Journal of surgical orthopaedic advances
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Comparative Study
Locking Versus Nonlocking Implants in Isolated Lower Extremity Fractures: Analysis of Cost and Complications.
The purpose of this study was to investigate operative costs and postoperative complication rates in relation to utilization of locking versus nonlocking implants in isolated, lower limb fractures. Seventy-seven patients underwent plate fixation of isolated bicondylar tibial plateau, bimalleolar ankle, and trimalleolar ankle fractures at a large tertiary care center. Fixation with locking versus nonlocking implants was compared to incidence of postsurgical complications. ⋯ However, the cost of fixation with locking implants was significantly greater than nonlocking for all fractures. Utilization of more costly locking implants was not associated with reduced postoperative complications compared with nonlocking implants. More attention must be dedicated toward maximizing cost efficiency, since uniform usage of nonlocking implants has the potential to reduce surgical costs without compromising patient outcomes in isolated lower extremity fractures.
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Computed tomography (CT) has become an increasingly popular and powerful tool for clinicians managing trauma patients with life-threatening injuries, but the ramifications of increasing radiation burden on individual patients are not insignificant. This study examines a continuous series of 337 patients less than 40 years old admitted to a level 1 trauma center during a 4-month period. Primary outcome measures included number of scans; effective dose of radiation from radiographs and CT scans, respectively; and total effective dose from both sources over patients' hospital stays. ⋯ Location and mechanism of injury were also found to correlate with radiation exposure. Trauma patients as a group are exposed to high levels of radiation from X-rays and CT scans, and CT scans contribute a very high proportion (91.3% ± 11.7%) of that radiation. Certain subgroups of patients are at a particularly high risk of exposure, and greater attention to cumulative radiation dose should be paid to patients with the above mentioned risk factors.
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Comparative Study
Comparison Between Liposomal Bupivacaine and Femoral Nerve Block in Patients Undergoing Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty.
This study sought to evaluate opioid consumption, hospitalization costs, and length of stay when surgical site periarticular infiltration of liposomal bupivacaine is used after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Sixty-six consecutive primary TKA cases performed with a single-injection femoral nerve block before this date were compared with 59 consecutive TKA cases performed with the liposomal bupivacaine cocktail after this date. ⋯ There were no significant demographic differences between the two groups. Liposomal bupivacaine infiltration before primary wound closure may be an effective means in lowering hospitalization costs, decreasing length of stay, and decreasing postsurgical opioid consumption after TKA.
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Postoperative pain control after total knee arthroplasty is a major contributing factor to patient satisfaction, rehabilitation, and length of stay. Current clinical practice guidelines recommend a multimodal pain management protocol, including the use of regional anesthesia. Periarticular injection (PAI) has been shown to provide excellent pain relief after total knee arthroplasty. ⋯ Liposomal bupivacaine is a sustained-release preparation designed to provide local analgesia up to 72 hours after initial application. The efficacy of PAI relies significantly on a meticulous, systematic injection technique. This article details recommendations for solution preparation and injection during total knee arthroplasty on the basis of the experience of a high-volume orthopaedic reconstruction service.
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Periarticular infiltration analgesia when used as a component of multimodal analgesia regimen has been shown to provide excellent pain relief after major joint replacement surgery. Recently, a liposomal formulation of bupivacaine (Exparel) has been approved for administration into the surgical site to produce postsurgical analgesia. ⋯ Because the success of infiltration technique depends on systematic, extensive, meticulous tissue injection before surgical wound closure, a group convened to address the best practice for periarticular injection techniques for hip and knee replacement surgery. This article provides recommendations for optimal solution for injection (i.e., drug combinations or ``cocktail'' and total volume) as well as detailed description (including illustrations) of the infiltration technique for primary, revision, and unicompartmental knee arthroplasty and primary and revision hip arthroplasty using various surgical approaches.