Intradermal wound closure is controversial in primary total hip arthroplasty. Randomised, controlled trials in wound closure following a total hip arthroplasty (THA) are scarce. Our hypothesis was that skin staples closure would be related to a similar complication rate and operative time as intradermal closure with polypropylene. From September 2011 to May 2012, 231 THAs in 219 patients with an average age of 62 years old (range: 21-91) were performed. No differences were observed in both groups according to sex, age, BMI and comorbidities (p = 0,82). Cases were divided into 3 groups according to medical factors that influence wound healing: group 1 (no medical history, 70.5%), group 2 (diabetes, tobacco smokers, obesity, corticosteroids, rheumatoid disease, 25%) and group 3 (organ transplantation, neoplastic patients or 2 or factors of group 2, 4.5%). Once randomised using a computer-generated method, all patients remained within the group to which they were allocated to wound closure with skin staples (Leukosan® SkinStapler PTW-35, BSN, Germany) that were used in 112 THAs in 105 patients (48%), or continuous 3.0 intradermal non-absorbable polypropylene suture (Prolene™ 0, Ethicon Inc. Somerville, New Jersey, USA) in 119 THA´s in 115 patients (52%). A 3.8% wound complication rate was observed in this series, with a 2.1% complication rate for the group that was closed with skin staples and a 1.7% rate for the group with intradermal suture (p = 0.7). All the complications were treated conservatively except for one acute deep infection (0.4%) that was successfully treated with debridement, component retention and intravenous antibiotics. There were no differences in both groups related to operative time or wound length.In these series of primary elective THAs, skin staples were associated with a similar complication rate to an intradermal closure technique.

Background Synovial quantification of C-reactive protein (SCRP) has been recently published with high sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection. However, to our knowledge, no studies have compared the use of this test with intraoperative frozen section, which is considered by many to be the best intraoperative test now available. Questions/purposes We asked whether intraoperative SCRP could lead to comparable sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values as intraoperative frozen section in revision total hip arthroplasty. Methods A prospective study was performed including 76 patients who underwent hip revision for any cause.SCRP quantification (using 9.5 mg/L as denoting infection) and the analysis of frozen section of intraoperative samples (five or more polymorphonuclear leukocytes under high magnification in 10 fields) were performed in all the patients. The definitive diagnosis of an infection was determined according to the Musculoskeletal Infection Society (MSIS). In this group, 30% of the patients were diagnosed with infection using the MSIS criteria (23 of 76 patients).Results With the numbers available, there were no differences between SCRP and frozen section in terms of their ability to diagnose infection. The sensitivity of SCRP was 90% (95% confidence interval [CI], 70.8%-98.6%), the specificity was 94% (95% CI, 84.5%-98.7%), the positive predictive value was 87% (95% CI, 66.3%-97%), and the negative predictive value was 96% (95% CI, 87%-99.4%); the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were the same using frozen sections to diagnose infection. The positive likelihood ratio was 16.36 (95% CI, 5.4-49.5), indicating a low probability of an individual without the condition having a positive test, and the negative likelihood ratio was 0.10 (95% CI, 0.03-0.36), indicating low probability of an individual without the condition having a negative test. ConclusionsWe found that quantitative SCRP had similar diagnostic value as intraoperative frozen section with comparable sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value in a group of patients undergoing revision total hip arthroplasty. In our institution, SCRP is easier to obtain, less expensive, and less dependent on the technique of obtaining and interpreting a frozen section. If our findings are confirmed by other groups, we suggest that quantitative SCRP be considered as a viable alternative to frozen section. Level of Evidence Level I, diagnostic study.

<div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span><strong>RESUMEN</strong><br /> </span></p><p><span><em><strong>Introducción:</strong></em> l</span><span>os tallos no cementados recubiertos con hidroxiapatita de fijación metafisaria han logrado excelentes resultados a largo plazo. La segunda generación de tallos cortos de fijación cervicometafisaria ha surgido a principios de la década de 1990, con el objetivo de preservar capital óseo femoral. Sin embargo, la preservación ósea femoral teóricamente propuesta no ha sido comprobada. El objetivo de este trabajo es determinar radiográficamente la preservación del capital óseo femoral cuando se utilizó un tallo corto de fijación cervicometafisaria, comparando las radiografías posoperatorias con la programación del tallo que se debería haber utilizado en caso de ser un diseño convencional con fijación metafisaria. </span></p><p><em><strong>Materiales y Métodos: </strong></em><span>los primeros 50 tallos cortos de fijación cervicometafisaria (MiniHip</span><span>TM</span><span>, Corin, Cirencester, Reino Unido) fueron analizados por dos observadores independientes, con radiografías de frente, en cuanto a nivel de resección cervical y longitud del tallo, comparándolos con las filminas de un tallo convencional de fijación metafisodiafisaria (MetaFix</span><span>TM</span><span>, Corin, Cirencester, Reino Unido).</span></p><p><em><strong>Resultados: </strong></em><span>según el análisis radiográfico, los tallos cortos de fijación cervicometafisaria ocuparon una longitud femoral promedio de 79 mm (rango 68-102). Los tallos convencionales de fijación metafisaria hubiesen ocupado, en promedio, 73 mm más que los tallos cortos (rango 47-94). Esta distribución se observó en el corte de cuello (promedio 10 mm más distal) y en la longitud del implante (promedio 66 mm mayor longitud) (p &lt;0,001). Esta diferencia permite preservar un 42% el capital óseo femoral. </span></p><div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span><em><strong>Conclusión:</strong></em> l</span><span>a preservación ósea relacionada con el uso de tallos cortos de fijación cervicometafisaria podría traer beneficios a largo plazo en pacientes jóvenes con alta demanda funcional. </span></p><p> </p></div></div></div></div></div></div>