1.Are Intertrochanteric Fractures Evolving? Trends in the Elderly Population over a 10-Year Period
Jegathesan T ; Ernest Beng KEE KWEK
Clinics in Orthopedic Surgery 2022;14(1):13-20
Background:
Intramedullary devices for the fixation of intertrochanteric fractures are increasing in usage and popularity. This reflects either a shift in adoption of new technology or intertrochanteric fractures becoming more complex or unstable. This trend was observed in our institution, hence we set out to investigate if this was concordant with an associated change in the demographics of the patients or in the morphology of the intertrochanteric fracture pattern over a 10-year period.
Methods:
This is a retrospective cross-sectional comparison undertaken for the first 100 consecutive elderly patients with intertrochanteric fractures admitted to our tertiary institution over 3 yearly intervals, in each of the years 2004, 2007, 2010, and 2013.Fractures were radiologically classified via the Evans and AO classifications. Patient demographics such as age, ethnicity, and comorbidities and surgical data including time, type of fixation, time to surgery, and length of stay were collected via case note reviews to identify possible trends.
Results:
The overall mean age was 80.5 years, with no statistically significant trend among age, sex, ethnicity, and comorbidities over the 10-year period. The main finding was a rise in the proportion of unstable intertrochanteric fractures. The proportion of such fractures was 30% in 2004, 42% in 2007, 47% in 2010, and 62% in 2013 (p < 0.001). Patients admitted for intertrochanteric fractures also experienced a shorter hospital length of stay and an increasing trend towards early fracture fixation (p < 0.001), with a greater usage of intramedullary nails in the treatment of such fractures (p < 0.001).
Conclusions
Intertrochanteric fractures in elderly patients have evolved into more complex fractures over the past ten years, despite there being no change in the age of the patients over the same duration. This increasing proportion of unstable intertrochanteric fractures has brought about a greater tendency to fix these fractures with intramedullary implants.
2.Adhesive Capsulitis Secondary to COVID-19 Vaccination - A Case Series
Foong BCM ; Ho SWL ; Tan LTJ ; Lee KT ; Jegathesan T
Malaysian Orthopaedic Journal 2023;17(No.2):43-48
Introduction: Shoulder injury related to vaccine
administration (SIRVA) is a group of pathologies defined by
pain and stiffness after intramuscular administration of
vaccine to the upper arm and has been reported after
COVID-19 vaccination. We aim to discuss its
pathophysiology, clinical presentation, treatment and
outcomes.
Materials and methods: We retrospectively identified
patients presenting with adhesive capsulitis within four
weeks of administration of COVID-19 vaccine to the
affected arm at our tertiary institution from March 2021 to
December 2022.
Result: Based on the above criteria, we identified seven
cases of adhesive capsulitis, comprising one male and six
female patients, with average age of 60 years. We present
initial symptoms, signs and the duration from when the
vaccine was administered. We have highlighted our
treatment strategies as well as the clinical and functional
outcomes reported by these patients after treatment. We have
reported improvement in both Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)
and range of motion (ROM) in all our patients after nonsurgical management which included physiotherapy and, in
some cases, hydrodilatation.
Conclusion: SIRVA related adhesive capsulitis is rare and
under-reported with limited information in current literature.
This study highlights that adhesive capsulitis is a potential
complication arising from improper COVID-19 vaccine
administration and reinforces traditional wisdom of
administering vaccinations on the non-dominant arm.
Conservative treatment strategies appear to be effective,
particularly hydrodilatation combined with physiotherapy,
and patients are expected to have a good return of function.