Mini-fragment plate fixation after olecranon osteotomy for distal humerus fractures.

Purpose: Although olecranon osteotomies are helpful for distal humerus visualization, traditional methods of fixation are commonly irritating for patients and require hardware removal. Recent studies have shown lower hardware removal rates for medullary screw constructs and 3.5-mm plates, but no studies have investigated the use of 2.

Early Antibiotic Administration Is Associated with a Reduced Infection Risk When Combined with Primary Wound Closure in Patients with Open Tibia Fractures.

Background: Early administration of antibiotics and wound coverage have been shown to decrease the deep infection risk in all patients with Type 3 open tibia fractures. However, it is unknown whether early antibiotic administration decreases infection risk in patients with Types 1, 2, and 3A open tibia fractures treated with primary wound closure.

Questions/purposes: (1) Does decreased time to administration of the first dose of antibiotics decrease the deep infection risk in all open tibia fractures with primary wound closure? (2) What patient demographic factors are associated with an increased deep infection risk in Types 1, 2, and 3A open tibia fractures with primary wound closure?

Methods: We identified 361 open tibia fractures over a 5-year period at a Level I regional trauma center that receives direct admissions and transfers from other hospitals which produces large variation in the timing of antibiotic administration.

Risk of Contamination in Assembled vs Disassembled Instruments in Hip Arthroplasty Surgery.

Background: Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is one of the most common causes of revision total hip arthroplasty (THA) and associated with higher costs, prolonged pain, and worse clinical outcomes. Many factors have been linked to increased infection rates, one being the operative equipment and instrumentation used during the surgical procedure. With few arthroplasty instruments designed for complete disassembly and increasingly complex instrument designs, this study seeks to understand the effect that instrument disassembly plays on infection using disassembled and assembled standard femoral broach handles (BHs).

Use of stepped porous titanium metaphyseal sleeves for tibial defects in revision total knee arthroplasty: short term results.

Stepped porous titanium metaphyseal sleeves may provide an option for enhanced fixation in managing challenging tibial defects in revision total knee arthroplasty (TKA). We retrospectively reviewed data on 51 patients who underwent revision TKA utilizing a metaphyseal sleeve for Anderson Orthopaedic Research Institute (AORI) Type II and III tibial defects between June 2007 and July 2011. Of these 51 patients, 36 patients had complete clinical and radiographic data.