Survival and functional outcome of high tibial osteotomy for medial knee osteoarthritis: a 10-20-year cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The primary aim of this study was to identify independent predictors of long-term survivorship after high tibial osteotomy (HTO). The secondary aims were to describe the functional outcome of surviving HTO 10-20 years after surgery. METHODS: A retrospective cohort of 223 HTO that were performed for the treatment of medial osteoarthritis was identified. Details were recorded from the patient notes. All surviving patients were contacted and asked to complete a Tegner Activity Scale, Lysholm Knee Score and rate pain using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Survival analysis was performed, using conversion to arthroplasty as the definition of failure. RESULTS: The mean age was 54 years (24-80 years). There were 123 (55.2%) in males and 100 (44.8%) in females. The mean BMI was 27.2 (SD 3.9). Twenty (9%) patients were lost to follow-up. The mean follow-up was 12 (SD 4) years. Survival at 10 years was 75 and 55% at 15 years and less than 40% at 20 years. Cox regression analysis demonstrated age of 50 years or more, female gender and surgical technique to be significant independent predictors of failure. The median Tegner score was 3 (inter-quartile range (IQR) 1-3). The mean Lysholm score was 75.5 (SD 18.4). The median VAS was 5 (IQR 0-6). CONCLUSIONS: The medium- to long-term survival and functional outcome after HTO was good to excellent at 10-20 years of follow-up. Age, gender, surgeon and surgical technique were identified as independent predictors of failure.

The Accuracy of Imaging Techniques in the Assessment of Periprosthetic Hip Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Various imaging techniques are used for excluding or confirming periprosthetic hip infection, but there is no consensus regarding the most accurate technique. The objective of this study was to determine the accuracy of current imaging modalities in diagnosing periprosthetic hip infection. METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature was conducted with a comprehensive search of MEDLINE and Embase to identify clinical studies in which periprosthetic hip infection was investigated with different imaging modalities. The sensitivity and specificity of each imaging technique were determined and compared with the results of microbiological and histological analysis, intraoperative findings, and clinical follow-up of >6 months. RESULTS: A total of 31 studies, published between 1988 and 2014, were included for meta-analysis, representing 1,753 hip prostheses. Quality assessment of the included studies identified low concerns with regard to external validity but more concerns with regard to internal validity including risk of bias (>50% of studies had insufficient information). No meta-analysis was performed for radiography, ultrasonography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging because of insufficient available clinical data. The pooled sensitivity and specificity were 88% (95% confidence interval [CI], 81% to 94%) and 92% (95% CI, 88% to 96%), respectively, for leukocyte scintigraphy; 86% (95% CI, 80% to 90%) and 93% (95% CI, 90% to 95%) for fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET); 69% (95% CI, 58% to 79%) and 96% (95% CI, 93% to 98%) for combined leukocyte and bone marrow scintigraphy; 84% (95% CI, 70% to 93%) and 75% (95% CI, 66% to 82%) for antigranulocyte scintigraphy; and 80% (95% CI, 72% to 86%) and 69% (95% CI, 64% to 73%) for bone scintigraphy. CONCLUSIONS: Of the currently used imaging techniques, leukocyte scintigraphy has satisfactory accuracy in confirming or excluding periprosthetic hip infection. Although not significantly different, combined leukocyte and bone marrow scintigraphy was the most specific imaging technique. FDG PET has an appropriate accuracy in confirming or excluding periprosthetic hip infection, but may not yet be the preferred imaging modality because of limited availability and relatively higher cost. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Diagnostic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Accuracy of diagnostic imaging techniques in the diagnosis of aseptic loosening of the femoral component of a hip prosthesis: a meta-analysis.

In this meta-analysis we included 32 English-language articles published between January 1975 and June 2004 on the diagnostic performance of plain radiography, subtraction arthrography, nuclear arthrography and bone scintigraphy in detecting aseptic loosening of the femoral component, using criteria based on the Cochrane systematic review of screening and diagnostic tests. The mean sensitivity and specificity were, respectively, 82% (95% confidence interval (CI) 76 to 87) and 81% (95% CI 73 to 87) for plain radiography and 85% (95% CI 75 to 91) and 83% (95% CI 75 to 89) for nuclear arthrography. Pooled sensitivity and specificity were, respectively, 86% (95% CI 74 to 93) and 85% (95% CI 77 to 91) for subtraction arthrography and 85% (95% CI 79 to 89) and 72% (95% CI 64 to 79) for bone scintigraphy. Although the diagnostic performance of the imaging techniques was not significantly different, plain radiography and bone scintigraphy are preferred for the assessment of a femoral component because of their efficacy and lower risk of patient morbidity.