Duplicate publication in orthopaedic journals may further an author's academic career but this is at the cost of both scientific integrity and knowledge. Multiple publications of the same work increase the workload of editorial boards, misguide the reader and affect the process of meta-analysis. We found that of 343 'original' articles published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery in 1999, 26 (7.6%) had some degree of redundancy. The prevalence of duplicate publications in the orthopaedic literature appears to be less than that in other surgical specialties but it is still a matter of concern. It is the author's responsibility to notify the editor of any duality when submitting a paper for publication.

Stress fractures of the femoral neck are uncommon, it is important to have a high index of suspicion in young active people who perform repetitive vigorous activity or have recently had an increase in frequency of such activity. We report a case of femoral neck stress fracture in a sanitary worker which was treated successfully with a dynamic hip screw.

INTRODUCTION The first comprehensiver eport on the interprofessional relationships between foot and ankle surgeons in the UK is presented.MATERIALS AND METHODS Aq uestionnaire was sent to orthopaedic surgeons with membership of the British Foot and Ankle Surgery Society (BOFAS), orthopaedic surgeons not affiliated to the specialist BOFAS and podiatrists specialising in foot surgery.T he questionnaire was returned by 77 (49%) of the BOFAS orthopaedic consultant surgeons, 66 (26%) of non-foot and ankle orthopaedic consultant surgeons and 99 (73%) of the podiatric surgeons.RESULTS While most respondents have experience of surgeons working in the other specialty in close geographical proximity, the majority do not believe that this has adversely affected their referral base. The experience of podiatrists of the outcomes of orthopaedic surgery has been more positive than orthopaedic surgeons of podiatric interventions. Podiatrists are more welcoming of future orthopaedic involvement in future foot and ankle services than in reverse. However,t here are as izeable number of surgeons in both professions who would like to see closer professional liaisons. The study has identified clear divisions between the professions but has highlighted areas where there is ad esire from many clinicians to work more harmoniously together,s uch as in education, training and research.CONCLUSIONS While major concerns exist over issues such as surgery by non-registered medicalp ractitioners and the suitables pectrum of surgery for each profession, many surgeons,i nb oth professions,a re willingt op rovide training forj uniorsi nb oth specialties and there is aw ish to havec loserw orking relationships and common educational and researcho pportunitiest hane xists at present. ISAAC GWILYM REILLYK ILMARTIN RIBBANS INTERPROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ORTHOPAEDIC AND PODIATRIC SURGEONS IN THE UKAnn RC oll Surg Engl 2008; 90:6 63-670

BackgroundPrereduction radiographs are conventionally used to exclude fracture before attempts to reduce a dislocated shoulder in the ED. However, this step increases cost, exposes patients to ionising radiation and may delay closed reduction. Some studies have suggested that prereduction imaging may be omitted for a subgroup of patients with shoulder dislocations.ObjectivesTo determine whether clinical predictors can identify patients who may safely undergo closed reduction of a dislocated shoulder without prereduction radiographs.MethodsA systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy studies that have evaluated the ability of clinical features to identify concomitant fractures in patients with shoulder dislocation. The search was updated to 23 June 2022 and language limits were not applied. All fractures were included except for Hill-Sachs lesions. Quality assessment was undertaken using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 tool. Data were pooled and meta-analysed by fitting univariate random effects and multilevel mixed effects logistic regression models.ResultsEight studies reported data on 2087 shoulder dislocations and 343 concomitant fractures. The most important potential sources of bias were unclear blinding of those undertaking the clinical (6/8 studies) and radiographic (3/8 studies) assessment. The prevalence of concomitant fracture was 17.5%. The most accurate clinical predictors were age >40 (positive likelihood ratio (LR+) 1.8, 95% CI 1.5 to 2.1; negative likelihood ratio (LR−) 0.4, 95% CI 0.2 to 0.6), female sex (LR+ 2.0, 95% CI 1.6 to 2.4; LR− 0.7, 95% CI 0.6 to 0.8), first-time dislocation (LR+ 1.7, 95% CI 1.4 to 2.0; LR− 0.2, 95% CI 0.1 to 0.5) and presence of humeral ecchymosis (LR+ 3.0–5.7, LR− 0.8–1.1). The most important mechanisms of injury were high-energy mechanism fall (LR+ 2.0–9.8, LR− 0.4–0.8), fall >1 flight of stairs (LR+ 3.8, 95% CI 0.6 to 13.1; LR− 1.0, 95% CI 0.9 to 1.0) and motor vehicle collision (LR+ 2.3, 95% CI 0.5 to 4.0; LR− 0.9, 95% CI 0.9 to 1.0). The Quebec Rule had a sensitivity of 92.2% (95% CI 54.6% to 99.2%) and a specificity of 33.3% (95% CI 23.1% to 45.3%), but the Fresno-Quebec rule identified all clinically important fractures across two studies: sensitivity of 100% (95% CI 89% to 100%) in the derivation dataset and 100% (95% CI 90% to 100%) in the validation study. The specificity of the Fresno-Quebec rule ranged from 34% (95% CI 28% to 41%) in the derivation dataset to 24% (95% CI 16% to 33%) in the validation study.ConclusionClinical prediction rules may have a role in supporting shared decision making after shoulder dislocation, particularly in the prehospital and remote environments when delay to imaging is anticipated.