Is a preoperative group and save necessary for enhanced recovery joint replacement patients?

Aim: To consider the financial benefit to the authors' trust of omitting a preoperative group and save in enhanced recovery arthroplasty patients, and to estimate the scope for national savings. Patient safety was considered to determine acceptability for routine practice.

Methods: A total of 121 patients receiving a total knee replacement or total hip replacement on the authors' enhanced recovery protocol were selected.

Measuring tip-apex distance using a picture archiving and communication system (PACS).

Background: The sliding hip screw is currently the most frequently used prosthesis used to fix trochanteric fractures of the hip. The 'tip-apex distance' (TAD) has been found to be predictive of hardware failure, with a larger TAD being associated with an increasing risk of 'cut-out'. Previous studies have either used 'hard-copy' radiographs and geometrical aids or a mixture of scanned hard-copy images and extra software to measure TAD.