Highlights Patients, when asked if they would complete another telemedicine encounter again, 92.9% (278/299) of patients reported they would. Physicians reported high satisfaction, and that 78.4% of the time a telemedicine encounter was successful in replacing an in-person visit. During our study period, over 600 telemedicine encounters were performed with extremely favourable ratings from patients and physicians.

Background: Diabetes mellitus and peripheral neuropathy are established risk factors for complications in operatively treated ankle fractures. Generally, the presence of peripheral neuropathy and diabetic nephropathy have been used as independent variables in studies of diabetic ankle fracture cohorts but are typically treated as binary risk factors. Our purpose was to quantify the effects of risk factors on complication rate specific to diabetic patients undergoing ankle fracture fixation. Methods: We identified 617 rotational ankle fractures treated operatively at a single academic medical center from 2010 to 2019, of which 160 were identified as diabetic. Of these, 91 ankle fractures in 90 diabetic patients met criteria for retrospective review of clinical and radiographic data. Criteria included perioperative laboratory studies, including glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), as well as follow-up radiographs in the electronic record. We defined complications in this surgical cohort as deep surgical site infection, unplanned return to the operating room, and failure of fixation. Logistic regression was performed and odds ratios (ORs) calculated. Results: The overall complication rate was 28.6% (26/91) in this cohort. Median follow-up was 29 weeks (range: 5-520 weeks). Mean perioperative HbA1c in patients who experienced postoperative complications was 7.6% (range: 5.1%-14.2%) compared with 7.8% (range: 5.6%-13.5%) who did not ( P = .69). Diabetic patients with chronic kidney disease (eGFR <60 mL/min per body surface area) (OR 5.29, P = .006) and peripheral neuropathy (OR 4.61, P = .003) were at significantly higher risk of all complications compared with diabetic patients without these comorbidities. Of note, we did not find an association between perioperative HbA1c or body mass index and complication rate. Conclusion: Patients with diabetes complicated by chronic kidney disease are at significantly higher risk of complications following operative management of ankle fractures. Our study also corroborated previous reports that within this high-risk cohort, the presence of peripheral neuropathy is a significant risk factor for complications. These sequalae of diabetic disease are manifestations of microvascular disease, glycosylation of soft tissues, and impaired metabolic pathways. Identifying these risk factors in diabetic patients allows for patient-specific risk stratification, education, and management decisions of ankle fractures. Level of Evidence: Level III, retrospective cohort study.

Patients with diabetes are at higher risk for complications after surgical fixation of unstable fractures due to impaired neurovascular functioning and wound-healing capabilities.Patients with uncontrolled diabetes have higher rates of complications when compared with patients with controlled diabetes.Despite higher rates of complications, operative fixation of unstable ankle fractures in diabetic patients reliably leads to a functional lower extremity with an overall lower rate of complications than nonoperative management.Operatively and nonoperatively managed ankle fractures in patients with diabetes should remain non–weight-bearing for an extended period of time.Discussion of risk of poor outcomes including deep infection, loss of reduction, return to the operating room, and risk of arthrodesis or amputation should be explicitly discussed with patients and families when managing unstable ankle fractures in diabetic patients.

Category: Trauma; Ankle; Diabetes Introduction/Purpose: Diabetes mellitus and peripheral neuropathy are established risk factors for complications in operatively treated ankle fractures. Generally, the presence of peripheral neuropathy and diabetic nephropathy have been used as dependent variables in studies of diabetic ankle fracture cohorts, but these factors are typically treated as binary risk factors. Thus, we sought to quantify additional risk factors for complication specific to diabetic patients undergoing fracture fixation. Methods: We identified 617 rotational ankle fractures treated operatively at a single academic medical center from 2010-2019, of which 160 were identified as diabetic. Of these, 91 ankle fractures in 90 diabetic patients met criteria for retrospective review of clinical and radiographic data. Criteria included perioperative laboratory studies, including Hemoglobin A1c and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), as well as follow-up radiographs in the electronic record. We defined complications in this surgical cohort as deep surgical site infection, unplanned return to the OR and failure of fixation. Logistic regression was performed, and odds ratios (OR) calculated. Results: The overall the complication rate was 24.2% (22/91) in this cohort. Median follow-up was 29 weeks (range: 5-520 weeks). Mean perioperative Hemoglobin A1c in patients who experienced postoperative complications was 7.6% (Range: 5.1%- 14.2%) compared to 7.8% (Range:5.6%-13.5%) who did not (p=0.69). Diabetic patients with chronic kidney disease (eGFR<60 ml/min/BSA) (OR=5.29, p=0.006) and peripheral neuropathy (OR=4.61, p=0.003) were at significantly higher risk of all complications compared to diabetic patients without these comorbidities. Of note, we did not find an association between perioperative Hemoglobin A1c or Body Mass Index and complication rate. Conclusion: Patients with diabetes complicated by chronic kidney disease are at significantly higher risk of complications following operative management of ankle fractures. Our study also corroborated previous reports that within this high-risk cohort, the presence of peripheral neuropathy is a significant risk factor for complications. These sequalae of diabetic disease extends beyond simple glycemic and are manifestations of microvascular disease, glycosylation of soft tissues and impaired metabolic pathways. Identifying these risk factors in diabetic patients allows for patient specific risk stratification, education, and management decisions of ankle fractures.

Category: Arthroscopy; Ankle; Sports; Other Introduction/Purpose: Opioids can be an important tool in the management of postoperative pain, however, increased prescribing of these medications following orthopaedic procedures has significantly contributed to the current opioid crisis. Post- operative opioid utilization and duration varies greatly among surgeons, procedures, and patients. We sought to investigate patterns of opioid prescription following ankle arthroscopy and determine patient factors associated with increased postoperative opioid prescribing. Methods: A national claims-based database was queried for patients undergoing first-time ankle arthroscopy. Only patients with continuous database inclusion for at least one year prior to and one year after index ankle arthroscopy were included. Patients carrying an International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-9 or ICD-10 code(s) for diagnosis of septic ankle joint or a CPT code for total ankle arthroplasty prior to index ankle arthroscopy were excluded from the study. Patients who filled at least 1 opioid prescription between 1 and 4 months prior to surgery were defined as preoperative opioid-use group. Monthly relative risk ratios for filling an opioid prescription were calculated for the first year after surgery. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with opioid prescription refills at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after ankle arthroscopy. For analysis, P<0.05 was defined as significant. Results: We identified 6,039 patients who underwent primary ankle arthroscopy. The preoperative opioid-use group consisted of 1,514 patients (25.1%), of which 24 (1.6%) filled opioid prescriptions at 6 months postoperatively compared to 39 (0.9%) of opioid-naive patients (relative risk [RR], 1.84 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11-3.05). Multivariate analysis determined that the preoperative opioid-use group was at increased risk of filling prescriptions at 3 (odds ratio [OR], 2.22; 95% CI 1.42-3.48) and 6 months (OR, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.01-2.95) postoperatively. Patients with Body Mass Index (BMI) > 30 were also at increased risk at 3 months (OR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.04-2.62) and 6 months (OR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.17-3.49) postoperatively. Comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, fibromyalgia, alcohol, and tobacco abuse were not associated with opioid filling (P>0.05). Conclusion: Preoperative opioid prescription filling and BMI 30 were associated with an increased risk of extended opioid prescription utilization following ankle arthroscopy. Overall, prolonged opioid prescribing was not widespread in either group postoperatively. This may represent the indications and outcomes of ankle arthroscopy. Patients presenting with preoperative opioid-use and increased BMI may benefit from multimodal pain management and additional perioperative education around non- pharmacologic pain-management strategies to decrease risk of prolonged opioid use.