Screening for Asymptomatic Osteonecrosis of the Hip in Systemic Lupus Erythematous: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of MRI-Based Prevalence.

Objective. This paper aims to estimate asymptomatic hip osteonecrosis prevalence in SLE patients using MRI examination and to determine the prevalence among higher risk subpopulations. Materials and Methods. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and SCOPUS were searched from inception to May 9th, 2023. Studies on patients who were clinically diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus without reported symptoms attributable to hip osteonecrosis were included. Two independent reviewers extracted data and assessed the risk of bias. Data collected from each study include the study year, the number of hips screened, the number of hips with osteonecrosis, demographics, laboratory data, medications, follow-up time, radiological protocols, and MRI-based osteonecrosis detection and grading criteria. Results. Eleven eligible studies including 503 participants (15-35 years old; 74-100% female) with SLE were identified. Significant risk of bias was determined in one study. The overall prevalence of osteonecrosis of the hip was found to be 14% (184/1006 hip joints, 95% confidence interval: 7-22%, number needed to scan: 7.1). SLE patients who received corticosteroid treatment had a higher prevalence of asymptomatic hip osteonecrosis (18%) compared to non-corticosteroid users (0%, p-value < 0.01). Additionally, meta-regression results revealed that daily corticosteroid dose was associated with increased prevalence of asymptomatic osteonecrosis (0.5%/milligram, p-value < 0.01). Conclusions. The high prevalence of asymptomatic hip osteonecrosis in SLE patients raises concerns about the timeliness of interventions. The limitations of this study include a relatively low number of identified studies; and one study lacked full-text availability.

The Pregnant Arthroplasty Surgeon: A Women in Arthroplasty Committee Editorial.

BACKGROUND: Women orthopaedic surgeons face unique challenges during their careers. There are extremely low numbers of women in the field, particularly in the specialty of adult reconstruction. Factors contributing to low numbers of women entering this subspecialty include increased perceived physical demand relative to other fields, occupational hazards during pregnancy such as exposure to radiation and polymethylmethacrylate bone cement, concerns for work-life balance, and limited number of women within the subspecialty. The following editorial provides a framework to understand and manage the potential occupational hazards to pregnant and lactating surgeons, parental leave, and postpartum return to work. We aim to dispel any unfounded myths and provide evidence-based education that may help overcome these barriers. In doing so, we hope to encourage more women to consider adult reconstruction as a potential career. METHODS: Our primary method consisted of completing an extensive literature review on the past and current articles about the aforementioned barriers which may contribute to the low number of women entering adult reconstruction. After this literature search was completed, we composed a comprehensive editorial that provided evidence-based education and recommendations for medical professionals. CONCLUSIONS: Issues pertaining to parenthood, pregnancy, and lactation pose barriers to success for women in orthopedic surgery. These concerns may dissuade talented women from pursuing a rewarding career in adult reconstruction. Education on these issues is needed to help our early-career colleagues plan and care for their families. Clearly stated and published policies should be made available in all training programs, fellowships, and clinical practices to allow understanding and unbiased implementation. By being more inclusive, adult reconstruction will have access to the best possible surgeons, which will benefit not only patients but the field as a whole.

Effect of Patient Age on Total Hip Arthroplasty Outcomes in Patients Who Have Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head Compared to Patients Who Have Hip Osteoarthritis.

BACKGROUND: Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) affects both young and old patients. However, outcomes following total hip arthroplasty (THA) for these patients may vary with age. This study aimed to examine the effect of age on THA outcomes for non-traumatic ONFH patients, an area currently lacking research. METHODS: Patients who had non-traumatic ONFH undergoing THA with at least 2 years of follow-up were identified using a database and divided into four groups by age. Then, 4 matched control groups of patients who had hip osteoarthritis (OA) were created. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the rates of medical and surgical complications. Additionally, cohorts with a minimum 5-year follow-up were filtered to obtain further data on surgical outcomes. The study analyzed 85,462 non-traumatic ONFH and 80,120 hip OA patients undergoing THA. RESULTS: Multiple medical complications in ONFH patients increased with age. Periprosthetic fracture within 2 years increased with age, while 90-day wound complications, 2-year periprosthetic joint infections, dislocations, and revisions decreased. The trends for complications continued at the 5-year follow-up. Compared to OA patients, those who had ONFH had higher risks of most complications, but this discrepancy decreased with age. CONCLUSIONS: In ONFH patients undergoing THA, medical complications generally rise with age, while most surgical complications, including revisions, decrease. It is notable that ONFH patients experienced more complications than those who had OA, but this difference diminished with age.

Trends in Surgical Management of Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head: A 2010 to 2020 Nationwide Study.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is estimated at more than 20,000 patients annually in the US. Our study aimed to provide a 10-year analysis: 1) evaluating total operative procedures with rates normalized to the population; 2) determining trends of arthroplasty versus joint-preserving procedures; and 3) quantifying specific operative techniques in patients <50 versus >50 years of age. METHODS: A total of 64,739 patients who were diagnosed with ONFH and underwent hip surgery were identified from a nationwide database between 2010 and 2020. The percentage of patients managed by each operative procedure was calculated and normalized to the overall population annually. Patients were grouped into joint-preserving versus non-joint-preserving (arthroplasty) procedures, and divided by age under/over 50 years. Linear regression modeling was performed to evaluate trends/differences in procedural volume by year. RESULTS: The number of operative procedures to treat ONFH has relatively declined from 2010 to 2020. The relative proportion of joint-preserving procedures increased (8.6% to 11.2%) during this time period. There were significantly more joint-preserving procedures in patients aged <50 years relative to >50 years (15.3% versus 2.7%, P < .001). Overall, THA was the most common procedure (57,033;88.1%) relative to hemiarthroplasty (3,875;6.0%), core decompression (2,730;4.2%), bone graft (467;0.7%), and osteotomy (257;0.4%). CONCLUSION: Surgical management of patients who have ONFH remains predominantly arthroplasty procedures (94% overall). Our findings suggest an increase in joint-preserving procedures, particularly core decompression, in patients <50 years (15.3%). Our findings provide insight into surgical management trends for ONFH, and suggest opportunities for joint-preserving procedures.

Patients' experiences and compliance with preoperative screening and decolonization.

BACKGROUND: To improve adherence with pre-surgical screening for Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage and decolonization, we need more information about patients' experiences with these protocols. METHODS: We surveyed patients undergoing orthopedic, neurosurgical, or cardiac operations at Johns Hopkins Hospitals (JHH), the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC) at MercyOne Northeast Iowa Neurosurgery (MONIN) to assess patients' experiences with decolonization protocols. RESULTS: Five hundred thirty-four patients responded. Respondents at JHH were significantly more likely than those at the UIHC to report using mupirocin and were significantly more likely than those at the UIHC and MONIN to feel they received adequate information about surgical site infection (SSI) prevention and decolonization. Respondents at JHH were the least likely to not worry about SSI and they were more willing to do anything they could to prevent SSI. Few patients reported barriers to adherence and side effects of mupirocin or chlorhexidine. CONCLUSION: Respondents did not report either major side effects or barriers to adherence. Patients varied in their level of concern about SSI, their willingness to invest effort in preventing SSI, and their assessments of preoperative information. To improve patients' adherence, clinicians and hospitals should assess their patients' needs and desires and tailor their preoperative processes, education, and prophylaxis accordingly.

Development of a personalized shared decision-making tool for knee osteoarthritis and user-testing with African American and Latina women.

Background: Patients with chronic knee pain are often unaware of treatment options and likely outcomes-information that is critical to decision-making. A consistent framework for communicating patient-personalized information enables clinicians to provide consistent, targeted, and relevant information. Our objective was to user-test a shared decision-making (SDM) tool for chronic knee pain. Methods: A cross-functional team developed a Markov-based health economics model and tested the model outputs with patient panels, patient and clinician focus groups, and clinical specialists. The resulting SDM tool was user-tested in a parallel-designed, randomized controlled study with 52 African American and 52 Latina women from geographically representative areas of the US. Participants were randomized to counseling with or without the SDM tool. Feedback was collected at intervention and at 1 month after intervention and analyzed with Student's t-tests and Chi-squared analyses (alpha = 0.05). Results: Qualitative results indicated patients understood the material, rated the overall experience highly, and were likely to recommend the physician. The SDM group reported high satisfaction with the tool. A greater proportion of the SDM group (56%) reported increased physical activity over baseline at 1 month compared with the control group (33%) (P = 0.0005). New use of medications for knee pain (58% SDM; 49% control) did not differ significantly between groups (P = 0.15). Conclusion: Use of this innovative SDM tool was associated with high satisfaction and a significant increase in self-reported physical activity level at 1 month. The SDM tool may elicit behavioral changes to promote musculoskeletal health.

Movement is Life-Optimizing Patient Access to Total Joint Arthroplasty: Smoking Cessation Disparities.

Currently, 13.7% of the adult American population smokes cigarettes. Although rates of cigarette smoking have decreased over time, those of e-cigarette usage have increased. Smoking rates are highest in American Indians/Alaskan Natives and adults whose highest education level is a General Educational Development certificate, who live in rural American areas, and who have an annual household income of less than $35,000. After arthroplasty, smoking is linked to impaired wound healing, superficial and deep wound infections, and aseptic loosening. Patients who smoke should be strongly encouraged to stop and be supported with smoking cessation programs. Monitoring smoking cessation with cotinine levels may be inaccurate because variations have been noted in race, ethnicity, and sex. Confirmation of cessation as a hard stop to surgery could increase existing healthcare disparities. The role of the surgeon in encouraging patients to stop smoking, at least temporarily, before total joint arthroplasty cannot be overemphasized.

The 2021 Association Research Circulation Osseous Classification for Early-Stage Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head to Computed Tomography-Based Study.

BACKGROUND: The Association Research Circulation Osseous developed a novel classification for early-stage (precollapse) osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH). We hypothesized that the novel classification is more reliable and valid when compared to previous 3 classifications: Steinberg, modified Kerboul, and Japanese Investigation Committee classifications. METHODS: In the novel classification, necrotic lesions were classified into 3 types: type 1 is a small lesion, where the lateral necrotic margin is medial to the femoral head apex; type 2 is a medium-sized lesion, with the lateral necrotic margin being between the femoral head apex and the lateral acetabular edge; and type 3 is a large lesion, which extends outside the lateral acetabular edge. In a derivation cohort of 40 early-stage osteonecrotic hips based on computed tomography imaging, reliabilities were evaluated using kappa coefficients, and validities to predict future femoral head collapse by chi-squared tests and receiver operating characteristic curve analyses. The predictability for future collapse was also evaluated in a validation cohort of 104 early-stage ONFH. RESULTS: In the derivation cohort, interobserver reliability (k = 0.545) and intraobserver agreement (63%-100%) of the novel method were higher than the other 3 classifications. The novel classification system was best able to predict future collapse (P < .05) and had the best discrimination between non-progressors and progressors in both the derivation cohort (area under the curve = 0.692 [0.522-0.863], P < .05) and the validation cohort (area under the curve = 0.742 [0.644-0.841], P = 2.46 × 10-5). CONCLUSION: This novel classification is a highly reliable and valid method of those examined. Association Research Circulation Osseous recommends using this method as a unified classification for early-stage ONFH. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, diagnostic study.

Characterization of knee dysfunction and related risk factors during pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: Knee pain can be a common complaint during pregnancy; however, the severity of symptoms and their associated risk factors have not been described. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: The aim of this study was to characterize knee-related dysfunction and describe risk factors in a general obstetric population. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients in obstetric clinics completed the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) questionnaire to assess their knee function, as well as the Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire (PPAQ), a validated tool to assess physical activity. Age, weeks gestation, height, weight, and history of knee problems prior to pregnancy were analyzed to identify independent associations with IKDC score and determine predictors of knee dysfunction. RESULTS: 310 patients were included in this study, of which 68, 111 and 131 were in their first, second and trimesters, respectively. Mean age of the total study group was 30.3 ± 5.5 years. Knee function decreased with each trimester, from a mean IKDC score of 88.9 ± 13.0 in the first trimester, 84.5 ± 16.8 in the second, and 82.0 ± 20.0 in the third, with corresponding decreases in activity levels of 258.5 ± 141.7, 254.0 ± 141.5, and 246.1 ± 156.6 MET-h/wk. Of the total study group, 26.1% had IKDC scores <75, including 13.2%, 25.2%, and 33.6% in the first, second and third trimesters. Risk factors for knee dysfunction included high activity levels of PPAQ ≥ 500 MET-h/wk (OR 2.8), history of knee problems (OR 2.7), age <25 years (OR 2.6), and BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 (OR 1.9). CONCLUSION: In our cohort, 26.1% of pregnant women reported severe knee dysfunction, and this was associated with high levels of activity, younger age, greater BMI, and history of knee problems. These findings may have implications for women who wish to maintain training and fitness during pregnancy. Future studies are recommended to assess the need for intervention, as well as to identify optimal methods to prevent and address symptoms in this population. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV, Case Series.

Movement Is Life-Optimizing Patient Access to Total Joint Arthroplasty: Dental Health Disparities.

Poor oral health is common in the United States; however, it is much more common in African Americans, Hispanics, and other racial/ethnic minorities. Almost one in five low-income adults states that their mouth and teeth are in poor condition. Twenty-nine percent of Americans have no dental insurance. Patients who have active infections are at greater risk for prosthetic joint infection. Optimization in these vulnerable groups should focus on treating active infections, with a prioritization of free clinics, academic clinics, and websites, such as "The Neighborhood Navigator," and easily accessible surgical consults.

Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head: an Updated Review of ARCO on Pathogenesis, Staging and Treatment.

Non-traumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) usually affects adults younger than 50 years and frequently leads to femoral head collapse and subsequent arthritis of the hip. It is becoming more prevalent along with increasing use of corticosteroids for the adjuvant therapy of leukemia and other myelogenous diseases as well as management of organ transplantation. This review updated knowledge on the pathogenesis, classification criteria, staging system, and treatment of ONFH.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Femoral Head Osteonecrosis: A Protocol for Development of Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines.

INTRODUCTION: There are many treatment options for patients who have osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) and management strategies vary widely both among and within individual countries. Although many researchers have attempted to elucidate the optimal strategies for managing this disease, the lack of large-scale randomized control trials and the lack of agreement on disease staging have curtailed the development of clear-cut guidelines. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Association Research Circulation Osseous (ARCO) group sought to address three questions for the management of patients who have ONFH: 1) What imaging studies are most sensitive and specific for the diagnostic evaluation of patients who have ONFH?; 2) What is the best treatment strategy for preventing disease progression in patients who have pre-collapse lesions?; and 3) What is the best treatment strategy for patients who have post-collapse disease? The Patient, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome (PICO) format was used to formulate the search strategy for each research question. A systematic review will be performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. ARCO participants have been allocated to three groups, each representing one of the PICO questions. After qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data extracted from studies pertaining to each of the three research questions, a set of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines will be proposed for the management of patients who have ONFH. DISCUSSION: It is not always clear which treatment method is optimal for the management of ONFH. Thus, many surgeons have developed and performed various procedures based on patient-specific factors. As there is no consensus on the optimal treatment for various stages of disease, it was clear that developing evidence-based clinical practice guidelines would provide more structure and uniformity to management of these patients. Therefore, the results of this systematic review will lead to the development guidelines that may improve patient-care strategies and result in better outcomes for patients who have ONFH.

ARCO Consensus on the Pathogenesis of Non-traumatic Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head.

Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is a devastating disease frequently leading to femoral head collapse and hip arthritis. Specifically, non-traumatic ONFH primarily affects young and middle-aged adults. Although compromised local circulation of the femoral head seems to be pathognomonic for the disease, the pathogenesis is perplexing and continues to be an area of scrutiny and research. Comprehension of the pathogenesis is of crucial importance for developing and guiding treatments for the disease. Therefore, we provide an up-to-date consensus on the pathogenesis of non-traumatic ONFH.

Sustaining Teamwork Behaviors Through Reinforcement of TeamSTEPPS Principles.

BACKGROUND: Teamwork training improves short-term teamwork behaviors. However, improvements are often not sustained. QUESTION/PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which teamwork reinforcement activities for orthopedic surgery teams lead to sustained teamwork behaviors. METHODS: Seven months after 104 staff from an orthopedic surgical unit were trained in Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety principles, 4 reinforcement activities were implemented regarding leadership and communication: lectures with videos on leadership skills for nursing staff; an online self-paced learning program on communication skills for nursing staff; a 1-page summary on leadership skills e-mailed to surgical staff; and a 1-hour perioperative grand rounds on Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety principles for anesthesia staff and new staff. Twenty-four orthopedic surgical teams were evaluated on teamwork behaviors during surgery by 2 observers before and after the reinforcement period using the Observational Teamwork Assessment for Surgery tool. RESULTS: After reinforcement, leadership (P = 0.022) and communication (P = 0.044) behaviors improved compared with prereinforcement levels. Specifically, nursing staff improved in leadership (P = 0.016) and communication (P = 0.028) behaviors, surgical staff improved in leadership behaviors (P = 0.009), but anesthesia staff did not improve in any teamwork behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Sustained improvement in teamwork behaviors requires reinforcement. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, prospective pre-post cohort study.