Purpose The aim of this review was to compare the clinical outcomes of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) with either meniscal repair or meniscectomy for concomitant meniscal injury. The primary hypothesis was that short-term clinical outcomes (≤ 2-year follow-up) for ACLR concomitant with either meniscal repair or resection would be similar. The secondary hypothesis was that ACLR with meniscal repair would result in better longer term outcomes compared with meniscal resection. Methods The authors searched two online databases (EMBASE and MEDLINE) from inception until March 2018 for the literature on ACLR and concurrent meniscal surgery. Two reviewers systematically screened studies in duplicate, independently, and based on a priori criteria. Quality assessment was also performed in duplicate. The Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) sub-scale scores at 2 years post-operatively were combined in a meta-analysis of proportions using a random-efects model. Results Of 2566 initial studies, 25 studies satisied full-text inclusion criteria. Mean follow-up was 2.09 years, with a total sample of 37,087 subjects including controls. The meta-analysis demonstrated equivocal results at 2 years, except for KOOS symptom scores which favoured meniscal resection over repair. Mean KT-1000 side-to-side diference (SSD) scores were 1.51 ± 0.60 mm for meniscal repair, 1.96 ± 0.36 mm for meniscal resection, and 1.58 ± 0.20 for control patients (isolated ACLR). Medial meniscal repair showed decreased anterior knee joint laxity compared to medial meniscal resection (P < 0.001). Patients with meniscal repair had higher rates of re-operation (13.3% vs 0.8% for meniscal resection, P < 0.001). Conclusion Patients with ACLR combined with meniscal resection demonstrate better symptoms at 2-year follow-up compared to patients with ACLR combined with meniscal repair. ACLR combined with meniscal repair results in decreased anterior knee joint laxity with evidence of improved patient-reported outcomes in the long term, but also higher re-operation rates. Level of evidence III.

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As the use of disease modifying antirheumatic drugs have increased, it remains unclear whether or not this has affected the rates of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the annual trends of RA patients who underwent TKA. Specifically, we evaluated: (1) the annual trends of TKAs due to RA in the United States population; and (2) the annual trends in the proportion of TKAs due to RA in the United States. The Nationwide Inpatient Sample was used to identify all patients who underwent TKA between 2002 and 2013 ( = 6,492,873). Then, we identified TKA patients who had a diagnosis of RA, defined by the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code 714.0. The incidence of TKAs with a diagnosis of RA in the United States was calculated using the U.S. population as the denominator. Regression models were used to analyze the annual trends of RA in patients who underwent TKA. A total of 209,332 RA patients were identified who underwent TKA. The annual prevalence of RA in patients who underwent TKA slightly increased, from 33.2 per 1,000 TKAs in 2002 to 35 per 1,000 TKAs in 2013 ( = 0.254, = 0.095). The annual number of TKAs with a diagnosis of RA increased by 93.1% from 11,618 to 22,430. After normalizing for the U.S. population, the incidence of TKAs with RA increased from 5.4 to 9.2 TKAs per 1 million U.S. adults (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 1.05; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05-1.05; < 0.001). In 2002, 11,618 (3.31%) TKAs, and in 2013, 22,430 (3.50%) TKAs were due to RA. The prevalence of RA in those who underwent TKA remained the same from 2002 to 2013 (coefficient = 0.02; 95% CI, -0.01 to 0.05; = 0.095). The results of this study demonstrated that the rates of TKA performed in RA patients have remained relatively stable. Furthermore, there may have been a decline in the rate of RA patients undergoing TKA, due to an increase in the U.S. population by approximately 28.8 million during the study period.

: Background: Reporting quality is paramount when presenting clinical findings in published research to ensure that we have the highest quality of evidence. Poorly reported clinical findings can result in a number of potential pitfalls, including confusion of the methodology used or selective reporting of study results. There are guidelines and checklists that aim to standardize the way in which studies are reported in the literature to ensure transparency. The use of these reporting guidelines may aid in the appropriate reporting of research, which is of increased importance in highly complex fields like intimate partner violence (IPV). The primary objective of this systematic review is to assess the reporting quality of published IPV studies using the CONSORT and STROBE checklists. Methods: We performed a systematic review of three large study registries for IPV studies. Of the completed studies, we sought full text publications and used reporting checklists to assess the quality of reporting. Results: Of the 42 randomized controlled trials, the mean score on the CONSORT checklist was 63.5% (23.5/37 items, SD 4.7 items). There were also 12 pilot trials in this systematic review, which scored a mean of 49.3% (19.7/40 items; SD 3.3 items) on the CONSORT extension for pilot trials. We included 12 observational studies which scored a mean of 56.1% (18.5/33 items; SD: 4.1 items). Conclusions: We identified an opportunity to improve reporting quality by encouraging adherence to reporting guidelines. There should be a particular focus on ensuring that pilot studies report pilot-specific items. All researchers have a responsibility to ensure commitment to high quality reporting to ensure transparency in IPV studies.

Self-supporting specimens were prepared for transmission electron microscopy. These specimens were disks which fit directly into the specimen holder of the Hitachi HU-11 electron microscope and had a thin central region with a relatively thick supporting rim. This form of specimen was made possible by the technique of electrocutting, which made it practical to cut a 3.2-mm disk from a sheet of metal. The procedure and the theory of this technique are discussed briefly. The electron micrographs of these self-supporting specimens of aluminum and molybdenum show very few bend extinction contours and other evidence of extraneous distortion compared to the electron micrographs made from specimens prepared by the conventional technique. Another advantage of this new technique is that specimens can be repolished; this makes it easy to get very thin areas and to remove contamination.

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