Spine Study Identifies Predictors of Chronic Narcotic Use

Terry Stanton

Using a prediction model, researchers were able to identify, with nearly 80 percent accuracy, which patients undergoing thoracolumbar spine surgery would still be taking narcotics two years postoperatively. The prospective, observational study, presented during the North American Spine Society Annual Meeting by Erin Bigney, MA, of Canada East Spine Centre, used the Canadian Spine Outcomes and Research Network data alongside validated psychological measures.

Study: Half of Neck Surgery Readmissions Are Not Related to Surgical Site

Terry Stanton

A study presented at the North American Spine Society Annual Meeting in Los Angeles found that among patients undergoing one- or two-level anterior cervical diskectomy and fusion (ACDF), 3 percent were readmitted within 30 days of surgery, and half of those readmissions were unrelated to neck surgery. David C.

Is In-office Needle Arthroscopy Worth Another Look?

Chad W. Parkes, MD; Ayoosh Pareek, MD; Anikar Chhabra, MD, MS; Aaron J. Krych, MD

In 2015, knee pain was the ninth most common reason for ambulatory medical office visits in the United States, accounting for 1.6 percent of such visits. Evaluation of a patient who presents with knee pain begins with a focused history and physical exam. If radiographs are nonrevealing, advanced imaging, such as MRI, often is required to arrive at a diagnosis and develop a treatment plan.

What’s Your Diagnosis?

Stuart J. Fischer, MD

In this feature, AAOS Now publishes a series of images, challenging readers to diagnose the condition depicted. The images for this month’s challenge were submitted by Stuart J. Fischer, MD, who provides the following information: The patient is a 50-year-old male who presents with an acute injury to his right knee. He states that he injured his knee with a golf swing and felt acute pain on the medial side.

Second Look—Clinical

Frailty and THA outcomes— Patient frailty increased mortality and perioperative complications following primary and revision total hip arthroplasty (THA), according to a study published in The Journal of Arthroplasty (online). The study included 6,502 primary THA patients and 2,138 revision THA patients (median age, 68 years). Overall, 22.7 percent were classified as frail, 32.9 percent as vulnerable, and 44.4 percent as nonfrail.

AAOS Hip Fracture Time-to-surgery Performance Measure Passes First CMS Test

Steve Olson, MD; Quinn Hall, MHA

Hip fractures in older patients have been an increasingly important health concern in the United States, as life expectancy in the country continues to rise. In April, AAOS published a performance measure (PM) to encourage hip fracture surgery within 48 hours of admission for patients 65 years of age or older. The PM stems from the AAOS evidence-based clinical practice guideline (CPG) on Management of Hip Fractures in the Elderly, which was published in 2014.

AAOS Doubles Down Against Discrimination and Harassment

Jennifer M. Weiss, MD

On the pages surrounding this column, you will find the Academy’s new Anti-discrimination and Anti-harassment Policy and Procedures and the updated AAOS Opinion on Ethics and Professionalism: Sexual Harassment. They are two very powerful documents, to say the least.