The American journal of sports medicine
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Multicenter Study
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Characterization and Clinical Outcomes After NeoCart Surgical Therapy as a Primary Reparative Treatment for Knee Cartilage Injuries.
Autologous cartilage tissue implants, including the NeoCart implant, are intended to repair focal articular cartilage lesions. Short-term results from United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) phase I and phase II clinical trials indicated that the NeoCart implant was safe when surgically applied as a cell-based therapy and efficacious compared with microfracture. ⋯ Longitudinal MRI analysis demonstrated that NeoCart-based repair tissue is durable and evolves over time. For a majority of patients, this progression trended from an initial hyperintense signal to a hypointense signal at later follow-ups. Changes in radiographic measures over time corresponded with improvement in clinical measures, with maximum benefits experienced at 24-month follow-up. Similarly, clinical efficacy for the total cohort, determined by clinical outcome scores, reached a maximum at 24 months without decline to 60 months. Results from safety and exploratory clinical trials indicate that NeoCart is a safe and effective treatment for articular cartilage lesions through to 5-year follow-up. Registration: NCT00548119 ( ClinicalTrials.gov identifier).
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Electrophysiological Study of Femoral Nerve Function After a Continuous Femoral Nerve Block for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: A Randomized, Controlled Single-Blind Trial.
A continuous femoral nerve block (CFNB) is an effective analgesic treatment after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction but may result in transient femoral nerve injuries and quadriceps muscle weakness, which in turn contribute to worsened functional outcomes. ⋯ Despite prior contrary reports, a CFNB did not result in femoral nerve injuries or worsened functional outcomes after ACL reconstruction. The improvement of analgesia with a CFNB was only marginal and not clinically relevant beyond 24 hours. Registration: NCT01321138 ( ClinicalTrials.gov identifier).
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Anterior-inferior shoulder instability is a common injury in young patients, particularly those practicing overhead-throwing sports. Long-term results after open procedures are well studied and evaluated. However, the long-term results after arthroscopic repair and risk factors of recurrence require further assessment. ⋯ Clinical outcome at a mean follow-up of 13 years after arthroscopic repair of anterior-inferior shoulder instability is comparable with the reported results of open Bankart repair in the literature and allows management of concomitant lesions arthroscopically. Modifiable risk factors of postoperative redislocation and arthropathy must be considered. Stabilization after the first-time dislocation achieves better clinical and radiological outcomes than after multiple dislocations.
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Observational Study
Unused Opioid Pills After Outpatient Shoulder Surgeries Given Current Perioperative Prescribing Habits.
In the past 16 years, the number of prescription opioids sold in the United States, as well as deaths from prescription opioids, has nearly quadrupled. However, the overall amount of pain reported by patients has not changed significantly. Specific information about opioid prescriptions in the perioperative period is lacking. Of the studies that have been published, investigators have shown that the majority of patients have unused postoperative opioid pills. Moreover, patients appear to lack information about disposal of unused opioid pills. ⋯ Most outpatient shoulder surgery patients who underwent certain operations were prescribed more opioid analgesics than they consumed. Patient education regarding the disposal of opioids was lacking.
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The time between an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and ACL reconstruction (ACLR) may influence baseline knee-related and general health-related patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). Despite the common use of PROMs as main outcomes in clinical studies, this variable has never been evaluated. ⋯ After controlling for age, sex, competition level, smoking, and BMI, patients in the chronic ACLR group participated in less pivoting and cutting sports but reported better pain/function. Whether decreased activity is deliberate after an ACL injury or patients who undergo chronic ACLR are simply less active and may be treated successfully without surgery warrants further investigation. Nonrandomized studies that utilize PROMs should consider time from injury in study design and data interpretation.