Xylazine-Associated Necrotic Upper-Extremity Wounds: A Single Hospital System's Experience with 82 Patients and 125 Wounds.

Background: The rise in xylazine-adulterated heroin and fentanyl poses novel challenges to hand surgeons and a rising epidemic of necrotic upper-extremity wounds. While prior case studies have focused on particularly severe and complex xylazine-associated necrotic (XAN) wounds, the aim of this consecutive case series was to characterize the variability of presentations (ranging from mild to severe) at a single institution at the epicenter of the xylazine epidemic.

Methods: Patients presenting to a tertiary referral center for XAN upper-extremity wounds were retrospectively identified from emergency department visits and hospital admissions between January 2021 and December 2023.

Skin necrosis following digital wart intralesional injection of cantharidin.

A right-hand-dominant female presented 5 weeks following a right middle finger intralesional cantharidin injection for a common wart by a dermatologist. The patient experienced progressive stiffness, blistering, swelling, pain, and ultimately, full-thickness skin necrosis surrounding the injection site. Careful debridement followed by a full-thickness skin graft was performed with no evidence of involvement of the germinal matrix or terminal extensor tendon.

The Performance of a Customized Generative Pre-trained Transformer on the American Society for Surgery of the Hand Self-Assessment Examination.

Introduction:  Multimodal large language models (MLLMs), such as OpenAI's ChatGPT (San Francisco, CA), have the potential to improve medical care delivery and education, although important shortcomings in accuracy and image interpretation have been noted. The aim of this study was to assess the multimodal performance of a ChatGPT model customized with hand surgery-specific knowledge.

Methods: A customized generative pre-trained transformer (GPT) was trained using peer-reviewed literature recommended by the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH).

Preoperative opioid use is associated with worse two-year patient-reported outcomes after hand surgery: A retrospective cohort study.

Introduction: Opioid overprescribing has caused a substantial increase in opioid related deaths and billions of dollars in additional healthcare costs. Orthopaedic surgeons commonly prescribe opioids in the perioperative period; however, research has shown preoperative opioid use may be associated with worse postoperative outcomes. Despite this body of evidence, there are few studies investigating the association between preoperative opioid use and two-year outcomes after hand surgery.

The Performance of ChatGPT on the American Society for Surgery of the Hand Self-Assessment Examination.

Background: This study aims to compare the performance of ChatGPT-3.5 (GPT-3.5) and ChatGPT-4 (GPT-4) on the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) Self-Assessment Examination (SAE) to determine their potential as educational tools.

Validation of Temperature Sensors to Monitor Thermoplastic Splint Wear in Hand Surgery Patients.

Background: The aim of this study was to validate the use of temperature sensors to accurately measure thermoplastic volar forearm splint wear in a healthy cohort of volunteers using 5- and 15-minute temperature measurement intervals.

Methods: A prospective diagnostic study was performed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of temperature sensors in monitoring splint wear in 8 healthy volunteers between December 2022 and June 2023. Temperature sensors were molded into thermoplastic volar forearm splints.

Pediatric Phalanx Fractures.

Phalangeal fractures are extremely common in the pediatric and adolescent populations. The incidence of phalangeal fractures peaks in children ages 10 to 14 years, corresponding to the age in which children begin contact sports. Younger children are more likely to experience crush injuries, whereas older children often sustain phalangeal fractures during sports.

Proximal Interphalangeal Joint Fractures.

Multiple fracture patterns can occur around the proximal interphalangeal joint and require surgeons to have a thorough understanding of the anatomy, clinical and radiographic examination, common fracture patterns, surgical and nonsurgical treatment options, and potential complications. Proximal phalangeal condylar fractures are typically managed surgically, because even nondisplaced fractures have a propensity for displacement. Middle phalangeal base fractures most commonly present as a volar lip fracture with or without dorsal subluxation or dislocation.

Hand Fractures-Management and the Complications That Inevitably Occur: Metacarpal Fractures.

Metacarpal fractures are among the most common hand fractures. To properly manage these injuries, surgeons must understand the anatomy, biomechanics, clinical assessment, surgical and nonsurgical treatment options, and potential complications. Metacarpal head fractures often require surgical treatment to restore the joint surface by using a variety of techniques.

Preoperative Corticosteroid Injections Within 4 Weeks of Arthroscopic Shoulder Procedures Are Associated With Increased Postoperative Infection Rates.

Purpose: To refine the understanding of the effect of timing of corticosteroid injections (CSIs) and shoulder arthroscopy on postoperative infection.

Methods: An insurance database was used to determine all patients who underwent shoulder arthroscopy for a 5-year period with an associated preoperative ipsilateral corticosteroid injection. Patients were stratified into cohorts based on timing of preoperative CSI: (1) 0-<2 weeks, (2) 2-<4 weeks, (3) 4-<6 weeks, and (4) 6-<8 weeks.

Does timing matter? The effect of preoperative smoking cessation on the risk of infection or revision following rotator cuff repair.

Background: Nicotine in tobacco products is known to impair bone and tendon healing, and smoking has been associated with an increased rate of retear and reoperation following rotator cuff repair (RCR). Although smoking is known to increase the risk of failure following RCR, former smoking status and the timing of preoperative smoking cessation have not previously been investigated.

Methods: A national all-payer database was queried for patients undergoing RCR between 2010 and 2020.

Acromion morphology is associated with glenoid bone loss in posterior glenohumeral instability.

Background: The acromion morphology in a shoulder with posterior instability differs from that of a shoulder without glenohumeral instability. Specifically, the acromion with a flatter sagittal tilt, greater posterior acromial height, and less posterior coverage is associated with posterior instability. However, the association between acromion morphology and glenoid bone loss (GBL) in the setting of posterior glenohumeral instability has not previously been investigated.

Increased actual sling wear is associated with better early patient-reported and image-based outcomes after shoulder surgery.

Background: Prior studies have failed to show differences in functional outcomes for patient-reported sling use after rotator cuff repair. Temperature-sensing devices are used to more accurately measure brace adherence. The purposes of this study were to quantify actual sling adherence and its predictors and to establish whether increased sling adherence is associated with improved functional and image-based outcomes.

Glenoid Bone Loss Pattern in Patients With Posterior Instability Versus Anterior Instability: A Matched Cohort Study.

Background: The pattern of glenoid bone loss (GBL) in anterior glenohumeral instability is well described. It was recognized recently that posterior GBL after instability has a posteroinferior pattern.

Purpose/hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to compare GBL patterns in a matched cohort of patients with anterior versus posterior glenohumeral instability.

Does needle penetration of the shoulder joint prior to arthroscopy increase infection risk? The effect of preoperative magnetic resonance arthrogram or corticosteroid injection.

Background: Prior literature has associated preoperative corticosteroid shoulder injection (CSI) with infection following shoulder surgery. A recent study found an equally elevated risk of total knee arthroplasty infection with preoperative injection of either CSI or hyaluronic acid. The implication is that violation of a joint prior to surgery, even in the absence of corticosteroid, may pose an elevated risk of infection following orthopedic surgery.

Risk of Avascular Necrosis with The Modified Dunn Procedure in SCFE Patients: A Meta-Analysis.

In situ stabilization is a widely accepted treatment for slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE) despite risks of avascular necrosis (AVN) and femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). The modified Dunn procedure with surgical hip dislocation attempts to maintain epiphyseal perfusion and allows anatomic epiphyseal repositioning, theoretically reducing AVN and FAI risks. We systematically evaluated the literature, elucidating overall and stability-stratified rates of AVN following the modified Dunn procedure, and revision rates in non-AVN patients.

The Effect of Patients' Understanding of Sling Necessity and Home Assistance on Sling Wear After Shoulder Surgery.

Background: Perioperative education and socioeconomic factors influence patient behavior. Recent evidence has suggested that sling compliance is associated with improved outcomes after shoulder surgery; it is important to investigate factors that influence sling compliance.

Purpose: To determine the associations between postoperative sling wear and patients' understanding of sling necessity, postoperative home assistance, and social deprivation.

Response Bias for Press Ganey Ambulatory Surgery Surveys after Knee Surgery.

The Press Ganey Ambulatory Surgery (PGAS) survey is an emerging tool used to capture patient satisfaction after elective surgery. Evaluating patient satisfaction is important; however, quality improvement (QI) surveys used to capture the patient experience may be subject to nonresponse bias. An orthopaedic registry was used to retrospectively identify patients who underwent ambulatory knee surgery from June 2015 to December 2019.

Correlation of Press Ganey Scores With Early Patient Satisfaction After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.

Background: Patient satisfaction metrics are commonly used to assess the quality of health care and affect reimbursement. The Press Ganey Ambulatory Surgery (PGAS) is a satisfaction survey that has emerged as a prominent quality assessment tool; however, no data exist on whether PGAS scores correlate with early postsurgical satisfaction during the PGAS survey administration period in patients who underwent anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR).

Purpose: To determine if PGAS scores correlate with measures of satisfaction and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) at 2 weeks postoperatively in ACLR patients.

Preoperative Factors Associated with Press Ganey Patient Satisfaction Scores after Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.

Patient satisfaction is increasingly used as a metric to evaluate the quality of healthcare services and to determine hospital and physician compensation. The aim of this study was to identify preoperative factors associated with Press Ganey Ambulatory Surgery (PGAS) satisfaction scores, and to evaluate the effect of each PGAS domain score on the total PGAS score variability in patients undergoing anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). A review of a Press Ganey (PG) database at a single center was performed for patients undergoing ACLR between 2015 and 2019.

Discharge Opioid Prescribing Patterns in an Academic Orthopaedic Setting: Level of Training and Subspecialty Patterns.

Introduction: Despite increased research on opioids in the orthopaedic literature, little is known of the prescribing practices of orthopaedic providers based on their level of training. The purpose of this study was to describe the discharge opioid prescribing patterns of orthopaedic providers, stratifying by level of training and orthopaedic subspecialty, within a single medical system.

Methods: A retrospective review of orthopaedic surgical encounters was performed over a 1-year period for adults who received a discharge opioid prescription.