Can Surgeons or Patients Predict the Likelihood of Improvement With Nonoperative Treatment of Chronic Tennis Elbow?

Background: Persisting symptoms after an attempt of nonoperative treatment represents one of the most common indications for surgery in many musculoskeletal conditions, such as tennis elbow. The rationale behind the practice of resorting to surgery in individuals with long-standing symptoms is that resolution of symptoms is believed to be unlikely without surgery after a certain period, and surgeons can identify a subgroup to benefit from surgery. For this approach to be sound, surgeons must be able to reliably distinguish between patients unlikely to improve without surgery and those who are likely to benefit from it.

Imaging abnormalities of the acromioclavicular joint and subacromial space are common in asymptomatic shoulders: a systematic review.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of acromioclavicular (AC) joint and subacromial space imaging abnormalities in asymptomatic adults, with a secondary objective of comparing findings between asymptomatic and symptomatic shoulders within the same study populations.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review of studies examining shoulder imaging abnormalities detected by X-ray, ultrasound (US), computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in asymptomatic adults (PROSPERO registration CRD42018090041). This report focuses on AC joint and subacromial space abnormalities.

Comparing Treatment Outcomes of Eligible Patients Consenting to or Declining Randomization in a Randomized Clinical Trial: A Secondary Analysis of the FISH Trial on Humeral Shaft Fractures.

Background: The Finnish Shaft of the Humerus (FISH) trial compared open reduction and internal plate fixation (ORIF) with functional bracing in adult patients with displaced, closed humeral shaft fractures. Here, we compare the results of the patients in the randomized clinical trial (RCT [the randomized cohort]) with those of the cohort of patients who were also eligible but declined randomization (the nonrandomized cohort) to investigate if patients' treatment preference was associated with the outcomes during a 2-year follow-up.

Methods: A total of 321 patients were treated at 2 university hospitals in Finland between November 2012 and January 2018.

Ambulatory Care vs Overnight Hospitalization After Anterior Surgery for Cervical Radiculopathy: The FACADE Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: During the past decade, spinal surgical procedures have been increasingly performed on an ambulatory basis, a change in clinical practice supported only by observational evidence thus far. There have been no randomized clinical trials (RCTs) comparing ambulatory care with inpatient care after any spinal surgery.

Objective: To assess whether ambulatory care is noninferior to overnight hospital surveillance in functional outcome, as measured by Neck Disability Index (NDI), in adults after anterior cervical decompression and fusion (ACDF) for cervical radiculopathy.

The impact of COVID-19 on private healthcare service utilisation: time series analysis in the capital region of Finland during 2020-2022.

Background: Most current studies on COVID-19 have focused on the first weeks or months of the pandemic or have addressed specific diseases. The long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare services are insufficiently understood. We analysed the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on outpatient healthcare utilisation in the full spectrum of diseases in Uusimaa, the capital region of Finland.