Background Two criteria that have been investigated for evaluating orthopedic surgery residency candidates are achieving an “honors” grade during a surgery clerkship and the total number of honors grades received in all clerkships. Unfortunately, the rate of honors grades given and the criteria for earning an honors grade differ between medical schools, making comparison of applicants from different medical schools difficult. Objective We measured the rate of honors grades in clerkships at different medical schools in the United States to examine the utility of clerkship grades in evaluating orthopedic surgery residency applicants. Methods Adequate data via the Electronic Residency Application Service were available for 86 of 142 Association of American Medical Colleges medical schools from the 2017 Match cycle. Descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon rank sum tests were performed to identify differences in grade distributions within each clerkship and in school ranking for research by U.S. News & World Report. Results For the surgery clerkship, the median rate of honors grades given was 32.5% (range 5%–67%). There was a high rate of interinstitutional variability in all clerkships. We were unable to demonstrate a statistically significant relationship between research ranking and percentage honors grades given for individual clerkships. Conclusions A standardized method for grading medical students during clinical clerkships does not exist, resulting in a high degree of interinstitutional variability. Surgery clerkship grades are an unreliable measure for comparing orthopedic surgery residency applicants from different medical schools. Standardized measures of applicant evaluation might be helpful in the future.
Simultaneous bilateral extensor mechanism disruption (BEMD) is a rare condition, for which the relationship between comorbid conditions, complications, and clinical outcomes has not been well defined. We hypothesized that patients with BEMD would have more comorbidities, more repair failures, and worse clinical outcomes compared with patients with unilateral extensor mechanism disruption (UEMD). We performed a retrospective review of all adult patients seen at our institution for either a quadriceps or patellar tendon rupture between 2012 and 2017. Statistical analysis was conducted using Student's t-tests and Fisher's exact tests. Significance was defined as p < 0.05. Fourteen patients with BEMD and 221 patients with UEMD were included for comparison. The average length of follow-up was 268 days. Patients with BEMD had higher body mass indexes and higher American Society of Anesthesiologists scores than patients with UEMD. They also had worse Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System physical function scores, nearly four times the length of stay, and three times the rate of repair failures as patients with UEMD. At final follow-up, all 14 patients in the BEMD group were ambulatory and 9 of the 10 patients who were working prior to injury had returned to work. Simultaneous BEMD are rare injuries, occurring in only 6% of the current series. When treating these patients, orthopaedic surgeons should have a heightened awareness that they have more comorbidities, more failures, and worse functional outcomes than their unilateral counterparts.
Limited unilateral instrumentation has been used in the past in the treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis; however, to our knowledge, there are no reported cases with ultra-long follow up regarding this. Our objective is to report on the 43-year follow-up of limited Harrington rod instrumentation for the treatment of a double major adolescent idiopathic scoliosis curve. We describe the patient’s initial presentation, including history, physical exam, radiographic findings and clinical decision-making. Initial coronal cobb angle measurements before surgery were: 14° T1-T5, 42° T5-T12, 44° T12-L4. At 43 years of follow up, there was progression (14°>24°, 42°>70°, 44°>50°) of the patient’s double major scoliosis curve despite unilateral, limited Harrington rod instrumentation from L4-S1. The patient was treated with a T3-pelvis instrumentation and fusion and posterior column osteotomies. To our knowledge, this is the longest follow-up and subsequent revision of a patient undergoing limited, unilateral Harrington rod instrumented fusion for the treatment of a double major adolescent idiopathic scoliosis curve.
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