Health Disparities in Patients With Musculoskeletal Injuries: Food Insecurity Is a Common and Clinically Challenging Problem.

BACKGROUND: Health disparities have important effects on orthopaedic patient populations. Socioeconomic factors and poor nutrition have been shown to be associated with an increased risk of complications such as infection in patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery. Currently, there are limited published data on how food insecurity is associated with medical and surgical complications. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: We sought to (1) determine the percentage of patients who experience food insecurity in an orthopaedic trauma clinic at a large Level 1 trauma center, (2) identify demographic and clinical factors associated with food insecurity, and (3) identify whether there are differences in the risk of complications and reoperations between patients who experience food insecurity and patients who are food-secure. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study using food insecurity screening surveys, which were obtained at an orthopaedic trauma clinic at our Level 1 trauma center. All patients 18 years and older who were seen for an initial evaluation or follow-up for fracture care between November 2022 and February 2023 were considered for inclusion in this study. For inclusion in this study, the patient had to have surgical treatment of their fracture and have completed at least one food insecurity screening survey. Ninety-eight percent (121 of 123) of patients completed the screening survey during the study period. Data for 21 patients were excluded because of nonoperative treatment of their fracture, nonfracture-related care, impending metastatic fracture care, and patients who had treatment at an outside facility and were transferring their care. This led to a study group of 100 patients with orthopaedic trauma. The mean age was 51 years, and 51% (51 of 100) were men. The mean length of follow-up available for patients in the study was 13 months from the initial clinic visit. Patient demographics, hospital admission data, and outcome data were collected from the electronic medical records. Patients were divided into two cohorts: food-secure versus food-insecure. Patients were propensity score matched for adjusted analysis. RESULTS: A total of 37% of the patients in this study (37 of 100) screened positive for food insecurity during the study period. Patients with food insecurity were more likely to have a higher BMI than patients with food security (32 kg/m2 compared with 28 kg/m2; p = 0.009), and they were more likely not to have healthcare insurance or to have Medicaid (62% [23 of 37] compared with 30% [19 of 63]; p = 0.003). After propensity matching for age, gender, ethnicity, current substance use, Charleston comorbidity index, employment status, open fracture, and length of stay, food insecurity was associated with a higher percentage of superficial infections (13% [4 of 31] compared with 0% [0 of 31]; p = 0.047). There were no differences between the groups in the risk of reoperation, deep infection, and nonunion. CONCLUSION: Food insecurity is common among patients who have experienced orthopaedic trauma, and patients who have it may be at increased risk of superficial infections after surgery. Future research in this area should focus on defining these health disparities further and interventions that could address them. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, therapeutic study.

Pectoralis Major Tendon Reconstruction: A Systematic Review.

Pectoralis major tendon injuries are an uncommon injury. They can be treated with primary repair, however, when the tendon becomes retracted it necessitates tendon reconstruction. We performed a systematic review to evaluate patient characteristics, surgical techniques, and outcomes associated with pectoralis major reconstruction. A review was performed for studies published between 1990 and 2019. Peer-reviewed studies with a minimum 1-year follow-up were included. Return to activity, range of motion, complications, and functional outcome scores were primary outcomes. Fourteen primary studies with 88 total patients met inclusion criteria. All patients were male with the average age of 34.6 years-old. Hamstring autograft represented the most frequently used graft type (35). Functional outcomes demonstrated good to excellent results in the majority of patients. Pectoralis major tendon reconstruction is a viable option for tears not amenable to primary repair. We found good to excellent outcomes, and 94.2% return to sport for patients undergoing reconstruction. (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 31(2):123-126, 2022).

Systematic Review and Analysis of the Quality of Randomized Controlled Trials Comparing Reamed and Unreamed Intramedullary Nailing of Tibial Fractures.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the quality of research and reporting of randomized controlled trials comparing the use of reamed and unreamed intramedullary nails for tibial fractures with validated scoring systems. DATA SOURCE: PubMed using the search terms "tibia" AND "reamed OR unreamed" AND "intramedullary OR nail." Filters were applied for the years 1991-2019, full articles, human subjects, and English language. STUDY SELECTION: Inclusion criteria were (1) prospective and randomized trials, (2) studies reported >80% follow-up, and (3) articles amenable to scoring with the chosen scoring systems. Exclusion criteria were (1) skeletally immature patients or (2) incomplete data sets. DATA EXTRACTION: Articles were assessed with the Coleman Methodology Score, the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials systems, and Cowan's Categorical Rating by 2 independent observers. DATA SYNTHESIS: Scores for individual articles were averaged for the 2 observers. The total and subcategory scores for all included articles were also averaged with SD from both observers. Categories from the 2 grading systems with deficient reporting were measured as a percentage based on grading from both observers. Data were analyzed using kappa statistic and correlation coefficient to assess agreement and reliability. CONCLUSIONS: All included articles supported the use of reamed tibial intramedullary nails, but the overall quality of the literature fell in the middle of both the modified Coleman Score and Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials grading scheme ranges despite being Oxford Level 1. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic Level I. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Late-term hiatal hernia after gastric bypass: an emerging problem.

BACKGROUND: Gastric bypasses were the most common bariatric surgery for many years, and long-term complications after gastric bypass are known to be relatively common. Symptomatic hiatal hernia (HH) with pouch migration is a less-known complication. However, when these are symptomatic, they require surgical repair. OBJECTIVE: We present a case series of late-term HH after gastric bypass and discuss the common presentation and treatment. SETTING: University program in the United States. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed of patients presenting with late-term HH after gastric bypass performed by a single surgeon during 2002 through 2018. The review captured presentation and symptoms, age, body mass index, time from index surgery, radiologic studies, and the reoperative details. If available, the original operative note was reviewed along with any preoperative imaging studies. A review of the literature was also performed. RESULTS: Seven patients were included in the case series. The average time from the index surgery was 11.9 years (range 9-16) and the average age of the patient at time of presentation was 60.1. The average body mass index at the time of the HH repair was 34 kg/m2. The most common presenting symptom was gastroesophageal reflux. Both computed tomography and upper gastrointestinal series were used for diagnosis with a common finding of HH and pouch migration into the mediastinum. HH repair with bioabsorbable mesh was performed in all patients, with an average operative time of 105 minutes. CONCLUSION: HH can present late after gastric bypass become symptomatic. When symptomatic, it needs to be addressed surgically and can usually be done through a minimally invasive approach.

Penetrating trauma in children on the United States-Mexico border: Hispanic ethnicity is not a risk factor.

INTRODUCTION: The United States-Mexico border is perceived as dangerous by the media and current political leaders. Hispanic ethnicity, low socioeconomic status, male gender and adolescent age have previously been identified as risk factors for penetrating trauma (PT). METHODS: A retrospective review of PT was performed in a border region. Children 0-17 years old, admitted to the region's only level I trauma center between 2001 and 2016 were included. Standardized morbidity ratio was used to compare observed to expected morbidity. RESULTS: There were 417 PT admissions. 197 (47%) were non-accidental, 34 (8%) suicide attempts and 186 (45%) accidental. There were 12 homicides, 7 suicides and no accidental deaths. The region contains over 280,000 children, thus yielding a homicide rate of 0.26 per 100,000. The U.S. pediatric homicide rate was 2.6-4.0 over this period. Adolescents 13-17 years old accounted for 237 (57%) admissions, 152 (78%) of non-accidental admissions and 12 (63%) deaths. Most admissions (N = 321, 77%) and 15 of the deaths (79%) were males. Non-accidental injuries were more frequent in ZIP codes associated with low incomes. Hispanic patients accounted for 173 (88%) of non-accidental trauma. However, 40 (20%) non-accidental injuries occurred in Mexico and 157 (80%) injuries occurred in an 82% Hispanic region. Therefore, the standardized morbidity ratio for Hispanic ethnicity was 1.048 (CL 0.8-1.2, P = 0.6). CONCLUSION: On the United States-Mexico border, the pediatric homicide rate was less than 1/10 the national average. Male adolescents are at risk for non-accidental PT. In a Hispanic majority population, Hispanic ethnicity was not a risk factor for PT. It is possible that economic disparity, rather than race/ethnicity, is a risk factor for PT.

Time trends in prevalence of gastroschisis in Texas, 1999 to 2011: Subgroup analyses by maternal and infant characteristics.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of gastroschisis, a birth defect of the abdominal wall, has been increasing in several areas around the world. Suggested risk factors for gastroschisis include maternal age, race/ethnicity, nativity, body mass index, and socioeconomic status. METHODS: Data for cases of gastroschisis and live births were taken from the Texas Birth Defects Registry and Texas vital records for deliveries between 1999 and 2011. Prevalence by subgroups over time was calculated for: infant sex, maternal age, race/ethnicity, nativity, education, parity, plurality, body mass index, and payer type. Stratified, adjusted, and interaction analyses of the trends were conducted using Poisson regression. A joinpoint trend analysis was also conducted for each subgroup. RESULTS: A total of 2,549 gastroschisis cases and 4,970,979 live births were delivered in 1999 to 2011, for an overall prevalence of 5.13 cases per 10,000 live births (95% confidence interval = 4.93-5.33). On average, the prevalence increased 4.8% each year; this overall time trend was statistically significant (p-value < 0.0001). The time trend remained significant after adjusting for all variables, except payer type. The stratified analysis showed the increasing time trend was significant in many of the subgroups. However, there were no significant differences in the magnitude of the time trends between subgroups according to the interaction analysis. CONCLUSION: This study confirms the increasing prevalence of gastroschisis over the time period 1999 to 2011 in Texas. The results suggest that no population subgroups are experiencing a significantly different increase in gastroschisis prevalence over time than others.