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Background: Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is a very successful surgery in restoring a patient's quality of life. Infection is a devastating complication of THA. Many risks factors for infection in THA have been identified but little is known of the effect by preoperative hematocrit. Purpose: We aimed to evaluate the effect of preoperative hematocrit on early superficial site infections, deep infections, and deep organ space infections. Methods: Our study cohort included patients undergoing a THA in the ACS National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database from 2006 to 2015. We conducted a multivariate logistic regression analysis to evaluate an association between preoperative hematocrit and infection controlling for patients demographics and known risk factors. Results: A total of 98,869 patients were identified in this study. Of these, 702 (0.71%) developed a superficial site infection, 314 (0.32%) a deep infection, and 226 (0.23%) an organ space infection. Our results suggested a significant increased risk of deep infection (OR = 2.38, p = 0.0120) and organ space infection (OR = 3.05, p = 0.0234) in patients with lower preoperative hematocrit (<41). In addition, patients with lower preoperative hematocrit had higher chance to receive postoperative transfusion (OR = 2.93, p < 0.0001). However, no significant associations between preoperative hematocrit and superficial site infections (p = 0.8554), wound dehiscence (p = 0.0660) and DVT (p = 0.9236) were detected. Conclusion: Low preoperative hematocrit is associated with increased risk of deep, organ space infections, and postoperative transfusion in THA, but not with superficial site infections, wound dehiscence and DVT.

Non-infectious soft tissue lesions of the foot and ankle are relatively rare clinically. These include benign and malignant neoplasms, as well as non-neoplastic or pseudotumoral lesions such as ganglionic, synovial and epidermoid cysts, intermetatarsal and adventitious bursitis, inflammatory lesions like gouty tophi and rheumatoid nodules, Morton’s neuroma, and granuloma annulare.A 48-year-old male with a history of medically treated tophaceous gout presented with left foot neuropathic pain and paresthesia, in the setting of a well-circumscribed soft tissue lesion of the second intermetatarsal space, suspected to be a Morton’s neuroma. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a 4.1 x 2.7 x 2.6 cm heterogeneous soft tissue mass containing multiple cystic areas. Excisional biopsy was performed and histologic examination revealed well-circumscribed nodules of amorphous material containing needle-shaped clefts, rimmed by histiocytes, and multinucleated giant cells consistent with a gouty tophus.This is the first case reported in the literature of an intermetatarsal gouty tophus causing neuropathic pain and paresthesia. While Morton’s neuroma is the most common cause of this presentation, this case illustrates that other pseudotumoral lesions, such as a gouty tophus, may present similarly, and should be considered in the differential diagnosis. While most cases of tophaceous gout can be adequately treated with urate-lowering therapy, surgery may be indicated for tophi that do not resolve with medical treatment based upon symptom severity, compression of nearby structures, and functional impairment.

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Category: Midfoot/Forefoot, Trauma Introduction/Purpose: Several controversies persist regarding fracture treatment of the fifth metatarsal base. Due to its low blood supply, Jones fracture has an inherent difficulty of consolidation, and may devolop complications such as delayed union, non- union and refracture. Usually the Jones fracture treatment is done with extended period of non-weightbearing with either nonoperative or operative treatment. The surgery is indicated particularly in athletes or in the setting of nonunion or fracture displacement. The purpose of the present retrospective case series is to assess postoperative outcomes among patients who weight bear earlier than standard practice. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of the medical and radiographic records from patients who had undergone operative IM fixation of an acute isolated Jones fracture from May 2013 and August 2018. Patients were permitted to weight- bear as tolerated. Demographic information, such as age, gender, body mass index, the use of tobacco, presence of medical comorbidities, and the time of radiographic union were evaluated. Standardized radiographs at 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months after surgeries were chosen for evaluation. Radiographic union was defined as bridging in 2 of 3 (medial, lateral, plantar) cortices. Results: Twenty one patients were included for analysis. Of these, 14 had at least one comorbidity present at time of operation. Average BMI was 37.6, and average age was 44.8. One patient (4.8%) was lost to follow up, and therefore did not have radiographic results available for review at any appointment. At 6 weeks, 16 of 21 patients showed signs of radiographic healing; 8 were completely healed, and 8 were incomplete. One patient (4.8%) had nonunion, which was documented at 6 week, 3 month, and 6 month readings. None of the 21 patients experienced any other postoperative complications, including infection, wound dehiscence, sepsis, DVT, implant failure, or need for revision surgery. Conclusion: Patients who were subjected to early weight-bearing after fifth metatarsal Jones fracture surgery had satisfactory fusion rates with no additional postoperative complications, even despite having high average BMI and multiple comorbidities. We believe that patients can be treated with early weightbearing as tolerated after operative fixation of an acute Jones fracture, and achieve satisfactory outcomes comparable those associated with traditional postoperative protocols.