Return to duty after type III open tibia fracture.

Introduction: Despite the high incidence of battlefield orthopaedic injuries, long-term outcomes and return to duty (RTD) status have rarely been studied. Our purpose was to determine the RTD rate for soldiers who sustained Type III open tibia fractures in active combat.

Methods: One hundred fifteen soldiers who sustained battle-related Type III open tibia fractures were retrospectively reviewed.

Effect of various concentrations of antibiotics on osteogenic cell viability and activity.

Infection is a common complication of open fractures. Systemic antibiotics often cause adverse events before eradication of infected bone occurs. The local delivery of antibiotics and the use of implants that deliver both growth factors and antimicrobials are ways to circumvent systemic toxicity while decreasing infection and to reach extremely high levels required to treat bacterial biofilms.

Data-driven disaster management requires data: implementation of a military orthopaedic trauma registry.

The Military Orthopaedic Trauma Registry (MOTR) is a comprehensive joint service registry of military orthopaedic injuries. Conceived in 2006, MOTR is now operational for retrospective data entry and prospective data collection of extremity injuries sustained by U.S.

Battlefield orthopaedic injuries cause the majority of long-term disabilities.

Extremity injuries make up 54% of combat wounds sustained in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. In a cohort of war-wounded service members, we identified the conditions secondary to battle injury that result in disqualification from continued service. The Army Physical Evaluation Board records of 464 wounded service members who were injured between October 2001 and January 2005 were reviewed to determine the codes indicating unfitting conditions.

Mortality in female war veterans of operations enduring freedom and Iraqi freedom.

Background: Combat-wounded service members are surviving battle injuries more than ever. Given different combat roles held by men and women, female service members should survive wounds at an unprecedented rate.

Questions/purposes: We determined whether the casualty rates for females differ from their male counterparts and characterized wounds sustained by female casualties.

Comparison of dorsal and volar approaches to the proximal radius.

Proximal radius exposure may be acquired by either the dorsal or volar approach depending on surgical requirements. The dorsal approach is traditionally recommended for fracture fixation of the proximal radius because of theoretically improved exposure and because the dorsal aspect of the bone is the tensile surface. The posterior interosseous nerve can be visualized and protected using this approach.

Fracture risk in men with congestive heart failure risk reduction with spironolactone.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine whether spironolactone use is associated with fractures in men with congestive heart failure (CHF).

Background: In rats with aldosteronism, spironolactone preserves skeletal strength. However, in humans, the relationship of spironolactone to fractures is not known.