Patient Acceptable Symptomatic State and Substantial Clinical Benefit Matter Most to Patients and Must Be Reported Correctly.

Despite a push for a focus on clinical rather than "statistical" significance, and an emphasis on reporting of outcome thresholds such as Patient Acceptable Symptomatic State (PASS) and Substantial Clinical Benefit (SCB), PASS and SCB are rarely reported, and when reported, are often reported incorrectly. Yet, patients require satisfaction (PASS) as a result of our treatments, and patients desire to improve substantially (SCB). Determining whether patients are satisfied and/or substantially improved is simple…just ask them. The questions are known as anchor questions. Obviously, different patients have different thresholds of PASS and SCB, and reliance on previously published literature for values of these thresholds can result in error-thus, the anchor questions. And, each patient must be assessed individually. Outcome thresholds are not group-level metrics, and must be reported as the percentage of individuals who achieve the clinically significant outcome. Certain patients, such as athletes, have high baseline function and may demand Maximum Outcome Improvement or (MOI). In contrast, Minimally Clinically Important Difference (MCID) is a less-than-ideal measure; patients do not desire "minimal" improvement. Journals must do a better job of publishing Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROM) that matter most to patients: satisfaction and substantial benefit.

Disaggregation of Medical Research Data Reveals Outcome Differences in Demographic Groups and Presents Opportunity to Improve Patient Care.

Disaggregation, in the medical literature, means separation into demographic groups. This results in an opportunity to discover differences in outcomes by group, which could improve future treatments and provide outcome data, by group, that could be included in future systematic reviews. In research, the term disaggregation is most often used in reference to addressing inequities. We support the Sex and Gender Equity Research (SAGER) guidelines and encourage authors to examine how sex and gender are taken into account in their study and ensure adequate representation by sex and gender. (We respect that not all studies can or are designed to capture data by sex and gender, and that gender is "complex" and "fluid"). Disaggregation is encouraged, when possible, for other demographic variables allowing evaluation of all marginalized (as well as nonmarginalized) populations, so that we can better care for patients.

AANA24 Delivers Knowledge and a Sense of Purpose.

The 2024 Annual Meeting of the Arthroscopy Association of North America in Boston was our largest ever. The program was innovative, and attendees departed with a sense of purpose and new knowledge. Besides intellectual exchange, the meeting fostered connections that will shape arthroscopy in years to come. We look forward to AANA25 in Washington, DC.

The discovery of indazapyroxamet: a novel 3-pyridinyl insecticide targeting piercing/sucking insectsa.

In recent years, the registrations for a number of commercial insecticides utilized for piercing/sucking insects have been cancelled or restricted. To meet this growing need for new hemipteran controlling agrochemicals, we discovered a 2-(pyridin-3-yl)-thiazole compound, with limited insecticidal activity against cotton/melon aphid (Aphis gossypii). The 2-(pyridin-3-yl)-thiazole moiety offered us a basis to pursue the bicyclic 2-(pyridin-3-yl)-2H-indazole carboxamides. Evaluation of such 2-(pyridin-3-yl)-2H-indazole carboxamides revealed that even analogs containing only simple alkyl amides attached at the 4 or 5 positions possess promising insecticidal activity. Extensive optimization of this novel class of 2-(pyridin-3-yl)-2H-indazole carboxamides led to identifying indazapyroxamet for commercial development. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

The Purpose of Journal Peer Review Is to Make Articles Better.

Authors may have the misconception that the purpose of peer review is to serve as an arbiter or referee, or in other words, to make a binary, Accept After Revision versus Reject, decision whether an article will be published in our journal. In truth, although making that difficult decision is part of the process, it is only a part. The principal goal of peer review is to make articles better.

The Second Annual Musculoskeletal Biologics Special Issue Highlights Evidence-Based Therapies.

Orthopaedic biologics continues to hold great promise. The editors of Arthroscopy; Arthroscopy Techniques; and Arthroscopy, Sports Medicine, and Rehabilitation once again Call for Papers and invite authors to submit clinical musculoskeletal biologics original scientific research and technical notes with video. Our top articles are awarded inclusion in the Annual Musculoskeletal Biologics Special Issue.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning May Resolve Health Care Information Overload.

Biomedical information doubles almost every 2 months, and this very rate is expected to double by 2025. The result is information overload for clinicians and researchers. Today, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) research contribute to the deluge of information. In addition, AI large language models, although capable of automating scientific writing, are flawed. They hallucinate (make things up), are trained primarily on non-peer-reviewed content, raise ethical and legal issues, and lack human empathy. Still, when it comes to AI including ML, we are optimistic. The technology is improving rapidly. In the future, AI will help us manage unwieldy information by processing data, determining diagnoses, recommending treatments, and predicting outcomes. In research, AI and ML similarly promise efficient data analysis and literature review and will create new content in response to our instructions. Human touch will be required, and we will disclose use of AI proactively, including rationale for its use, our data input, our level of confidence in the output, and the patients or populations to whom the output may be applied. In addition, we will ensure data quality is high and bias is minimized. Most of all, we will provide essential reasoning, clinical and research guidance, and diligent oversight. Humans will remain accountable.

Editorial Commentary: Pedicled Quadriceps Tendon Autograft for Medial Patellofemoral Ligament Reconstruction Eradicates Risk of Saphenous Nerve Injury Seen With Gracilis Autograft. Allograft, When Available, Also Shows Excellent Outcomes.

Comparing a pedicled single-limbed quadriceps tendon (QT) autograft to a matched gracilis autograft (GT) group with bone tunnel anchors for patellar instability, the QT group showed similar outcome yet markedly improved complication rates involving the saphenous nerve and no anterior knee pain. These findings are reassuring for the QT usage as an option to GT autograft. Multiple systematic reviews have clearly shown that allograft medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction has similar outcomes to autograft and is a viable option. As we have seen in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, there has been a march to include the QT into ligament reconstruction of the knee. The evidence is cumulating to support its use for medial patellofemoral complex reconstruction. As we await the verdict of Fulkerson's proposed double-bundle medial patellofemoral ligament and medial quadriceps tendon femoral ligament reconstruction, it appears that either QT autograft or GT allograft will be the go-to procedures of choice. Regardless the type of graft or type of patellar attachment, make sure the femoral side of the medial patellofemoral complex graft gets the most attention.

The Ultimate Goal of Medical Publishing is Practice-Changing Innovation.

New Year brings a new catchline: Practice-Changing Innovation. Publishing groundbreaking research and inventive techniques that translate to improvements in patient care is an ultimate goal.

A gaming app developed for vestibular rehabilitation improves the accuracy of performance and engagement with exercises.

Introduction: Vestibular hypofunction is associated with dizziness, imbalance, and blurred vision with head movement. Vestibular rehabilitation is the gold standard recommendation to decrease symptoms and improve postural stability. The Clinical Practice Guidelines for vestibular hypofunction suggest home exercises 3-5 times daily, but patient adherence is a problem, with compliance rates often below 50%. Methods: An app was developed to increase engagement with home exercises by providing exercises as games. This study compared the accuracy of exercise performance in a one-time session using the app versus no-app and gathered participant feedback on using the app for vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) and balance exercises. The app was tested with 40 adults (20 women), mean age of 67 ± 5.7 years, with symptomatic unilateral or bilateral vestibular hypofunction. Participants completed VOR exercises in pitch and yaw planes, weight-shift, and single-leg balance exercises using an inertial motion unit to move the character on the tablet screen. Participants were randomly assigned to begin the exercises with or without the app. Results: Results show that during VOR exercises, participants achieved the prescribed frequency of head motion for the yaw plane (p ≤ 0.001) and reduced variability of head movement frequency in both the yaw (p ≤ 0.001) and pitch plane (p ≤ 0.001) in the app compared to the no-app condition. During weight-shifting exercises, a larger range of body motion was noted in the anteroposterior and mediolateral directions in the app compared to the no-app condition (p < 0.05). During single-leg balance exercises, pelvic motion was lower in the app versus no-app condition (p = 0.02). Participants modified their exercise performance and corrected their mistakes to a greater extent when they used the app during the VOR exercises. Participants agreed that they felt motivated while playing the games (97%) and felt motivated by the trophies (92%). They agreed that the app would help them perform the exercises at home (95%), improve their rehab performance (95%) and that it was fun to do the exercises using the app (93%). Discussion: The results of this study show that technology that is interactive and provides feedback can be used to increase accuracy and engagement with exercises.

Arthroscopy Journal: Reflections on 2023 and Auld Lang Syne.

Auld lang syne; times long past. We were unsuspecting of the coming pandemic. Things changed. COVID-19 impacted each of us, our families, our patients, our medical practices, and our daily lives. The year 2020 was one of cancellation and loss; 2021 and 2022 were years of adaptation, caution, and continued loss. Finally, 2023 began a time of recovery; while COVID-19 is still with us, the pandemic has been declared ended, and we emerge with gratitude. We slowly removed our masks and rediscovered the vitality of meeting face-to-face. And throughout, Arthroscopy has continued to develop, including new journals; special issues on rehabilitation, biologics, and diversity as they relate to musculoskeletal care; collaboration with the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, Maintenance of Certification, Web-Based Longitudinal Assessment Pathway; Arthroscopy Techniques; Infographics; Visual Abstracts; and Podcasts. At year end, we extend special thanks to editors whose terms have expired, our team and leaders, our reviewers, our authors and readers, and our patients who offer us their trust and an opportunity to serve.

Strategies to Mitigate Against Least-Publishable Units in Medical and Scientific Research Publications.

Least-publishable units, aka minimal publishable units, smallest publishable units, fractions of scholarly effort, and "salami slicing" divide a single research publication into a number of papers with small amounts of information in each paper. This results in quantity rather than quality; is ethically inappropriate; creates extra work for readers, future authors, reviewers, and editors; and can result in redundancy, self-plagiarism, publication overlap, and duplicate reporting of patient data that can result in inaccurate conclusions in systematic reviews. Increased awareness and actionable intervention can help to reverse this growing trend.