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Background:. Residual pain after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) refers to knee pain after 3 to 6 months postoperatively. The estimates of the proportion of patients who experience residual pain after TKA vary widely. We hypothesized that the variation may stem from the range of methods used to assess residual pain. We analyzed data from 2 prospective studies to assess the proportion of subjects with residual pain as defined by several commonly used metrics and to examine the association of residual pain defined by each metric with participant dissatisfaction. Methods:. We combined participant data from 2 prospective studies of TKA outcomes from subjects recruited between 2011 and 2014. Residual pain was defined using a range of metrics based on the WOMAC (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index) pain score (0 to 100, in which 100 indicates worst), including the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) and patient acceptable symptom state (PASS). We also examined combinations of MCID and PASS cutoffs. Subjects self-reported dissatisfaction following TKA, and we defined dissatisfied as somewhat or very dissatisfied at 12 months. We calculated the proportion of participants with residual pain, as defined by each metric, who reported dissatisfaction. We examined the association of each metric with dissatisfaction by calculating the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and Youden index. Results:. We analyzed data from 417 subjects with a mean age (and standard deviation) of 66.3 ± 8.3 years. Twenty-six participants (6.2%) were dissatisfied. The proportion of participants defined as having residual pain according to the various metrics ranged from 5.5% to >50%. The composite metric Improvement in WOMAC pain score ≥20 points or final WOMAC pain score ≤25 had the highest positive predictive value for identifying dissatisfied subjects (0.54 [95% confidence interval, 0.35 to 0.71]). No metric had a Youden index of ≥50%. Conclusions:. Different metrics provided a wide range of estimates of residual pain following TKA. No estimate was both sensitive and specific for dissatisfaction in patients who underwent TKA, underscoring that measures of residual pain should be defined explicitly in reports of TKA outcomes. Level of Evidence:. Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Background: Degenerative rotator cuff tears and osteoarthritis (OA) are associated with differences in coronal plane scapular morphology, with particular focus on the effect of the critical shoulder angle (CSA) on shoulder biomechanics. The effect, if any, of axial plane scapular morphology is less well established. We have noticed wide disparity of axial coracoid tip position in relation to the face of the glenoid and sought to investigate the significance of this through measurement of the critical coracoid process angle (CCPA), which incorporates coracoid tip position and glenoid version. Methods: CCPA, CSA, and glenoid retroversion were measured by three independent reviewers from the cross-sectional two-dimensional computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging of 160 patients in four equal and matched case-control groups: (1) a control group of patients with a radiologically normal shoulder and no history of shoulder symptoms who had a CT thorax for another reason, (2) patients with primary OA with Walch type-A glenoid wear pattern on CT scan, (3) patients with type-B glenoid primary OA, and (4) patients with magnetic resonance imaging–proven atraumatic tears of the posterosuperior rotator cuff. Results: Interobserver agreement was excellent for all measured parameters. The median CCPA was significantly lower in the type-B OA group (9.3˚) than that in controls (18.7˚), but not significantly different in the other study groups. There was a trend toward greater glenoid retroversion in the type-B OA group, but receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated the CCPA to be by far the most powerful discriminator for type-B OA. The optimal cutoff value was calculated for the CCPA at 14.3˚ with a sensitivity of 93% and specificity of 90% for type-B OA. Compared with controls, the CSA was significantly higher in the rotator cuff tear group and lower in both OA groups, but did not differentiate between type-A and type-B OA. Conclusion: Combined with a lower CSA, a lower CCPA (

Abstract Background The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic has presented modern healthcare with an unprecedented challenge. At the peak of the pandemic, trauma and orthopaedic services at our institutions undertook internal restructuring, diverting resources to frontline medical care. Consequently, we sought to assess the impact on the elderly and comorbid patients presenting with femoral neck fractures, with a particular focus on 30-day mortality, length of stay, multidisciplinary team involvement and departmental structuring. Method A retrospective analysis of patients presenting with femoral neck fractures at three separate West London NHS Trusts was undertaken between March 11, 2020, to April 30, 2020. Length of stay, 30-day mortality and adherence to parameters constituting the best care evidence-based practice tariffs were compared between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) positive and negative patients. A similar comparison was also conducted between our cohort and the equivalent period in 2018 using data from the National Hip Fracture Database. Results A total of 68 patients presenting with femoral neck fractures were identified, mean age 81 (range 38–98), 73% female. There were 10 confirmed/suspected cases of COVID-19 on admission and a further seven confirmed as inpatients. The 30-day mortality within our cohort was 11.76% compared to 6% nationally in 2018 (p = 0.045). Orthogeriatric reviews occurred within 72 h in 71% of cases compared to 88% in the equivalent 2018 period. Within the cohort, mean length of stay was 17.13 days (SD 5.6, range 8-27 days) for SARS-CoV-2 positive patients compared to 10 days (SD 8.7, range 1–53 days) for negative patients (p

Objectives The beliefs of laypeople and medical professionals often diverge with regards to disease, and technology has had a positive impact on how research is conducted. Surprisingly, given the expanding worldwide funding and research into Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications in healthcare, there is a paucity of research exploring the public patient perspective on this technology. Our study sets out to address this knowledge gap, by applying the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) to explore patient public views on AI. Methods A Nominal Group Technique (NGT) was used involving four study groups with seven participants in each group. This started with a silent generation of ideas regarding the benefits and concerns of AI in Healthcare. Then a group discussion and round-robin process were conducted until no new ideas were generated. Participants ranked their top five benefits and top five concerns regarding the use of AI in healthcare. A final group consensus was reached. Results Twenty-Eight participants were recruited with the mean age of 47 years. The top five benefits were: Faster health services, Greater accuracy in management, AI systems available 24/7, reducing workforce burden, and equality in healthcare decision making. The top five concerns were: Data cybersecurity, bias and quality of AI data, less human interaction, algorithm errors and responsibility, and limitation in technology. Conclusion This is the first formal qualitative study exploring patient public views on the use of AI in healthcare, and highlights that there is a clear understanding of the potential benefits delivered by this technology. Greater patient public group involvement, and a strong regulatory framework is recommended.

Spinal cord injury leads to major neurological impairment for which there is currently no effective treatment. Recent clinical trials have demonstrated the efficacy of Fortasyn® Connect in Alzheimer's disease. Fortasyn® Connect is a specific multi-nutrient combination containing DHA, EPA, choline, uridine monophosphate, phospholipids, and various vitamins. We examined the effect of Fortasyn® Connect in a rat compression model of spinal cord injury. For 4 or 9 weeks following the injury, rats were fed either a control diet or a diet enriched with low, medium, or high doses of Fortasyn® Connect. The medium-dose Fortasyn® Connect-enriched diet showed significant efficacy in locomotor recovery after 9 weeks of supplementation, along with protection of spinal cord tissue (increased neuronal and oligodendrocyte survival, decreased microglial activation, and preserved axonal integrity). Rats fed the high-dose Fortasyn® Connect-enriched diet for 4 weeks showed a much greater enhancement of locomotor recovery, with a faster onset, than rats fed the medium dose. Bladder function recovered quicker in these rats than in rats fed the control diet. Their spinal cord tissues showed a smaller lesion, reduced neuronal and oligodendrocyte loss, decreased neuroinflammatory response, reduced astrocytosis and levels of inhibitory chondroitin sulphate proteoglycans, and better preservation of serotonergic axons than those of rats fed the control diet. These results suggest that this multi-nutrient preparation has a marked therapeutic potential in spinal cord injury, and raise the possibility that this original approach could be used to support spinal cord injured patients.