Suneel B. Bhat

MRI is unnecessary for diagnosing acute Achilles tendon ruptures: clinical diagnostic criteria.

BackgroundAchilles tendon ruptures are common in middle-aged athletes. Diagnosis is based on clinical examination or imaging. Although MRI is commonly used to document ruptures, there is no literature supporting its routine use and we wondered whether it was necessary.Questions/purposesWe (1) determined the sensitivity of physical examination in diagnosing acute Achilles ruptures, (2) compared the sensitivity of physical examination with that of MRI, and (3) assessed care delays and impact attributable to MRI.MethodsWe retrospectively compared 66 patients with surgically confirmed acute Achilles ruptures and preoperative MRI with a control group of 66 patients without preoperative MRI. Clinical diagnostic criteria were an abnormal Thompson test, decreased resting tension, and palpable defect. Time to diagnosis and surgical procedures were compared with those of the control group.ResultsAll patients had all three clinical findings preoperatively and complete ruptures intraoperatively (sensitivity of 100%). MR images were read as complete tears in 60, partial in four, and inconclusive in two patients. It took a mean of 5.1 days to obtain MRI after the injury, 8.8 days for initial evaluation, and 12.4 days for surgical intervention. In the control group, initial evaluation occurred at 2.5 days and surgical intervention at 5.6 days after injury. Nineteen patients in the MRI group had additional procedures whereas none of the control group patients had additional procedures.ConclusionsPhysical examination findings were more sensitive than MRI. MRI is time consuming, expensive, and can lead to treatment delays. Clinicians should rely on the history and physical examination for accurate diagnosis and reserve MRI for ambiguous presentations and subacute or chronic injuries for preoperative planning.Level of EvidenceLevel II, diagnostic study. See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries in National Football League Athletes From 2010 to 2013: A Descriptive Epidemiology Study.

Background: There is a high incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries among National Football League (NFL) athletes; however, the incidence of reinjury in this population is unknown. Purpose: This retrospective epidemiological study analyzed all publicly disclosed ACL tears occurring in NFL players between 2010 and 2013 to characterize injury trends and determine the incidence of reinjury. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiological study. Methods: A comprehensive online search identified any NFL player who had suffered an ACL injury from 2010 to 2013. Position, playing surface, activity, and date were recorded. Each player was researched for any history of previous ACL injury. The NFL games database from USA Today was used to determine the incidence of ACL injuries on artificial turf and grass fields. Databases from Pro Football Focus and Pro Football Reference were used to determine the injury rate for each position. Results: NFL players suffered 219 ACL injuries between 2010 and 2013. Forty players (18.3%) had a history of previous ACL injury, with 27 (12.3%) retears and 16 (7.3%) tears contralateral to a previous ACL injury. Five players (2.28%) suffered their third ACL tear. Receivers (wide receivers and tight ends) and backs (linebackers, fullbacks, and halfbacks) had significantly greater injury risk than the rest of the NFL players, while perimeter linemen (defensive ends and offensive tackles) had significantly lower injury risk than the rest of the players. Interior linemen (offensive guards, centers, and defensive tackles) had significantly greater injury risk compared with perimeter linemen. ACL injury rates per team games played were 0.050 for grass and 0.053 for turf fields (P > .05). Conclusion: In this retrospective epidemiological study of ACL tears in NFL players, retears and ACL tears contralateral to a previously torn ACL constituted a substantial portion (18.3%) of total ACL injuries. The significant majority of ACL injuries in players with a history of previous ACL injury were retears. Skilled offensive players and linebackers had the greatest injury risk, and significantly more ACL tears occurred among interior linemen than perimeter linemen. The month of August had the highest incidence of ACL injuries, probably because of expanded roster sizes at that point in the NFL season.

Economic Decision Model Suggests Total Shoulder Arthroplasty is Superior to Hemiarthroplasty in Young Patients with End-stage Shoulder Arthritis

BackgroundYoung patients with severe glenohumeral arthritis pose a challenging management problem for shoulder surgeons. Two controversial treatment options are total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) and hemiarthroplasty. This study aims to characterize costs, as expressed by reimbursements for episodes of acute care, and outcomes associated with each treatment.Questions/purposesWe asked: for patients 30 to 50 years old with severe end-stage glenohumeral arthritis refractory to conservative management, (1) are more years of patient-derived satisfactory outcome by the Neer criteria and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) achieved using a TSA or a hemiarthroplasty; (2) does a TSA or a hemiarthroplasty result in a greater number of revision procedures; and (3) does a TSA or a hemiarthroplasty result in greater associated costs to society?MethodsThe incidence of glenohumeral arthritis among 30- to 50-year-old patients, outcomes, reoperation probabilities, and associated costs from TSA and hemiarthroplasty were derived from the literature. A Markov chain decision tree model was developed from these estimates with number of revisions, cost of management for patients to 70 years old as defined by reimbursement for acute-care episodes, years with “satisfactory” or “excellent” outcome by the modified Neer criteria, and QALYs gained as principle outcome measures. A Monte Carlo simulation was conducted with a cohort representing the at-risk population for shoulder arthritis between 30 and 50 years old in the United States.ResultsDuring the lifetime of a cohort of 5279 patients, hemiarthroplasty as the initial treatment resulted in 59,574 patient years of satisfactory or excellent results (11.29 per patient) and average QALYs gained of 6.55, whereas TSA as the initial treatment resulted in 85,969 patient years of satisfactory or excellent results (16.29 per patient) and average QALYs gained of 7.96. During the lifetime of a cohort of 5279 patients, a hemiarthroplasty as the initial treatment led to 2090 lifetime revisions (0.4 per patient), whereas a TSA as the initial treatment led to 1605 lifetime revisions (0.3 per patient). During the lifetime of a cohort of 5279 patients, a hemiarthroplasty as initial treatment resulted in USD 132,500,000 associated direct reimbursements (USD 25,000 per patient), whereas a TSA as initial treatment resulted in USD 125,500,000 associated direct reimbursements (USD 23,700 per patient).ConclusionsTreatment of end-stage glenohumeral arthritis refractory to conservative treatment in patients 30 to 50 years old in the United States with TSA, instead of hemiarthroplasty, would result in greater cost savings, avoid a substantial number of revision procedures, and result in greater years of satisfactory or excellent patient outcomes and greater QALYs gained. On a population level, TSA is the cost-effective treatment for glenohumeral arthritis in patients 30 to 50 years old.Level of EvidenceLevel II, economic and decision analysis study.

The Financial and Professional Impact of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries in National Football League Athletes

Background: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries can have negative consequences on the careers of National Football League (NFL) players, however no study has ever analyzed the financial impact of these injuries in this population. Purpose: To quantify the impact of ACL injuries on salary and career length in NFL athletes. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Any player in the NFL suffering an ACL injury from 2010 to 2013 was identified using a comprehensive online search. A database of NFL player salaries was used to conduct a matched cohort analysis comparing ACL-injured players with the rest of the NFL. The main outcomes were the percentage of players remaining in the NFL and mean salary at 1, 2, 3, and 4 years after injury. Cohorts were subdivided based on initial salary: group A, <

Can We Reduce the Utilization of Home-Visiting Nurse Services After Primary Total Joint Arthroplasty?

500,000; group B, ≤

Medicare reimbursement and orthopedic surgery: past, present, and future

500,000 to

An Economic Analysis of MAC Versus WALANT: A Trigger Finger Release Surgery Case Study

2,000,000; and group C, >

Economic Analysis of Anatomic Plating Versus Tubular Plating for the Treatment of Fibula Fractures

2,000,000. Mean cumulative earnings were calculated by multiplying the percentage of players remaining in the league by their mean salaries and compounding this each season. Results: NFL athletes suffered 219 ACL injuries from 2010 to 2013. The 7504 other player seasons in the NFL during this time were used as controls. Significantly fewer ACL-injured players than controls remained in the NFL at each time point (P < .05). In group A, significantly less ACL-injured players remained in the NFL at 1 to 3 seasons after injury (P < .05), and in group B, significantly less ACL-injured players remained in the NFL at 1 and 2 seasons after injury (P < .05). There was no significant decrease in group C. Players in groups A and B remaining in the NFL also had a lower mean salary than controls (P < .05 in season 1). The mean cumulative earnings over 4 years for ACL-injured players was

Treatment of Atypical Compartment Syndrome Due to Proteus Infection

2,070,521 less per player than uninjured controls. Conclusion: On average, ACL-injured players earned

Management of a Dermocutaneous Black Mold Abscess of the Finger with Flexor Sheath Involvement

2,070,521 less than salary-matched controls over the 4 years after injury. Players initially earning less than