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Second Look—Clinical News and Views

If you missed these Headline News Now items the first time around, AAOS Now gives you a second chance to review them. Headline News Now—the AAOS thrice-weekly, online update of news of interest to orthopaedic surgeons—brings you the latest on clinical, socioeconomic, and political issues, as well as important announcements from AAOS.

NASS guideline on cervical radiculopathy
The North American Spine Society (NASS) has released a new Evidence-Based Clinical Guideline regarding the diagnosis and treatment of cervical radiculopathy from degenerative disorders. The new guideline can serve as an educational tool to assist practitioners and provides a definition and explanation of the natural history of the condition, along with outlines for reasonable evaluation and treatment options.

Knee alignment and tibiofemoral OA
People with varus knee alignment may be at higher risk for tibiofemoral osteoarthritis (OA) compared to those with valgus alignment, according to an online study in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. The observational, longitudinal study of 2,702 participants from the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study cohort found 950 patients (1,307 knees) with radiographic OA at baseline. Varus alignment was associated with a greater risk of medial osteoarthritis progression and a reduced risk of lateral progression, and valgus alignment was associated with a greater risk of lateral progression and a reduced risk of medial progression.

S. aureus bone killer protein found
Data presented at the Society for General Microbiology autumn meeting indicate a protein found on Staphylococcus aureus helps the bacteria latch on to bone cells and also instructs those bone cells to die, suggesting a possible approach to the treatment of osteomyelitis. Blocking bacterial attachment to cells through the Spa protein could potentially treat or even prevent osteomyelitis, particularly in cases involving methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA).

No benefit to gender-specific knee
A study in The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery –American (Aug. 18) finds no significant clinical benefits to support the use of gender-specific knee implants for total knee arthroplasty. The 85 patients received a standard prosthesis in one knee and a gender-specific prosthesis in the contralateral knee. At mean follow-up of 2.13 years, no significant differences were found between the standard implant knees and the gender-specific implant knees in mean postoperative Knee Society scores, mean Hospital for Special Surgery knee scores, mean postoperative WOMAC scores, mean postoperative range of motion in the supine position, patient satisfaction, and radiographic results.

AAOS Now
October 2010 Issue
http://www.aaos.org/news/aaosnow/oct10/clinical7.asp

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