Opioid use, post-operative complications, and implant survival after unicompartmental versus total knee replacement: a population-based network study

Background There is uncertainty around whether to use unicompartmental knee replacement (UKR) or total knee replacement (TKR) for individuals with osteoarthritis confined to a single compartment of the knee. We aimed to emulate the design of the Total or Partial Knee Arthroplasty Trial (TOPKAT) using routinely collected data to assess whether the efficacy results reported in the trial translate into effectiveness in routine practice, and to assess comparative safety. Methods We did a population-based network study using data from four US and one UK health-care database, part of the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics network. The inclusion criteria were the same as those for TOPKAT; briefly, we identified patients aged at least 40 years with osteoarthritis who had undergone UKR or TKR and who had available data for at least one year prior to surgery. Patients were excluded if they had evidence of previous knee arthroplasty, knee fracture, knee surgery (except diagnostic), rheumatoid arthritis, infammatory arthropathies, or septic arthritis. Opioid use from 91–365 days after surgery, as a proxy for persistent pain, was assessed for all participants in all databases. Postoperative complications (ie, venous thromboembolism, infection, readmission, and mortality) were assessed over the 60 days after surgery and implant survival (as measured by revision procedures) was assessed over the 5 years after surgery. Outcomes were assessed in all databases, except for readmission, which was assessed in three of the databases, and mortality, which was assessed in two of the databases. Propensity score matched Cox proportional hazards models were fitted for each outcome. Calibrated hazard ratios (cHRs) were generated for each database to account for observed differences in control outcomes, and cHRs were then combined using meta-analysis. Findings 33 867 individuals who received UKR and 557 831 individuals who received TKR between Jan 1, 2005, and April 30, 2018, were eligible for matching. 32 379 with UKR and 250 377 with TKR were propensity score matched and informed the analyses. UKR was associated with a reduced risk of postoperative opioid use (cHR from meta-analysis 0·81, 95% CI 0·73–0·90) and a reduced risk of venous thromboembolism (0·62, 0·36–0·95), whereas no difference was seen for infection (0·85, 0·51–1·37) and readmission (0·79, 0·47–1·25). Evidence was insufficient to conclude whether there was a reduction in risk of mortality. UKR was also associated with an increased risk of revision (1·64, 1·40–1·94). Interpretation UKR was associated with a reduced risk of postoperative opioid use compared with TKR, which might indicate a reduced risk of persistent pain after surgery. UKR was associated with a lower risk of venous thromboembolism but an increased risk of revision compared with TKR. These findings can help to inform shared decision making for individuals eligible for knee replacement surgery. Funding EU/European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations Innovative Medicines Initiative (2) Joint Undertaking (EHDEN)

Drought-induced agricultural livelihood vulnerability: Livelihood-based comparative analysis in Northeast highlands of Ethiopia

AbstractThe main objective of this study was to analyze drought-induced agricultural livelihood vulnerability through a comprehensive assessment of agro-meteorological, biophysical, and socioeconomic variables in North Wollo. The study area has four main livelihood zones, namely, Abay Tekeze watershed (ATW), North Wollo east plain (NWEP), North Wollo highland belg (NWHB), and Northeast woina-dega mixed cereal (NEWMC). A total of 274 sample households were selected from all the livelihood zones by considering wealth rankings. A Survey questionnaire, supplemented with focus group discussions and key informant interviews, was used to collect the data. Principal component analysis was applied to determine the indicators and assign weights. Consequently, from 66 indicators 32 were prioritized to measure the exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of the system. Both the livelihood vulnerability framework (LVI) and vulnerability sourcebook approach (LVIVSBA) were applied to assess livelihood vulnerability. The results revealed that the entire study area was characterized by higher exposure (0.653) and higher sensitivity (0.632) scores to drought impacts, while it exhibited a lower adaptive capacity (0.37). In both approaches, NWHB obtained the highest vulnerability score (0.681/0.715) followed by NWEP (0.634/0.619), whilst ATW revealed the lowest (0.583/0.555) in LVI and LVIVSBA, respectively. Similarly, the poor (0.671/0.670), medium (0.589/0.593), and better-off (0.554/0.537) were relatively ordered from the highest to the lowest. In conclusion, differential livelihood vulnerability does exist across the livelihood zones and wealth groups. The major sub-components which worsen household’s vulnerability were access to irrigation, food self-sufficiency problem, scarcity of livestock fodder, poor access to basic infrastructure, lower livelihood diversification, inadequate economic resources, low educational status, lack of training and support. Hence, the study calls for decision-makers and development partners to develop context-specific planning and interventions that strengthen the farmers’ adaptive capacity and minimize their exposure and sensitivity to the issue

Knee Pain After Retrograde Intramedullary Nailing with Surgical Implant Generation Network of Femur Shaft Fractures at Public Hospitals in Bahir Dar City, Ethiopia: Analysis of 6-Months Follow-Up Results

Tsegalem Birlie,1 Biniam Biresaw,2 Elias Yadeta,3 Tamirat Getachew,3 Adera Debella,3 Addis Eyeberu3 1School of Medicine, College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, Harar, Ethiopia; 2School of Medicine, College of Health and Medical Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia; 3School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, Harar, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Elias Yadeta, School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, P.O. Box: 138, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, Tel +251924899107, Email [email protected]: The incidence of femur fractures in young and elderly people has increased, particularly in countries with limited resources like Ethiopia. Intra-medullary nailing (IM) has been an effective and cost-effective method of treating long bone shaft fractures, but it can lead to complications such as knee pain.Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate knee pain and its associated factors following retrograde intramedullary nailing for femur fractures.Patients and Methods: The study followed 110 patients diagnosed with femur fractures and treated with retrograde SIGN Standard Nail or Fin Nail from January 2020 to December 2022 at two hospitals in Ethiopia. The patients were followed up for at least 6 months, and data were collected from medical charts, patient interviews, and phone calls to patients who did not attend the follow-up appointment. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with knee pain.Results: The study showed that 40 patients reported knee pain at 6-months follow-up, making a prevalence of 36.4%. Factors significantly associated with knee pain were a time of injury to nailing (AOR=4.23, 95% CI: 1.28– 13.92), use of a screw to the medial cortex (AOR=9.30, 95% CI: 2.90– 12.74), and fracture site (AOR= 2.67, 95% CI: 14.01– 7.03). Specifically, the longer the time from injury to nailing, the higher the risk of knee pain. The use of a longer screw to the medial cortex and a fracture site were also positively associated with knee pain.Conclusion: This study concludes that although retrograde intramedullary nail fixation is an effective method for femur fractures, it often results in knee pain. Approximately 4 of 10 patients suffered from knee pain in this study. Avoiding delayed surgical management and minimizing the use of prominent metalwork may reduce knee pain.Keywords: knee pain, intramedullary nailing, Ethiopi

Modeling outcomes of first-Line antiretroviral therapy and rate of CD4 counts change among a cohort of HIV/AIDS patients in Ethiopia: A retrospective cohort study

Background: Antiretroviral therapy has shown to be effective in reducing morbidity and mortality in patients infected with HIV for the past couples of decades. However, there remains a need to better understand the characteristics of long-term treatment outcomes in resource poor settings. The main aim of this study was to determine and compare the long-term response of patients on nevirapine and efavirenz based first line antiretroviral therapy regimen in Ethiopia. Methods: Hospital based retrospective cohort study was conducted from January 2009 to December 2013 at University hospital located in Northwest Ethiopia. Human subject research approval for this study was received from University of Gondar Research Ethics Committee and the medical director of the hospital. Cox-proportional hazards model was used to assess the effect of baseline covariates on composite outcome and a semi-parametric mixed effect model was used to investigate CD4 counts response to treatments. Results: A total of 2386 HIV/AIDS naive patients were included in this study. Nearly one-in-four patients experienced the events, of which death, lost to follow up, treatment substitution and discontinuation of Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors(NNRTI) accounted: 99 (26.8%), 122 (33.0%), 137 (37.0%) and 12 (3.2%), respectively. The hazard of composite outcome on nevirapine compared with efavirenz was 1.02(95%CI: 0.52-1.99) with p-value = 0.96. Similarly, the hazard of composite outcome on tenofovir and stavudine compared with zidovudine were 1.87 (95%CI: 1.52-2.32), p-value < 0.0001 and 1.72(95% CI: 1.22-2.32), p-value = 0.002, respectively. The rate of CD4 increase in response to treatment was high during the first 10 months and stabilized later. Conclusions: This study revealed that treatment responses were comparable whether nevirapine or efavirenz was chosen to initiate antiretroviral therapy for HIV/AIDS patients in Ethiopia. There was significant difference on risk of composite outcome between patients who were initiated with Tenofovir containing ART regimen compared with zidovudine after controlling for NNRTI drug combinations