The Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has been an unprecedented challenge to healthcare systems and clinicians around the globe. As the virus has spread, critical questions arose about how to best deliver health care in emergency situations where material and personnel resources become scarce. Clinicians who excel at caring for the individual patient at the bedside are now being reoriented into a system where they are being asked to see the collective public as their responsibility. As such, the clinical ethics that clinicians are accustomed to practicing are being modified by a framework of public health ethics defined by the presence of a global pandemic. There are many unknowns about Coronavirus disease 2019, which makes it difficult to provide consistent recommendations and guidelines that uniformly apply to all situations. This lack of consensus leads to the clinicians' confusion and distress. Real-life dilemmas about how to allocate resources and provide care in hotspot cities make explicit the need for careful ethical analysis, but the need runs far deeper than that; even when not trading some lives against others, the responsibilities of both individual clinicians and the broader healthcare system are changing in the face of this crisis.
We assessed factors associated with premature physeal closure (PPC) and outcomes after closed reduction of Salter-Harris type II (SH-II) fractures of the distal tibia. We reviewed patients with SH-II fractures of the distal tibia treated at our center from 2010 to 2015 with closed reduction and a non-weightbearing long-leg cast. Patients were categorized by immediate postreduction displacement: minimal, <2 mm; moderate, 2 to 4 mm; or severe, >4 mm. Demographic data, radiographic data, and Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS) scores were recorded. Fifty-nine patients (27 girls, 31 right ankles, 26 concomitant fibula fractures) were included, with a mean (±SD) age at injury of 12.0 ± 2.2 years. Mean maximum fracture displacements were 6.6 ± 6.5 mm initially, 2.7 ± 2.0 mm postreduction, and 0.4 ± 0.7 mm at final follow-up. After reduction, displacement was minimal in 23 patients, moderate in 21, and severe in 15. Fourteen patients developed PPC, with no significant differences between postreduction displacement groups. Patients with high-grade injury mechanisms and/or initial displacement ≥4 mm had 12-fold and 14-fold greater odds, respectively, of PPC. Eighteen patients responded to the LEFS survey (mean 4.0 ± 2.1 years after injury). LEFS scores did not differ significantly between postreduction displacement groups ( P = .61). The PPC rate in this series of SH-II distal tibia fractures was 24% and did not differ by postreduction displacement. Initial fracture displacement and high-grade mechanisms of injury were associated with PPC. LEFS scores did not differ significantly by postreduction displacement. Level of Evidence: Level IV, case series
OBJECTIVES Older adults who undergo kidney transplantation (KT) are living longer with a functioning graft and are at risk for age‐related adverse events including fractures. Understanding recipient, transplant, and donor factors and the outcomes associated with fractures may help identify older KT recipients at increased risk. We determined incidence of hip, vertebral, and extremity fractures; assessed factors associated with incident fractures; and estimated associations between fractures and subsequent death‐censored graft loss (DCGL) and mortality. DESIGN This was a prospective cohort study of patients who underwent their first KT between January 1, 1999, and December 31, 2014. SETTING We linked data from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients to Medicare claims through the US Renal Data System. PARTICIPANTS The analytic population included 47 815 KT recipients aged 55 years or older. MEASUREMENTS We assessed the cumulative incidence of and factors associated with post‐KT fractures (hip, vertebral, or extremity) using competing risks models. We estimated risk of DCGL and mortality after fracture using adjusted Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS The 5‐year incidence of post‐KT hip, vertebral, and extremity fracture for those aged 65 to 69 years was 2.2%, 1.0%, and 1.7%, respectively. Increasing age was associated with higher hip (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 1.37 per 5‐y increase; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.30‐1.45) and vertebral (aHR = 1.31; 95% CI = 1.20‐1.42) but not extremity (aHR = .97; 95% CI = .91‐1.04) fracture risk. DCGL risk was higher after hip (aHR = 1.34; 95% CI = 1.12‐1.60) and extremity (aHR = 1.30; 95% CI = 1.08‐1.57) fracture. Mortality risk was higher after hip (aHR = 2.31; 95% CI = 2.11‐2.52), vertebral (aHR = 2.80; 95% CI = 2.44‐3.21), and extremity (aHR = 1.85; 95% CI = 1.64‐2.10) fracture. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that older KT recipients are at higher risk for hip and vertebral fracture but not extremity fracture; and those with hip, vertebral, or extremity fracture are more likely to experience subsequent graft loss or mortality. These findings underscore that different fracture types may have different underlying etiologies and risks, and they should be approached accordingly. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:1680–1688, 2019
Odds of stroke after cardiac surgery are increased in patients with a low minimum PaO2 within 24 hours of surgery. Results should be validated in an independent cohort. Further characterizing the underlying etiology of hypoxic episodes will be important to improve patient outcomes.
The question about how to resume typical orthopaedic care during a pandemic, such as coronavirus disease 2019, should be framed not only as a logistic or safety question but also as an ethical question. The current published guidelines from surgical societies do not explicitly address ethical dilemmas, such as why public health ethics requires a cessation of nonemergency surgery or how to fairly allocate limited resources for delayed surgical care. We propose ethical guidance for the resumption of care on the basis of public health ethics with a focus on clinical equipoise, triage tiers, and flexibility. We then provide orthopaedic surgery examples to guide physicians in the ethical resumption of care.
Stage II adult acquired flatfoot deformity is characterized by painful, progressive collapse long thought to be driven by posterior tibialis tendon (PTT) deficiency or insufficiency. In this article, we discuss the history of our understanding the role of the PTT in the development of adult acquired flatfoot deformity, and considerations in tendon excision in flatfoot correction. We argue that routine excision of the PTT should be rethought and instead the tendon should be critically assessed in each case and debridement with repair should be attempted when appropriate. Technique for flexor digitorum longus transfer is detailed as well as preoperative evaluation, imaging, nonoperative treatment, and adjuvants including biologics.
For elective surgery, preoperative planning for patients with comorbidities tends to address risk stratification, cardiac clearance, and anticoagulation. This commentary suggests that chronic opioid use should be normalized as a comorbidity requiring "pain clearance" prior to elective surgery. Doing so would likely enhance team communication, optimize patient care, decrease stigma, and facilitate care transitioning and long-term planning. Case A 58-year-old construction worker has long-standing pain and arthritis from a complex ankle fracture sustained in his twenties. His pain has been made tolerable by twice-daily oral opioids, which his primary care physician has been prescribing him for the past 10 years. There have never been concerns about his substance use practices or diversion. This patient also takes warfarin anticoagulation daily for atrial fibrillation. His orthopedic surgeon suggests he undergo ankle fusion surgery to improve his function and help remediate pain.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.