The annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons was held from March 10 to 14 in San Diego, drawing approximately 2,000 participants from around the world. The conference highlighted recent advances in the diagnosis and management of musculoskeletal conditions, with presentations focusing on joint fractures, osteoarthritis, other musculoskeletal injuries, and factors impacting the outcomes of joint replacement procedures.
In a retrospective study, Nicholas M. Brown, M.D., of the Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois, and colleagues identified an increase in the quality of life of the spouse of a patient who underwent a total hip or total knee arthroplasty.
The authors surveyed 100 spouses of individuals who underwent total hip (50) or total knee (50) arthroplasty and followed them for up to two years, assessing quality-of-life measures.
The researchers cited a transient dip in spouses’ quality of life in the acute postoperative period as they took care of their partners after surgery; however, the majority of spouses had an increase in their quality of life following the postoperative period. The investigators also found that spouses of hip arthroplasty patients had slightly better quality of life than the spouses of knee arthroplasty patients, which is also what is typically seen with hip versus knee replacement patients.
“The conclusion is that we can counsel patients that not only will the patient’s life improve after a hip or knee replacement, but the spouse’s quality of life will also typically improve,” Brown said. “Often it’s a shared decision with the spouse if and when the patient should get a hip or knee replacement, so knowing that the spouse typically will also have an improvement in their quality of life is useful in the decision-making process.”
In another study, Dane Brodke, M.D., of the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, and colleagues found that passively collected smartphone mobility data, such as step counts and walking speed, correlate with clinically observed mobility trends after lower-extremity fracture surgery.
The authors explored the potential of using passively collected smartphone mobility data (Apple Health metrics) to track recovery after lower-extremity fracture surgery. Step counts, walking speed, and other mobility metrics were analyzed for 107 patients who had sustained a lower-extremity fracture requiring surgery.
The researchers found that smartphone mobility metrics mirrored the expected clinical trends in mobility, with a significant drop in step counts and other measures immediately after injury and a gradual return toward preinjury levels during the recovery period of six months or longer. In addition, the investigators found that step counts differentiated between patients with and without nonunions. Patients with nonunions recovered their step counts 55 percent more slowly than patients without nonunions.
“This provides initial validation that Apple Health metrics may serve as useful, objective measures to monitor real-world mobility and recovery in orthopedic trauma patients,” Brodke said. “These metrics may also help predict complications such as nonunion and help surgeons intervene earlier when these complications arise.”
Eugenia Lin, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, and colleagues found that the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) youth soccer header policy has improved player safety by reducing head impacts in the pediatric population.
The authors conducted a retrospective cohort analysis using the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database. Data on age, sex, and injury type were collected for all soccer-related emergency department visits between Jan. 1, 2012, and Dec. 31, 2023.
The researchers found a 25.6 percent relative risk reduction in presenting to the emergency department with a soccer-related concussion in 2020 to 2023 compared with 2012 to 2015. In addition, older pediatric patients were found to have higher odds of concussion injury and female sex was a predictor for higher odds of concussion.
“Care of our patients begins with injury prevention in sports. The USSF policy from 2016 encourages restrictions on headers and additionally continues to build awareness around concussion injuries,” Lin said. “We should remain aware of these changes as clinicians to continue injury prevention.”
Christopher Thomas Holland, M.D., of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, and colleagues found that ceasing semaglutide 14 days before surgery is optimal to reduce the odds of delayed emergence from anesthesia, aspiration, aspiration pneumonitis, and conversion to intubation.
In an analysis of more than 200,000 patients undergoing elective total hip and total knee replacement surgery, the researchers found that taking the last semaglutide dose five days prior to surgery was an independent risk factor for delayed emergence from anesthesia and aspiration pneumonitis. Taking the last semaglutide dose seven days prior to surgery was an independent risk factor for aspiration and conversion to intubation. The odds of an adverse anesthesia event increased as time between cessation of semaglutide and surgery decreased. The highest odds of delayed emergence from anesthesia, aspiration, aspiration pneumonitis, and conversion to intubation was seen among patients continuing semaglutide through surgery.
“To minimize the risk of adverse anesthetic events in the setting of elective total hip and knee replacement surgery, semaglutide, on a weekly dosing regimen, should be halted 14 days prior to planned elective total hip and knee replacement surgery,” Holland said.
Maxwell Phillips, M.D., of Kettering University in Flint, Michigan, and colleagues identified an improvement in female representation in the field of orthopedics, despite the rate of increase rising more slowly compared with other surgical subspecialties.
The researchers found that orthopedics has a lower proportion of female providers treating Medicare patients (7.5 percent in 2023) compared with urology, gastroenterology, general surgery, anesthesia, internal medicine, family medicine, and obstetrics and gynecology. The proportion of female orthopedic surgeons has been growing in recent years, but at a significantly slower rate compared with obstetrics and gynecology (by 4.7 times), general surgery (by 3.7 times), and family medicine (by 2.5 times). The South Atlantic and Pacific West regions of the United States demonstrated the most notable increases in female surgeon representation.
“Higher growth in other surgical specialties suggests potential strategies that orthopedics can utilize to increase female representation in the orthopedic specialty,” Phillips said.
AAOS: Spouses of Patients Undergoing Joint Replacement See Their Own Lives Improve
THURSDAY, March 13, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Spouses of patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty see a significant improvement in their own quality of life, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, held from March 10 to 14 in San Diego.
AAOS: Header Ban Linked to Decrease in Soccer-Linked Concussions in Children
WEDNESDAY, March 12, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Introduction of the United States Soccer Federation header ban for athletes aged 10 years and younger in 2015 was associated with a reduction in the number of concussions as a percentage of all soccer-related injuries, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, held from March 10 to 14 in San Diego.
AAOS: Stopping GLP-1 RAs 14 Days Before Surgery Can Minimize Complications
TUESDAY, March 11, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Stopping glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist treatment 14 days before total joint arthroplasty can minimize risks for complications, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, held from March 10 to 14 in San Diego.
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