Joint and Functional Examinations in the Orthopaedic and Traumatological Video Consultation - What is Currently Possible?

Background: In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, video consultations have gained importance in orthopaedic and traumatological departments. In current literature, different adaptations of classic joint and functional examinations have been described for the virtual examination.

Methodology: A systematic review of current literature on adaptations for the virtual joint and functional examination in orthopaedics and trauma surgery was performed over PubMed (January 2010 to April 2021).

The use of video consultations to support orthopedic patients' treatment at the interface of a clinic and general practitioners.

Introduction: Video consultations have proven to be a powerful support tool for patient-doctor interactions in general, not only during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study analyzed the feasibility and usefulness of orthopedic telemedical consultations (OTCs) for orthopedic patients at the interface of a clinic and general practitioners.

Methods: The study was carried out at an orthopedic department of a German hospital between April 2020 and October 2020.

Digital adaptation of teaching disaster and deployment medicine under COVID-19 conditions: a comparative evaluation over 5 years.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has not only brought many aspects of disaster medicine into everyday awareness but also led to a massive change in medical teaching due to the necessity of contact restrictions. This study aimed to evaluate student acceptance of a curricular elective module on disaster and deployment medicine over a 5-year period and to present content adjustments due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Methods: Since 2016, 8 semesters of the curricular elective module took place in face-to-face teaching (pre-COVID-19 group).

The use of online video consultations in the aftercare of orthopedic patients: a prospective case-control study.

Background: Video consultations have proven to be an efficient source of support for patient-doctor interactions and have become increasingly used in orthopedics, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study analyzed both patients' and doctors' acceptance of an orthopedic telemedical consultation (OTC) and compared the results of OTC examinations to the results of live consultation (LC) to identify discrepancies.

Methods: The study was carried out in an orthopedic department of a German hospital between 2019 and 2020.

Deployment and Disaster Medicine in an Undergraduate Teaching Module.

Introduction: Modern health systems have to respond to a wide variety of catastrophic scenarios, from natural disasters to terror attacks. It is reasonable to already start educational approaches for physicians in this field at medical school level. An approach combining civilian disaster medicine and military deployment medicine can be beneficial both for clinical strategies and in undergraduate teaching.

[Erythropoiesis and iron metabolism in autologous blood donation].

Autologous blood donation before elective surgery has been widely endorsed as good transfusion practice. Although only 6 percent of patients undergoing elective orthopedic surgery are unable to donate 3 autologous units, 40 percent cannot donate 4 units because they become anemic [1,2]. According to the results of our study this must be due to different problems in bone marrow dynamics, which cannot be overcome by unselected use of human recombinant erythropoietin alone [3].

[Hemoglobin follow-up of orthopedic autologous blood transfusion patients].

Patients undergoing autologous donation prior to elective orthopedic surgery show better Hb values during the perioperative period compared to those without autologous donation, all patients in both groups receiving no homologous transfusion. The widely assumed improvement of Hb regeneration during the postoperative period according to an erythropoiesis stimulated by preoperative autologous donation is not supported by our data.

[Autologous blood donation and erythropoiesis].

Autologous blood donation before elective surgery has been widely endorsed as good transfusion practice. Although only 6% of patients undergoing elective orthopedic surgery are unable to donate 3 autologous units, 40% cannot donate 4 units because they become anemic. According to the results of our study this must be due to different problems of bone marrow dynamics, which cannot be overcome by unselected use of human recombinant erythropoietin.