Search

INTRODUCTION: The social lockdown measures imposed to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, have had profound effects on the healthcare systems across the world and India has been no exception to it. The study was aimed to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on orthopaedic practice in India during the lockdown period and assess the preparedness of orthopaedic surgeons for resuming clinical practice after the initial lockdown was lifted. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An online survey of 35 questions was conducted to evaluate impact on (i) general orthopaedic practice (ii) hospital protocols (iii) out-patient practice (iv) surgical practice (v) personal protective equipment (PPE) use and (vi) post-lockdown preparedness. RESULTS: A total number of 588 practising orthopaedic surgeons from India completed the survey. Majority (88.3%) found severe impact (>50%) on trauma surgery and nontrauma surgery with significant reduction in out -patient attendance compared to corresponding time in 2019. There were significant changes made in individual hospital protocols (91.7 %). Appropriate required PPE was available in majority of the hospitals (74.3%). No remodelling or upgrading of the existing operating theatre infrastructure was done by most surgeons (89.5%). CONCLUSION: This pan India survey of orthopaedic surgeons has indicated that COVID-19 has had a profound impact on their outpatient and surgical trauma and non-trauma practice, due to the lockdown and resulted in significant changes to hospital protocols. Preparedness to resume clinical and surgical practice was associated with anxiety in two-thirds of the respondents. Majority of the orthopaedic practitioners felt that they would continue to conduct pre-operative COVID-19 screening and use PPE even after the lockdown is over.

Background: The medial collateral ligament (MCL) is frequently involved in injuries around the knee but is uncommonly treated surgically. There are various techniques to reconstruct the medial side of the knee, which have varying outcomes., Purpose/hypothesis: The purpose of the present systematic review and meta-analysis is to describe the clinical results of surgical management of acute and chronic isolated grade III MCL injury using various functional scores, such as IKDC, Lysholm, and VAS, and to ascertain complication rates associated with these interventions., Methods: A systematic review was performed according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines, and two independent authors (L.F and A.M) conducted a comprehensive search across multiple databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus). They reviewed each article's title and abstract for studies available until April 2024. The search terms used were "((MCL) OR (Medial collateral ligament)) AND (injuries) AND (treatment)". The full texts of the studies were evaluated when eligibility could not be assessed from the title and abstract., Results: The pooled proportion (percentage) of complications from the three studies reporting data on surgery for the MCL acute stage was 15.3% with 95% CI [6.1% to 24.6%]. No complications were reported in studies reporting surgery in the chronic stage. Marked resolution of pain was observed with the mean VAS Score for pain at the final follow-up after surgery for MCL injury in the acute stage was 0.4 with 95% CI [-0.04 to 0.84]. The mean IKDC score at the final follow-up in the three studies reporting data on surgery for the MCL in the acute stage was 79.39 with 95% CI [67.96 to 90.82], and in the chronic stage, was 85 with 95% CI [83.02 to 86.98]. The mean Lysholm Score at the final follow-up after surgery for MCL injury in the chronic stage was 83.04 with 95% CI [75.24 to 94.84], and in the acute stage was 95 with 95% CI [91.76 to 98.24]., Conclusion: This systematic review found that functional outcomes regarding IKDC and LYSHOLM scores were comparable for surgeries performed in acute and chronic MCL tears. There was a marginally increased risk of complication in surgeries performed for acute MCL tears. Compared to the acute phase, a marked resolution of pain was observed at the final follow-up after surgery for MCL injury., Study Design: Systematic review; level of evidence, 4.., Competing Interests: Conflict of InterestThe authors declare that there is no conflict of interest related to this study., (© Indian Orthopaedics Association 2024. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Background: A major catastrophic adverse event after total joint arthroplasty surgery (TJA) is the periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). In the recent years, regional antibiotic prophylaxis has gained momentum as a novel infection control strategy in total knee arthroplasty (TKA), with different purported benefits over systemic administration. The current article was planned to comprehensively review the available evidence in literature; as well as compare the safety and effectiveness of intraosseous (IO) antibiotic prophylaxis with systemic prophylaxis in patients undergoing TJA., Methods: An independent database (5 databases: Pubmed, Scopus, Embase, Web of science and Cochrane library) search was performed (on January 1, 2024) using suitable key words [PROSPERO (registration number: CRD42023458219)]. All randomised controlled trials (RCT), prospective or retrospective studies reporting data on intraosseous vancomycin or other antibiotics during arthroplasty for prophylaxis of PJI were considered. Studies not pertaining to the topic of interest or non-clinical trials were excluded. The evaluated outcome parameters included PJI incidence, systemic antibiotic levels, minimal inhibitory concentrations, local antibiotic concentrations achieved in soft tissues (or fat) and bone; and associated complications. While the "risk of bias" was evaluated using ROB-2 tool and MINORS criteria; LibreOffice version (v)7.5.6 was utilized for data management. OpenMeta-analyst v5.26.14 and RevMan v5.4 software were employed for meta-analysis., Results: Following our literature search, 11 studies (1 prospective series, 6 RCT and 4 retrospective studies) were finally identified. Based on our meta-analysis, there was statistically higher antibiotic concentration in the bone [ mean difference (MD):25. 12 μg/g ;95%CI:10.32,39.91;z=3.33, p = 0.0009] and local fat tissues [MD:22. 01 μg/g ;95%CI:1.71,32.30;z=4.19, p < 0.0001) following IO prophylaxis, as compared with the systemic drug administration. IO prophylaxis was also associated with a significant reduction in prosthetic joint infections (PJI; April 1633 and 25/2213 patients developed PJI in IO and systemic prophylaxis groups, respectively; p = 0.006). There was significant difference in gram-positive infections between IO and systemic prophylaxis groups (2/1123 and 13/1753 g + ve infections in IO and systemic prophylaxis groups, respectively; p = 0.05). Our review and meta-analysis revealed no substantial difference in complications amongst the groups (p = 0.66)., Conclusion: IO antibiotic prophylaxis appears to be an effective and safe strategy in patients undergoing TJA. IO access provides substantially enhanced antibiotic elution into the local tissues (bone and soft tissues); and consequently, results in reduced of PJI rates after TJA (in comparison with conventional systemic antibiotic prophylaxis)., Competing Interests: None, (© 2024 Delhi Orthopedic Association. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.)

Purpose: The present meta-analysis aims to determine the outcomes and failure rates for medial meniscus repairs in patients with stable knees., Methods: A literature search was conducted using PubMed and Scopus with the terms '(medial meniscus OR medial meniscal) AND (repair)'. The search strategy was based on the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Meta-Analyses) protocol and included 93 articles assessed for eligibility. The search criteria were limited to studies reporting outcomes and failure rates. The exclusion criteria included languages other than English, biomechanical studies, letters to editors, non-full text, review articles, meta-analyses and case reports., Results: In total, 10 studies with 595 patients were included. Degenerative tears or studies reporting meniscus repair outcomes on root repairs, revision or primary anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, discoid menisci or ramp lesions were excluded. All studies included revision surgery and/or clinical symptoms as failure definitions. The overall medial meniscal repair failure rate was 26% with a 95% confidence interval (CI) [15%-37%]. The mean time to failure from isolated medial meniscus repair surgery was 27.7 months with 95% CI [18.5-36.9 months]. The postoperative Lysholm and IKDC scores were reported in three articles. At the final follow-up, the mean postoperative Lysholm and IKDC scores were 92.3 with 95% CI [84.5-100] and 88.6 with 95% CI [83.5-93.8], respectively., Conclusion: The current meta-analysis revealed an overall failure rate of 26% in the case of medial meniscus repair in a stable knee. For these reasons, the patient should be aware of the substantial risk of revision surgery (one out of four cases). Medial meniscus repair in a stable knee yielded good clinical results., Level of Evidence: II., (© 2024 European Society of Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy.)

Purpose: This study analyses the performance and proficiency of the three Artificial Intelligence (AI) generative chatbots (ChatGPT-3.5, ChatGPT-4.0, Bard Google AI®) and in answering the Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) of postgraduate (PG) level orthopaedic qualifying examinations., Methods: A series of 120 mock Single Best Answer' (SBA) MCQs with four possible options named A, B, C and D as answers on various musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions covering Trauma and Orthopaedic curricula were compiled. A standardised text prompt was used to generate and feed ChatGPT (both 3.5 and 4.0 versions) and Google Bard programs, which were then statistically analysed., Results: Significant differences were found between responses from Chat GPT 3.5 with Chat GPT 4.0 (Chi square = 27.2, P < 0.001) and on comparing both Chat GPT 3.5 (Chi square = 63.852, P < 0.001) with Chat GPT 4.0 (Chi square = 44.246, P < 0.001) with. Bard Google AI® had 100% efficiency and was significantly more efficient than both Chat GPT 3.5 with Chat GPT 4.0 (p < 0.0001)., Conclusion: The results demonstrate the variable potential of the different AI generative chatbots (Chat GPT 3.5, Chat GPT 4.0 and Bard Google) in their ability to answer the MCQ of PG-level orthopaedic qualifying examinations. Bard Google AI® has shown superior performance than both ChatGPT versions, underlining the potential of such large language processing models in processing and applying orthopaedic subspecialty knowledge at a PG level., (© 2024. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to SICOT aisbl.)

Background and Aims: Multi-ligament knee injuries (MLKI) are serious and challenging to manage. This study aimed to elucidate the impact of surgical timing on both early and long-term outcomes following an MLKI., Methods: A comprehensive search strategy was employed across PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library. Studies were identified using a combination of relevant keywords encompassing "multi-ligament knee injury," "knee dislocation," "reconstruction," "repair," "surgery," and "timing," and their synonyms, along with appropriate Boolean operators. Selection of articles (systematic reviews and meta-analyses) adhered to predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Furthermore, a meta-analysis was conducted utilizing data extracted from primary studies., Results: Early surgery for MLKI demonstrated a significant advantage over delayed surgery, reflected by significantly higher Lysholm scores (Mean Difference [MD] 3.51; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.79, 5.22), IKDC objective scores (Mantel-Haenszel Odds Ratio [MH-OR] 2.95; 95% CI 1.30, 6.69), Tegner activity scores (MD 0.38; 95% CI 0.08, 0.69), and Mayer's ratings (MH-OR 5.47; 95% CI 1.27, 23.56). In addition, we found a significantly reduced risk of secondary chondral lesions (MH-OR 0.33; 95% CI 0.23, 0.48), lower instrumented anterior tibial translation in the early surgery group (MD -0.92; 95% CI -1.83, -0.01), but no significant difference was observed in the secondary meniscal tears, between the two groups. However, the early surgery group also exhibited a significantly increased risk of knee stiffness (MH-OR 2.47; 95% CI 1.22, 5.01) and a greater likelihood of requiring manipulation under anaesthesia (MH-OR 3.91; 95% CI 1.10, 13.87)., Conclusion: Early surgery for MLKI improves function, and stability, and reduces further articular cartilage damage, but increases the risk of stiffness., Level of Evidence: IV., Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43465-024-01224-1., Competing Interests: Conflict of InterestThe authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© Indian Orthopaedics Association 2024. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Background: The incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is increasing, and quadriceps tendon (QT) autograft is gaining popularity for both primary and revision ACL reconstruction., Purpose: To evaluate the differences in the patient-reported functional outcomes, concomitant injuries, and graft failure in primary versus revision ACL surgery using QT autograft., Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3., Methods: A total of 376 patients with primary ACL reconstruction and 138 patients with revision ACL reconstruction were retrospectively retrieved from a prospectively collected ACL registry. A minimally invasive technique was used for QT autograft harvesting. The surgical procedure and rehabilitation protocol were identical in both groups. To maintain a homogeneous cohort for the study, the groups were matched by age, sex, and preinjury outcome scores (Lysholm knee score, Tegner activity level, and visual analog scale [VAS] for pain). Initial baseline assessments of outcome scores were compared with scores collected at the 2-year postoperative mark., Results: The mean age of the primary group and revision group was 32.9 ± 10.2 years (range, 18-55 years) and 32.3 ± 9.9 years (range, 19-55 years) respectively. Significant preinjury to postoperative improvements were noted in Lysholm (88.2 ± 16.4 vs 83.5 ± 15.0; P = .007) and VAS pain (0.9 ± 1.3 vs 1.5 ± 1.6; P = .001) scores after primary ACL reconstruction compared with revision reconstruction. However, no significant difference was found in Tegner activity level (6.7 ± 1.8 vs 5.9 ± 1.8; P > .430). Primary ACL injury was associated with significantly higher concomitant medial collateral ligament injuries ( P = .019), while the revision group was associated with significantly higher concomitant cartilage ( P = .001) and meniscal ( P = .003) injuries. A significantly higher graft failure rate was noted in the revision group compared with the primary ACL reconstruction group (13.0% vs 5.6%; P = .005)., Conclusion: Both primary and revision ACL reconstruction with QT autograft had acceptable functional outcomes. The primary group had better outcomes than the revision group, possibly due to the lower prevalence of meniscal and cartilage injuries in the primary group compared with the revision group. The revision group was associated with higher graft failure than the primary group. QT autograft is a viable graft choice for both primary and revision ACL reconstruction., Competing Interests: One or more of the authors has declared the following potential conflict of interest or source of funding: C.F. has received consulting fees from Medacta and Karl Storz and royalties from Karl Storz. AOSSM checks author disclosures against the Open Payments Database (OPD). AOSSM has not conducted an independent investigation on the OPD and disclaims any liability or responsibility relating thereto. Ethical approval for this study was obtained from Medizinischen Universität Innsbruck (reference No. AN2015-0050 346/4.28)., (© The Author(s) 2024.)

Study Design: Systematic review., Introduction: Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is a well-acknowledged surgical intervention to restore a painless and mobile joint in patients with osteoarticular tubercular arthritis of the hip joint. However, there is still substantial uncertainty about the ideal management, clinical and functional outcomes following THA undertaken in patients with acute Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) hip infections., Aim of the Study: To undertake a systematic review and evaluate existing literature on patients undergoing THA for acute mycobacterium tuberculosis arthritis of the hip., Methods: A systematic review of electronic databases of PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science and Cochrane Library was performed on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The search focused on "arthroplasty in cases with tuberculosis of hip joint" since inception of databases until July 2023. Data on patient demographics, clinical characteristics, treatment administered, surgical interventions and outcome, as reported in the included studies, were recorded. Median (range) and mean (standard deviation) were used to summarise the data for continuous variables (as reported in the original studies); and frequency/percentage was employed for categorical variables. Available data on Harris hip scores and complications were statistically pooled using random-effects meta-analysis or fixed-effect meta-analysis, as appropriate RESULTS: Among a total of 1695 articles, 15 papers were selected for qualitative summarisation and 12 reporting relevant data were included for proportional meta-analysis. A total of 303 patients (mean age: 34 to 52 years; mean follow-up: 2.5 to 10.5 years) were included in our systematic review. In a majority of included studies, postero-lateral approach and non-cemented prosthesis were employed. Fourteen studies described a single-staged procedure in the absence of sinus, abscess and tubercular infection syndrome (TIS). All surgeries were performed under cover of prolonged course of multi-drug anti-tubercular regimen. The mean Harris hip score (HHS) at final follow-up was 91.36 [95% confidence interval (CI): 89.56-93.16; I 2 :90.44%; p<0.001]. There were 30 complications amongst 174 (9.9%) patients (95% CI: 0.06-0.13; p=0.14; I 2 =0%)., Conclusion: THA is a safe and effective surgical intervention in patients with active and advanced TB arthritis of hip. It is recommended that the surgery be performed under cover of multi-drug anti-tubercular regimen. In patients with active sinus tracts, abscesses and TIS, surgery may be accomplished in a multi-staged manner. The clinical (range of motion, deformity correction, walking ability and pain scores), radiological (evidence of radiological reactivation and implant incorporation) and function outcome (as assessed by HHS) significantly improve after THA in these patients., (© 2023. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to SICOT aisbl.)

Introduction: Since previous studies, including small-scale meta-analyses comparing accelerometer-based portable navigation (APN-TKA) and conventional techniqueof total knee arthroplasty (CONV-TKA), have reported divergent results, there is a need for an updated meta-analysis to compare complications, functional outcomes, clinically relevant outcomes and radiographic alignment of components., Methods: This meta-analysis was conducted as per PRISMA guidelines. Randomised controlled trials, and non-randomised comparative cohort studies in English language on primary TKA were included. The complications compared were Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), Pulmonary Embolism (PE), infection, manipulation under anaesthesia (MUA) for postoperative knee stiffness, re-operation and mortality. The functional outcomes compared were the Knee Society Knee Score, Knee Society Score function, Oxford Knee Score, Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index. The evaluated clinically relevant outcomes were surgical time, blood loss, drop in haematocrit, tourniquet time, postoperative knee flexion and complications). The number of radiological outliers; as well as the absolute values of the alignment of the overall prosthesis, femoral and tibial components in both coronal and sagittal planes, was assessed., Results: Twenty-five studies were included. Both the groups were comparable in terms of preoperative demographic features. There was no difference in complications and functional outcomes. Operation time was longer in APN-TKA (p < 0.00001) but there was no difference in rest of the clinically relevant outcomes. Restoration of the lower limb mechanical axis (p = 0.003) and coronal femoral alignment angle (p = 0.0002) was better with APN. APN also significantly reduced the risk of the odds of outliers of lower limb mechanical axis (p < 0.0001), coronal femoral alignment (p = 0.03), coronal tibial alignment (p < 0.0001) and sagittal tibial alignment (p = 0.0001)., Conclusion: The improvement in the accuracy of implantation by the use of APN-TKA, as determined by the overall alignments of prosthesis, or femoral and tibial components, does not necessarily translate into lesser complications and better functional and clinical outcomes., Level of Evidence: Therapeutic study, Level II., Competing Interests: None to declare., (© 2023 Professor P K Surendran Memorial Education Foundation. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare (1) sports participation and type of sports activity between TKA and UKA patients; (2) functional outcome and activity level between TKA and UKA; and (3) survivorship of the prosthesis in both the groups., Methods: Prospectively collected data were obtained from an arthroplasty database to identify patients who underwent primary TKA and UKA. Both the cohorts of TKA and UKA were matched, controlling for age, sex, BMI and preoperative patient-reported outcomes, which include Oxford Knee Score (OKS), Tegner activity level, and visual analog scale (VAS) for pain score. After matching the two groups, 287 TKA and 69 UKA cases were available to be included in the study. Patients were evaluated pre- and postoperatively at 2 years for sports participation and sports preference, patient-reported outcomes, activity levels, and improvement in knee pain., Results: The mean age of the TKA and UKA groups were 75.7 ± 8.1 and 74.2 ± 8.8, respectively. There was no significant difference between the two groups concerning the demographic variables. Significant improvement was noted in the weekly sports participation at the final follow-up compared to preoperative sports participation in both the TKA and UKA groups (p < 0.05). All patients were able to return to their desired sporting activity. No significant difference was noted between the two groups in sports participation preoperatively and postoperatively (p > 0.05). OKS, Tegner activity level and VAS for pain demonstrated a significant improvement from preoperative to 2 years postoperatively (p < 0.05). However, preoperative and postoperative patient-reported outcomes did not differ significantly between the TKA and UKA groups (p > 0.05). No case of revision surgery was found at a 2-year follow-up in both groups., Conclusion: Traditionally, in isolated medial compartment osteoarthritis, UKA has been considered to be the procedure with better functional outcomes, but the current study demonstrates that when confounding factors are controlled, both TKA and UKA are effective, and offer similar functional outcomes and result in similar improvement in sports participation. These findings will be helpful to counsel the patients to choose the best suitable operative procedure between UKA and TKA., Level of Evidence: Level 3., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Purpose: This meta-analysis aims to compare the early postoperative recovery, complications encountered, length of hospital stay, and initial functional scores between patellar eversion and non-eversion manoeuvres in patients undergoing during primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) based on clinical studies available in the literature., Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted using PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library databases between January 1, 2000 and August 12, 2022. Prospective trials comparing clinical, radiological, and functional outcomes in patients undergoing TKA with and without patellar eversion manoeuvre were included. The meta-analysis was performed using Rev-Man version 5.41 (Cochrane Collaboration). Pooled-odds ratios (for categorical data) and mean differences with 95% confidence intervals (for continuous data) were calculated (p < 0.05 was regarded as statistically significant)., Results: Ten (out of the 298 publications identified in this subject) were included for the meta-analysis. The patellar eversion group (PEG) had a significantly shorter tourniquet time [mean difference (MD) - 8.91 min; p = 0.002], although the overall intraoperative blood loss was higher (IOBL; MD 93.02 ml; p = 0.0003). The patellar retraction group (PRG), on the other hand, revealed statistically better early clinical outcomes in terms of shorter time necessary to perform active straight leg raising (MD 0.66, p = 0.0001), shorter time to achieve 90° knee-flexion (MD 0.29, p = 0.03), higher degree of knee flexion achieved at 90 days (MD - 1.90, p = 0.03), and reduced length of hospital stay (MD 0.65, p = 0.03). There was no statistically significant difference in the early complication rates, 36-item short-form health survey (1 year), visual analogue scores (1 year), and Insall-Salvati index at follow-up between the groups., Conclusion: The implications from the evaluated studies suggest that in comparison with patellar eversion, patellar retraction manoeuvre during surgery provides significantly faster recovery of quadriceps function, earlier attainment of functional knee range of motion (ROM), and shorter length of hospital stay in patients undergoing TKA., (© 2023. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to SICOT aisbl.)

Introduction: Tuberculosis of posterior spinal elements or neural arch tuberculosis is a rare clinical entity. We report a patient with isolated tuberculosis of the C5 spinous process and reformation of destroyed spinous process in response to antitubercular therapy (ATT). This is first case report of the kind to the best of our knowledge., Case Report: A young male aged 22 years presented to us with a slow-growing, painful lump for the past 3 months accompanied by a discharging sinus at the back of his neck. Plain radiograph and computed tomography scan showed destruction of the C5 spinous process. Magnetic resonance imaging cervical spine showed presence of abscess in addition to the above finding. The patient underwent incision and drainage of abscess followed by local injection of streptomycin. CB-NAAT (Gene Xpert) and histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of tuberculosis. The patient responded to ATT very well. The C5 spinous process which was destroyed by the disease process was seen to have gradually reformed on serial radiographs., Conclusion: Isolated posterior spinal tuberculosis is rare, but it must be thought of as a differential diagnosis in suitable cases. Diseased tissue in tuberculosis has high healing potential in response to medical therapy, thus avoiding the need of radical debridement., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: Nil, (Copyright: © Indian Orthopaedic Research Group.)

Background: There are various classification systems described in the literature for managing bone defects in revision knee arthroplasty (RTKA). We analysed the reliability and usefulness of these classification systems., Questions/purposes: (1) To review and critique the various classification systems proposed for bone loss in RTKA. (2) Among all the proposed classifications which one is the most commonly used by surgeons to report their results. (3) What is the reliability of various bone defect classification systems for RTKA. In this review, we have assessed the studies validating those classifications with a detailed description of the limitations and the proposed modifications., Methods: This systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. Pubmed/Medline, CINAHL, EMBASE, Scopus, Cochrane databases and Web of Science databases were searched using multiple search terms and MeSH terms where possible. Studies meeting inclusion criteria were assessed for statistical parameters of reliability of a classification system., Results: We found 16 classification systems for bone defects in RTKA. Six studies were found evaluating a classification system with reporting their reliability parameters. Fifty-four studies were found which classified bone loss using AORI classification in their series. AORI classification is most commonly reported for classifying bone defects. Type T2B and F2B are the most common bone defects in RTKA. The average kappa value for AORI classification for femoral bone loss was 0.38 (0.27-0.50) and 0.76 (0.63-1) for tibial bone loss assessment., Conclusion: None of the available classification systems is reliably established in determining the bone loss and treatment plans in RTKA. Among all, AORI classification is the most widely used system in clinical practice. The reliability of AORI Classification is fair for femoral bone loss and substantial for tibial bone loss., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Study Design: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis., Objectives: This systematic review and meta-analysis is aimed to assess effectiveness, safety, clinical, functional and radiological outcome of either combined anteroposterior or posterior-only approach in the surgical management of active tubercular disease of paediatric thoracolumbar spine., Methods: A systematic literature search through PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Cochrane Library database was performed. Data extraction was undertaken following methodological quality assessment., Results: 9 out of the 182 publications identified, were included for analysis. A total of 247 patients were analysed. Two amongst the 9 studies were retrospective comparative studies evaluating posterior approach with combined anteroposterior approach and were considered for comparative meta-analysis. Blood loss and duration of surgery was significantly higher in the anteroposterior group, as compared to the posterior-only group. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in terms of post-operative kyphosis angles, final kyphosis angles, number of complications, functional outcome and spinal fusion time. However, all the included studies were non-randomised and retrospective. Only 2 of them had a control group with a high heterogeneity amongst these 2 studies., Conclusion: The inference from the studies included in this review suggests that equivalent results can be achieved with posterior-only approach for thoracolumbar tuberculosis in children as compared to anteroposterior approach, with much lower complexity, reduced blood loss and shorter surgical time. However, due to the high risk of bias and considerable heterogeneity among the studies included, we cannot conclude whether one approach is better than the other.

Introduction: Tele-rehabilitation is a method of delivering rehabilitation services using information, technology and communication to everyone, irrespective of their geographic location. National zeal for competitive sports and COVID pandemic has led to an increase in its demand and popularity worldwide. The athletes need immediate treatment and correct rehabilitation to keep them in their game. This review aims to bring into perspective the importance of telemedicine and telerehabilitation in orthopaedics and sports medicine with a focus on virtual reality., Methods: Articles were searched based on suitable keywords 'telemedicine', 'telerehabilitation' 'orthopedics', 'orthopaedics', 'sports' and 'India*' which were combined using suitable boolean operators in PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science. Government guidelines and laws were also reviewed in view of telehealth and telemedicine., Conclusion: Tele-rehabilitation and virtual physical therapy are innovative and cost-effective ways to provide the best rehabilitative services to the patients at their doorstep. Virtual reality should be incorporated into the Indian telehealth delivering system with a special focus on the remote athlete population., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare that they have no conflict of interest, (© Indian Orthopaedics Association 2022, Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Purpose: Femoral neck fractures (FNF) in adults are conventionally managed with surgical options. This paper is aimed to assess the safety, and functional outcomes of the novel Femoral neck system (FNS) for FNF treatment in adult population., Methods: An organized quest of four literature databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library) was performed on March 1, 2022 using the term "femoral neck system". Fixed or random-effect meta-analysis was used to analyse the outcome measures after selecting relevant studies and assessing their quality. Heterogeneity was considered when calculating pooled effect sizes and 95% confidence ranges., Results: On comparing FNS with cannulated cancellous screws (CCS) or other methods, in a total of 762 patients (351 FNS and 411 CCS) in the 11 comparative studies considered for meta-analysis, blood loss was pointedly higher overall in the FNS group, mean difference 115.77 ml; 95% CI 3.11 ml, 28.42 ml; test of overall effect: z = 1.68, p = 0.09); with considerable heterogeneity. However, in the FNS group the operative time was substantially lower (Mean difference -7.91 min; 95% CI -15.01, -0.80; test of overall effect: z = 2.18, p = 0.03, with marked heterogeneity). Moreover, complications such as infections, non-union, osteonecrosis, implant cut-out were significantly lower in the FNS group with a Mantel Haenszel Odds ratio of 0.20 (95% CI 0.12, 0.34: Z = 6.01, p < 0.0001)., Conclusion: Keeping in mind the heterogenicity of the studies, -management of adult patients with FNF with FNS can provide results comparable to traditional fixation methods with significantly lower rate of complications., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2022 Delhi Orthopedic Association. All rights reserved.)

Background: Periprosthetic tibial fractures in Total Knee Arthroplasty are much less commonly seen than femoral fractures, and there is a paucity of available literature and management recommendation for these fractures. We aimed to identify the relevant and up-to-date literature on this subject to analyse the incidence, risk factors, and management recommendations., Methods: A literature search was done on the databases of PubMed and SCOPUS using appropriate keywords. All the published literature in the English language was included for this review., Results: We included 21 studies comprising 260 tibial periprosthetic fractures (91 intra-operative (35%) and 169 (65%) post-operative or delayed fractures). Only 5.9% of these fractures were managed conservatively. Whereas 98 cases (58%) were managed with open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) with plating, 19 (11.2%) were managed with revision TKA. Seventeen cases (10%) were managed with minimally invasive percutaneous plate osteosynthesis (MIPPO), and 8 (4.7%) were managed with intramedullary nailing. Less than 6% of cases were managed with other means, viz. megaprosthesis (n = 4), arthrodesis (n = 5), amputation (n = 1), and external fixator (n = 1)., Conclusion: Intraoperative fractures accounted for one-third of the fractures in our review. A majority of the delayed periprosthetic fractures were treated with surgical intervention. The most preferred surgical treatment method was ORIF of fractures using locking plates (either open or MIPPO). Revision TKA or megaprosthesis was used in cases with the loosened implants in association with the fracture., Level of Evidence: IV., Competing Interests: None., (© 2022.)

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study., Objectives: To study the incidence of concomitant calcaneum fractures in participants with traumatic spine fractures and to study the association of calcaneum injury with the mode of trauma, morphology and level of vertebral fracture and neurological status in participants with concomitant spine and calcaneum fracture., Setting: Central Institute of Orthopaedics, Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, India., Methods: Records of participants with traumatic spine fractures were analyzed. Participants who had calcaneum fracture confirmed on radiographs were considered to have concomitant spine and calcaneum fracture. In these participants, variables noted were age, gender, mode of trauma, level and morphology of vertebral fracture and neurological status., Results: Concomitant calcaneum fracture was present in 43 participants out of a total of 358. The lumbar spine was involved in 72.09% of participants. 46.51% of participants had complete burst type of vertebral fractures. Neurology was found to be intact in 58.13% of participants. The association of concomitant calcaneum injury with the level of spine fracture and type of fracture were found to be statistically significant (p < 0.05). In particular, the association of concomitant calcaneal fracture with intact neurology and incomplete paraplegia (ASIA B, C or D) as compared to spinal injury cases without calcaneal fractures was statistically significant (p < 0.001)., Conclusion: Calcaneum fractures co-exist with spine fractures in 12.01% participants. Concomitant calcaneal fracture(s) with spine trauma indicate a greater chance of incomplete injury or intact neurology possibly due to dispersion of force vectors., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to International Spinal Cord Society.)

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an infodemic about the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 outbreak to build knowledge and develop mitigation strategies. In addition, scientific journals across the world have studied the impact of COVID-19 on trauma and orthopaedics., Methods: A cross-sectional, bibliometric analysis of the literature was undertaken on COVID-19 related articles from three Pubmed and Scopus indexed orthopaedic journals from India, namely, Indian Journal of Orthopaedics(IJO),Journal of Clinical Orthopaedics and Trauma(JCOT), and Journal of Orthopaedics (JOO), in May 2021. All the article types and study designs were included for this review. The authors, institutions, countries, keywords, and co-authorship mapping were studied., Results: A total of 112 COVID-19 related documents were retrieved. Period of these publications was from 2 nd April 2020 to 31 st May 2021. Vaishya R. (n = 16) was the most cited author, and Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals (n = 16) was the most cited research Institution. India led the list of countries in academic publication output. On keyword mapping, telemedicine was the most prominent Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) search word., Conclusion: The Indian orthopedic journals have addressed the impact of COVID-19 on orthopaedic practice in India and aborad whilst continuing to publish knowledge about basic science and clinical orthopaedic research studies. The JCOT has outperformed and become the most leading orthopaedic journal from India during the pandemic. COVID -19 articles have been fast tracked, open accessed and attracted more citations in reduced duration of time compared to non-COVID-19 papers., Competing Interests: All the authors are on the Editorial board of the JCOT and Author #1,2 are also on the Editorial board of the IJO., (© 2021 Delhi Orthopedic Association. All rights reserved.)

Background: The Journal of Clinical Orthopaedics and Trauma (JCOT) is one of the top three orthopaedic journals from India. We set out to analyse the top 50 cited articles from JCOT since indexing in PubMed and Scopus., Methods: We looked into the bibliometrics of the top 50 cited articles and compared citations from PubMed and Scopus, and depicted outputs from VOS viewer analysis on co-authorship and keywords., Results: Total citations for top-cited articles were 1076 in numbers, with a maximum of 103.2016 and 2018 were the most productive years. The major contribution was from India with 74%, followed by the USA. New Delhi published maximally at 72%. Clinical topics and narrative reviews were the most common types of studies. Trauma and Adult reconstruction was the most common sub-specialities, and Level 4 was the most frequent level of study. The basic science and COVID-19 related articles received the maximum citations. The authors from Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals published the maximum number of top-50 cited articles in the JCOT., Conclusions: There is a steady increase in the number of publications in the JCOT, with an increasing number of citation counts. Both the Indian and foreign authors have been publishing in this journal at a comparative rate. Although the citation counts in Scopus are more than those in PubMed for given articles, more than 80% of articles are listed in both databases as top 50 cited articles. The majority of top-cited articles belonged to trauma and adult reconstruction, level III studies, and narrative reviews., Competing Interests: All the authors are on the Editorial Board of the JCOT., (© 2021 Delhi Orthopedic Association. All rights reserved.)

As we step into a technology powered era, where information is available everywhere, managing data forms an important part of professional and everyday life. With developments like online databases, high definition videos and images, social media, robotics, explosion of academic publications, telecommunication, artificial intelligence and internet of things, there is a variable amount of data that the orthopaedic surgeon is exposed to and has to deal with on a regular basis. It is imperative that the surgeon has a basic working knowledge on data and its applications in relation to the field of orthopaedic surgery. This review introduces the surgeon to data and its types, its sources, collection, Electronic Medical Records (EMR), management after collection, Big data and legal issues related to data. Data generators from megabytes to yottabytes are discussed along with options for their storage and analysis. Knowledge on the types of data is important to decide on the type of statistical tests that may be used on them, for the options available for storage, analysis and legal issues. We discuss the different types of data, computer and cloud-based systems of Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) with their advantages and disadvantages as well as the differences between conventional and EMRs. Management of data after collection is discussed including storage and backup, archiving and sharing, organizing, tracking changes and analysis. High resolution images, videos, robotics and analytics are powering demand and production of data in Trauma and Orthopaedics. Issues like copyright, Privacy, security, encryption and legal issues related to data are highlighted as these are important as more and more data is being used online and involve issues of privacy and security. We also take a look into the future of data in orthopaedics as digitization of the world is occurring at a rapid pace., (© 2021 Delhi Orthopedic Association. All rights reserved.)

Background: Concerns have been raised about the escalated mortality in patients of proximal femoral fractures (PPFs) with COVID-19. A meta-analysis to evaluate the mortality in patients with PPFs managed during the current COVID-19 pandemic was conducted., Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis of all published studies were conducted with a search on PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases using appropriate keywords from January 01, 2020 to January 29, 2021., Results: 35 relevant studies reporting 4255 patients with hip fracture in the current ongoing pandemic, out of which 692 patients were COVID-19 positive. Twenty studies reported mortality and other relevant statistics on hip fracture patients with and without COVID-19 (4123 hip fracture patients in the year 2020-21, out of which 560 had or were suspected of having COVID -19). A meta-analysis of mortality statistics in patients with and without COVID revealed increased odds of mortality among COVID patients [odds ratio (OR) 6.31, 95% confidence interval (CI) [5.09, 7.83] and meta-analysis on the subgroup of surgically treated patients also showed markedly increased mortality risk among those with COVID-19 (OR) 5.99, 95% CI [3.88,9.24]., Conclusion: The mortality risk is markedly increased in hip fracture with concomitant COVID-19 as compared to those without it. This increased risk persisted in those managed surgically. It could be due to the inflammation induced by the fracture or surgery for fracture fixation, further exacerbating inflammation, leading to cytokine storm. It is imperative that such patients are informed regarding increased mortality risk during the consent and shared decision-making process., Competing Interests: Authors have no competing interests to declare., (© 2021 Delhi Orthopedic Association. All rights reserved.)

Background & Aims: It has been just over a year since the Covid-19 pandemic started. The top 50 cited articles on this subject would help identify trends and focus on the research efforts., Methods: We utilised e-utilities in PubMed to find publications on Covid-19 until the date of search on 7/2/21. The iCite website was used to find the top 50 citations of the output from the search strategy. We looked into their full text for the editorial dates, type of study, level of evidence, focus of the article and country of origin. We also counted the errata and comments on each of them., Results: The total number of citations of all 50 articles was 123,960, the highest being 10, 754 for a single article. Huang C was the most cited first author. They were published from week 4-17, with February being the month with most citations. Lancet was the most cited journal, having published 9 of the 50 articles. Majority belonged to level 3 of the evidence ladder and were retrospective studies. Thirty percent of them had an errata published and an average of 7 comments per article., Conclusion: The top 50 most cited articles identify the most impactful studies on Covid-19, providing a resource to educators while identifying trends to guide research and publishing efforts. There has been an explosion of publications and an unprecedented rate and number of citations within the first year for any single condition in the literature., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest There is no conflict of interest to disclose for any of the authors., (Copyright © 2021 Diabetes India. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Patients with postpolio residual paralysis can develop disabling hip arthritis in paralytic as well as a nonparalytic limb, warranting total hip arthroplasty (THA). Limited literature is available on the results of THA among these patients in the form of small series or case reports. We have undertaken a systematic review to evaluate the clinical outcome of THA in patients with poliomyelitis with hip pathologies., Methods: A systematic search of electronic databases of PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science pertaining to English literature was undertaken from 1945 to August 2020 to assess the results of THA in patients with poliomyelitis. Information was gathered about demographics, indication, clinical course, complications, functional outcome, survival, and need for any revision surgery in these patients., Results: The literature search revealed 81 articles. Finally, after deduplication and manual selection, 16 relevant articles (128 hips) were included for evaluation. There is a paucity of literature evaluating THA in patients with poliomyelitis over the last 2 decades. The principal reason for arthroplasty was osteoarthritis of the hip in the ipsilateral (paralyzed) limb. A combination of cemented, uncemented, and hybrid implant fixation system was found to be used by surgeons. Addressing instability and perioperative management of limb length discrepancy were found to be challenging propositions., Conclusion: THA remains an effective intervention to relieve pain and improve quality of life in patients of poliomyelitis afflicted with either primary or secondary arthritis of the hip. The use of uncemented nonconstrained hip implant designs appears to demonstrate better results than constrained implants., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Arthroscopy is an established sub-speciality in orthopaedics. With advancing technology, instrumentation and implants, this sub-speciality has seen an explosion of knowledge and techniques since its inception. The indications for arthroscopic management are increasing and, hence, the number of publications on this topic. There has been no study looking into the bibliometrics of all publications within this speciality. The purpose of this study was to look into the trends of published articles on arthroscopy from PubMed and Scopus including studying their citation numbers., Materials and Methods: We set out to look into the number of publications from the earliest up to 2019 and their trends and citation numbers in PubMed and Scopus. We also performed a VOS viewer analysis of MeSH terms and titles of publications to look at research trends over time., Results: There were 41,149 articles published on PubMed since 1955 and 50,373 articles on Scopus since 1939. The total number of citations were 912,630 for 38,338 cited articles. With 2864 publications in 2019, there was a more than four-fold increase from the number published in the year 2000. The knee joint was the most frequently published joint with an increasing trend in hip arthroscopy. Cohort studies were the most common with 13,180 articles followed by Reviews with 5746 articles. The top 10 authors, universities and journals were listed along with citation numbers. We analysed the trends of publications for each joint and compared them. Yearly citations have progressively increased to reach a maximum of 45,407 in 2007. Arthroscopy was the most published and cited journal on this topic. The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS) (Am) had the most citations per article. The USA and Hospital for Special Surgery, New York were the most published country and university, respectively., Conclusions: There is a healthy growth of publications on the subject of arthroscopy with a steep increase in the number of publications and citations in recent years. VOS Viewer analysis showed an evolution of research and practice in the field of arthroscopy. Recommendations were made for databases and search engines to improve on the search and analysis of such studies in the future., Level of Evidence: 4.

Background/purpose of the Study: C-arm-guided biopsy is a safe and effective technique for evaluating TB spine and is useful in planning therapy. The purpose of this study was to find a correlation between clinically and radiologically suspected TB spine and C-arm image-guided biopsy-proven cases and to study the complications encountered., Methods: After evaluating the clinical, laboratory, X-ray and MRI findings, 92 patients with provisionally diagnosed tubercular spine were subjected to C-arm image-guided biopsy., Results: Among our 92 cases, histopathology was positive in 55 cases (59.78%). Out of these 55 histologically positive cases, CBNAAT was positive in 42 cases and negative in the rest 13 cases. Overall, among the 92 cases, CBNAAT was positive in 51(55.43%) of cases, and out of these, histopathology turned out to be positive in 42 of cases. Out of 41 cases with negative CBNAAT, histopathology was suggestive of tuberculosis in 13. The strength of agreement between CBNAAT and histopathology was statistically significant ( p  < 0.0001; kappa = 0.511). No complication such as bleeding, nerve/cord injury, infection, injury to aorta or pneumothorax was encountered during and after the C-arm biopsy in any case., Conclusion: C-arm image-guided biopsy is reasonably accurate and should be used as a tool for diagnosis of TB spine. We recommend histopathological examination as a key component for the diagnosis of TB spine, as it is precise and consumes relatively shorter time. CBNAAT is more rapid but is not a substitute for histopathology for spine TB diagnosis., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThere is no conflict of interest or source of funding to be disclosed., (© Indian Orthopaedics Association 2021.)

Purpose of the Study: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had profound effects on healthcare system including medical training and education in India. The study was aimed to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on post-graduate teaching and learning amongst candidates pursuing higher qualification in orthopaedics, in the Delhi-National Capital Region in India., Design: An online cross-sectional survey of 29 questions was circulated amongst post-graduate students pursuing higher orthopaedics degree to evaluate (i) Impact on PG teaching (ii) Impact on surgical training (iii) Impact on Dissertation (iv) Future implications on PG training programme (v) Mental wellbeing., Results: 138 (77.5) PG trainees contributed in the survey, and 65.1% of them stated that no clinical classes are being held presently. The majority (94%) confirmed that COVID-19 has affected their surgical and clinical training. A large number (71.6%) had problems in completing their dissertations and 96% had concerns about mental health., Conclusion: COVID-19 pandemic has severely disrupted the education and training of the Orthopaedic PG students, in Delhi-NCR region and perhaps elsewhere similarly too. The Government and Teaching organisations should take serious consideration of the plights of PGs and devise satisfactory mechanisms to overcome their problems and provide reasonable solutions also., Competing Interests: None., (© 2020.)

Spinal injuries constitute about 3% of all injury cases and most of these injuries affect the thoracolumbar region, but thoracolumbar fracture-dislocations are much rarer. Dislocations (AO Type C injuries) of the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, with or without associated fractures, happen due to very high energy trauma involving simultaneous, multidirectional, distractive and compressive forces across various spinal elements, which results in translational and rotational instability of the spinal column. Various reduction maneuvers have been described for thoracolumbar fracture-dislocations in the literature aiming to provide standardization in surgery for this situation. The aim of this review article is to systematically review the literature till date and describe various reduction maneuvers which help to achieve adequate sagittal and coronal balance as well as vertebral alignment with minimal soft tissue trauma. We searched the PubMed, the Cochrane Library (the most recent issue), Scopus, Cochrane Bone, Joint and Muscle Trauma Group Specialised Register, Web of Science, International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO), ClinicalTrials.gov and Google Scholar databases, besides other sources and general internet search. The strategy used in the search was briefly(''thoracolumbar'' OR ''dorsolumbar'') AND "dislocation" in PubMed. Similar searches were made in the other databases.Reference lists of the relevant papers were also examined and any further relevant studies, which were also included in the review. The initial search revealed 332 papers in Pubmed, out of which 302 were human studies. A similar search on Scopus revealed 528 documents and on WoS revealed 289 papers. Searching the Cochrane library revealed 9 trials, which were already revealed in Pubmed search results. All the references were imported into Endnote and we had 632 references after excluding duplicates and 126 papers were left in endnote after manual title screening and duplicate removal. Finally, 70 relevant papers were selected for consideration based on inclusion criteria, after excluding unrelated papers manually. We have summarised the published literature on the surgical management of thoraco-lumbar fracture dislocations and described the reduction maneuvers used in detail., (© 2019 Delhi Orthopedic Association. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: We report two cases of fracture-dislocation of the thoracolumbar spine without neurological deficit and outline the putative mechanisms responsible for the escape of neural tissues from injurious forces and the surgical management strategies for this type of injury. We also review similar cases described in the literature., Case Reports: A 24-year-old female with post-traumatic fracture dislocation at the T10-T11 level without neurological deficit, along with a right femoral shaft fracture, was managed with laminectomy of T10-T11 levels with bilateral facetectomy and transpedicular screws and with an intramedullary interlocking nail for the femur fracture. Another 26-year-old female (post-traumatic fracture dislocation at the T12 - L1 level treated by open reduction and pedicle screw instrumentation elsewhere) presented with implant failure and re-dislocation which was managed with laminectomy of T12- L1 levels, facetectomy and discectomy, and deformity correction, followed by 9 mm × 25 mm bullet cage insertion and fixation using transpedicular screws. Neurological function was preserved postoperatively. Both individuals returned to household activity 6 months postoperatively., Discussion: Fracture-dislocations of the thoracolumbar spine without neurological deficit have been infrequently reported. The mechanism responsible for the preservation of normal neurological function; is either posterior element fractures leading to free-floating laminae or a fracture-separation of the vertebral arch, in which pedicle fractures allow the posterior elements to remain nearly aligned, with preservation of the spinal canal integrity and maintenance of normal spinal cord function. These fracture-dislocations need to be managed carefully to achieve a good outcome.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome COVID-19 was declared as a pandemic on 11 th March 2020 by the World Health Organization and consequent lockdown imposed in several areas resulted in a marked reduction in orthopaedic practices. Although some guidelines for patient care in orthopaedic practice have been published, overall, publications focusing exclusively on guidelines on starting orthopaedic outpatient departments (OPD) after the COVID-19 lockdown amidst the on-going pandemic are lacking. We hereby propose the evolving knowledge in changes in OPD management practices for orthopaedic surgeons in the COVID- 19 era. The emphasis on online registration (e-registration) should be given impetus and become the new norm supplemented by telephonic and spot registration for the uneducated patients. The review highlights the safety of patient and orthopaedic surgeons in OPD by screening and maintaining hygiene at various levels. The article also mentions the duties of the help desk, OPD hall supervisor and the new norms of air conditioning, ventilation, safe use of elevators, sanitization of OPD premises and biomedical waste disposal. The optimum and safe utilization of human & material resources, DO's and DON'Ts for patients & health staff have also been proposed. The reorganization of plaster room, the precaution during plastering, fracture clinic, dressing and injection room services are discussed as per evolving guidelines. This article will also give deep insight into the OPD plan & telemedicine graphically. The authors suggest updating and downward permeation of existing e-infrastructure of government health services that is up-gradation of existing tertiary level online registration services, a paperless model of OPD consultation & dispensation. The future updating of Aarogya Setu App (https://mygov.in/aarogya-setu-app/) for convenient online OPD registration and dispensation has been discussed and proposed. This review will help in containing the spread of COVID 19 and build upon the health gains achieved after lockdown. The easy concept of CCCATTT has been introduced, and the OPD Plan has also been suggested. We have endeavoured to holistically detail an orthopaedic OPD setup and its upkeep in COVID-19 pandemic, but since the knowledge of COVID 19 is ever-evolving it needs replenishment by regular education for health staff., Competing Interests: No conflict of interest to be disclosed., (© 2020 Delhi Orthopedic Association. All rights reserved.)

Study Design: A retrospective study was done to assess the outcome of the new technique of flipped reposition laminoplasty for excision of intradural extramedullary (IDEM) spinal tumors of the thoracolumbar region., Purpose: To describe flipped reposition laminoplasty technique and evaluate its outcomes., Overview of Literature: Laminectomy has been the conventional approach for the surgical excision of IDEM spinal tumors, but it has potential postoperative complications. Laminoplasty maintains the posterior arch of the spine and avoids complications seen in Laminectomy, such as instability, epidural scarring, and kyphotic deformity., Methods: Fourteen patients (nine females and five males) diagnosed with IDEM tumors of the thoracolumbar region operated between 2016 and 2018 were included in this study. Pathologically, five cases were schwannomas; four cases were meningiomas; two cases were ependymomas; and one case each was lymphoma, neurofibroma, and teratoma. All patients had their neurological deficits documented using the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) impairment scale. After completion of all preanesthetic formalities, the patients were operated upon by a single surgeon using the flipped reposition laminoplasty technique. Follow-up was done at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months post operation and yearly thereafter., Results: The mean age of the patients was 35.28 years (14-65 years), and the mean follow-up duration was 17 months (6-26 months). Two patients were assessed with ASIA grade A neurology, one patient improved to ASIA grade B, whereas the other did not improve. Two patients improved from ASIA grade B to ASIA grade D, and seven patients with ASIA grades C and D improved to ASIA grade E. Fusion at the osteotomy site was seen in 92.85% (13 out of 14) cases on one side within 6 months post operation. Fusion was seen in all the cases within 1 year post operation., Conclusions: Flipped reposition laminoplasty is an excellent technique providing adequate exposure and additional stability postoperatively.

Background: We have studied the growth of Journal of Clinical Orthopaedics and Trauma (JCOT), the official journal of the Delhi Orthopaedic Association indexed in PubMed, Scopus and Embase, along with an analysis of citation trends and levels of evidence of published articles in the last five years., Methods: SCOPUS and PubMed databases (2015-19) were used to extract publication-related data for the last five years. The official website of the journal was also used to retrieve issue-specific data. An audit of recent publications in the JCOT was conducted focusing on number of issues and publications(year wise), types of articles published, review speed, level of evidence of publications, types of publication(speciality wise), number of publications in PubMed and SCOPUS, number of citations(year wise), national and international authorship and the Cite Scores., Results: The submissions were increased by 2.8 times and the citations rocketed to 16.6 times in 2019, compared to 2015. A total of 890 papers were there and the journal was cited 1702 time s in the last five years. More articles with higher levels of evidence papers are now being published., Conclusion: There has been a significant increase in the numbers of submissions, publications, citations, Cite Score, h-index and contribution by the International authors. Its Editorial efficiency has also been outstanding with timely reviews and editorial decisions. The JCOT has become increasingly internationally relevant in the last five years, in the orthopaedic community. However, JCOT needs to publish more papers with a higher level of evidence like Systematic reviews, Meta-analyses, Randomized Controlled Trials and should only publish top-class lower hierarchy papers (like Case reports, Case-controlled and Retrospective studies)., Competing Interests: All authors are on the editorial board of JCOT., (© 2020 Delhi Orthopedic Association. All rights reserved.)

This study aims to study the publication trends in articular cartilage repair (ACR) techniques, over the last 10 years. A literature search was performed on the PubMed, Web of Science, and SCOPUS databases. We used suitable keywords and Boolean operators (articular cartilage injury AND "marrow stimulation OR microfracture (MFx)," "osteochondral autograft," "osteochondral allograft" and "autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI)," "scaffold"), on January 1, 2019. Trends in publication on these topics were analyzed, focusing on publications over the last 10 years, type of research, authors, institution, and country. There was an increasing trend in publications related to ACR. A search on PubMed revealed 698, 225, 293, 857, and 982 documents on searching for "articular cartilage" AND "marrow stimulation OR microfracture," "osteochondral autograft," "osteochondral allograft," "ACI," and "scaffold," respectively. Similar searches revealed 1154, 219, 330, 1727, and 2742 documents on Web of science and 934, 301, 383, 944, and 2026 on SCOPUS, respectively, in the same order of topics. Overall, most papers were published from the United States and European countries, and Cole BJ was the most published author. There was an increasing trend in the number of publications as well as citations, with international collaboration among researchers. It implies that this field is growing rapidly. The authors from globally recognized and leading clinical institutions in the developed world contributed maximally to these publications. Most of these papers were published in high-impact arthroscopy subspecialty journals. Level of evidence: Level IV., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest.

Reaming is an important step in long bone nailing and has a low complication rate. We report a case of a flexible reamer that got broken and incarcerated in the femoral canal during reaming in a segmental femur fracture. Routine extraction using guide wire was not possible. The incarcerated reamer was successfully extracted with the help of a jumbo cutter.

Background: With rapid emergence of 3D printing technology, surgeons have recently started to apply this for nearly all areas of orthopaedic trauma surgery. Computed tomography or magnetic resonance images of trauma patients can be utilized for making graspable objects from 3D reconstructed images. Patient specific anatomical models can thereby be created. They enhance surgeon's knowledge of their patients' precise patho-anatomy, regarding both traumatized bones and soft tissue as well as normal areas, and therefore help in accurate preoperative planning. 3D printed patient specific instrumentation can help to achieve precise implant placement, and better surgical results. Most importantly, customized implants, casts, orthoses and prosthetics can be manufactured to match an individual's anatomy. Three dimensional (3D) printing, also called as 'additive manufacturing' and 'rapid prototyping' is considered as the "second industrial revolution", and this appears to be especially true for orthopaedic trauma surgery., Methods: A literature search was performed for extracting all papers related to 3D Printing applications in orthopaedics and allied sciences on the Pubmed, and SCOPUS; using suitable key terms and Boolean operators ("3D Printing" OR "3 dimensional printing" OR "3D printed" OR "additive manufacturing" OR "rapid prototyping") AND (''Orthopaedics" OR "Orthopaedics'') AND ("Trauma" OR "Injury")in June 2018. Search was also performed in Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. No limits were set on the time period or evidence level, as 3D printing in orthopaedics is relatively recent and mainly low level evidence is available. Titles and abstracts were screened and all duplicate and unrelated papers were excluded. Papers related to orthopaedic trauma were manually selected for this review., Results: The search on Pubmed retrieved 144 Papers and similar search on SCOPUS retrieved 94 papers. Additional searches did not reveal more relevant papers. After excluding duplicates and unrelated papers, and on screening of titles and abstracts, 59 papers were considered for review. Papers related to spine fractures only were not included, as they have been covered in another paper in this journal issue., Conclusion: All over the world, orthopaedic Surgeon's and allied professionals and scientists are enthusiastically using 3D printing technology for designing patient specific models, instrumentation, implants, orthosis and prosthesis, besides 3D bioprinting of bone and cartilage scaffolding, and the same has been applied for nearly all areas of orthopaedic trauma surgery, from head to foot.

Purpose: Three dimensional (3D) printing, also called 'rapid prototyping' and 'additive manufacturing' is considered as a "second industrial revolution." With this rapidly emerging technology, CT or MR images are used for the creation of graspable objects from 3D reconstituted images. Patient-specific anatomical models can be, therefore, manufactured efficiently. These can enhance surgeon's understanding of their patients' patho-anatomy and also help in precise preoperative planning. The 3D printed patient-specific guides can also help in achieving accurate bony cuts, precise implant placement, and nice surgical results. Customized implants, casts, orthoses and prosthetics can be created to match an individual patient's anatomy. The 3D printing of individualized artificial cartilage scaffolds and 3D bioprinting are some other areas of growing interest. We aim to study the publication trends in 3D printing as applied to the field of orthopaedics., Materials and Methods: A literature search was performed to extract all papers related to 3D printing applications in orthopaedics and allied sciences on the Pubmed, Web of Science and SCOPUS databases. Suitable keywords and boolean operators ("3D Printing" OR "3-dimensional printing" OR "3D printed" OR "additive manufacturing" OR "rapid prototyping") AND (''Orthopaedics" OR "Orthopaedics'') were used, in May 2018. Search was attempted in Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Database of Abstracts of Review of Effectiveness (DARE) databases, using keywords 3d printing orthopaedics. A similar search was repeated in pubmed and SCOPUS to get more specific papers.No limits were set on the period or evidence level, as 3D printing in orthopaedics is relatively new and evidence available is usually limited to low-level studies. Trends in a publication on these topics were analyzed, focussing on publications, type of research (basic science or clinical), type of publication, authors, institution, and country. Some citations received by these papers were also analyzed in SCOPUS and Web of Science. MS Excel (2008 - Mac version) and VOS Viewer1.6.8 (2018- Mac version) software were used to analyze the search results and for citation mapping respectively. We also identified top 10 most cited articles in the field., Results: An increasing trend in publications in 3D printing-related work in orthopedic surgery and related fields was observed in the recent past. A search on Pubmed using the above strategy revealed 389 documents. A similar search revealed 653 documents on SCOPUS, many (314) of which were from an engineering background and only 271 were related to medicine. No papers were found in the Cochrane database. Search on TRIP database revealed 195 papers. A similar search revealed 237 papers on orthopedic applications on Pubmed and 269 documents on SCOPUS, whereas a search on Web of Science revealed only 23 papers. Publication trends were then analyzed on data derived from SCOPUS database. Overall, most papers were published from China, followed by United States, United Kingdom, and India., Conclusion: There has been an upsurge of interest in 3D printing in orthopedic surgery, as is evident by an increasing trend in research and publications in this area in the recent years. Presently, 3D printing is in a primitive stage in the field of orthopedic surgery as our knowledge is still insufficient, and costs and learning curve are somewhat high. However, looking at latest publication trends, we are enthusiastic that it holds the key to future in orthopaedics and trauma cases.

Joint replacement surgery is becoming increasingly popular globally and recently,​in India. The phenomenon of medical tourism has also contributed to increasing number of arthroplasty surgeries being done every year in our country. The surgeons who work in this highly specialized field of orthopedic surgery, have been publishing their research work in reputed journals. In this paper, we have discussed the most cited Indian papers in the field of arthroplasty. It was observed that publications in high impact and reputed journals attract more citations and therefore it is recommended that the 'good' scientific research work should preferably be submitted to these journals to create greater impact and awareness about ones' research.

Background. Intertrochanteric fractures of the proximal femur are one of the most common fractures encountered, and dynamic hip screw with a side plate is the standard treatment. We compared a minimally invasive surgical technique with the conventional surgical technique used in the fixation of intertrochanteric fractures with the dynamic hip screw (DHS) device. Methods. Thirty patients with such fractures were treated with the conventional open technique and 30 with a new minimally invasive technique. Patients in both groups were followed up for 1 year. Results. There was less blood loss, minimal soft tissue destruction, shorter hospital stay, and early mobilization with the minimally invasive technique. Conclusion. The present study finds minimally invasive technique superior to conventional (open) DHS.

Patellofemoral instability is initially treated conservatively and surgical treatment is reserved for resistant cases. Reconstruction of medial patellofemoral ligament has gained popularity these days as it attempts at restoring soft tissue anatomy and biomechanics of medial patellar restraint back to normal. Here we describe our novel transverse patella single tunnel and femoral interference screw technique to reconstruct the medial patellofemoral ligament using free autologous gracilis and semitendinosus grafts.