Publications by authors named "Nicholas Howells"

Background: Unicompartmental knee replacements (UKRs) are performed by surgeons at various stages in training with varying levels of supervision, but we do not know if this is a safe practice with comparable outcomes to consultant-performed UKR. The aim of this study was to use registry data for England and Wales to investigate the association between surgeon grade (consultant, or trainee), the senior supervision of trainees (supervised by a scrubbed consultant, or not), and the risk of revision surgery following UKR.

Methods And Findings: We conducted an observational study using prospectively collected data from the National Joint Registry for England and Wales (NJR).

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Article Synopsis
  • Risk communication is crucial in shared decision-making regarding total knee replacements, as unintended outcomes can significantly impact patients.
  • Analysis of 62 recorded consultations revealed varied methods of risk communication, with both surgeons and patients often avoiding in-depth discussions about risks, focusing instead on building trust.
  • The realities of patients’ deteriorating conditions sometimes led to decisions that felt more coerced by circumstances rather than made through informed self-determination, challenging the policy norms of patient responsibility.
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Objectives: To test the feasibility of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of a novel preoperative tailored sleep intervention for patients undergoing total knee replacement.

Design: Feasibility two-arm two-centre RCT using 1:1 randomisation with an embedded qualitative study.

Setting: Two National Health Service (NHS) secondary care hospitals in England and Wales.

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Article Synopsis
  • About 20% of individuals experience chronic pain after total knee replacement, prompting the STAR trial to evaluate a new care approach versus standard care for post-surgery pain relief.
  • The study involved semi-structured interviews with 27 participants to gather insights on their pain experiences and the acceptability of the STAR care pathway, which included follow-up assessments and calls.
  • Many participants expressed being unprepared for the intense and persistent pain post-surgery, but they found the STAR clinic provided valuable support, allowing them to discuss recovery concerns and manage their ongoing pain.
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Background: Approximately 20% of people experience chronic pain after total knee replacement, but effective treatments are not available. We aimed to evaluate the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a new care pathway for chronic pain after total knee replacement.

Methods: We did an unmasked, parallel group, pragmatic, superiority, randomised, controlled trial at eight UK National Health Service (NHS) hospitals.

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Objective: To describe the screening and recruitment process of a randomized trial and evaluate associations with knee pain and function 3 months after total knee replacement (TKR).

Methods: In order to screen for a multicenter trial, a total of 5,036 patients were sent the Oxford Knee Score (OKS) questionnaire 10 weeks post-TKR. Patients who reported pain in their replaced knee (score of ≤14 on the OKS pain component) completed a second OKS questionnaire 12 weeks post-TKR.

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Despite a good outcome for many patients, approximately 20% of patients experience chronic pain after total knee arthroplasty (TKA).Chronic pain after TKA can affect all dimensions of health-related quality of life, and is associated with functional limitations, pain-related distress, depression, poorer general health and social isolation.In both clinical and research settings, the approach to assessing chronic pain after TKA needs to be in-depth and multidimensional to understand the characteristics and impact of this pain.

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Debridement, antibiotics and implant retention (DAIR) forms the primary treatment modality for early prosthetic joint infection (PJI). The KLIC score has been proposed as a risk stratification tool for use in predicting outcome of prosthetic knee infections. Our aim was to determine the accuracy of this scoring system at an independent tertiary PJI centre in a typical DAIR population.

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Background: Approximately 20% of patients experience chronic pain after total knee replacement. There is little evidence for effective interventions for the management of this pain, and current healthcare provision is patchy and inconsistent. Given the complexity of this condition, multimodal and individualised interventions matched to pain characteristics are needed.

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Acute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with increased patient morbidity, mortality and an extended hospital stay. The financial burden to the National Health Service is high and it can affect up to one in five inpatients. Optimal fluid balance management is essential for the prevention of AKI and this can be particularly challenging in the patient with trauma.

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Background: Approximately 20% of people who have total knee replacement experience chronic pain afterwards, but there is little evidence about effective interventions for managing this type of pain. This article describes the systematic development and refinement of a complex intervention for people with chronic pain after knee replacement. The intervention is a care pathway involving an assessment clinic and onward referral, with telephone follow-up as required.

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Meniscal cartilage tears are common and predispose to osteoarthritis (OA). Most occur in the avascular portion of the meniscus where current repair techniques usually fail. We described previously the use of undifferentiated autologous mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) seeded onto a collagen scaffold (MSC/collagen-scaffold) to integrate meniscal tissues in vitro.

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Traditionally, Lisfranc fracture dislocations have been treated with transarticular screw fixation. A more recent development has been the use of dorsal bridging plates. The aim of the present study was to compare the radiologic outcomes for these 2 methods.

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