Editor's Note Increased use of neuraxial anesthesia for total hip and knee patients was linked to lower hospitalization costs in this study. National data on 808,237 total knee and 371,607 total hip replacements were used in the analysis. Multivariable associations were measured between hospital neuraxial anesthesia volume (quartiles) and outcomes…

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Editor's Note Researchers at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, have identified two protein biomarkers that indicate which total hip patients are likely to develop osteolysis. Osteolysis is the destruction of bone tissue around the hip joint that causes the implant to loosen and results in a revision surgery. The researchers…

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Editor's Note Contrary to what some studies are suggesting, use of the local anesthetic liposomal bupivacaine as part of a multimodal approach to postoperative pain did not reduce in-hospital opioid use or opioid-related complications after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in this study. Researchers analyzed data on 88,830 TKAs performed with…

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Can hospital leaders and surgeons partner to reduce opioid use while maintaining high patient satisfaction scores? Leaders at OSS Orthopaedic Hospital in York, Pennsylvania, answer that question with a yes. Meghan McNelly, PharmD, MHA, FACHE, who was director of pharmacy at OSS when the opioid-reduction project started, says that from…

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Editor's Note A statistically significant association was found between type 2 diabetes and the risk of hip fracture in this study. Researchers analyzed 158,984 patients with and without diabetes. The incidence of hip fracture in diabetics was 2.3% using the competing risk with death methodology (Fine-Gray models) and 2.6% using…

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Editor's Note Spinal anesthesia was associated with lower mortality and morbidity rates after hip fracture repair than general anesthesia in this study that will be presented Saturday April 19 at the 2018 World Congress on Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine in New York City. In this analysis of 2,591 patients,…

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Editor's Note Patients at Porter Adventist Hospital in Denver may be at risk for HIV or hepatitis after the hospital discovered a surgical instrument sterilization breach, the April 5 LiveScience reports. The process for precleaning surgical instruments was found to be inadequate, which may have put patients who had orthopedic…

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Editor's Note At First Hill Surgery Center in Seattle, patients can have a knee or hip replaced in the morning and go home in the afternoon, the April Seattle Magazine reports. The surgical procedure takes about 2 hours, and patients admitted at 7:30 am generally are able to return home…

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Editor's Note Enhanced patient satisfaction scores were seen in patients who received supplemental web-based education before having outpatient orthopedic surgical procedures in this study presented March 7 at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting. A total of 177 patients were randomized to receive either routine education from the…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on March 7 announced that an updated THKR Outpatient Performance Measurement Implementation Guide is now available for its Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement (THKR) Certification program. The update includes the 2018 CPT codes. Joint Commission Online Weekly Newsletter Read More >>

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