Diabetic Osteomyelitis: Oral versus Intravenous Antibiotics at a Single Level 1 Academic Medical Trauma Center.

Residual osteomyelitis is a frequent problem following surgical intervention for diabetic foot infection. The Infectious Disease Society of America guidelines recommend a prolonged course of antibiotics for treatment of residual osteomyelitis. Recent literature suggests oral antibiotic therapy is not inferior to IV therapy. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate treatment success in 128 patients receiving oral versus IV antibiotics for residual osteomyelitis in the diabetic foot after amputation at a Level 1 academic medical trauma center. Treatment success was defined as completion of at least 4 weeks of antibiotic therapy, complete surgical wound healing, and no residual infection requiring further debridement or amputation within 1 year of the initial surgery. Patients with peripheral arterial disease were excluded. A retrospective chart review was performed, and we found no statistically significant difference in treatment success between these two groups (p = .2766). The median time to healing for oral antibiotic treatment was 3.17 months compared to 4.06 months for IV treatment (p = .1045). Furthermore, there was no significant difference in group demographics or comorbidities, aside from more patients in the IV group having coronary artery disease (p = .0416). The type of closure and whether the infection was single or polymicrobial were also not associated with a difference in outcomes between the two treatment arms. The results of the present study suggest oral antibiotics for treatment of residual osteomyelitis are not inferior to IV therapy and may be more efficacious for certain patients regarding cost and ease of administration.

Comparison of Two Techniques for Proximal Margin Analysis of Toe Amputations: A Retrospective Review.

Toe amputations are a common podiatric procedure for treatment of osteomyelitis. Whether or not the surgeon obtains a surgical cure, thus resolving the infection, can be difficult to assess. Obtaining a proximal bone margin can assist the treatment team in deciding the duration of postoperative antibiotics, need for reoperation, and postoperative care. The two senior surgeons use different methods to analyze proximal bone margins. The first surgeon obtains a microbiologic culture from the remaining bone, either at the proximal phalanx or metatarsal head, following the removal of the toe to be reviewed for osteomyelitis. Per the second surgeon's technique, the pathologist only analyzes the proximal aspect of the amputated toe for presence of osteomyelitis. Our goal is to analyze the reoperation and reamputation rates between the techniques in which the proximal margin specimens are obtained. A retrospective chart review was performed on all isolated toe or partial toe amputations from March 2017 to September 2022. There were 115 patients who met inclusion criteria. Reoperation and reamputation rates were analyzed for positive and negative infection margins from intraoperative cultures. Our study found an overall 28% reoperation rate and 26% reamputation rate for the negative margins group. In the positive proximal margin group, there was an overall 48% reoperation rate and 44% reamputation rate. Our analysis did not find a statistically significant difference between the reamputation rate in the negative margins group and the reamputation rate in the positive margins group. In conclusion, our study found that a positive proximal margin for osteomyelitis exhibited a nearly double reoperation and reamputation rate compared to patients with a negative margin, and that one margin analysis technique was not inferior to the other in regards to the need for additional surgeries.

Predictive Factors of Postoperative Pain in Patients With Tibiotalocalcaneal Arthrodesis With an Intramedullary Nail: A Retrospective Review.

Tibiotalocalcaneal arthrodesis has been shown in literature to have good results in regards to low complication rates and deformity correction. While previous studies have investigated functional outcomes and complication rates, no large-scale studies have looked at pain outcomes. The present study performed a retrospective review of 154 extremities to analyze how a patient's comorbidities and characteristics influence pain outcomes following a tibiotalocalcaneal arthrodesis. The present study found an average change of pain from 7.1 to 3.0 in at least a 6 month follow up. We found that a diagnosis of chronic pain and tobacco use had statistically significant less pain improvement compared to patients without chronic pain or current tobacco use. We determined no statistically significant difference in pain outcomes for patients with or without Charcot deformity. Lastly, we found that with older patients there was more pain improvement observed. We physicians can educate current tobacco users of the improved pain outcomes with tobacco cessation prior to surgery. We recommend a multidisciplinary approach for pain in patients with a pre-operative diagnosis of chronic pain and to educate patients on realistic postoperative pain outcomes.

Comparison of Loss of Bone Height Following Total Ankle Arthroplasty Versus Tibiotalocalcaneal Arthrodesis.

Ankle arthrodesis and total ankle arthroplasty are both well-accepted surgical treatment options for end-stage ankle arthrosis. However, total ankle arthroplasty has gained popularity as the survivability of implants is improving. It is understood that there is loss of bone height following tibiotalocalcaneal arthrodesis, but to our knowledge, this has not been investigated in the setting of total ankle arthroplasty. A retrospective radiographic review was conducted over a 5-year period. We investigated all patients who underwent a tibiotalocalcaneal arthrodesis or total ankle arthroplasty for treatment of ankle arthritis by a single fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon. The anterior and posterior height measurements were measured on preoperative and postoperative lateral radiographs. Differences between preoperative and postoperative heights were analyzed through a series of analyses of covariance. One hundred and thirty-three patients and 143 operative extremities were included: 71 operative extremities in the tibiotalocalcaneal arthrodesis group (mean age 55.5 ± 13.3 years, BMI 32.2 ± 7.9) and 72 in the total ankle arthroplasty group (mean age 65.4 ± 9.5 years, BMI 30.7 ± 6.4). Statistical analysis demonstrated a loss of height in the tibiotalocalcaneal arthrodesis group, and an increased anterior and posterior height in the total ankle arthroplasty group. However, when comparing the arthroplasty group and arthrodesis group only the anterior height measurement reached statistical significance when stratified by gender (p < .001). The potential change in height is an important factor to consider during surgical planning as a limb length discrepancy may result.

Sclerotherapy and its complications: a literature review and a case report.

Hard-to-heal or recurrent leg ulcers can have multiple aetiologies. One of these is incompetent veins. The main focus of this article is to discuss the common treatment for venous leg ulcers with the use of sclerotherapy. This simple surgical procedure obliterates smaller veins and telangiectasia. Veins with larger diameters (varicosities) can be treated with ablation therapy. The intent of sclerosis or ablation therapy is to destroy the incompetent veins and allow the collateral circulation to improve venous return, decreasing venous hypertension, which then enhances skin closure, wound healing and the resolution of the ulcer.