Objective Obesity is a risk factor for knee osteoarthritis (KOA) development and progression. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) are indicated for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity. However, whether KOA patients can benefit from GLP-1RA therapies has not been sufficiently investigated, especially in the long term. Methods The Shanghai Osteoarthritis Cohort study is a prospective, observational, multicentre study of >40 000 adults with clinically diagnosed osteoarthritis aged >45 years in Shanghai. We identified all KOA participants with comorbid T2DM enrolled from 1 January 2011 to 1 January 2017. Primary outcome was incidence of knee surgery after enrolment. Secondary outcomes included pain-relieving medication use, number of intra-articular therapies, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and medial femorotibial joint cartilage thickness. To evaluate the effects of GLP-1RA, we performed before-and-after comparison and comparison with participants who had no GLP-1RA exposure. Results For an intergroup comparison (non-GLP-1RA vs GLP-1RA), more weight loss (adjusted mean difference in weight change from baseline −7.29 kg (95% CI −8.07 to −6.50 kg), p<0.001) and lower incidence of knee surgery (93/1574 (5.9%) vs 4/233 (1.7%), adjusted p=0.014) were observed in the GLP-1RA group. Statistically significant differences in mean change from baseline for the WOMAC total and pain subscale scores were observed (adjusted mean difference in WOMAC total score −1.46 (95% CI −2.84 to −0.08), p=0.038; adjusted mean difference in WOMAC pain subscore −3.37 (95% CI −5.79 to −0.94), p=0.007). Cartilage-loss velocity of the medial femorotibial joint was significantly lower in the GLP-1RA group postadjustment for baseline characteristics (adjusted mean difference −0.02 mm (95% CI −0.03 to −0.002 mm), p=0.004). For the before-and-after comparison within the GLP-1RA group, we observed a significant decrease of symptom-relieving medication consumption and cartilage loss velocity of medial femorotibial joint (after-treatment vs before-treatment: −0.03±0.05 vs −0.05±0.07 mm/year, p<0.001). The association between GLP-1RA exposure and decreased incidence of knee surgery was mediated by weight reduction (mediation proportion: 32.1%), instead of glycaemic control (too small to calculate). Conclusion With sufficient treatment duration, GLP-1RA therapies might be disease-modifying for KOA patients with comorbid T2DM, possibly mediated by weight loss. Further investigation is needed to elucidate effects of GLP-1RA on disease process, joint structure and patient-reported outcomes of osteoarthritis.

Background: Previous observational studies and meta-analyses have recommended augmentation with a fibular allograft (FA) during the treatment of proximal humeral fractures with locking plates (LPs). However, to our knowledge, randomized controlled trials comparing open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) with and without FA have not been performed to date. Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial in which adults with a medial column comminuted proximal humeral fracture were randomly allocated to undergo ORIF with an LP (the LP group) or with an LP augmented with an FA (the FA group). Patients were followed for 24 months. The primary outcome was the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) score at 12 months after the surgical procedure. The secondary outcomes included the DASH score at other time points, shoulder function, pain score, satisfaction, complications, and changes in neck-shaft angle and humeral head height. Results: From October 20, 2016, to December 24, 2019, 80 patients were randomized. There were 52 women (65%), and the mean patient age (and standard deviation) was 65 ± 14 years. Of the 80 patients, 39 were allocated to the FA group and 41 were allocated to the LP group. At the primary time point (12 months), the unadjusted mean between-group difference in DASH score was −1.2 (95% confidence interval [CI], −7.3 to 5.0; p = 0.71) favoring the FA group, and, with adjustment for smoking, alcohol drinking, and diabetes, the between-group difference was −1.4 (95% CI, −7.7 to 5.0; p = 0.67) favoring FA. No significant differences between the 2 groups were found among the secondary outcomes. Conclusions: No additional benefit was found for FA augmentation in treating medial column comminuted proximal humeral fractures. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Objective: Our objective was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the EULAR, American College of Rheumatology (ACR), and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) criteria by using clinical experts’ diagnosis of clinically relevant knee osteoarthritis (OA) as the outcome of interest.Methods: In a previous study, we recruited clinical experts to evaluate longitudinal (5‐, 8‐, and 10‐year follow‐up) clinical and radiographic data of symptomatic knees from the Cohort Hip and Cohort Knee (CHECK) study for the presence or absence of clinically relevant OA. In the current study, ACR, EULAR, and NICE criteria were applied to the same 5‐, 8‐, and 10‐year follow‐up data; then a knee was diagnosed with OA if fulfilling the criteria at one of the three time points (F1), two of the time points (F2), or at all three time points (F3). Using clinically relevant OA as the reference standard, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for the three criteria were assessed.Results: A total of 539 participants for a total of 833 examined knees were included. Thirty‐six percent of knees were diagnosed with clinically relevant OA by experts. Sixty‐seven percent to 74% of the knees received the same diagnosis (OA or non‐OA) by the three criteria sets for the different definitions (F1 to F3). EULAR consistently (F1 through F3) had the highest specificity, and NICE consistently had the highest sensitivity.Conclusion: The diagnoses only moderately overlapped among the three criteria sets. The EULAR criteria seemed to be more suitable for study enrollment (when aimed at recruiting clinically relevant OA knees), given the highest specificities. The NICE criteria, given the highest sensitivities, could be more useful for an initial diagnosis in clinical practice.

Aims: The aim of this study was to explore why some calcar screws are malpositioned when a proximal humeral fracture is treated by internal fixation with a locking plate, and to identify risk factors for this phenomenon. Some suggestions can be made of ways to avoid this error. Methods: We retrospectively identified all proximal humeral fractures treated in our institution between October 2016 and October 2018 using the hospital information system. The patients’ medical and radiological data were collected, and we divided potential risk factors into two groups: preoperative factors and intraoperative factors. Preoperative factors included age, sex, height, weight, body mass index, proximal humeral bone mineral density, type of fracture, the condition of the medial hinge, and medial metaphyseal head extension. Intraoperative factors included the grade of surgeon, neck-shaft angle after reduction, humeral head height, restoration of medial support, and quality of reduction. Adjusted binary logistic regression and multivariate logistic regression models were used to identify pre- and intraoperative risk factors. Area under the curve (AUC) analysis was used to evaluate the discriminative ability of the multivariable model. Results: Data from 203 patients (63 males and 140 females) with a mean age of 62 years (22 to 89) were analyzed. In 49 fractures, the calcar screw was considered to be malpositioned; in 154 it was in the optimal position. The rate of malpositioning was therefore 24% (49/203). No preoperative risk factor was found for malpositioning of the calcar screws. Only the neck-shaft angle was found to be related to the risk of screw malpositioning in a multivariate model (with an AUC of 0.72). For the fractures in which the neck-shaft angle was reduced to between 130° and 150°, 91% (133/46) of calcar screws were in the optimal position. Conclusion: The neck-shaft angle is the key factor for the appropriate positioning of calcar screws when treating a proximal humeral fracture with a locking plate. We recommend reducing the angle to between 130° and 150°. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2020;102-B(12):1629–1635.

Background: Early diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis (OA) is important in managing this disease, but such an early diagnostic tool is still lacking in clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to develop diagnostic models for early stage knee OA based on the first 2-year clinical course after the patient’s initial presentation in primary care and to identify whether these course factors had additive discriminative value over baseline factors. Methods: We extracted eligible patients’ clinical and radiographic data from the CHECK cohort and formed the first 2-year course factors according to the factors’ changes over the 2 years. Clinical expert consensus-based diagnosis, which was made via evaluating patients’ 5- to 10-year follow-up data, was used as the outcome factor. Four models were developed: model 1, included clinical course factors only; model 2, included clinical and radiographic course factors; model 3, clinical baseline factors + clinical course factors; and model 4, clinical and radiographic baseline factors + clinical and radiographic course factors. All the models were built by a generalized estimating equation with a backward selection method. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated for assessing model discrimination. Delong’s method compared AUCs. Results: Seven hundred sixty-one patients with 1185 symptomatic knees were included in this study. Thirty-seven percent knees were diagnosed as OA at follow-up. Model 1 contained 6 clinical course factors; model 2: 6 clinical and 3 radiographic course factors; model 3: 6 baseline clinical factors combined with 5 clinical course factors; and model 4: 4 clinical and 1 radiographic baseline factors combined with 5 clinical and 3 radiographic course factors. Model discriminations are as follows: model 1, AUC 0.70 (95% CI 0.67–0.74); model 2, 0.74 (95% CI 0.71–0.77); model 3, 0.77 (95% CI 0.74–0.80); and model 4, 0.80 (95% CI 0.77–0.82). AUCs of model 3 and model 4 were slightly but significantly higher than corresponding baseline-factor models (model 3 0.77 vs 0.75, p = 0.031; model 4 0.80 vs 0.76, p = 0.003). Conclusions: Four diagnostic models were developed with “fair” to “good” discriminations. First 2-year course factors had additive discriminative value over baseline factors.