Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of surgery versus casting for elderly patients with Displaced intra-Articular type C distal Radius fractures: protocol of a randomised controlled Trial with economic evaluation (the DART study).

INTRODUCTION: Current literature is inconclusive about the optimal treatment of elderly patients with displaced intra-articular distal radius fractures. Cast treatment is less invasive and less expensive than surgical treatment. Nevertheless, surgery is often the preferred treatment for this common type of distal radius fracture. Patients with a non-acceptable position after closed reduction are more likely to benefit from surgery than patients with an acceptable position after closed reduction. Therefore, this study aims to assess non-inferiority of functional outcomes after casting versus surgery in elderly patients with a non-acceptable position following a distal radius fracture. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This study is a multicentre randomised controlled trial (RCT) with a non-inferiority design and an economic evaluation alongside. The population consists of patients aged 65 years and older with a displaced intra-articular distal radius fracture with non-acceptable radiological characteristics following either inadequate reduction or redisplacement after adequate reduction. Patients will be randomised between surgical treatment (open reduction and internal fixation) and non-operative treatment (closed reduction followed by cast treatment). We will use two age strata (65-75 and >75 years of age) and a web-based mixed block randomisation. A total of 154 patients will be enrolled and evaluated with the patient-rated wrist evaluation as the primary outcome at 1-year follow-up. Secondary outcomes include the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand questionnaire, quality of life (measured by the EQ-5D), wrist range of motion, grip strength and adverse events. In addition, we will perform a cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analysis from a societal and healthcare perspective. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios, cost-effectiveness planes and cost-effectiveness acceptability curves will be presented. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The Research and Ethics Committee approved this RCT (NL56858.100.16). The results of this study will be reported in a peer-reviewed journal. We will present the results of this study at (inter)national conferences and disseminate the results through guideline committees. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03009890). Dutch Trial Registry (NTR6365).

Screening for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is more accurate when performed by healthcare professionals compared to untrained parents: a diagnostic accuracy study.

BACKGROUND: Many countries ended their professional scoliosis screening due to ongoing controversies. Discontinuation resulted in a shift of screening responsibility from trained healthcare professionals to untrained parents. PURPOSE: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of picture-based scoliosis screening between parents and healthcare professionals. METHODS: In this cross-sectional diagnostic accuracy study, parents and healthcare professionals assessed pictures of 28 children (20 AIS & 8 non-scoliosis). Each child had two photographs (standing position & full-flexion during forward-bending test) that were presented simultaneously. Lumbar and thoracic curves were represented with a range in severity (10 to > 40°). The assessors had to answer whether they detected an abnormality that ought to be referred to a specialist. Measures of accuracy were calculated for both groups and various curve severities. RESULTS: All pictures were assessed by 101 parents and 122 healthcare professionals. The sensitivity for detecting scoliosis was significantly lower in untrained parents (63.8%, [95% CI: 61.7-65.9%]) compared to healthcare professionals (73.4%, [95% CI: 71.6-75.2%]; p < 0.001), while the specificity was not significantly different (63.6%, [95% CI: 60.2-66.9%] vs. 65.3%, [95% CI: 62.2-68.3%]; p = 0.49). Healthcare professionals consistently recognized the gibbus as a warning sign when referring patients, while untrained parents highlighted various regions, including the spine, gibbus and scapula regions. CONCLUSION: The sensitivity of screening for scoliosis was significantly lower when it was performed by parents, while the false-positive rate was similar to healthcare professionals. The window of opportunity for conservative treatment may be missed when parents rather than professionals are responsible for screening.

In patients eligible for meniscal surgery who first receive physical therapy, multivariable prognostic models cannot predict who will eventually undergo surgery.

PURPOSE: Although physical therapy is the recommended treatment in patients over 45 years old with a degenerative meniscal tear, 24% still opt for meniscal surgery. The aim was to identify those patients with a degenerative meniscal tear who will undergo surgery following physical therapy. METHODS: The data for this study were generated in the physical therapy arm of the ESCAPE trial, a randomized clinical trial investigating the effectiveness of surgery versus physical therapy in patients of 45-70 years old, with a degenerative meniscal tear. At 6 and 24 months patients were divided into two groups: those who did not undergo surgery, and those who did undergo surgery. Two multivariable prognostic models were developed using candidate predictors that were selected from the list of the patients' baseline variables. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed with backward Wald selection and a cut-off of p < 0.157. For both models the performance was assessed and corrected for the models' optimism through an internal validation using bootstrapping technique with 500 repetitions. RESULTS: At 6 months, 32/153 patients (20.9%) underwent meniscal surgery following physical therapy. Based on the multivariable regression analysis, patients were more likely to opt for meniscal surgery within 6 months when they had worse knee function, lower education level and a better general physical health status at baseline. At 24 months, 43/153 patients (28.1%) underwent meniscal surgery following physical therapy. Patients were more likely to opt for meniscal surgery within 24 months when they had worse knee function and a lower level of education at baseline at baseline. Both models had a low explained variance (16 and 11%, respectively) and an insufficient predictive accuracy. CONCLUSION: Not all patients with degenerative meniscal tears experience beneficial results following physical therapy. The non-responders to physical therapy could not accurately be predicted by our prognostic models. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.

Does the innate relative size of the humeral head and glenoid affect the risk of anterior shoulder instability?

BACKGROUND: Bony lesions after shoulder dislocation reduce the joint contact area and increase the risk of recurrent instability. It is unknown whether the innate relative sizes of the humeral head and glenoid may predispose patients to shoulder instability. This study evaluated whether anterior shoulder instability is associated with a larger innate humeral head/glenoid ratio (IHGR). METHODS: We evaluated CT scans of 40 shoulders with anterior shoulder instability and 48 controls. We measured axial humeral head diameter and glenoid diameter following native contours, discarding any bony lesions, and calculated IHGR by dividing both diameters. Multivariate logistic regression determined whether the IHGR, corrected for age and gender as potential confounders, was associated with anterior shoulder instability. RESULTS: Mean IHGR was 1.48 ± 0.23 in the group with anterior shoulder instability and 1.42 ± 0.20 in the group without anterior shoulder instability. Measurements for axial humeral head and axial glenoid diameters demonstrated excellent intra-rater reliability (ICC range: 0.94-0.95). IHGR was not significantly associated with anterior shoulder instability (OR = 1.105, 95%CI = 0.118-10.339, p = 0.930). DISCUSSION: The innate ratio of humeral head and glenoid diameters was not significantly associated with anterior shoulder instability in this retrospective sample of 88 shoulder CT scans.

A systematic comparison of the closed shoulder reduction techniques.

PURPOSE: To identify the optimal technique for closed reduction for shoulder instability, based on success rates, reduction time, complication risks, and pain level. METHODS: A PubMed and EMBASE query was performed, screening all relevant literature of closed reduction techniques mentioning the success rate written in English, Dutch, German, and Arabic. Studies with a fracture dislocation or lacking information on success rates for closed reduction techniques were excluded. We used the modified Coleman Methodology Score (CMS) to assess the quality of included studies and excluded studies with a poor methodological quality (CMS < 50). Finally, a meta-analysis was performed on the data from all studies combined. RESULTS: 2099 studies were screened for their title and abstract, of which 217 studies were screened full-text and finally 13 studies were included. These studies included 9 randomized controlled trials, 2 retrospective comparative studies, and 2 prospective non-randomized comparative studies. A combined analysis revealed that the scapular manipulation is the most successful (97%), fastest (1.75 min), and least painful reduction technique (VAS 1,47); the "Fast, Reliable, and Safe" (FARES) method also scores high in terms of successful reduction (92%), reduction time (2.24 min), and intra-reduction pain (VAS 1.59); the traction-countertraction technique is highly successful (95%), but slower (6.05 min) and more painful (VAS 4.75). CONCLUSION: For closed reduction of anterior shoulder dislocations, the combined data from the selected studies indicate that scapular manipulation is the most successful and fastest technique, with the shortest mean hospital stay and least pain during reduction. The FARES method seems the best alternative.

Fatigue-related changes in motor-unit synchronization of quadriceps muscles within and across legs.

Two experiments were conducted to examine effects of muscle fatigue on motor-unit synchronization of quadriceps muscles (rectus femoris, vastus medialis, vastus lateralis) within and between legs. We expected muscle fatigue to result in an increased common drive to different motor units of synergists within a leg and, hence, to increased synchronization, i.e., an increased coherence between corresponding surface EMGs. We further expected fatigue-related motor overflow to cause motor-unit synchronization of homologous muscles of both legs, although to a lesser extent than for synergists within a leg. In the first experiment, different levels of fatigue were induced by varying posture (knee angle), whereas in the second experiment fatigue was induced in a fixed posture by instructing participants to produce different force levels. EMG coherence was found in two distinct frequency bands (6-11 and 13-18 Hz) and was higher within a leg than between legs. The fatigue-related increase of 6-11 Hz inter-limb synchronization resembled the increased motor overflow during unimanual contractions and thus hinted at an increase in bilateral coupling. Synchronization at 13-18 Hz was clearly different and appeared to be related to posture.