Occupational injuries in orthopedic and trauma surgeons in Austria.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency and type of injuries during the career of orthopedic and trauma surgeons in Austria. The hypothesis was that the percentage of occupational injuries among orthopedic and trauma surgeons aligns with the incidence reported in the United States, thus indicating the need for a workplace prevention program. METHODS: A web-based survey was created to collect all necessary data and was sent to all orthopedic and trauma surgeons in Austria via e-mail. Relevant parameters included the surgeons' age, work experience, severity of pain, type of injury, and current pain. Descriptive and explorative statistical analysis was performed. RESULTS: A web-based survey was sent to 1122 board-certified orthopedic surgeons and residents in Austria via e-mail. In total, the response rate was 135 (12%). Seventy-two surgeons (54%) had suffered from one or more occupational injuries during their career. We detected a significant raise of occupational injuries related to the work life duration in which operations were performed and the prevalence of injuries. Most injuries of surgeons were reported between 21 and 30 years of their professional life. According to the frequency at different locations, the distribution in descending order was 25% with injuries of the hand, 22% of finger(s), 12% of the foot, 10% of the spine, 2% of the neck, 3% of the head, and 2% of the abdomen. A causality of incapacity to work through injuries at the workplace was given as 4%. Four percent stated a sick leave of at least 3 weeks. In 7% of the facilities, there was no optimization of preventive measures following an occupational injury. We found no correlation of injuries and resident status. CONCLUSION: Orthopedic surgeons in Austria show a high incidence of occupational injuries in line with the findings of colleagues from the United States. The impact on the health system consists of absenteeism in the workplace of highly specialized health service providers as well as the incapacity to work of a high quality, highly trained workforce of at least 4%. With more preventive measures and more attention and care in the rehabilitation phase after such injuries, a positive effect could be achieved. We believe that residents should be specifically trained on how to avoid such injuries.

Accuracy of Conventional Instrumentation is Dependent on Alignment Philosophy Using the Identical Surgical Technique in Total Knee Arthroplasty.

The objective of this prospective study was to assess the precision of restoring the anatomical tibial obliquity, as measured by the medial proximal tibial angle (MPTA) on conventional X-rays, in relation to the surgical technique employed. Specifically, the study aimed to compare the accuracy of tibial obliquity restoration between kinematic alignment (KA) and conventional mechanical alignment (MA) in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Two-hundred-and-sixty patients underwent either mechanically aligned TKA (n = 139) or kinematically aligned TKA (n = 121) using conventional instrumentation (CI). Pre- and postoperative X-rays were measured twice by two observers, with a 2-week interval. Inter- and intraclass correlations were calculated, and postoperative tibial obliquity was compared to the preoperative anatomy. In the group of 139 patients with mechanically aligned TKA, no cases with an MPTA deviation greater than 1 degree from 90 degrees were observed. Sixteen percent of the cases (n = 22) had a deviation of 0 to 1 degree. The remaining 84% of the cases (n = 117) had their MPTA of 90 degrees achieved. In the group of 121 patients with kinematically aligned TKA, no cases had a deviation greater than 1 degree compared with the preoperative MPTA. Thirty-one percent of the cases (n = 37) had a deviation of 0 to 1 degree with respect to preoperative MPTA. The remaining 69% of the cases (n = 84) had their tibial obliquity restored. Mechanically aligned TKA revealed statistically significant smaller deviations of accuracy compared to kinematically aligned TKA (p = 0.005). The inter- and intraclass correlations indicated substantial agreement of all measurements (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] < 0.90). Both mechanically aligned and kinematically aligned TKA demonstrated satisfactory outcomes in terms of restoring tibial obliquity or a neutral MPTA of 90 degrees using CI. However, MA showed superior results regarding precision compared to KA. When starting with kinematical alignment using CI, the surgeons should be aware that the learning curve according to accuracy differs to MA. It was a Prospective Level II study.

Restoring Tibial Slope and Sagittal Alignment of the Femoral Component in Unrestricted Kinematically Aligned Total Knee Arthroplasty Using Conventional versus Patient-Specific Instrumentation.

Restoring sagittal alignment in kinematically aligned (KA) total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is crucial to avoid patellofemoral joint instability or overstuffing and to restore an adequate range of motion. This prospective study compared the accuracy of conventional instrumentation (CI) versus patient-specific instrumentation (PSI) in restoring sagittal alignment of KA TKA measured by the tibial slope and degree of flexion of the femoral component to the sagittal femoral axis. One hundred patients were randomized to receive either CI (n = 50) or PSI (n = 50) for KA TKA. Two observers measured pre- and postoperative X-rays to assess restoration of the tibial slope and sagittal flexion. Inter- and intraclass correlations were calculated, and postoperative tibial and femoral components were compared with preoperative anatomy. In 50 CI patients, 86% (n = 43) had the tibial slope restored exactly, and no deviation more than 1 degree was found. Deviations of 0 to 1 degree were detected in 14% (n = 7). In 50 patients of the PSI group, 56% (n = 28) achieved an exact anatomic tibial slope restoration and 20% (n = 10) showed a deviation more than 2 degrees compared with the preoperative measurement. Deviations ranging between 0 to 1 and 1 to 2 degrees were found in 22% (n = 11) and 2% (n = 1) of cases, respectively. Sagittal alignment of the femoral component showed in both groups no deviation exceeding 1 degree. The restoration of sagittal alignment in KA TKA was statistically significantly differently distributed between CI and PSI (p = < 0.001) without clinical relevance. We found that PSI increased the odds for deviations >2 degrees in tibial slope reconstructions from 0 to 0.20 ([95% confidence interval: 0.09-0.31]; p = 0.001). Both CI and PSI revealed adequate results with respect to restoring sagittal alignment of the tibial and femoral components in KA TKA. The conventional technique requires adequate adjustment of the intramedullary rod to avoid hyperflexion of the femoral component and attention must be paid when restoring the tibial slope using PSI. This is a prospective Level II study.

Development of application and surgical technique of total knee arthroplasties: a systematic comparative analysis using worldwide registers.

PURPOSE: The aim was to compare total knee arthroplasty (TKA) between countries with regard to epidemiologic data and surgical technique by the use of worldwide registers and compare findings with a previous report after one decade. METHODS: A systematic search was carried out in November 2022 and compared to previous reports from 2010. We extracted data regarding implanted TKAs, patients' age distribution, procedure types, fixation and revision rates. After identification of 28 national arthroplasty registers, 8of them, namely Australia, Canada, Denmark, England and Wales, New Zealand, Norway, Scotland and Sweden, offered sufficient data and were included in final analysis. RESULTS: A large variation was found in the annual number of implantations per 100,000 inhabitants with a range from 77 to 210.2 (mean 132.8). The fixation type varied strongly as well, e.g. over 95% of totally cemented TKAs in Sweden versus 61.2% cemented fixation in Denmark. Another significant difference was the use of patellar resurfacing in TKA, ranging from 47.3% (Canada) using a patellar button in TKA to less than 5% (Sweden). Within the period of one decade, the mean overall number of annual implantations increased (10%), whilst relative number of revisions decreased, the use of cemented TKA decreased from 87 to 74%, and the use of patella button remained largely inhomogeneous. CONCLUSION: Comparison of arthroplasty registers revealed large differences regarding the annual number of primary TKAs per inhabitant as well as primary TKA procedure types with an increase of annual implantations, decrease of relative number of revisions, and a decrease of the use of cemented systems over the period of one decade.

Less Induction Time and Postoperative Pain Using Spinal Anesthesia Versus General Anesthesia With or Without the Use of Peripheral Nerve Blocks in Total Knee Arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: Our aim was to analyze anesthetic induction time and postoperative pain using spinal anesthesia versus general anesthesia with or without the use of peripheral nerve blocks (PNBs) in total knee arthroplasty. The hypothesis was that spinal anesthesia would be beneficial with respect to induction time and postoperative pain and that PNBs would complement this effect. METHODS: Patients were stratified according to demographics, American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status classification system (ASA), and opioid intake and divided into: (A) general anesthesia without PNB; (B) general anesthesia with PNB; (C) spinal anesthesia without PNB; and (D) spinal anesthesia with PNB. Endpoints were anesthetic induction time, opioid consumption, and pain. Of 559 patients, 348 (62.3%) received general anesthesia (consisting of group A with 46 and group B with 302 patients), and 211 (37.7%) spinal anesthesia (consisting of group C with 117 and group D with 94 patients). RESULTS: We observed significantly lower total opioid intake 48 hours postoperative when applying spinal anesthesia by 2.08 mg (P < .05) of intravenous morphine-equivalent, and a reduction of 7.0 minutes (P < .05) until skin incision. The application of a PNB achieved a reduction of piritramide intake of 3.59 mg (P < .05) 48 hours postoperative and lengthened induction time by 8.5 minutes (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Statistically shorter anesthetic induction times without clinical relevance, but lower postoperative opioid dosages with clinical relevance were observed for patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty with spinal anesthesia. The additional application of PNBs led to a lower need for opioids and lower pain levels in the early postoperative phase.

Restoring tibial obliquity for kinematic alignment in total knee arthroplasty: conventional versus patient-specific instrumentation.

INTRODUCTION: In total knee arthroplasty (TKA), tibial obliquity-restoration using kinematic alignment (KA) poses a major difference to conventional mechanical alignment. This study aimed at analysing the accuracy of conventional instrumentation (CI) versus patient-specific instrumentation (PSI) to restore anatomic tibial obliquity measured by the medial proximal tibial angle (MPTA) on conventional X-rays. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One-hundred patients were randomized to receive CI (n = 50) or PSI (n = 50) for TKA. Further 100 patients received CI without randomisation, resulting in 200 patients in total (127 women, mean age: 70.7 (range: 48-90 years). Pre- and postoperative X-rays were measured twice by two observers with a 2-week break in-between. Inter- and intraclass correlations were calculated and postoperative tibial obliquity compared to preoperative anatomy. RESULTS: In 150 patients with CI, no case with tibial obliquity-deviation greater than 2° was found, whilst 21.3% (n = 32) and 0.7% (n = 1) of cases and had a deviation of 0°-1°, and 1°-2°, respectively. In the remaining 78.0% (n = 117), tibial obliquity was restored. In 50 patients with PSI, no single case with a deviation greater than 1° was found. Sixty percent (n = 30) had a deviation of 0°-1°. In the remaining 40.0% (n = 20), no deviation from preoperative measurements was found. Consequently, CI resulted in a significantly smaller change in tibial obliquity from preoperative to postoperative than PSI (p < 0.001). Inter- and intra-class correlations showed a substantial agreement (any ICC > 0.90). CONCLUSION: Both conventional and patient-specific instrumentation revealed adequate results with respect to restoring tibial obliquity in kinematically aligned TKA, with conventional instrumentation achieving superior results.