Hips and Slips in Children: Managing Hip Fractures and SCFE

Terry Stanton

Pediatric hip fractures are rare injuries, accounting for 1 percent of fractures in children, but a high complication rate—most critically involving osteonecrosis—means they warrant elevated vigilance and, generally, prompt treatment with open or closed reduction. At the AAOS 2018 Annual Meeting symposium titled “Staying out of Trouble in Pediatric Trauma,” Wudbhav N.

Study Indicates Swabbing for MRSA Does Not Lower SSI Rates in Pediatric Spine Patients

Terry Stanton

Presurgical testing for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) (MRSA) colonization with intranasal swabs is performed commonly, but a study published in the Sept. 1 issue of the Journal of the AAOS involving pediatric spinal fusion (PSF) patients found that MRSA swab results did not change treatment or outcome. The study comprised 1,200 patients who underwent PSF. Of the participants, 64.3 percent (n = 772) were female, and the average age was 13.8 years (range, 0–21 years).

Second Look—Clinical

THA and QALY—A study published in the Journal of Arthroplasty (online) found that total hip arthroplasty (THA) may improve pain, quality of life, and function. Researchers assessed 100 patients in Switzerland older than 83 years of age who underwent THA for severe osteoarthritis (OA) at a single institution between January 2009 and December 2016. They observed an overall complication rate of 12 percent. Thirty-day and one-year mortality rates were 3 percent and 6 percent, respectively.