Can an Algorithm Reduce Mortality for Femoral Neck Fracture Patients?

Peter Pollack

Increased use of total hip arthroplasty (THA) in the treatment of intracapsular proximal femoral fractures has highlighted the need for an improved patient-selection strategy, according to researchers in the United Kingdom. They displayed their findings in a poster presentation at the 2016 AAOS Annual Meeting.

TAR and Nicotine

Terry Stanton

A study examining the effects of cigarette smoking on total ankle replacement (TAR) surgery found that active cigarette smokers had a significantly higher risk of wound complications and worse outcome scores compared with nonsmokers and former smokers. The study, presented at the annual meeting of the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) in Toronto by Alexander J.

AAOS Puts Patient Safety at the Forefront

Terry Stanton; Paul Zemaitis

Taking a cue from the adage about safety in numbers, more than 150 representatives from more than 75 healthcare organizations came together near AAOS headquarters in August to take part in the inaugural National Surgical Patient Safety Summit (NSPSS).

Improving Arthroplasty for Patients with Diabetes

Mark Crawford

It all started with a clinical observation. Allan L. Bucknell, MD, a professor with the University of Colorado-Denver and the Veterans Affairs (VA) Eastern Colorado Health Care System, was curious about why, after total knee arthroplasty, his diabetic patients did not fare as well as his nondiabetic patients. He wanted to know, for example, why he saw earlier aseptic prosthesis loosening in diabetic patients. "Total knee replacement is not a benign procedure," said Dr. Bucknell.

Measuring Up: The Making of a Performance Measure

David R. Chandler, MD

At its initial meeting in 2014, the AAOS Performance Measures Committee (PMC), chaired by decided to develop a set of performance measures for management of hip fractures in the elderly.

Turning a CPG into a Care Map

Kevin G. Shea, MD; Charles T. Price, MD

Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is a relatively common pediatric condition, occurring in 3 to 4 of every 1,000 live births. If left untreated, DDH can have lifelong implications—including disability and total hip replacement at a young age. Even if providers suspect DDH, the early signs of this condition are not always obvious; frank hip dislocation only occurs in approximately 1 of 1,000 newborn infants.

AAOS Awarded Research Grant to Support Development of New CPGs and AUCs

On July 26, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) approved a $1.5 million grant to AAOS to help develop six clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) and six appropriate use criteria (AUCs) over the next 4 years. The grant was obtained as part of a collaborative effort with the Major Extremity Trauma Research Consortium (METRC), and coordinated through the Data and Research Coordinating Center of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

AJRR Update

As the official registry of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS), the American Joint Replacement Registry's (AJRR) mission is to collect data on 90 percent of the hip and knee replacement procedures performed in the United States. Under the direction of Paul Haisman, AJRR's first-ever chief technology officer, the national registry has begun making several technological enhancements that will enable it to meet that goal.