Although there are several accepted methods of surgical treatment for single-level cervical radiculopathy, the choice depend on the surgeon's preference. The techniques may vary in peri-operative morbidity, short- and long-term outcome, but no study so far has analyzed their cost-effectiveness. This study might give some insight in balancing cost and effectiveness and deciding the right technique. Sixty consecutive patients (15 each group), mean age 36 (range 24-76 years) with single-level cervical disc disease underwent surgical treatment with four different techniques in two centers over the period of 1999-2005. The four groups were--(1) plate and tricortical autograft, (2) plate, cage, and bone substitute, (3) cage only, and (4) disc arthroplasty. The data was collected prospectively according to our protocol and subsequently analyzed. The clinical outcome was assessed comparing visual analog scale (VAS) of neck pain and, short form 12 (SF12) questionnaire both pre- and postoperatively. The radiological assessment was done for fusion rate and postoperative related possible complications at 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and final follow-up. The cost analysis was done calculating the operative time, hospital stay, implant cost together. The mean follow-up period was 31 months (range 28-43 months). The clinical outcome in terms of VAS of neck and arm pain and SF12 physical and mental score improvement (P=0.001) were comparable with all four techniques. The radiological fusion rate was comparable to current available data. As the hospital stay was longer (average 5 days) with plate and autograft group, the total cost was maximum (average 2,920 pound sterling) with this group. There was satisfactory clinical and radiological outcome with all four techniques. Using the cage alone was the most cost-effective technique, but the disc arthroplasty was comparable to the use of cage and plate. Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion is an established surgical treatment for cervical radiculopathy. Single-level cervical radiculopathy was treated with four different techniques. The clinical outcome and cost-effectiveness were compared in this study.

Background:Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections have been proposed to hasten soft tissue healing. There is a lack of evidence in the current literature to support their efficacy in elite athletes.Purpose:To investigate the effects of the addition of PRP to rehabilitation in the treatment of acute hamstring injuries in professional National Football League (NFL) players and to report the time to return to play.Study Design:Case control study.Methods:Ten NFL players with similar hamstring injury patterns were retrospectively divided into 2 groups. The treatment group (PRP; n = 5) was injected with PRP and the control group (non-PRP; n = 5) was not injected; both groups completed a rehabilitation program. The PRP injections were administered under ultrasound guidance with precise localization of the injury site, within 24 to 48 hours of injury. Age, muscle involved, extent of injury, grading, and time to return to play were noted. Descriptive statistics and the exact Wilcoxon rank-sum test were used for data analysis.Results:The mean age was 23 years (range, 22-27 years) for the PRP group and 26 years (range, 22-28 years) for the non-PRP group (P = .42). The median longitudinal extent of the injury was 14 cm (range, 9-18 cm) in the PRP group and 15 cm (range, 9-16 cm) in the non-PRP group (P = .77). The average transverse extent of the injury in the PRP and non-PRP groups was 4 cm (range, 1.6-6 cm) and 3.5 cm (range, 2-5 cm), respectively, and the respective average anteroposterior extent was 4 cm (range, 1.9-5 cm) and 2.9 cm (range, 1.5-4 cm). The long head of biceps femoris was most commonly involved (4 in each group), with a single tear of the semimembranosus in each group. The median injury classification was grade 2 in both groups. The median time to return to play was 20 days (range,16-30 days) in the PRP group and 17 days (range, 8-81 days) in the non-PRP group (P = .73).Conclusion:There were no significant differences in recovery from hamstring injury between treatment with PRP and routine rehabilitation. A larger, randomized controlled trial is warranted.

Objective:A workgroup of clinical experts has developed an Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) for the use of hyaluronic acid (HA) in the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. The increasingly broad and varied use of HA injections, lack of published clinical guidance, and limited coverage for their use has created the imperative to establish appropriateness criteria.Methods:The experts of this workgroup represent rheumatology, orthopedic surgery, physiatry, sports medicine, and nursing clinicians with substantive knowledge of intra-articular HA therapy. This workgroup utilized the results of a systematic review of evidence, expert clinical opinion, and current evidence-based clinical practice guidelines to develop appropriateness criteria for the use of intra-articular HA for knee OA in 17 real-world clinical scenarios.Results:The workgroup scored the appropriateness of treatment of each patient scenario using a 9-point scale to designate a treatment as appropriate (7-9), uncertain (4-6), or inappropriate (1-3). Six scenarios were scored as appropriate, 10 scenarios were scored as uncertain, and 1 scenario was scored as inappropriate.Conclusion:This article can assist clinicians in shared decision-making by providing best practices in considering HA injections for knee OA treatment. Moreover, this AUC article can aid payers and policy makers in determining reimbursement and preauthorization policies and more appropriately managing health care resources. It is clear that further research is still necessary—particularly in patient populations differentiated by OA severity—that may benefit the greatest from the use of HA injections for the treatment of knee OA.

This article focuses on the surgical indications and techniques of antibiotic nailing of the femur. Spanning external fixation is an essential component of damage control orthopaedics. Fractures of the femur with significant soft tissue injury also often require prolonged external fixation, which increases the risk of infection. Antibiotic nails can sterilize the medullary canal contaminated by external fixator pins and prophylax against nosocomial infection, while the pin tracts heal to prepare the canal environment for a future staged metal nailing. Antibiotic nails may also be used as a bridge to definitive metallic intramedullary nailing after spanning external fixation in patients with multiple injuries or mangled limbs.

Skip laminectomy is an effective procedure for reducing the incidence of postoperative morbidities, such as persisting axial pain, and restriction of neck motion often seen after laminoplasty, and provides adequate decompression of the spinal cord as demonstrated on MRI for a minimum follow-up of 2 years.