursement for patients undergoing elective orthopaedic surgical procedures from May 1999 to December 1999. Hospital cost was assessed by a prospective microcost-analysis method. To identify real hospital costs, we performed registration of preoperative phase, operative phase and 1-year follow-up costs. Hospital cost included personnel costs and costs for clinical and laboratory procedures, blood products, prosthetic implants, coagulation factor concentrates and drugs. These data were compared with hospital DRG reimbursement. We included nine consecutive patients, with a mean age 38 years (19-54 years) who had had 10 major orthopaedic surgical procedures performed during the study period. Six patients had haemophilia A, two had haemophilia B and one had factor VII deficiency. Data analysis showed a mean cost of US$ 54,201 (range US$ 25,795-105,479; 1US$ = 8.5 NOK). The average actual hospital revenue (50% DRG reimbursement + income related to length of stay) was $4,730 (range $ 1,308-13,601). Our study confirms that orthopaedic surgery in patients with severe bleeding disorders puts the hospital to a considerable expense. Activity-based financing, as used in Norway, does not provide a proper reimbursement for this part of the haemophilia care.

Dynamic MR-imaging in the diagnosis of pigmented villonodular synovitis of the knee.

The aim of this report was to study the rate of contrast enhancement at MRI in pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS). Dynamic MRI was performed in a patient with PVNS just before and 1 week and 3 years following synovectomy of the knee. As opposed to patients with rheumatic disease the patient with PVNS showed a slower enhancement rate before synovectomy than 1 week after. At 3 years follow-up the patient with PVNS showed an enhancement rate just above that of the normal controls. The results indicate that PVNS has features more common to hyperplastic or neoplastic lesions than to inflammatory ones. The results at 3 years follow-up also suggest that dynamic MRI may indicate the efficacy of arthroscopic synovectomy.

Arthroscopic synovectomy. When, which diseases and which joints.

The success of arthroscopic synovectomy depends both on surgical skill and patient selection. Close cooperation between rheumatologist and rheumasurgeon is advocated. Alternative local joint treatments are discussed, with particular respect to radiation synovectomy. Patients with chronic inflammatory joint disease comprise the major group of patients. However, other diseases like haemophilia, pigmented villonodular synovitis, synovial chondromatosis, posttraumatic synovitis and septic arthritis are also discussed. A discussion of open versus arthroscopic synovectomy for each joint is presented. Arthroscopic synovectomy is preferred when arthroscopic access allows radical synovectomy. Treating concomitant tenosynovitis is underlined.

Arthroscopic and radiographic examination of patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis before and after open synovectomy of the knee joint. A prospective study with a 5-year follow-up.

In a 5-year follow-up after open knee joint synovectomy in 18 patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) there was no radiographic progression of the juvenile rheumatoid arthritic changes. Radiographic evidence indicative of osteoarthrosis and of the soft tissue swelling were scored separately. Radiographic changes consistent with osteoarthrosis increased significantly during the observation period (P < 0.001). Arthroscopic evaluation of cartilage changes and radiographic evaluation of osteoarthrosis correlated significantly (P = 0.004). These were the only parameters found predicting the development of further cartilage destruction (P = 0.001). Clinically, the patients had significant improvement five years following synovectomy (P = 0.018), even though three patients required resynovectomy (one successfully after four years, and two patients are waiting for resynovectomy). At the 5-year follow-up both radiographic and clinical data indicate that juvenile rheumatoid arthritic activity of the knee joint was reduced following open synovectomy while osteoarthrosis developed. A new system of scoring radiographic JRA changes of the knee joint was found useful.

A prospective clinical five year follow up study after open synovectomy of the knee joint in patients with chronic inflammatory joint disease. The prognostic power of clinical, arthroscopic, histologic and immunohistologic variables.

Arthroscopy and clinical examination was performed on the knee joint of 26 patients with chronic inflammatory joint disease, before and at 6 and 12 months after open synovectomy. Biopsies were examined by histologic and immunohistologic methods. Clinically the patients improved until 6 months after synovectomy, and the improvement was maintained for 5 years. Patients with the best clinical function prior to synovectomy also had the best long term results (p = 0.024). The state of the cartilage was the best predicting variable with a significant prognostic power (p = 0.01). Thus patients with normal cartilage at the time of synovectomy had the best clinical score five years later. The patients with most resynovitis 12 months after surgery did less well at five year clinical follow up (p = 0.032) than those with little or no resynovitis. Absence or low number of IgA-positive plasma cells in the cellular infiltrate at 12 months after surgery correlated with a good clinical score five years after surgery (p = 0.036). This suggests that a high number of IgA-positive plasma cells may be indicative of a more aggressive, destructive disease.

Evaluation of knee joint cartilages and menisci in patients with chronic inflammatory joint diseases. A prospective arthroscopic study before, six and twelve months after open synovectomy.

Destruction of joint cartilage is an important feature in chronic inflammatory joint diseases. This article considers the areas of the cartilages of the knee joint prone to destructive changes, pannus growth and marginal erosions, and the changes of pattern after open synovectomy. Twenty-eight patients with chronic inflammatory joint disease which gave indication for synovectomy of the knee joint had arthroscopy immediately before, 6 and 12 months after open synovectomy. A method of grading the changes of the cartilage, pannus growth, menisci and marginal erosions is described. There was an increase in cartilage pathology 12 months after synovectomy (p less than 0.001), particularly on the weight bearing areas of the femur and on the tibial condyles. No significant deterioration in areas with pathology at the time of synovectomy was found in the follow up. Pannus growth was particularly located to areas 2 and 4 on the femoral condyles. We conclude that cartilage destruction after synovectomy is more likely to be a result of osteoarthrosis than arthritic changes.

Arthroscopic evaluation of the synovial lining before and after open synovectomy of the knee joint in patients with chronic inflammatory joint diseases.

Twenty-eight patients with chronic inflammatory joint diseases had arthroscopy immediately before synovectomy of the knee joint and 6 and 12 months postoperatively. In patients with moderate and/or severe synovitis of the knee joint all of the synovial membrane is involved in the disease process. Resynovitis (synovitis of the regenerated synovial membrane after synovectomy), however, is patchy and if biopsy should be indicated, arthroscopic guidance is advocated. Following synovectomy there is a recurrence of mild synovitis of varying degree in some cases with an increase in resynovitis between 6 and 12 months. The level of synovitis at 12 months was, however, markedly less than at synovectomy (p less than 0.01). Similar development was found both in histopathology and immunohistopathology after synovectomy. Arthroscopic examination of the synovial membrane in chronic inflammatory disease of the knee joints gives valuable information of the severity and the longitudinal changes of synovitis. A simple method of scoring is described and is imperative when comparing patients or groups of patients and when doing longitudinal arthroscopic studies. The method was used both at arthroscopy and at subsequent synovectomy giving a highly significant correlation (p less than 0.001).

Histopathologic changes in arthroscopic synovial biopsies before and after open synovectomy in patients with chronic inflammatory joint diseases.

Synovial biopsies were taken from five preselected areas of knee joints in patients with chronic inflammatory joint diseases immediately prior to synovectomy as well as 6 and 12 months later. The histologic changes were assessed by evaluating 16 different parameters in each individual biopsy. When the 16 parameters were treated as a group there was a significant reduction (p less than 0.001) in inflammatory changes at 6 months, but a slight increase again after 12 months. This was expressed by a significant reduction in lymphocytes (p less than 0.025) and plasma cells (p less than 0.01). The reduction seen in macrophages was not significant (p greater than 0.05). The cellular infiltrates in the interstitial stroma were dominated by lymphocytes, plasma cells and macrophages preoperatively and by lymphocytes and macrophages following synovectomy. Fibrosis was a dominating feature before synovectomy, and it increased (p less than 0.025) following the operation, probably due to the surgical intervention. Before synovectomy the severity of inflammatory changes within each single joint varied, but none of the preselected areas was more prone to these changes than any other. Postoperatively at both 6 and 12 months the inflammatory parameters were more pronounced in the intercondylar area (p less than 0.025).

Immunohistopathologic findings in synovial biopsies before and after synovectomy in patients with chronic inflammatory joint diseases and their relation to clinical evaluation. A prospective study of biopsies taken from areas selected by arthroscopy.

Synovial biopsies were obtained from 28 patients with various kinds of chronic arthritis, at synovectomy and 6 and 12 months later. The tissues were examined by immunofluorescence technique, recording the quantities of cells and extracellular deposits staining with polyclonal antisera to IgG, IgA, IgM, C3c, fibrinogen, and chi and lambda light chains, and monoclonal antibodies to CD3, CD5, CD11b, HLA DR, and TCC (Terminal Complement Complex). These parameters were compared with scores obtained by arthroscopy and clinical evaluation (Colorado Knee Score) performed at the same time. Taken as a group, the immunological parameters showed reduction in activity 6 months after synovectomy (p less than 0.01), and a tendency to revert to base-line values after 12 months. A similar reduction in activity after 6 months was also found by arthroscopic and clinical evaluation. Thus, this longitudinal study demonstrated a relationship between changes in immunologic activity, arthroscopic findings and clinical activity after synovectomy in patients with chronic arthritis. This is consistent with an immunological pathogenesis for the inflammation in these joints.