Injury
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To evaluate relative cost of external fixator constructs applied for damage control purposes in a cohort of advanced orthopaedic trainees and orthopaedic staff traumatologists. We also sought to evaluate physicians' understanding of component cost. ⋯ Innumerous construct designs exist and even small changes can significantly impact cost. Knowledge of component cost is low among staff and trainees. Education of component cost is vital to allow adequate consideration of construct design prior to fixator application.
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The association between acute medical illness and motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) among elderly emergency department patients is unclear. We sought to determine the prevalence of acute medical conditions that might impair driving ability among the elderly involved in MVCs and determine if there was an increased risk of the driver having an acute medical condition compared to similarly aged passengers. ⋯ Acute medical conditions are a moderately common diagnosis among elderly drivers, presenting in about one in ten patients. A difference in the risk of finding an acute medical illness when comparing elderly drivers and passengers evaluated in the emergency department after a collision suggests the need for considering additional diagnostic investigation and post-discharge surveillance in this population.
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Pain has been identified as the dominant factor in patient outcomes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the degree of pain reported in a large series of acute ankle fractures and to determine what factors are associated with higher pain scores. We prospectively evaluated 457 consecutive patients with acute Weber B supination external rotation ankle fractures upon presentation for pain in 9 areas of the ankle. ⋯ Pain decreased with time from injury. In this evaluation of over 450 patients with Weber B, SE pattern ankle fractures we confirmed previous work in the upper extremity indicating an important difference in the reported pain by ethnicity. In particular, black patients have more pain than white or latino patients given the same injury.
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There is a substantial concern among spine surgeons that healthcare reform efforts will alter the processes through which spinal care is delivered and decrease overall quality. We used the Statewide Inpatient Dataset for Massachusetts to evaluate changes in hospital processes and quality of care for patients with cervical fractures following the implementation of health reform. ⋯ In the period following Massachusetts healthcare reform, significant improvements were noted in hospital process and quality measures around the care of patients with cervical spine fractures. Such findings were particularly robust among academic centers. These results may forecast changes in the delivery of spine surgical care following other health reform initiatives. Level of Evidence III.
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The hypothetical basis of this trial specifies that hemiarthroplasty applications without cement will prove to be superior to applications with cement in terms of survival, complications, clinical and radiological improvements in the early stages of femoral neck fracture cases, which belongs to the Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class III group. Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class III elderly patients (minimum 70 years of age), who had undergone surgical interventions for femoral neck fractures were classified into two groups as those undergoing the intervention without cement (Group A) and those undergoing the procedure with cement (Group B), and these were retrospectively evaluated. The patients were followed up for a mean duration of 47.4 and 44.8 months, respectively. ⋯ In group B, significant depressive findings were determined in the comparison of the intra-operative pre-and post-cement cardiac indexes. In the clinical assessment, no statistically significant results were obtained, although higher final Harris scores were determined in Group A cases (p=0.581). In the treatment of femoral neck fractures, bipolar hemiarthroplasty applications without cement provide favourable early and short-term results, which are at least as effective as the applications with cement.