Does TB Vaccination Reduce COVID-19 Infection?: No Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Analysis

In the middle of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the BCG hypothesis, the prevalence and severity of the COVID-19 outbreak seems to be correlated with whether a country has a universal coverage of Bacillus-Calmette-Guerin (BCG), a vaccine for tuberculosis disease (TB), has emerged and attracted the attention of scientific community and media outlets. However, all existing claims are based on cross-country correlations that do not exclude the possibility of spurious correlation. We merged country-age-level case statistics with the start/termination years of BCG vaccination policy and conducted a regression discontinuity and difference-indifference analysis. The results do not support the BCG hypothesis.

Comparison of an Accelerometer-Based Portable Navigation System, Patient-Specific Instrumentation, and Conventional Instrumentation for Femoral Alignment in Total Knee Arthroplasty

PURPOSE: The KneeAlign2 (KA2, OrthoAlign Inc.) accelerometer-based portable navigation system and patient-specific instrumentation (PSI; Signature, ZimmerBiomet) are widely used for ideal femoral component alignment in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). However, there has been no comparative study of the KA2 system, PSI, and conventional intramedullary instrumentation (CON). The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy in achieving proper femoral component alignment and clinical features by using the KA2 navigation system, PSI, and CON. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively compared the accuracy of femoral component alignment of 34 TKAs performed with the KA2 system for implantation of the femoral component, 32 TKAs with PSI, and 33 TKAs with CON. RESULTS: In the coronal plane, use of the KA2 system was more likely to result in optimal femoral component alignment than the CON and PSI (p < 0.01). In the sagittal plane, use of the KA2 system was more likely to result in optimal component alignment than PSI, but the difference between the KA2 and CON was insignificant. CONCLUSIONS: The portable accelerometer-based KA2 navigation system enabled ideal femoral implantation in the coronal and sagittal planes, as compared to the PSI or CON.

Lateral Knee Pain after Outside-in Anatomic Double-Bundle Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Using the TightRope RT

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) TightRope RT (TR) was recently introduced as a novel cortical suspension device for ACL reconstruction. It has an adjustable graft loop that gives the surgeon some advantages during ACL reconstruction. We report three patients who required removal of the TR after an outside-in anatomical ACL reconstruction because of lateral knee pain. We assumed that the knee pain was associated with friction between the TR button of the posterolateral bundle and iliotibial band (ITB). Placing the TR button close to the lateral epicondyle and tissue interposition between the TR button and lateral femoral cortex may be potential risk factors for ITB irritation. Therefore, we recommend not placing the TR button close to the top of the lateral epicondyle and reducing the tissue interposition between the TR button and lateral femoral cortex as much as possible.