Quadriceps tendon autograft is becoming increasingly popular in revision ACL reconstruction

© 2021, The Author(s). Purpose: To evaluate trends in revision anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACL-R), with emphasis on intra-articular findings, grafts, and concurrent procedures. It was hypothesized that revision ACL-Rs over time show a trend toward increased complexity with increased use of autografts over allografts. Methods: This was a two-center retrospective study including patients undergoing revision ACL-R between 2010 and 2020. Demographic and surgical data including intra-articular findings and concurrent procedures were collected and compared for the time periods 2010–2014 and 2015–2020. All collected variables were compared between three pre-defined age groups (\u3c 20 years, 20–30 years, \u3e 30 years), right and left knees, and males and females. A time series analysis was performed to assess trends in revision ACL-R. Results: This study included 260 patients with a mean age of 26.2 ± 9.4 years at the time of the most recent revision ACL-R, representing the first, second, third, and fourth revision ACL-R for 214 (82%), 35 (14%), 10 (4%), and 1 (\u3c 1%) patients, respectively. Patients age \u3e 30 years showed a significantly longer mean time from primary ACL-R to most recent revision ACL-R (11.1 years), compared to patients age \u3c 20 years (2.2 years, p \u3c 0.001) and age 20–30 years (5.5 years, p \u3c 0.05). Quadriceps tendon autograft was used significantly more often in 2015–2020 compared to 2010–2014 (49% vs. 18%, p \u3c 0.001). A high rate of concurrently performed procedures including meniscal repairs (45%), lateral extra-articular tenodesis (LET; 31%), osteotomies (13%), and meniscal allograft transplantations (11%) was shown. Concurrent LET was associated with intact cartilage and severely abnormal preoperative knee laxity and showed a statistically significant and linear increase over time (p \u3c 0.05). Intact cartilage (41%, p \u3c 0.05), concurrent medial meniscal repairs (39%, p \u3c 0.05), and LET (35%, non-significant) were most frequently observed in patients aged \u3c 20 years. Conclusion: Quadriceps tendon autograft and concurrent LET are becoming increasingly popular in revision ACL-R. Intact cartilage and severely abnormal preoperative knee laxity represent indications for LET in revision ACL-R. The high rate of concurrent procedures observed demonstrates the high surgical demands of revision ACL-R. Level of evidence: Level III

Closing-Wedge Posterior Tibial Slope-Reducing Osteotomy in Complex Revision ACL Reconstruction

Background: A posterior tibial slope (PTS) >12° has been shown to correlate with failure of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction (ACLR). PTS-reducing osteotomy has been described to correct the PTS in patients with a deficient ACL, mostly after failure of primary ACLR. Purpose: To report radiologic indices, clinical outcomes, and postoperative complications after PTS-reducing osteotomy performed concurrently with revision ACLR (R-ACLR). Study design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: A review of medical records at 3 institutions was performed of patients who had undergone PTS-reducing osteotomy concurrently with R-ACLR between August 2010 and October 2020. Radiologic parameters recorded included the PTS, patellar height according to the Caton-Deschamps Index (CDI), and anterior tibial translation (ATT). Patient-reported outcomes (International Knee Documentation Committee [IKDC] and Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score [KOOS]), reoperations, and complications were evaluated. Results: Included were 23 patients with a mean follow-up of 26.7 months (range, 6-84 months; median, 22.5 months). Statistically significant differences from preoperative to postoperative values were found in PTS (median [range], 14.0° [12°-18°] vs 4.0° [0°-15°], respectively; P < .001), CDI (median, 1.00 vs 1.10, respectively; P = .04) and ATT (median, 8.5 vs 3.6 mm, respectively; P = .001). At the final follow-up, the IKDC score was 52.4 ± 19.2 and the KOOS subscale scores were 81.5 ± 9.5 (Pain), 74 ± 21.6 (Symptoms), 88.5 ± 8 (Activities of Daily Living); 52.5 ± 21.6 (Sport and Recreation), and 48.8 ± 15.8 (Quality of Life). A traumatic ACL graft failure occurred in 2 patients (8.7%). Reoperations were necessary for 6 patients (26.1%) because of symptomatic hardware, and atraumatic recurrent knee instability was diagnosed in 1 patient (4.3%). Conclusion: Tibial slope-reducing osteotomy resulted in a significant decrease of ATT and can be considered in patients with a preoperative PTS ≥12° and ≥1 ACLR failure. In highly complex patients with multiple prior surgeries, the authors found a reasonably low graft failure rate (8.7%) when utilizing PTS-reducing osteotomy. Surgeons must be aware of potential complications in patients with multiple previous failed ACLRs

Enabling Crowd Participation in Governmental Decision-making

Democratic governments constantly need to make sense of their citizens' needs to make appropriate decisions that reflect the overall wishes and needs of the population. However, except for mandatory voting scenarios, a low rate of citizen participation in government decisions through democratic processes is an aspect that defies democracy itself. Brazil's participatory budget policy emphasizes people's direct guidance regarding certain budget allocations though group meetings. This paper presents mParticipation, an agent-based model for eliciting and answering citizen demands in a participatory government structure using mobile technology. A prototype system applied to the domain of public budget allocation domain demonstrates that it is feasible to provide effective computational support to participatory collective decision-making

Sinergismo entre o vasto lateral e vasto medial oblíquo durante a marcha após a reconstrução do ligamento cruzado anterior

Objetivo: O objetivo deste estudo foi comparar a co-contração muscular (CCM) e ativação dos músculos vasto lateral (VL) vasto medial oblíquo (VMB) durante a marcha e uma amostra saudável – grupo controle (GC) e pacientes submetidos a reconstrução do ligamento cruzado anterior (RLCA). Métodos: Vinte e três indivíduos participaram neste estudo, 14 GC e 9 RLCA. A atividade mioelétrica do VL e VMO foram captados para cálculo da CCM. A razão VL/VMO foi obtida dividindo o sinal normalizado desses dois músculos em cada ponto da curva. O valor da CCM e a relação de ativação na fase de apoio duplo, fase de apoio simples, fase de apoio terminal e fase de balanço foram obtidas pelo cálculo da média aritmética dos valores de intensidade da curva comum em cada intervalo. Resultado: CCM foi significativamente menor no grupo RLCA durante a fase de apoio dupla (p=0.001), efeito máximo (1.72). Não foram encontradas diferenças entre as outras comparações. Conclusão: O resultado desse estudo mostrou que a contração dos músculos VL e o VMO na fase inicial de apoio duplo da marcha foi diferente entre indivíduos saudáveis e submetidos a RLCA. Este achado pode estar relacionado a diminuição da estabilidade patelofemoral durante a resposta a carga, aumentando o potencial risco de desenvolver lesões nesta articulação.Objective: The aim of this study was to compare vastus lateralis and vastus medialis oblique (VL/VMO) muscle co-contraction (MCC) and activation ratio during gait between healthy subjects- control group (CG), and those with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). Methods: Twenty-three subjects participated in this study, 14 CG and 9 ACLR. The myoelectric activities of the VL and VMO were captured to calculate the MCC. The VL/VMO ratio was obtained by dividing the normalized signals of these two muscles at each point of the curve. The MCC values and the activation ratio in the initial double limb stance, single limb stance, terminal double limb stance and swing were obtained by calculating the arithmetic mean of the intensity values ​​of the common curve in each interval. Results: MCC was significantly lower in the ACLR group during the initial double limb stance phase (p=0.001), with a high effect size (1.72). No significant differences were found for the other comparisons. Conclusions: The results of this study showed that the VL and VMO muscles co-contraction in the initial double limb stance phase of gait was different between the healthy and ACLR individuals. This finding may be related to lower patellofemoral stability during the loading response, increasing the potential risk for the development of injuries in this joint

The use of tourniquet during total knee replacement in patients with and without popliteal artery calcification

ABSTRACT Objective: Identify the clinical and surgical complications associated with the use of a tourniquet in total knee arthroplasty in patients with or without calcification of the popliteal artery. Methods: The study was performed retrospectively, analyzing 58 patients with calcification of the popliteal artery and 57 patients as a control group. Results: The case group patients were significantly older than patients in the control group; however, this had no impact on the clinical outcome in the analyzed period.There were no complications during surgery in the groups studied, as there were no statistically significant differences between the incidence of local or systemic intercurrences in the analyzed period. Conclusion: This study found low rates of complications in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasties with use of a tourniquet, with or without calcification of the popliteal artery

Lateral Extra-Articular Tenodesis Does Not Decrease Graft Failure in Revision ACL-R When Combined with Quadriceps Or Patella Tendon Grafts

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare return to sports, graft failure rates, and clinical outcomes in patients who underwent to a revision ACL reconstruction (R-ACLR) and additional lateral extra-articular tenodesis (LET) compared to isolated R-ACLR. Methods: A retrospective review of medical records of patients who underwent R-ACLR with or without a modified Lemaire LET was performed. Seventy-four patients with ≥ 2 years follow-up, who had a high-grade positive pivot shift test were included. Concomitant procedures such as meniscectomy and meniscal repair were collected along with any complications and/or graft failure. Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) and the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) Subjective Knee Form were collected. The ability to return to sports was defined as fully, partially, or not returned. Results: Thirty-nine patients underwent isolated R-ACLR (mean age (SD±) 29.2 ±12.2) and 35 had an additional LET (24.6 ±7.4). The mean length of follow-up in the R-ACLR group was 56.6 ±26.5 months compared to 44.3 ±17.6 months (p = 0.02*) (range 24 - 120 months) in the R-ACLR+LET group. PROMs were higher in the LET group with KOOS ADL (93.5 ± 2.0; 97.2 ± 1.6; p=0.03) and KOOS Sport (63.0 ± 3.6; 74.3 ± 3.8; p=0.05) subdomains reaching statistical significance. No other differences were found in the other KOOS subdomains or IKDC scores. Failure rates were not significantly different between the groups (12.8% for R-ACLR vs 11.4% for R-ACLR+LET; p=0.99). Thirteen (72.2%) patients in the R-ACLR group and 14 (60.8%) patients in the R-ACLR+LET group did not return to sports. Conclusion: R-ACLR with additional LET showed a similar failure rate and RTS compared to isolated R-ACLR following failed ACLR. The R-ACLR + LET group demonstrated better functional results with significantly higher activities of daily living, and sport and recreation KOOS subdomain scores. However, the present study was unable to recommend the modified Lemaire LET to be used routinely in revision ACLR patients. Level of evidence: III, retrospective comparative therapeutic trial

Severe complication of posterior nasal packing: Case Report

Introduction: Severe Epistaxis is common in patients with head trauma, especially when associated with multiple fractures of the face and skull base. Several methods of controlling bleeding that can be imposed. The anterior nasal tapenade associated with posterior Foley catheter is one of the most widespread, and the universal availability of necessary materials or their apparent ease of execution. Methods: Case report on control of severe epistaxis after severe TBI, with posterior nasal packing by Foley catheter and control tomography showing multiple fractures of the skull base and penetration of the probe into the brain parenchyma. Conclusion: This is a rare but possible complication in the treatment of severe nose bleeds associated with fracture of the skull base. This brief report highlights risks related to the method and suggests some care to prevent complications related through a brief literature review