Editors Choice

The American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR) has released its 2016 Annual Report on hip and knee arthroplasty data. 

Findings published online in the journal Pediatrics suggest that state-level rules may offer only vague legal guidance regarding student reintegration into school following concussion. The researchers assessed "return to learn" (RTL) laws across the eight states that had implemented such statutes. 

A study of patients undergoing single-level lumbar spine surgery found that those who received liposomal bupivacaine (LB) following surgery required narcotic pain medication for a significantly decreased length of time (average decrease, 10.3 hours) compared with non-LB patients. 

Since passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), many Republican lawmakers have campaigned on a platform that includes repeal of that legislation. Combined with continued control by Republicans of both houses of the U.S. Congress, the election of Donald Trump to president of the United States places critics of the healthcare law in a position to act on those promises. 

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has proposed revisions to its rules for residency and fellowship programs that, among other things, include the removal of a requirement limiting PGY-1 residents to 16-hour shifts. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a set of guidelines on the prevention of surgical site infection (SSI). The guidelines include 29 recommendations based on 26 reviews of recent evidence. 

Findings published in the December issue of the journal Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research suggest that bundled payments may be a viable reimbursement model for revision total joint arthroplasty (TJA). The researchers reviewed data on 217 patients who underwent revision total hip arthroplasty (THA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA) at a single health system that transitioned to the CMS Bundled Payment for Care Improvement (BPCI) initiative during the study term. 

According to a study published in the November issue of The Journal of Arthroplasty, the modified frailty index (mFI) may be an independent predictor of Clavien-Dindo grade IV complication (cardiac arrest, myocardial infarction, septic shock, pulmonary embolism, postoperative dialysis, reintubation, and prolonged ventilator requirement) in patients undergoing total hip (THA) or total knee (TKA) arthroplasty. 

Findings from a study conducted in the United Kingdom and published online in the journal Arthritis Research & Therapy indicate certain biomarkers may help identify early-stage osteoarthritis (OA). The researchers recruited 225 participants and analyzed plasma/serum and synovial fluid for oxidized, nitrated, and glycated proteins and amino acids using quantitative liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.