The Journal of arthroplasty
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The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) virus is challenging healthcare providers across the world. Current best practices for personal protective equipment (PPE) during this time are rapidly evolving and fluid due to the novel and acute nature of the pandemic and the dearth of high-level evidence. ⋯ The variables to be considered include protection of patients and healthcare providers, accuracy and availability of testing, and responsible use of PPE resources. This article also explores the concerns of surgeons regarding possible transmission to their own family members as a result of caring for COVID-19 patients.
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The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has put strain on many healthcare systems around the world, with important consequences. The aim of this paper is to describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hip and knee arthroplasties in an Italian high-volume orthopedic center, located in the region of the country first and worst affected by the Coronavirus. ⋯ The outbreak of COVID-19 had a considerable effect in our center on the number of hip and knee arthroplasties that rapidly decreased to 0 in parallel to the worsening of the situation in the country. Efforts will be soon requested because our practice is going to deal with the after-effects of the pandemic in the near future.
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Care for patients during COVID-19 poses challenges that require the protection of staff with recommendations that health care workers wear at minimum, an N95 mask or equivalent while performing an aerosol-generating procedure with a face shield. The United States faces shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), and surgeons who use loupes and headlights have difficulty using these in conjunction with face shields. ⋯ As a result, the authors have begun retrofitting these arthroplasty helmets to serve as PPE. The purpose of this article is to outline the conception, design, donning technique, and safety testing of these arthroplasty helmets being repurposed as PPE.
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic poses an important risk to global health. ⋯ The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in marked changes to the majority of international arthroplasty practices.
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Outcomes following 1-surgeon single-anesthetic sequential bilateral total knee arthroplasty (seq-BTKA) compared to 2-surgeon single-anesthetic simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty (sim-BTKA) are largely unknown. The current study compared revision rates and all-cause mortality following seq-BTKA vs sim-BTKA using data from the Australian Orthopedic Association National Joint Replacement Registry. ⋯ Revision rates and mortality were similar for seq-BTKA and sim-BTKA. Investigation of additional outcomes such as complications not requiring revision, pain, function, and cost is required to comprehensively understand the relative merits of each procedure.