Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the professional, social, and spiritual activities of resident physicians around the world, impacting wellness and personal relationships. Moreover, social distancing caused significant limitations or shutdown of places of worship, including churches, synagogues, mosques, etc. Our goal was to survey resident physicians in primary care and surgical subspecialties in the United States (U.S.) and Canada and to examine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on their well-being. Methods: An international cross-sectional study was performed in November 2020, using an anonymous survey of programs in the U.S. and Canada, containing 20 questions to assess the impact of the pandemic on resident participation in social and spiritual activities and the effects on their wellness, and personal relationships. The emails with survey links attached were sent to individual program coordinators from accredited residency training programs in the United States and Canada. This consisted of programs accredited by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC), and the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The survey was evenly divided among surgical programs (General Surgery, Neurological Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery, Urological Surgery, and Integrated Surgical Residency Programs such as Plastic Surgery, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Pediatric Surgery, and Vascular Surgery) as well as primary care programs (Internal Medicine and Family Medicine). Results: A total of 196 residents, 60 primary care residents, and 136 surgery residents participated in the study. Ninety-six participants (49%) were female, and 98 of the participants (50%) were male, with the remainder two residents identifying as “Other.” Of the primary care residents, the majority (39, 65%) were female. Conversely, the majority (77, 57%) of surgery residents were male. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the social lives, relationships, and spiritual well-being of both surgical and primary care resident physicians. However, primary care residents reported significantly greater engagement in personal relationships and were more likely to express feelings of mental and physical exhaustion, prohibiting social attendance.

Category: Arthroscopy; Ankle; Hindfoot; Sports Introduction/Purpose: Haglund's syndrome is a common cause of posterior heel pain and can be associated with retrocalcaneal bursitis and degenerative Achilles tendinosis. Open approaches for resection of the Haglund's lesion have long been employed in patients that fail to improve with conservative treatment. This often involves partial elevation of the Achilles insertion with reattachment. More recently, endoscopic surgical techniques have evolved, enabling more rapid rehabilitation with less tendon disruption. The decision on the surgical approach is influenced by the degree of insertional Achilles tendinosis with endoscopic techniques preferred in the absence of insertional pathology. The primary objective of this investigation was to report on a large series of patients treated surgically for symptomatic Haglund's lesions. Methods: We reviewed the outcomes of Haglund's syndrome surgical cases at our institution over a five-year period. We included cases with insertional Achilles tendinosis and retrocalcaneal bursitis related to the Haglund's lesion, but excluded revisions and cases involving flexor hallucis longus tendon transfers. We recorded patient demographics, sport and activity level, comorbidities, BMI, duration of symptoms, surgical technique, tourniquet time, rehabilitation protocol, postoperative complications, and duration of postoperative follow-up. We also reviewed relevant preoperative imaging and recorded the presence of Achilles insertional degenerative calcification or an insertional calcaneal enthesophyte on radiographs. We then prospectively administered questionnaires regarding return to sport and patient-reported outcome measures including the SANE, PASS, VISA-A and PROMIS (Physical Function, Pain Interference and Global Health domains). Results: In total, 17 of the 77 (22%) included cases were performed with the endoscopic surgical technique. Six patients underwent bilateral Haglund surgeries during the study period, accounting for 12 of the 77 cases. The open Haglund resection group had a higher rate of concomitant Achilles insertional degenerative calcification on radiographs and MRI (72%). In addition, the open group was older than the endoscopic group (average age 54 vs 45), had a higher rate of comorbidities, higher rate of postoperative complications, and a higher rate of return to the operating room for revision surgery (11% vs 0% for endoscopic). Seventeen patients were elite distance running athletes and were preferentially treated by endoscopic techniques (11/17, 64%). At 24-month follow-up, the majority of patients report return to baseline activity. Conclusion: Patients treated surgically for Haglund's syndrome and insertional Achilles tendinopathy generally have good outcomes. Outcomes are better for endoscopically treated patients compared to open treatment, although these patients tend to be younger, healthier, and have less Achilles tendons disease. Still, some degree of Achilles tendinopathy and limited intrasubstance calcification can be successfully addressed with the endoscopic technique. We are endeavoring to better define indications for, and limitations of, the endoscopic technique for insertional Haglund's disease.

Category: Sports; Ankle; Trauma Introduction/Purpose: Foot and ankle injuries account for a large percentage of the over one million injuries sustained by high school level athletes. To date, many studies have examined the epidemiology of lower extremity injuries and ankle sprains, but few studies have classified sprains into subtypes across multiple sports. The purpose of this study was to describe the epidemiology of ankle sprain subtypes across 9 common high school sports. Methods: Athlete exposure and injury specific data from 7 seasons (2014 to 2021) were collected using the internet-based High School Reporting Information Online (High School RIO), a national high school sports injury surveillance system, for athletes participating in 1 of 9 sports (boys' and girls' soccer, girls' volleyball, boys' and girls' basketball, boys' baseball, girls' softball, boys' football, boys' wrestling). Incidence and ligament involvement of foot and ankle injuries were examined, with incidence being calculated as 1 injury per 10,000 athlete exposures (AE). Results: Ankle ligament injuries accounted for 89.0% of the 7,321 foot and ankle injuries across the 9 sports (81-94%). Girls and boys' basketball had the highest incidence of sprains, 3.46 and 3.37 respectively. Ankle ligament injuries accounted for 35.9% of all lower extremity injuries in basketball players. 85.0% of the sprains were classified as lateral ligament, 4.0% medial ligament, 11.5% syndesmosis (8.6% partial and 2.9% complete syndesmosis injuries). Football had the highest percentage of syndesmosis injuries at 11.0%, and the highest incidence of both syndesmosis injuries (0.44) and medial ligament injuries (0.17). Surgical intervention was required in 4.3% of complete syndesmosis injuries and 0.7% of lateral ligament injuries. No differences were found in incidence of ankle ligament injuries comparing pre-COVID-19 seasons (2014-2020) to the 2020-2021 season. Conclusion: Ankle sprains account for a large percentage of foot and ankle injuries sustained by high school level athletes. Syndesmosis injuries occur more commonly in football and are 6 times more likely to require early surgical intervention compared to lateral ligament injuries. Identifying sports commonly involved in these injuries and classifying the sprains is the first step in implementing early identification, rehabilitation, and prevention programs. Future studies should examine the efficacy of injury prevention programs and rates of ankle sprains among high school level athletes.

Category: Other Introduction/Purpose: In recent years, digital publishing and indexing have accelerated the pace of collaboration in foot and ankle (FA) research. As journals become more electronically accessible, authors have greater opportunity to submit to journals that are most appropriate for their work and relevant to the global community. While previous studies have reported general publishing trends in FA research, there is little information available on which topics and authorship practices bring the greatest value to the orthopaedic community. The goal of this study is to investigate global and journal-specific factors associated with high- impact FA research, including sub-topics and collaboration trends. Methods: We examined 43 orthopedic journals, including FA-specific journals, general orthopedic journals, and sports medicine journals. We utilized the National Library of Medicine's MEDLINE database for general article information, and Web of Science's (WOS) Journal Citation Report for citation counts. All 43 journals were indexed in both MEDLINE and WOS. We categorized articles as FA-specific using a keyword search. To measure the impact factor of a journal, we calculated a 5-year 'impact factor' following modified WOS guidelines (Total citations in 2020 for articles published 2015-2019 / total publications from 2015-2019). To measure individual 'article impact', we calculated the average citations/year for that article following publication. Only articles published in the last five years were included for each topic to ensure all article averages are current. Other variables, such as publishing nationality, number of authors, and article type were collected using MEDLINE article metadata and keyword searches. Results: A total of 7,679 FA-specific articles published in 43 journals were included for analysis. Globally, US authors publish the greatest number of first-author FA articles (32%, Figure 1a), followed by the UK (8%), China (6%), and South Korea (5%). Author nation of origin varies considerably by journal; FAI is composed of 53% American first-authors, while 13% of articles from the international journal KSSTA feature American first-authors. Article impact also varies considerably by topic (Figure 1b). Sports- related FA articles, for example, outperform the average FA article in citations/year (2.27 vs. 1.69, p < 0.0001), while deformity- related articles underperform the FA average (1.25, p < 0.0001). The number of authors has a strong positive correlation with article impact (r = 0.88, Figure 1c). Conclusion: A clear understanding of publication trends in the literature allows authors to select the most appropriate journal readership for their work. American authors are global leaders in FA publications, and primarily publish in American journals. We found that many factors, including article sub-topic and authorship group size, influence article impact and journal impact factor. These findings raise opportunities for collaboration, research focus and journal selection. Monitoring publication trends allows authors and journal editors to more accurately predict high-impact areas of research, and to identify potentially under- represented fields needing greater attention and investigation.

Category: Midfoot/Forefoot; Sports; Trauma Introduction/Purpose: Fifth metatarsal fractures are a common injury of the foot, however, there remains a lack of consensus regarding the management of Zone I and II fifth metatarsal fractures. The evidence shows varied outcomes between operative management and non-operative interventions. Additionally, there is limited discussion on radiographic outcomes following these fractures, with no established scoring system to assess radiographic healing. The radiographic union scale in tibial (RUST) fractures is an assessment tool designed to standardize radiographic assessment and outcome measures based on cortical bridging. The aim of this study is to assess the functional and radiologic outcomes for patients with base of fifth metatarsal fractures (Zone I-III) utilizing the RUST score as a method for standardized assessment of radiographic healing. Methods: We performed a secondary retrospective chart review of patients with base of fifth metatarsal fractures treated by six orthopedic surgeons at University of Colorado Orthopaedics from 2018-2021. We collected information on treatment modality and the functional, radiographic, and patient reported outcomes. Patients were included who attended minimum two visits and had x-ray available. The x-rays were read by a fellowship trained foot and ankle surgeon, and were assessed based on presence of displacement, resorption, and overall healing. The RUST scoring system was applied when fracture appeared healed and assessed on the four cortices (anterior, posterior, medial, and lateral) of the 5th metatarsal bone by assigning a score from 1 to 3 based on appearance. The scores were combined for a minimum of 4 (not healed) and a maximum of 12 (completely healed). Differences between outcomes were evaluated using an unpaired t-test and figures are reported with standard error. Results: Out of 196 total patients, 109 were excluded due to shaft fracture or insufficient follow-up, leaving 87 non-operative patients with base of fifth metatarsal fractures available for analysis. Radiographically, the average time to resorption was 37 days and average time to healing was 98 days, which was significantly longer than when patients began weight bearing at 44 days (p<0.001), but not significantly different than return to normal shoe wearing at 75 days (p=0.077). While 96% of patients at visit 4 were weight bearing and wearing normal shoes, only 73% had radiographic healing. The average RUST score at visit 2 was 10.14 (n=21) improving to 10.5 (n=12) by visit 4. To note, only 30% of patients presented for all four visits and the average final follow- up was 106 days after injury. Conclusion: Patients treated non-operatively for base of fifth metatarsal fractures have significantly shorter timelines for functional healing compared to evidence of radiographic healing. Overall RUST score at visit 4 supports those patients did not reach full cortical healing as the average score was 10.5 out of 12 possible points. Most patients have signs of resorption on x-ray by their second visit, but many do not continue follow up for complete evidence of healing. This highlights the importance of functional healing in treatment decisions for Zone I and II fractures and overall good prognosis regardless of complete healing radiographically.