Introduction Soft tissue (ST) complications after resection of bone and ST sarcomas of the pelvis occur more frequently than in appendicular tumors. We sought to identify risk factors for complications within 30 days of surgery. Methods The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database was used for this study. Patients with sarcomas of bone and ST of the pelvis were retrieved using Current Procedural Terminology and International Classification of Diseases codes. Outcomes assessed were ST complications, overall complication rates, 30‐day reoperation, and mortality. Results A total of 770 patients with pelvic bone and ST sarcoma were included. The ST complication rate was 12.6%, including 4.9% superficial and 4.7% deep surgical site infections. Higher ST complication rates were seen in patients >30 years, with partially dependent health status, hematocrit <30%, bone tumors, tumor >5 cm, amputation procedures, and longer operative times. ST complication rates were 1.5 and 3 times higher in pelvic sarcoma surgeries than in the lower and upper extremities, respectively. Age >30 years (odds ratio [OR] = 5.07), hematocrit <30% (OR = 1.84), operative time 1–3 h (OR = 2.97), and >3 h (OR = 4.89) were risk factors for ST complications. Conclusion One in nine patients with pelvic sarcoma surgery will develop ST complications within 30 days. Risk factors for ST complications were age >30, hematocrit <30%, and longer operative time.

Background Pathologic fractures occur in 5% to 10% of patients with osteosarcoma, and prior studies have suggested they are prognostically important. However, because they represent an uncommon event in the setting of an already rare disease, most studies fail to reach conclusive findings, and there is no agreement about how best to treat pathologic fractures. Questions/purposes (1) Is the occurrence of a pathologic fracture in patients with osteosarcoma associated with poorer overall survivorship? (2) Is the occurrence of a pathologic fracture in patients with osteosarcoma associated with poorer local recurrence-free survival or metastasis-free survival? (3) Is the surgical approach (amputation or limb salvage) associated with differences in local recurrence rates in patients with osteosarcoma with pathologic fractures? Methods This systematic review was performed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Our study was registered in PROSPERO (ID: 380459). A search of the PubMed and Embase databases resulted in 625 and 747 titles, respectively. After application of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 21 articles were finally included. Quality assessment of all studies was performed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale. The Risk of Bias In Non-Randomized Studies of Interventions tool was used in the 11 articles that evaluated the effect of an intervention (amputation or limb salvage) on local recurrence rates. The relative risk (RR) was calculated to compare outcomes in patients with osteosarcoma with pathologic fractures and those without. Heterogeneity among studies was calculated using the I 2 statistic. The pooled RR was calculated using the fixed-effects or random-effects model depending on study heterogeneity. The fragility index and the ratio between the fragility index and the total number of participants for each outcome was additionally calculated to assess the robustness of our results. A total of 7604 patients with osteosarcoma, 12% of whom (885) had pathologic fractures, were included in our analysis. Results Pathologic fractures in patients with osteosarcoma were associated with lower 3-year (RR 1.53 [95% CI 1.29 to 1.82]; p < 0.001) and 5-year overall survival (RR 1.27 [95% CI 1.16 to 1.40]; p < 0.001). No difference in recurrence rates was found between patients with osteosarcoma with pathologic fractures and those without (RR 1.22 [95% CI 0.91 to 1.64]; p = 0.18). However, having a pathologic fracture was Each author certifies that there are no funding or commercial associations (consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangements, etc.) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article related to the author or any immediate family members. All ICMJE Conflict of Interest Forms for authors and Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research® editors and board members are on file with the publication and can be viewed on request.

Background and Objectives Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) is an aggressive type of soft tissue sarcoma (STS) with high rates of metastatic disease and local recurrence. We sought to identify risk factors for local recurrence, metastasis, and overall death, and assess their impact on overall survival (OS), local recurrence‐free survival (LRFS), and metastasis‐free survival (MFS). Methods A total of 386 cases of UPS treated at our institution from 1980 to 2020 were included. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to identifying risk factors for death, local recurrence, and/or metastasis. Using the Kaplan–Meier method, we assessed OS, LRFS, and MFS. Results Sixty‐six (17%) and 121 (30%) patients with UPS developed local recurrence or metastasis, respectively. Lymph node (LN) involvement was present in 13.5% of patients. The most affected organ in patients with metastatic disease was the lungs (76.9%). Age ≥ 60 (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.42) and size ≥7 cm (HR = 1.52) were some of the significant risk factors for overall death. LN involvement was an important risk factor for both LR (HR = 2.79) and distant metastasis (HR = 5.73). Conclusions UPS displays high rates of metastatic disease and local recurrence. Using a tumor size cutoff value of 7 cm yields superior prognostic value than the standard STS T‐score thresholds. Lymphovascular invasion is an important risk factor for the development of metastasis.

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BackgroundLimited remains known on giant cell‐rich osteosarcoma (GCRO) with current studies being case reports or smaller series. This investigation compared GCRO and conventional osteoblastic osteosarcoma (OOS) with regard to demographics and survival.MethodsAn institutional tumor registry was used to identify 11 patients (six males) treated for GCRO. Mean age was 43 years. Staging showed American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stages IIA in four and IIB in seven patients. Mean follow‐up was 14 years. Study initiatives were: (1) Comparison of demographics between GCRO and 167 OOS from our institutional registry, (2) Differences in survival between GCRO and 33 OOS case controls (based on sex and AJCC stage), as well as 10 OOS using an age‐based propensity match, and (3) Summary of all GCRO cases reported in the literature.Results(1) Sex (p = 0.53), grading (p = 0.56), AJCC stage (p = 0.42), and chemotherapeutic response rate (p = 0.67) did not differ between groups. Age was significantly increased in GCRO (p = 0.001). (2) Case–control and propensity‐matched groups revealed no difference in disease‐free survival, local recurrence, and distant disease‐free survival at 2 years (p > 0.05). (3) Mean age of 56 patients (50% males) reported in the literature was 26 years. After merging with our 11 cases, the 2‐year disease‐free survival was 66%.ConclusionsGCRO remains a rare disease with high short‐term mortality. Although affecting older patients more than conventional osteosarcoma, GCRO should not be viewed as a predictor of survival compared to OOS.

Background Despite some studies on Gram-negative bacteria as difficult to treat pathogens in periprosthetic joint infections, there are no detailed analyses on Serratia periprosthetic joint infections. As such, we present two cases of Serratia periprosthetic joint infections and summarize all known cases to date in the course of a PRISMA criteria-based systematic review. Case presentation Case 1: a 72-year-old Caucasian female with Parkinson’s disease and treated breast cancer developed periprosthetic joint infection caused by Serratia marcescens and Bacillus cereus, following multiple prior revisions for recurrent dislocations of her total hip arthroplasty. Two-stage exchange was performed, and the patient remained free of Serratia periprosthetic joint infection recurrence at 3 years. Case 2: an 82-year-old Caucasian female with diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease presented with a chronic parapatellar knee fistula after undergoing multiple failed infection treatments at external clinics. After performing two-stage exchange and gastrocnemius flap plastic for combined Serratia marcescens and Proteus mirabilis periprosthetic joint infection, the patient was released without any signs of infection, but was subsequently lost to follow-up. Review: a total of 12 additional Serratia periprosthetic joint infections were identified. Merged with our two cases, the mean age of 14 patients was 66 years and 75% were males. Mean length of antibiotic therapy was 10 weeks with ciprofloxacin most commonly used (50%). Mean follow-up was 23 months. There was a total of four reinfections (29%), including one case of Serratia reinfection (7%). Conclusions Serratia is a rare cause of periprosthetic joint infection affecting elderly with secondary diseases. While the overall reinfection rate was high, the risk of Serratia periprosthetic joint infection persistence was low. Treatment failure in patients may be attributable to the host, rather than the Serratia periprosthetic joint infection itself, thus challenging current concepts on Gram-negatives as a uniform class of difficult-to-treat pathogens. Level of evidence: Therapeutic level IV