The Journal of bone and joint surgery. American volume
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J Bone Joint Surg Am · Oct 2010
Effect of insurance status on the rate of surgery following a meniscal tear.
Uninsured and underinsured Americans face barriers to access to medical care. The objective of this study was to characterize the effect of insurance status on whether patients with a torn meniscus proceed to elective arthroscopic knee surgery. ⋯ The rate of elective arthroscopic knee surgery for meniscal tears varied significantly for some insurance categories at this single academic institution in Massachusetts. Further work is necessary to clarify the patient and surgeon factors influencing these disparities in clinical decision-making.
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J Bone Joint Surg Am · Oct 2010
Limitations of the Knee Society Score in evaluating outcomes following revision total knee arthroplasty.
Traditionally, the results of revision total knee arthroplasty have been determined with use of surgeon-based measures such as the Knee Society rating system. Recently, outcome and quality-of-life measures have shifted toward a greater emphasis on patient-based evaluation. The aim of our study was to determine the validity and responsiveness of the Knee Society rating system compared with the Short Form-36 health survey (SF-36), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), and a four-question 4-point Likert scale satisfaction questionnaire following revision total knee arthroplasty. ⋯ Currently, there is no so-called gold standard that optimally reflects the status of the knee, as well as the patient, prior to and following revision total knee arthroplasty. Ideally, numerous assessment scales should be administered to the patient in order to accurately reflect the patient characteristics for the purpose of academic study, but from a practical standpoint, this may not be feasible. We encourage further research and development of a simple and concise standardized questionnaire for use before and after revision total knee arthroplasty.
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Ankle sprain has been studied in athletic cohorts, but little is known of its epidemiology in the general population. A longitudinal, prospective epidemiological database was used to determine the incidence and demographic risk factors for ankle sprains presenting to emergency departments in the United States. It was our hypothesis that ankle sprain is influenced by sex, race, age, and involvement in athletics. ⋯ An age of ten to nineteen years old is associated with higher rates of ankle sprain. Males between fifteen and twenty-four years old have higher rates of ankle sprain than their female counterparts, whereas females over thirty years old have higher rates than their male counterparts. Half of all ankle sprains occur during athletic activity.
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J Bone Joint Surg Am · Oct 2010
Comparative StudyDiversity based on race, ethnicity, and sex between academic orthopaedic surgery and other specialties: a comparative study.
Previous studies have demonstrated a lack of diversity in orthopaedics; however, it is unclear whether this observation is unique to orthopaedics or similar to other surgical fields. The present study compares diversity in the field of orthopaedics with diversity in other surgical and nonsurgical fields. To our knowledge, no previous study has placed this issue in a comparative perspective between specialties at both the residency and faculty levels. ⋯ Our findings suggest that on a comparative basis, orthopaedic surgery lags behind general surgery and other surgical and nonsurgical fields in terms of the representation of minorities and women. Thus, given similar capabilities and qualifications of applicants, a concerted effort could be made to recruit more diverse residents and faculty.