Trends in the surgical management of proximal humerus fractures in Ireland from 2009 to 2022: An increasing usage of reverse shoulder arthroplasty

BACKGROUND

Proximal humeral fractures are a common injury accounting for a significant workload across orthopaedic departments. Though often managed non-operatively, surgical management is indicated for a proportion of patients.

AIMS

The aim of this study is to examine the trends in the management of proximal humeral fractures within Ireland over the past 13 years.

METHODS

A retrospective review of Irish Hospital In-Patient Enquiry (HIPE) data was performed between January 2009 and December 2022. Information regarding demographics including age and gender, along with procedure type were collated after patients with proximal humerus fractures, were identified using relevant ICD 10 codes.

RESULTS

Demographic details remained stable with females and those within the 55-69 year age bracket accounting for the highest proportion of patients. The mean annual number of procedures performed across the study period was 365 (273-508), with an increase from 288 cases in 2009 to 441 in 2022. Open reduction and internal fixation were the most common procedures accounting for 76.4% of cases. There has been a rising usage of total shoulder arthroplasty for fixation with an increase from < 5 cases in 2016 to 84 in 2022. A decrease in the usage of hemiarthroplasty and closed reduction internal fixation was also observed.

CONCLUSIONS

There has been an increasing volume of operatively managed proximal humeral fractures in Ireland, which sustained despite the 2015 publication of the highly publicised PROPHER trial. The increasing utilisation of total shoulder arthroplasty in acute trauma management is notable and necessitates appropriate training for trauma theatre personnel.

Increasing hip fracture volume following repeated lockdowns: an Irish multicentre study of periods pre-Covid, during Covid lockdown and following vaccination

Background

Older age groups were identified as a high-risk cohort for Covid-19 and thus were a focus of lockdown measures enacted internationally. Resultant decreased social mobility and physical activity levels are associated with sarcopenia, which may lead to increased risk of hip fracture upon resuming social integration and physical activities after easing of lockdown restrictions.

Aims

Our aim was to compare the incidence of hip fractures during the period following vaccination with subsequent relaxation of restrictions, to those prior to and during the Covid pandemic.

Methods

A multicentre retrospective cohort study was performed consisting of all patients presenting with a “hip” fracture to 3 regional trauma units over the relevant time periods in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Tallaght, Galway and Waterford University Hospitals are large academic teaching hospitals with a combined mixed urban and rural catchment of over 1 million people.

Findings

Four-hundred-fourteen patients in total were included in the final analysis, with 133 eligible hip fractures observed proceeding to operative treatment across the study period in 2019, 132 in 2020 and 149 in 2021, representing a 12.88% increase. Demographic data revealed similar patient cohorts with respect to age and gender, fracture pattern and treatment.

Conclusions

An increase in hip fracture volume was observed during the period post vaccination with subsequent relaxation of restrictions and increased social mobility, compared to those prior to and during the Covid pandemic. These findings have implications for hospital planning and orthopaedic resourcing as we navigate our way forward past the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Informed Written Consent for Orthopaedic Trauma in the Emergency Setting at a Tertiary Referral Centre: A Closed-Loop Audit

Introduction

The purpose of this investigation was to perform an audit of the standards of consent forms in which patients sign prior to operative intervention for orthopaedic trauma in an emergency setting in our institution, with comparison to the ‘Orthopaedic Surgical Consent’ standards, as set by the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). If required, the investigator aimed to close the loop in this audit by educating orthopaedic surgeons on the necessary standards of obtaining written consent for orthopaedic trauma.

Methods

Following being granted approval by our institutional audit committee, a pre-intervention cycle was performed to assess the quality of consent obtained in written format using electronic patient records in consecutive patients over a four-week period. Following the analysis of this data, an education session was provided for all orthopaedic doctors responsible for obtaining informed written consent from patients who are planned to undergo operative management of a soft tissue or bony injury by the trauma and orthopaedic service in the emergency setting. Thereafter, a post-intervention cycle was performed with subsequent descriptive analysis using the GraphPad software.

Results

In the pre-intervention audit cycle, all included (n = 107) consent forms (100%) correctly included the patient’s name, date of birth (DOB) and institutional board number (BN). However, only 79 consent forms (74.5%) were completed without using abbreviations or acronyms of any kind, whilst 81 consent forms (76.4%) were completed without correctly stating the side or site of the planned intervention. In the post-intervention cycle, all included (n = 40) consent forms (100%) correctly included the patient’s name, DOB and institutional BN. Additionally, a total of 37 consent forms (92.5%) were correctly completed without using abbreviations or acronyms of any kind (74.5% versus 92.5%, p = 0.02). Furthermore, a total of 39 consent forms (97.5%) were completed correctly stating the side or site of the planned intervention (76.4% versus 97.5%, p = 0.0015).

Conclusion

This closed-loop audit found that the quality of informed consent obtained by orthopaedic surgeons in the emergency setting might potentially be significantly improved with at least one virtual education session. Such simple education sessions may potentially improve the documentation of the planned potential operative intervention by orthopaedic surgeons for cases of orthopaedic trauma to ensure patient safety is optimised. As the turnover of non-consultant hospital doctors is high in university teaching hospitals, regular education sessions on such topics may introduce a cultural shift in maintaining high standards when marking and consenting patients in the emergency setting.