Pulmonary embolism after shoulder arthroscopy: could patient positioning and traction make a difference?
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Gary M Gartsman.
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This prospective randomized study compared the immediate postoperative periglenoid radiolucencies among 3 glenoid-drying techniques used in total shoulder arthroplasty. Seventy-one consecutive patients with primary osteoarthritis underwent total shoulder arthroplasty by use of 1 prosthetic system with convex-back, keeled, polyethylene glenoid components; the same modern, instrumented pressurization technique was used to cement all glenoids. Of the shoulders, 21 had glenoid implants cemented after bony preparation with thrombin-soaked gel foam, 24 after compressed gas lavage, and 26 after saline solution lavage with sponge drying. The immediate postoperative anteroposterior radiographs were examined to evaluate the presence of periglenoid radiolucencies. Of the patients, 29 (41%) had radiolucencies evident immediately postoperatively, with all radiolucencies occurring in the faceplate zones. The mean total radiolucent line score was 0.63 (P = .94), with no significant difference among cementing preparation techniques (P = .89). Prosthetic mismatch did not differ among glenoid preparation techniques (P = .86). There was no statistical association between prosthetic mismatch and radiolucent line score either across (P = .62) or within (P = .99) the glenoid preparation groups. The associated costs in the gel foam group and compressed gas lavage group were 70 times higher than the cost in the saline solution lavage group. All radiolucencies were noted in the faceplate zones, with no radiolucency greater than 2 mm. Preparation of the glenoid surface for cementing showed no significant difference among the 3 techniques studied, although the material costs were significantly higher in the gel foam and compressed gas lavage groups compared with the saline solution lavage group.
PURPOSE: To compare the loop and knot security of arthroscopic square knots with other arthroscopic and open knots with the use of 2 commonly used suture types. METHODS: Five knot configurations were tested 12 times each. The arthroscopic square knot was compared with the open square knot, arthroscopic and open half hitches with alternating posts, and the Duncan loop. Load-to-failure testing was performed at a rate of 1.25 mm/sec, and cyclic testing was performed between 7 N and 30 N at a rate of 1 N/sec for 50 cycles. Two suture types were tested: No. 2 Ethibond suture and No. 2 FiberWire. RESULTS: Among the No. 2 Ethibond sutures, the arthroscopic Duncan loop had the highest load-to-failure at 165 N. The remaining knot types failed at between 142 N and 148 N. The load at 3 mm of lengthening was between 100 N and 120 N for all knots. The No. 2 FiberWire failed at higher loads than the No. 2 Ethibond suture for all knot types except the Duncan loop. The arthroscopic half hitches, arthroscopic square knots, and open half hitches all failed at between 220 N and 264 N. The open square knot failed at 188 N, and the Duncan loop failed at 147 N. The load at 3 mm of lengthening was between 130 N and 165 N for all knots except the Duncan loop, which failed at 95 N. With cyclic testing, arthroscopic square knots performed better than all knot types, but the differences were clinically insignificant. CONCLUSIONS: Arthroscopic square knots have the same or greater strength when compared with other arthroscopic or open knots tied with the same suture type, and they perform as well or better in the face of cyclic loads. Good knot security can be attained with all of the knots tested, regardless of suture type. Equivalent knots tied with No. 2 FiberWire fail at higher loads, except for those tied with the Duncan loop. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Arthroscopic square knots can be used in the clinical setting with no compromise in function when compared with open square knots.
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BACKGROUND: A systematic review of the literature was performed to estimate the impact of hemiarthroplasty compared with total shoulder arthroplasty on function and range of motion in patients suffering from osteoarthritis of the shoulder. METHODS: We conducted an electronic search for relevant studies published in any language from 1966 to 2004, a manual search of the proceedings from five major orthopaedic meetings from 1995 to 2003, and a review of the reference lists from potentially relevant studies. Four randomized clinical trials, with similar eligibility criteria and surgical techniques, that compared hemiarthroplasty and total shoulder arthroplasty for the treatment of primary osteoarthritis of the shoulder were found to be eligible. Authors from three of the four studies provided original patient data. Analysis of covariance focused on the two-year outcome and included a comparison of the aggregate University of California at Los Angeles shoulder score, four University of California at Los Angeles domain scores, and range of motion. RESULTS: A total of 112 patients (fifty managed with hemiarthroplasty and sixty-two managed with total shoulder arthroplasty), who had a mean age of sixty-eight years, were included in this analysis. A significant moderate effect was detected in the function domain of the University of California at Los Angeles shoulder score (p < 0.001) in favor of total shoulder arthroplasty (mean [and standard deviation], 8.1 +/- 0.3) compared with hemiarthroplasty (mean, 6.6 +/- 0.3). A significant difference in the pain score was found in favor of the total shoulder arthroplasty group (p < 0.0001). However, the large degree of heterogeneity (p = 0.006, I(2) = 80.2%) among the studies decreased our confidence that total shoulder arthroplasty provides a true, consistent benefit with regard to pain. There was a significant difference in the overall change in forward elevation of 13 degrees (95% confidence interval, 0.5 degrees to 26 degrees ) in favor of the total shoulder arthroplasty group (p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: At a minimum of two years of follow-up, total shoulder arthroplasty provided better functional outcome than hemiarthroplasty for patients with osteoarthritis of the shoulder. Since continuous degeneration of the glenoid after hemiarthroplasty or glenoid loosening after total shoulder arthroplasty may affect the eventual outcome, longer-term (five to ten-year) results are necessary to determine whether these findings remain consistent over time.
OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to evaluate the relationship among patient outcome expectancies, perceived shoulder function changes, and perceptions of expectancy fulfillment. METHODS: Patients (n = 199) treated for shoulder problems at one orthopedic surgeon's office completed a baseline survey comprised of measures of outcome expectancies, shoulder function, health status, and demographics. At 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months, patients completed a mailed follow-up survey comprised of all baseline measures except demographic variables. At 3 months, a measure of expectancy fulfillment was added. A general linear modeling approach was used to assess the significance and effect size of 1) outcome expectancies on changes in shoulder function; and (2) outcome expectancies, shoulder function changes, and their interaction on perceptions of expectancy fulfillment. RESULTS: Outcome expectancies significantly predicted changes in shoulder function and accounted for 10% of the variance in functional improvement. The improvement difference between patients with high expectancies compared with those with low expectancies was clinically relevant (4.57 points), as it was greater than the minimal clinically important difference (3.02 points). Outcome expectancies and shoulder function changes significantly predicted patients' perceptions of fulfilled expectancies, but their interaction was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Results highlight the importance of patient expectancy in medical encounters. The findings suggest the need for interventions targeting patient expectancies such as including discussions about expectancy in patient-physician negotiations of therapeutic plans. Results also underscore the need for the development of better measures of outcome expectancies and expectancy fulfillment.
BACKGROUND: Existing measures of self-reported shoulder function fail to measure effectively the full range of shoulder functioning. The classic approach for improving the reliability of a scale is adding items, but a scale with a substantial number of items imposes a large response burden on participants. A more efficient approach is to use modern psychometric methods to construct an adaptive scale in which patients respond only to items that are targeted at their level of shoulder function. METHODS: We developed a Flexilevel Scale of Shoulder Function (FLEX-SF). This scale includes three testlets that target low, medium, and high shoulder function. Scores on the testlets were equated to a common mathematical metric. DESIGN AND SUBJECTS: We developed an initial pool of 68 items. This pool was administered to 400 patients, and responses were calibrated using a rating scale model. Subsets of items were identified for an easy, medium difficulty, and hard testlet. Properties of the scale were evaluated in a 3-month longitudinal study of 200 shoulder patients. RESULTS: The FLEX-SF exhibited high reliability at both the scale level (intraclass correlation coefficient [3,1] = 0.90) and specific trait levels. The validity of the FLEX-SF was supported by its internal and external responsiveness (Guyatt responsiveness index = 1.12) and the pattern of its associations with other health status measures. CONCLUSIONS: The FLEX-SF can be used as a primary endpoint in clinical trials even when there are relatively few people in each treatment group. The scale also has excellent properties for use in clinical settings tracking individual changes over time.
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STUDY DESIGN: A prospective unblinded randomized clinical trial. OBJECTIVES: To compare the effectiveness of 2 types of home program instruction, videotape versus personal instruction by a physical therapist, on subjective outcomes and exercise compliance following arthroscopic repair of a full-thickness rotator cuff tear. BACKGROUND: Advances in orthopedic surgery and rehabilitation have placed increased emphasis on home exercise programs. Therefore, assessing the effectiveness of different methods of home program instruction is important. METHODS AND MEASURES: Patients who consented to undergo surgical repair were randomly assigned to either a videotape or personal instruction group. A self-reported compliance log categorized subjects as fully compliant, partially compliant, or noncompliant. The Shoulder Pain and Disability Index and the University of Pennsylvania Shoulder Scale scores were obtained from subjects preoperatively and at 12, 24, and 52 weeks postoperatively. The null hypotheses that neither group would have better outcomes as measured by 2 shoulder outcome scales at any level of compliance over 4 levels of time, were assessed by 2 separate 2x3x4 multiple analyses of variances (MANOVAs), 1 for each outcome measure (alpha = 0.025). RESULTS: Neither MANOVA was significant and the null hypotheses were not rejected. The main effect of time (number of weeks postsurgery) was significant across all time intervals for both outcome measures (P < 0.0005). CONCLUSIONS: With a therapist available for questions, patients who utilized the videotape method for their home program instruction had self-reported outcomes equal to patients instructed in their home program personally by a physical therapist. Self-reported compliance with the rehabilitation program had little effect on the outcomes.
STUDY DESIGN: A test-retest design was used to evaluate the reliability of the self-report sections of 4 shoulder pain and disability scales. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to compare interitem consistency and test-retest reliability by surgical status (postoperative versus nonoperative) and to evaluate the effect of surgical status in the prediction of retest scores. BACKGROUND: Patients and healthcare providers evaluate shoulder status based on self-evaluations of pain and disability. Shoulder outcome measures have been developed that include self-reports, but the properties of these measures have not been assessed by surgical status. METHODS AND MEASURES: A questionnaire containing self-report sections of 4 shoulder scales was administered to study participants twice with 1 week between administrations. The outcome measures examined were the: (1) University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Shoulder Score; (2) Constant-Murley Scale (CMS); (3) American Shoulder and Elbow Society (ASES) Shoulder Index; and (4) Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated to estimate the test-retest reliability of each of the scales and subscales. The interitem consistencies of the multi-item subscales were assessed using Cronbach's alpha. The effect of surgical status on shoulder outcome scale reliability was evaluated using a general linear models approach. RESULTS: The interitem consistency estimates for the multi-item scales were high with both operative and nonoperative participants (0.88 to 0.96). With the exception of the satisfaction subscale of the UCLA Shoulder Score for the nonsurgical group, the estimated intraclass coefficients ranged from 0.51 to 0.91. The prediction of UCLA-satisfaction and ASES-disability, pain, and total retest scores was improved with the addition of surgical status into a regression model. CONCLUSIONS: The examined scales exhibited good internal consistency across surgical status. The postsurgical sample's reproducibility estimates tended to be higher than those of the nonsurgical sample. Reliability of shoulder outcome scales can be affected by patient surgical status.
We performed a prospective, randomized study to determine whether arthroscopic subacromial decompression changes the outcome of rotator cuff repair. We performed a power analysis to ensure statistical validity. Patients scheduled for arthroscopic rotator cuff repair were randomized to cuff repair with arthroscopic subacromial decompression (group 1) or without it (group 2). All other aspects of the surgical and postsurgical treatment were identical. We included patients with full-thickness tears limited to the supraspinatus tendon and a type 2 acromion. We excluded patients with prior surgery, those with larger tears involving two or more tendons, those with a type 1 or 3 acromion, those with workers' compensation claims, and those who had concomitant procedures (labral repair, acromioclavicular joint resection) There were 47 patients in group 1 and 46 in group 2. Minimum follow-up was 1 year (mean, 15.6 +/- 3.3 months). We recorded the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) shoulder scores preoperatively and postoperatively. There was no statistical difference in postoperative ASES scores between group 1 (91.5 +/- 10.3) and group 2 (89.2 +/- 15.1) (P =.392). The change in ASES score over time did not differ between the two groups (61.1 vs 60.2, P =.363). In conclusion, within the parameters described above, arthroscopic subacromial decompression does not appear to change the functional outcome after arthroscopic repair of the rotator cuff.
Glenoid loosening is one reason for failure of total shoulder arthroplasty. Several factors, including radiographic lucency, have been shown to be associated with glenoid loosening. The purpose of this study was to assess the correlation between glenoid design and immediate radiographic lucency in a prospective randomized clinical trial. Total shoulder arthroplasty was performed in 43 patients over a 2-year period. Twenty-three patients were randomized into the keel group and twenty patients into the pegged group. Postoperative radiographs obtained within 6 weeks of surgery were evaluated by 3 raters to determine glenoid lucency. On a scale from 0 (no lucency) to 5 (gross lucency and component loosening), the rate of lucency was 39% (9/23) in the keeled components, which was significantly higher than the rate of 5% (1/20) observed in the pegged components (P = .026). Patient age, gender, and glenoid size did not significantly affect glenoid component lucency (P > .05). The consistency reliability among raters (Cronbach alpha) was 0.87, and the intertester reliability was 0.87. Pegged glenoid components have less radiographic lucency when compared with keeled glenoid components in the immediate postoperative period.
In the past, measures of active range of motion and strength testing were deemed sufficient to "prove" the efficacy of treatment interventions. In the current outcomes milieu, however, the focus has shifted to patient-centered assessment (ie, patients' ability to perform activities that are personally relevant). We report results from a study with patients in the private practice of a shoulder surgeon. In this study we evaluated the relationship between impairment measures and scores from several shoulder outcome scales. In addition, we examined transcripts of interviews with shoulder patients regarding the impact of shoulder problems on their lives. One hundred eight persons participated in a randomized trial of home exercise instruction after arthroscopic repair of rotator cuff tears. Two impairment measures were used-strength estimates obtained by use of a Nicholas electronic dynamometer and range of motion in the standing position. Self- reported outcomes were measured by use of the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) and the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) Shoulder Scale. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to estimate the associations between scores on impairment measures and self-report measures. R 2 values were calculated to estimate the proportion of variance shared by impairment and self-report scores. We found that the linear relationship between impairment scores and patient-reported outcomes was quite low, explaining as little as 8% of the total variance. Qualitative analysis of patient interviews suggests that patients distinguish between their impairment and their status on personally relevant outcomes. Future research should evaluate the nature of patient judgments of shoulder health outcomes.
In a 5-year study, a self-report measure of shoulder function-the Flexilevel Scale of Shoulder Function (FLEX-SF)-was developed by use of item response theory. A large pool of candidate items (N = 68) was developed. A questionnaire that included the 68 items, another scale of shoulder function, and clinical and demographic questions were administered to 400 persons with shoulder complaints. Patients' responses to the 68 items were calibrated by use of Andrich's rating scale model. Thirty-three items were selected from the pool and subdivided into three overlapping testlets targeting low, medium, and high shoulder function. A table translates raw scores on testlets to a common mathematical metric. The validity and reliability of the FLEX-SF was evaluated in a longitudinal study of 199 patients. The FLEX-SF scores were highly reliable and exhibited excellent validity (including responsiveness). We report on a simulation of a computer-adaptive test of shoulder function. This simulation is based on the developmental items we tested for use in the FLEX-SF. The results indicate that greater measurement efficiency can be achieved with a computer-adaptive test format.