Multi-Planar Expansion of the Coronal Plane Alignment of the Knee Classification? A Computed Tomographic Study Indicates No Significant Correlation With Alignment Parameters in Other Planes.

BACKGROUND: The Coronal Plane Alignment of the Knee (CPAK) classification categorizes knee phenotypes based on constitutional limb alignment (arithmetic hip-knee-ankle angle or aHKA) and joint line obliquity (JLO). This study aimed to determine if sagittal and rotational knee alignments vary among CPAK types in order to establish whether this classification should be expanded beyond coronal plane assessment. METHODS: Coronal, sagittal, and rotational alignment measurements were made and CPAK types were calculated from computed tomographic data of 437 patients (509 knees) who underwent robotic-assisted total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Differences in femoral, tibial, and tibio-femoral angular measurements were compared across CPAK types, and correlations were made to aHKA and JLO. Nonparametric and linear regression tests were used to analyze between-type differences. RESULTS: There were no differences in tibial slope or femoral rotational measures across CPAK phenotypes. However, CPAK Type III knees had a greater tibio-femoral rotation mean difference than CPAK Type I, II, IV, and V knees (P < .05). We also found increased femoral flexion in Type I knees when compared to Type VI knees (P = .01). The aHKA had a weak correlation with femoral flexion angle, and JLO had a weak correlation with femoral posterior condylar axis to tibial antero-posterior axis angle. CONCLUSION: Few clinically important differences in sagittal and rotational alignments were found between CPAK types, indicating that CPAK phenotype has little correlation to 3-dimensional alignment characteristics. Need for an expansion of the CPAK classification beyond coronal plane alignment is not supported from these results.

How not to miss infective causes of hip pain in children.

A referral from accident and emergency for a child with hip pain is a scenario commonly faced by orthopaedic juniors on call. The list of differentials is vast and can make assessment and diagnosis challenging, with severe consequences if diagnosis is delayed or missed. Three common causes of paediatric hip pain are septic arthritis, transient synovitis and osteomyelitis. These can all present as a child with atraumatic hip pain, irritability, fever and refusal to weight bear. Differentiating between them can be challenging. A thorough history and examination, combined with appropriate investigations and imaging, is essential. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment are key to reducing irreversible secondary sequelae of joint destruction and long-term functional impairment.

A simple measure to improve the rates of thromboprophylaxis prescription post surgical fixation of neck of femur fractures in a district general hospital.

Neck of femur (NOF) fractures are a major public health concern because of the ageing population and higher incidence of fragility fractures. NOF fractures are associated with high mortality and morbidity rates, and there is a high risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) after hip fractures (Ref 1). Therefore thromboprophylaxis is vital. Current NICE guidelines advocate 28 - 35 days of thromboprophylaxis after NOF fractures (Ref 1, 2). It came to our attention that patients post NOF fixation were getting variable prescriptions in regards to their thromboprophylaxis. Therefore a retrospective study on prescription of thromboprophylaxis was conducted from October 2012 to February 2013 within the trauma and orthopaedics department at Queens Hospital, Romford. Data was collected on all NOF fractures from electronic discharge summaries. Basic descriptive statistics were used to analysis the data. There were 110 cases of NOF fractures during this period. 100 patients were included since two were discounted as they were already on long term anticoagulants and eight patients died in hospital. No thromboprophylaxis was prescribed for 15 patients (15%). Three patients (3%) were prescribed less than 28 days (mean 14 days, range (14 - 14 days)). 69 patients (69%) received 28 - 35 days of thromprophylaxis, whilst five patients (5%) received more than 35 days (mean 42 days, range 40 - 42 days). Formal departmental teaching and presentation of the findings was given after the initial study and a small label with the message, 'POST NOF #: 28-35 days Enoxaparin', was attached to the back of all the junior doctor work phones. After the intervention, data was collected from the period of 7th of January to 7th of February 2013. The second study showed that 50 patients were admitted with NOF fractures in this time period. Four patients died in hospital and three patients were discounted as they were on Warfarin. Two patients were not prescribed thromboprophylaxis (5%). 34 (79%) patients received 28 - 35 days, whereas seven patients (16%) received 42 days of thromboprophylaxis. The older patients with multiple co-morbidities and reduced mobility are at high risk of developing thromboembolism post NOF fixation. Our initial study identified inadequate prescription of thromboprophylaxis post NOF fractures. After introduction of simple measures such as the reminder label attached to phones, our repeat study found that there was improvement in prescription rates. Our study highlights that simple measures can increase awareness and improve patient safety.

Factors associated with early recurrence and death after esophagectomy for cancer.

BACKGROUND: Accurate selection of patients for radical treatment of esophageal cancer is essential to avoid early recurrence and death (ERD) after surgery. We sought to evaluate a large series of consecutive resections to assess factors that may be associated with this poor outcome. METHODS: This was a cohort study including 680 patients operated for esophageal cancer between 2000 and 2010. The poor outcome group comprised 100 patients with tumor recurrence and death within 1 year of surgery. The comparison group comprised 267 long-term survivors, defined as those surviving more than 3 years from surgery. Pathological characteristics associated with poor outcome were analyzed using logistic regression to determine odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: On the adjusted model T stage and N stage predicted poor survival, with the greatest risk being patients with locally advanced tumors and three or more involved lymph nodes (OR 10.6, 95% CI 2.8-40.0). Poor differentiation (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.4-5.5), chemotherapy response (OR 3.6, 95% CI 1.2-10.6), and involved resection margins (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.2-6.0) were all significant independent prognostic markers in the multivariable model. There was a trend toward worse survival with lymphovascular invasion (OR 2.0, 95% CI 0.9-4.2) and low albumin (OR 1.9, 95% CI 0.8-4.4) but not of statistical significance in the adjusted model. CONCLUSIONS: Esophageal cancer patients with poorly differentiated tumors and three or more involved lymph nodes have a particularly high risk of ERD after surgery. Accurate risk stratification of patients may identify a group who would be better served by alternative oncological treatment strategies.