Department of Orthopaedic Surgery

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective comparative study. OBJECTIVE: To compare patient-reported physical activity between anterior thoracic vertebral body tethering and posterior lumbar spine tethering (ATVBT/PLST) and posterior spinal instrumentation and fusion (PSIF) with minimum 2 year follow-up. METHODS: Consecutive skeletally immature patients with idiopathic scoliosis and a thoracic and lumbar curve magnitude ≥40° who underwent either ATVBT/PLST or PSIF from 2015-2019 were included. The primary outcome was rate of returning to sport. Secondary outcomes included ability to bend and satisfaction with sport performance as well as weeks until return to sport, school, physical education (PE) classes, and running. RESULTS: Ten patients underwent ATVBT/PLST and 12 underwent PSIF. ATVBT/PLST patients reported significantly faster return to sport (13.5 weeks vs 27.9 weeks, P = .04), running (13.3 weeks vs 28.8 weeks, P = .02), and PE class (12.6 weeks vs 26.2 weeks, P = .04) compared to PSIF patients. ATVBT/PLST patients reported that they had to give up activities due to their ability to bend at lower rates than PSIF patients while reporting no changes in their ability to bend after surgery at higher rates than PSIF patients (0% vs 4% giving up activities and 70% vs 0% reporting no changes in bending ability for ATVBT/PLST and PSIF, respectively, P = .01). Compared to PSIF patients, ATVBT/PLST patients experienced less main thoracic and thoracolumbar/lumbar curve correction at most recent follow-up (thoracic: 41 ± 19% vs 69 ± 18%, P = .001; thoracolumbar/lumbar: 59 ± 25% vs 78 ± 15%, P = .02). No significant differences in the number of revision surgeries were observed between ATVBT/PLST and PSIF patients (4 (40%) and 1 (8%) for ATVBT/PLST and PSIF, respectively, P = .221). CONCLUSIONS: ATVBT/PLST patients reported significantly faster rates of returning to sport, running, and PE. In addition, ATVBT/PLST patients were less likely to have to give up activities due to bending ability after surgery and reported no changes in their ability to bend after surgery more frequently than PSIF patients. However, the overall rate of return to the same or higher level of sport participation was high amongst both groups, with no significant difference observed between ATVBT/PLST and PSIF patients.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: For pediatric osteomyelitis and septic arthritis, 10-24% of cases occur in the upper extremity (UE). Due to delays in presentation and diagnosis, UE infections are often more complex and severe than infections of the lower extremity (LE). This review evaluates the literature from the past 6 years related to pediatric osteomyelitis and septic arthritis of the UE and provides a guide for professionals managing these conditions in children. RECENT FINDINGS: The shoulder and elbow are the most commonly affected joints, and the humerus is the most commonly affected bone. As with the LE, diagnosis of UE osteoarticular infections is based on clinical evidence, laboratory data, and diagnostic imaging. While Staphylococcus aureus is the primary bacteria identified in UE infections, there is an underappreciation of the burden from Kingella kingae as a causative organism in culture-negative patients where PCR is not performed. Septic joints should be treated with irrigation and debridement urgently, with subsequent antibiotic therapy for a minimum of 2-4 weeks. For acute osteomyelitis without abscess or concomitant septic joints, antibiotic therapy is standard of care. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is associated with more severe infection requiring more surgeries. Various strategies exist for managing segmental bone loss in chronic osteoarticular infections. Osteomyelitis and septic arthritis tend to occur less frequently in the UE than the LE but have a devastating impact on the health and quality of life of children around the world. Complete resolution of disease can be achieved through an individualized approach to antibiotic and operative management. Further study is needed to assess the efficacy of aspiration as a primary treatment strategy in UE joints.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review aims to analyze the impact of martial arts on youth, addressing the physical and psychosocial benefits, as well as the injury risks associated with increased participation. RECENT FINDINGS: Data from the National Federation of State High School Associations indicates a notable increase in youth participation in martial arts, with a rise of over 13,000 participants from 2018 to 2022. In addition to physical benefits, recent studies highlight that martial arts can significantly enhance mindfulness, reduce stress, and improve self-control, thus diminishing bullying behaviors in school-aged children. Additionally, the therapeutic application of martial arts techniques has been effective in managing pain in children with chronic diseases and in alleviating emotional distress in their siblings. However, the popularity of the sport brings concerns over a spectrum of injuries, especially more severe cases in competitive settings. Martial arts provide a dynamic platform for fostering robust physical health and psychological resilience among youth. While the benefits are substantial, they are accompanied by risks that require careful management through informed practices and supervision. This review underscores the importance of understanding the dual nature of martial arts - its capacity to empower and its potential to harm - to maximize its benefits and safeguard young athletes.

PURPOSE: With life expectancies increasing worldwide, there is a concomitant rise in the incidence of fragility fractures. As such, low-income and lower-middle-income countries (LICs and LMICs) will be faced with increased incidences of hip fractures. The care of these fractures is adversely affected by various factors that include under-resourced healthcare systems and large socioeconomic disparities, which disproportionately affect patient care in these regions relative to high-income countries. The purpose of this study was to determine treatment trends and outcomes of hip fracture care in lesser resourced regions as reported in primary literature sources through a systematic review. DATA SOURCES: The article search was conducted on December 16, 2020, and April 14, 2022, in 3 databases: PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase. A search strategy unique to each database was developed with a research librarian using English search terms. STUDY SELECTION: Studies were selected using DistillerSR systematic review software. Two rounds of screening were performed for inclusion: 1) title and abstract screening and 2) full-text screening. Two researchers independently reviewed all articles. No articles were excluded based on language. DATA EXTRACTION: The extracted information included country, study demographics and design, hip fracture location, treatment, and outcomes. DATA SYNTHESIS: Of the 2533 initially identified abstracts, a total of 24 articles met the criteria for inclusion and were selected for final data extraction after full-text screening. CONCLUSION: This systematic review demonstrates a paucity of research evaluating geriatric hip fractures in LICs and LMICs. Additional research is needed to better characterize the preferred treatment by fracture type and associated complications in resource-limited environments.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The physical health impacts of microplastics have received increasing attention in recent years. However, limited data impedes a full understanding of the internal exposure to microplastics, especially concerning the musculoskeletal system. The purpose of this review is to summarize the recent literature regarding the effects of microplastics on the musculoskeletal system. RECENT FINDINGS: Microplastics have been shown to cause abnormal endochondral ossification and disrupt the normal function of pre-osteoblasts, osteocyte-like cells, and pre-osteoclasts through gene mutations, endoplasmic reticulum stress induction, and reduced autophagosome formation in bone growth areas. Although there are few reports on their effects on muscle, it has been noted that microplastics inhibit energy and lipid metabolism, decrease type I muscle fiber density, impair muscle angiogenesis, cause muscle atrophy, and increase lipid deposition. Only a few recent studies have shown that microplastics interfere with the normal function of bone growth-related cells and reduce muscle mass and quality. This review underscores the need for further research into other parts of the musculoskeletal system and studies using human tissues at the disease level.

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BACKGROUND: The literature presents conflicting findings regarding outcomes after pediatric anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) with various autograft options, reflecting a lack of consensus on the standard of practice. Fragility analyses may assist in evaluating the statistical robustness of these studies. PURPOSE: To evaluate the statistical fragility of comparative studies in pediatric ACLR through the fragility index (FI) and fragility quotient (FQ), as well as qualitative factors such as outcome type, outcome significance, and patients lost to follow-up. STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4. METHODS: A systematic review conducted in accordance with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines identified 1139 studies in the PubMed and Embase databases that met the search criteria; ultimately, 6 studies were selected for inclusion. A total of 32 comparative outcomes were assessed for fragility across the 6 studies. Descriptive statistics were employed to summarize the fragility data and generate subgroup comparisons. RESULTS: The mean FI was 1.5, and the mean reverse FI was 3.19 (P < .01); the mean FQ was 0.0064, and the mean reverse FQ was 0.028 (P≤ .0001). No significant difference was found in the FIs between objective outcomes and patient-reported outcomes (P = .418). These findings suggested that a comparable number of patients would need to transition from a nonevent to an event to alter a statistically significant result to a nonsignificant one. The FI was lower than the estimated number of patients lost to follow-up for 30 of the 32 outcomes (93.7%). CONCLUSION: Comparative studies on pediatric ACLR autograft outcomes displayed vulnerability when assessed using fragility metrics, indicating a lack of statistically robust data. The findings revealed that many reported outcomes are fragile and may require further investigation. Future research should incorporate fragility analyses-especially in studies with long-term follow-ups-to enhance the reliability of conclusions regarding optimal graft selection in pediatric ACLR.

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A common procedure for treatment of Hill-Sachs lesions in the setting of anterior shoulder instability is arthroscopic remplissage. Remplissage consists of using the posterior capsule and infraspinatus tendon to fill the Hill-Sachs lesion and convert it into an extra-articular defect. Previous versions of this technique have not specified the timing in which remplissage and Bankart repair occur and have been performed with the patient in the lateral decubitus position. In this Technical Note, we describe our technique where we perform the remplissage before Bankart repair using all-suture anchor mattress fixation with the patient in the beach-chair position. By performing the remplissage before Bankart repair, the shoulder is reduced to allow for easier execution of the remplissage and reduce difficulties that might prevent its completion if done after Bankart repair. Further, by completing remplissage before Bankart repair in the beach-chair position, the humeral head is moved posteriorly with the cuff to allow for better access for the following labral repair and allows for the standardization between arthroscopic and open shoulder instability management.

PURPOSE OF THE REVIEW: Anatomic and reverse endoprosthetic reconstruction are two common surgical options used after tumor resection of the proximal humerus. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the functional outcomes and complications of modern anatomic and reverse endoprostheses. RECENT FINDINGS: The anatomic endoprosthesis has traditionally been a successful reconstructive technique as it provided a stable platform upon which the hand and elbow could function. However, the reverse endoprosthesis has gradually replaced the anatomic endoprosthesis given that its semi-constrained design affords greater stability. Patients with reverse endoprostheses have improved motion, patient-reported outcome scores, and revision-free implant survivorship compared to those with anatomic endoprostheses. Shoulder function may be further improved with a reverse allograft prosthetic composite (APC) due to reconstruction of the rotator cuff tendons or by transferring the latissimus dorsi and teres major tendons to recreate the function of the posterosuperior rotator cuff muscles. The short-term functional improvement observed with the use of an allograft reconstruction, however, may diminish with longer follow-up due to delayed graft complications, such as resorption, nonunion, and fracture. In most patients undergoing oncologic resection of the proximal humerus, the reverse endoprosthesis or reverse APC is recommended due to improved functional outcomes and reduced postoperative complications compared to other reconstructive techniques.