Clinical Outcomes of Intermediate-Length Cephalomedullary Nails for Intertrochanteric Femur Fracture Repair in Older Adults

Introduction. Hip fracture is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in older adults. Intertrochanteric hip fractures often are treated surgically using cephalomedullary nails (CMN), in either a short or long length. Their outcomes are documented in the literature; however, outcomes of the intermediate-length CMN have not been well described. Methods. A retrospective review was conducted of older adults with intertrochanteric hip fractures that were treated with cephalomedullary nail fixation using an intermediate-length (235 mm Synthes Trochanteric Fixation® nail or 240 mm Stryker Gamma 3®) nail. Outcome data were collected during the inpatient stay and 16 months post-operatively. Results. Seventy-seven patients met inclusion criteria and were reviewed during inpatient stay; however, only 42 had documented post-operative outcomes. Of those, two patients died post-discharge and were not included in the 16-month follow-up. Comparison of results to published literature suggested that intermediate-length nails are comparable to short-length nails with regard to time in the operating room and estimated blood loss. The rate of blood transfusion was lower and length of hospital stay was shorter than in comparable studies of both short- and long-length nails. There were no post-operative periprosthetic fractures in the 16-month follow-up. This rate was lower than published rates for short and long nails. The hardware failure rate (3/42, 7.1%) of intermediate-length nails was higher than comparison studies of both short- and long-length nails.    Conclusions. Patient outcomes for intermediate-length nails were similar to outcomes of shorter length nails. Utilization of the intermediate-length nail appears to be an effective treatment option for repair of intertrochanteric femur fractures. However, direct comparison is difficult since periprosthetic fracture rate may increase over time and nail length and hardware failure are not defined consistently in the literature.  Further study is needed with a larger sample size followed over a longer period of time to confirm our findings

Association of sex and aspirin use with postoperative bleeding in patients with lower extremity long bone fractures

Objective The perioperative management of patients on antiplatelet drugs is a rising challenge in orthopedic trauma because antiplatelet drugs are frequently encountered and carry an increased risk of hemorrhagic consequences. The study objective was to examine the effect of aspirin on bleeding outcomes for patients with lower extremity fractures.Methods This retrospective study included patients requiring surgical fixation of traumatic hip, femur, and tibia fractures from January 1, 2018, to March 1, 2020. Patients were excluded if they had a significant head injury, were on chronic anticoagulant therapy, or they did not receive venous thromboembolism chemoprophylaxis. Comparisons between aspirin users (patients on aspirin therapy preinjury) and non-aspirin users were examined using χ2 tests, Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel tests, and multivariate logistic regression. The primary outcome was an overt, actionable bleed (eg, blood transfusion for surgical site hemorrhage) within 24 hours postoperative.Results There were 864 patients with lower extremity long bone fractures and 24% were aspirin users. The incidence of postoperative bleeding was 8.8% and significantly differed for patients taking aspirin versus not (13.6% vs 7.3%, p=0.01). However, biological sex at birth (M/F) was a significant effect modifier (interaction p=0.04). Among women, there were significantly more postoperative bleeds for aspirin users (17.8% aspirin vs 7.4% no aspirin, adjusted OR (AOR): 2.48 (1.28–4.81), p=0.01). Among men, there were similar postoperative bleeding events by aspirin use (5.6% aspirin vs 7.2% no aspirin, AOR: 0.50 (0.14–1.82), p=0.30). Postoperative hemoglobin values <8 g/dL were more frequent among female aspirin users (21.5% aspirin vs 12.5% no aspirin, p=0.01), but this association was not observed in men (p=0.43).Conclusion Women taking aspirin who suffer lower extremity fractures have greater than twofold greater odds of a postoperative bleeding event. These findings suggest adequate perioperative planning to ensure blood availability, and increased awareness to monitor closely for hemorrhage in the 24-hour postoperative window for women taking aspirin preinjury.Level of evidence I

Self-Stigma in Substance Abuse: Development of a New Measure

Little attention has been paid to the examination and measurement of self-stigma in substance misuse. This paper aims to fill this gap by reporting on the development of a new scale to measure self-stigma experienced by people who are misusing substances, the Substance Abuse Self-Stigma Scale. Content validity and item refinement occurred through an iterative process involving a literature search, focus groups, and expert judges. Psychometric properties were examined in a cross-sectional study of individuals (n = 352) receiving treatment for substance misuse. Factor analyses resulted in a 40-item measure with self devaluation, fear of enacted stigma, stigma avoidance, and values disengagement subscales. The measure showed a strong factor structure and good reliability and validity overall, though the values disengagement subscale showed a mixed pattern. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for studies of stigma impact and intervention