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Background The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) is a globally recognized leader in musculoskeletal and orthopaedic education. Clinical guidelines are one important focus of the AAOS' educational efforts. Although their recommendations sometimes generate controversy, a critical appraisal of the overall quality of these guidelines has not, to our knowledge, been reported. Questions/purposes We wished to assess the overall quality of the AAOS guidelines using the AGREE II (Advancing Guideline Development, Reporting and Evaluation in Health Care) instrument. Methods All 14 guidelines available on the AAOS website as of August 2, 2013 were evaluated. Appraisal was performed by three reviewers, independently, using the AGREE II instrument. This is an internationally recognized and validated assessment tool for evaluating guideline quality. Interrater reliability was calculated and descriptive statistics were performed. Strong interrater reliability was shown using a Spearman's Rho test (correlation coefficient C 0.95). Results The overall results for AGREE II domains across all 14 guidelines were: scope and purpose (median score, 95%), stakeholder involvement (median score, 83%), rigor of development (median score, 94%), clarity of presentation (median score, 92%), applicability (median score, 48%), and editorial independence (median score, 79%). Conclusions This study showed that the overall quality of the AAOS guidelines is high, however their applicability was found to be poor. The value of guidelines that have a high quality but that are difficult for clinicians to implement is questionable. Numerous suggestions have been proposed to improve applicability including; health economist involvement in guideline production, implementation of pilot studies and audit to monitor uptake of the guidelines and clinician feedback sessions and barrier analysis studies. Future AAOS guidelines should consider and implement steps that can improve their applicability.

Purpose To evaluate the long-term efficacy of image-guided cryoablation of sporadic clinical T1 (cT1) biopsy-proven renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and the technical success and safety of all cryoablation treatments. Materials and Methods For this retrospective single-institution study, 433 patients (median age, 68 years; range, 19-90 years), of whom 293 were men (median age, 69 years; range, 19-90 years) and 140 were women (median age, 68 years; range, 30-89 years), who had 484 cT1 renal masses (mean size, 33 mm) and who were treated between 2007 and 2016 were identified from a prospectively maintained tumor registry. Treatment efficacy for all treated lesions and complication rates of all procedures were computed. Oncologic outcomes for a subset of 220 patients with sporadic biopsy-proven RCC were analyzed. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate local recurrence-free survival (LRFS), metastasis-free survival (MFS), and overall survival (OS) rates. Results Of the 484 treated cT1 renal masses, 474 were imaged subsequently, with a primary treatment efficacy of 96% (453 of 474), increasing to 98% (465 of 474) after secondary ablation, and a major complication rate (Clavien-Dindo grade ≥ III) of 4.9% (23 of 473 procedures). The estimated LRFS and MFS rates, respectively, for the 220 patients with biopsy-proven RCC were 97.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 92.6%, 99.0%) and 97.7% (95% CI: 93.3%, 99.1%) at 3 years and 93.9% (95% CI: 85.8%, 97.4%) and 94.4% (95% CI: 86.7%, 97.7%) at 5 years. The estimated OS of all 433 patients was 91.7% (95% CI: 87.5%, 94.5%) and 78.8% (95% CI: 71.1%, 84.6%) at 3 and 5 years, respectively. Conclusion Five-year oncologic outcomes after image-guided cryoablation for clinical T1 renal cell carcinoma are competitive with those of resection at a lower complication rate. © RSNA, 2018.

Early MRI in occult scaphoid fractures is marginally cost saving compared with conventional management and may reduce potentially large societal costs of unnecessary immobilisation. It enables early detection and appropriate treatment of scaphoid and other injuries.

Background:Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) has become increasingly implemented to reduce costs, to increase efficiency, and to optimize patient outcomes after a surgical procedure. This study aimed to systematically review the effect of ERAS after primary elective total hip arthroplasty (THA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA) on hospital length of stay, total procedure-related morbidity, and readmission.Methods:A systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and with guidance from the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane databases were searched from inception (1946 for MEDLINE and 1974 for Embase; Cochrane is a composite of multiple databases and thus does not report a standard inception date) until January 15, 2020. Prospective nonrandomized cohort studies and randomized controlled trials comparing adult patients undergoing elective primary THA or TKA with ERAS or traditional protocols were included. Articles examining outpatient, nonelective, or revision surgical procedures were excluded. Two reviewers independently assessed the risk of bias and extracted data. The primary outcome was length of stay. The secondary outcomes included total procedure-related morbidity and readmission.Results:Of the 1,018 references identified (1,017 identified through an electronic search and 1 identified through a manual search), 9 individual studies met inclusion criteria. Data were reported from 7,789 participants, with 2,428 receiving ERAS and 5,361 receiving traditional care. Narrative synthesis was performed instead of meta-analysis, given the presence of moderate to high risk of bias, wide variation of ERAS interventions, and inconsistent methods for assessing and reporting outcomes among included studies. Adherence to ERAS protocols consistently reduced hospital length of stay. Few studies demonstrated reduced total procedure-related morbidity, and there was no significant effect on readmission rates.Conclusions:ERAS likely reduced the length of stay after primary elective THA and TKA, with a more pronounced effect in selected healthier patient populations. We found minimal to no impact on perioperative morbidity or readmission. The quality of existing evidence was limited because of study heterogeneity and a significant risk of bias. Further high-quality research is needed to definitively assess the impact of ERAS on total joint arthroplasty.Level of Evidence:Therapeutic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

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The Achilles tendon (AT) is the most frequently ruptured tendon in the human body yet the aetiology remains poorly understood. Despite the extensively published literature, controversy still surrounds the optimum treatment of complete rupture. Both non-operative management and percutaneous repair are attractive alternatives to open surgery, which carries the highest complication and cost profile. However, the lack of a universally accepted scoring system has limited any evaluation of treatment options. A typical UK district general hospital treats approximately 3 cases of AT rupture a month. It is therefore important for orthopaedic surgeons to correctly diagnose and treat these injuries with respect to the best current evidence-based practice. In this review article, we discuss the relevant pathophysiology and diagnosis of the ruptured AT and summarize the current evidence for treatment.

Due to an increasing lifespan, patients with osteogenesis imperfecta have a high incidence of hip osteoarthritis. The presence of recurrent fractures and deformities make primary and particularly revision total hip arthroplasty challenging. We present a series of patients with osteogenesis imperfecta undergoing total hip arthroplasty at a tertiary referral centre with a median follow-up of 7.6 years (4 to 35 years). There were four primary total hip arthroplasties and eight revision total hip arthroplasties performed in four patients. Three femoral components were custom computer assisted design computer assisted manufactured. The survival rate of the primary total hip arthroplasty was 16% and there were ten complications: five intraoperative fractures, one case of septic loosening and four cases of aseptic loosening. Patients with pre-operative acetabular protrusio were significantly more likely to require revision surgery (p = 0.02). At latest follow-up, the median Oxford hip score was 41 (37 to 46). As the largest series of primary and revision total hip arthroplasty performed in patients with osteogenesis imperfecta, we report good medium to long-term outcomes. Preoperative planning and consideration of custom made prostheses have an important role in these complex cases.