COVID-19 Cases, Hospitalizations, and Deaths Among American Indian or Alaska Native Persons - Alaska, 2020-2021.

American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) persons across the United States face substantial health disparities, including a disproportionately higher incidence of COVID-19 (1,2). AI/AN persons living in Alaska also face serious health and health care challenges, including access to care because 90% of the state's land area is inaccessible by road (3), and approximately one half of the state's AI/AN population (AI/AN race alone or in combination with another race) live in remote rural areas (4). To examine the extent of COVID-19-associated disparities among AI/AN persons living in Alaska, a retrospective analysis of COVID-19 cases reported to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (AKDHSS) during March 12, 2020-December 31, 2021, was conducted.

Characteristics of colorectal cancers among Alaska Native people before and after implementing programs to promote screening.

Background: Alaska Native (AN) people have the highest rates of colorectal cancer (CRC) globally. Increasing CRC screening has been effective in reducing CRC-related morbidity and mortality in other populations.

Objective: To examine recent descriptive epidemiology and longer-term CRC trends among AN people.

The Alaska Native Tumour Registry: fifty years of cancer surveillance data for Alaska Native people.

Like other Indigenous Circumpolar populations, Alaska Native (AN) people experience different patterns of cancer than their non-Indigenous counterparts. Every 5 years, the Alaska Native Tumour Registry releases a comprehensive report on cancer among AN people; this study provides 50 years of cancer surveillance data. Five-year annual-average age-adjusted incidence rates were calculated for time-periods ranging 1969-2018.

Medevac Utilization and Patient Characteristics in Rural Alaska 2010 to 2018.

Objective: Little is known about medevac utilization in remote, rural Alaska where there is no road access and communities are reliant on medevacs for emergency care. With high financial costs and risks to flight crews, there is an urgent need to understand medevac utilization in rural Alaska. This article aimed to describe medevac utilization and patient characteristics over 9 years in the remote, air transport dependent in Alaska.

Norovirus outbreak at a wildland fire base camp ignites investigation of restaurant inspection policies.

Norovirus outbreaks occur worldwide and have been associated with congregate settings (e.g., military and recreational camps).

Anterior cruciate ligament tunnel placement.

The purpose of this cadaveric study was to analyze variation in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tunnel placement between surgeons and the influence of preferred surgical technique and surgeon experience level using three-dimensional (3D) computed tomography (CT). In this study, 12 surgeons drilled ACL tunnels on six cadaveric knees each. Surgeons were divided by experience level and preferred surgical technique (two-incision [TI], medial portal [MP], and transtibial [TT]).

How orthopaedic residents perceive educational resources.

Introduction: The educational paradigm for orthopaedic surgeons is shifting from a strictly Operating Room based approach to the addition of simulator- and lab-based models. This study aims to assess resident views on the relative value of orthopaedic educational resources and the value of a cadaver-based arthroscopy skills laboratory.

Method: A questionnaire assessing beliefs about various orthopaedic educational resources for overall orthopaedic education and surgical skills education was given to all residents in one orthopaedic residency program with a new arthroscopic skills laboratory during a three year period.

Risk of injury by job assignment among federal wildland firefighters, United States, 2003-2007.

Background: Wildland fires cost billions of dollars annually and expose thousands of firefighters to a variety of occupational hazards. Little is known about injury patterns among wildland firefighters.

Methods: We examined non-fatal firefighter injuries among federal wildland firefighters reported to the US Department of the Interior for the years 2003-2007.

Fire characteristics associated with firefighter injury on large federal wildland fires.

Purpose: Wildland fires present many injury hazards to firefighters. We estimate injury rates and identify fire-related factors associated with injury.

Methods: Data from the National Interagency Fire Center from 2003 to 2007 provided the number of injuries in which the firefighter could not return to his or her job assignment, person-days worked, and fire characteristics (year, region, season, cause, fuel type, resistance to control, and structures destroyed).

Epidemiology of injuries to wildland firefighters.

Introduction: Wildland fires have significant ecologic and economic impact in the United States. Despite the number of firefighters involved in controlling them, little is known about the injuries that they sustain. We hypothesized that the mechanism of injury would predict injury characteristics and severity of fire-related injuries.

Arthroscopic agreement among surgeons on anterior cruciate ligament tunnel placement.

Background: Little is known about surgeon agreement and accuracy using arthroscopic evaluation of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tunnel positioning.

Purpose: To investigate agreement on ACL tunnel position evaluated arthroscopically between operating surgeons and reviewing surgeons. We hypothesized that operating and evaluating surgeons would characterize tunnel positions significantly differently.

Radiographic sizing for meniscal transplantation using 3-D CT reconstruction.

In meniscus transplantation, allograft size mismatch causes increased contact pressures and early degeneration of the knee. The purpose of this study is to compare the accuracy and reliability of sizing the tibial plateau using three-dimensional (3-D) computed tomography (CT) scans versus plain radiographs (XR). Anteroposterior (AP) and lateral XR as well as CT with 3-D reconstructions were performed on 16 cadaveric knees.

Reliability of tunnel measurements and the quadrant method using fluoroscopic radiographs after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

Background: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction tunnel placement is often evaluated by radiographs. This study examines the interobserver reliability of various radiographic measurements of ACL tunnels.

Hypothesis: When ideal radiographic views are obtained, the interobserver reliability of the measurements among experienced surgeons would be good to excellent.

Surgically oriented measurements for three-dimensional characterization of tunnel placement in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

Objective: To develop and evaluate the feasibility and reliability of an alternative three-dimensional (3D) measurement system capable of characterizing tunnel position and orientation in ACL reconstructed knees.

Methods: We developed a surgically oriented 3D measurement system for characterizing femoral and tibial drill tunnels from ACL reconstructions. This is accomplished by simulating the positioning of the drill bit originally used to create the tunnels within the bone, which allows for angular and spatial descriptions along defined axes that are established with respect to previously described anatomic landmarks and radiographic views.

Reliability of early postoperative radiographic assessment of tunnel placement after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

Purpose: To evaluate the interobserver and intraobserver reliability of radiographic assessment of tunnel placement in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

Methods: Seven sports fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeons in the Multicenter Orthopaedic Outcomes Network (MOON) group participated in the study. We prospectively enrolled 54 consecutive patients after primary anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

Agreement in the classification and treatment of the superior labrum.

Background: The Snyder classification scheme is the most commonly used system for classifying superior labral injuries. Although this scheme is intended to be used for arthroscopic visual classification only, it is thought that other nonarthroscopic historical variables also influence the classification.

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the intrasurgeon and intersurgeon agreement in classifying variable presentations of the superior labrum and to evaluate the influence of clinical variables on the classification and treatment choices of surgeons.

Teenage driver crash incidence and factors influencing crash injury by rurality.

Background: Previous research has identified teenage drivers as having an increased risk for motor-vehicle crash injury compared with older drivers, and rural roads as having increased crash severity compared with urban roads. Few studies have examined incidence and characteristics of teen driver-involved crashes on rural and urban roads.

Methods: All crashes involving a driver aged 10 through 18 were identified from the Iowa Department of Transportation crash data from 2002 through 2008.

Injury patterns in Division I collegiate swimming.

Background: In the last 25 years, it is estimated that over 42,000 male and female swimmers have competed at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I-A level. Despite the magnitude of these numbers, little is known about the epidemiology of collegiate swimming injuries. Purpose To describe the pattern of injuries incurred for one NCAA Division I collegiate men's and women's swimming team over 5 seasons.