Background The Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) originally was developed to predict mortality within 1 year of hospital admission in patients without trauma. As it includes factors associated with medical and surgical complexities, it also may be useful as a predictive tool for hospital readmission after orthopaedic surgery, but to our knowledge, this has not been studied. Questions/purposes We asked whether an increased score on the CCI was associated with (1) readmission, (2) an increased risk of surgical site infection or other adverse events, (3) transfusion risk, or (4) mortality after orthopaedic surgery. Methods A total of 30,129 orthopaedic surgeries performed between 2008 and 2011 without any orthopaedic surgery in the preceding 30 days were analyzed. International Classification of Diseases, 9 th Revision codes were used to identify diagnoses, procedures, surgery-related adverse events, surgical site infection, and comorbidities as listed in the updated and reweighted CCI. A total of 913 patients (3.0%) were readmitted within 30 days after discharge; in 393 (1.4%) patients adverse events occurred; 417 patients (1.4%) had a surgical site infection develop; 211 (0.7%) needed transfusions, and 56 (0.2%) died within 30 days after surgery. Ordinary least squares regression analyses were used to determine whether the CCI was associated with these outcomes. Results The CCI accounted for 10% of the variation in readmissions. Every point increase in CCI score added an additional 0.45% risk in readmission for patients undergoing arthroplasty, 0.63% for patients undergoing trauma surgery, and 0.9% risk for patients undergoing spine surgery (all p \ 0.01). The CCI was not associated with surgical site infection or other adverse events, but accounted for 8% of the variation in transfusion rate and 10% of the variation in mortality within 30 days of surgery. Conclusions The CCI can be used to estimate the risk of readmission after arthroplasty, hand and upper extremity surgery, spine surgery, and trauma surgery. It also can be used to estimate the risk of transfusion after arthroplasty, spine, trauma, and oncologic orthopaedic surgery and the risk of mortality after shoulder, trauma, and oncologic orthopaedic surgery.
Background Previous studies suggest a benefit of mindfulnessbased interventions on pain conditions. This study addresses the null hypothesis that mindfulness is not correlated with pain intensity or magnitude of disability in orthopedic upper extremity conditions. Methods In a prospective cohort, the correlation of the two separate aspects of mindfulness-acceptance and awareness-with disability and pain intensity was tested in patients with nonacute upper extremity conditions. Regression analyses were performed to determine factors associated with armspecific disability and pain intensity. Results Awareness and acceptance both correlated with armspecific disability, but only awareness was retained as a predictor in the best multivariable model. Neither awareness nor acceptance correlated with pain intensity. Pain interference and symptoms of depression accounted for more of the variation in disability and pain intensity. Conclusion Improved mood and decreased pain interference (a greater sense that one can accomplish one's goals in spite of pain) may be more fruitful than increased mindfulness for patients with nonacute conditions of the upper extremity.
Controversy remains whether hemiarthroplasty or arthrodesis results in better postoperative outcomes for patients who request surgery for advanced osteoarthritis of the first metatarsophalangeal joint. We tested the primary null hypothesis that the treatment groups would not differ in postoperative American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society hallux metatarsophalangeal interphalangeal scale scores after a follow-up period of ≥1 year. Secondary analyses addressed satisfaction rates, percentage of patients who would recommend the procedure, and unplanned repeat operation rates. Methods: A total of 58 primary arthrodeses and 36 hemiarthroplasties performed from January 2005 to December 2010 were evaluated at ≥1 year postoperatively. Results: At a mean average of 4 (range 1 to 7) years after surgery, the mean American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society hallux metatarsophalangeal interphalangeal scale score was 77.5 ± 18.5 in the arthrodesis group and 77.8 ± 12.0 in the arthroplasty group (p = .93). The number of repeat operations did not differ between these 2 groups, and patients treated with hemiarthroplasty reported greater mean satisfaction (p = .04). Conclusion: These results showed that the symptom intensity and magnitude of disability were similar at ≥1 year after arthrodesis or hemiarthroplasty for osteoarthritis of the first metatarsophalangeal joint, although the patients were subjectively more pleased with the results after hemiarthroplasty.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.