All available treatment options for osteochondral and chondral defects do not restore hyaline cartilage and are limited to decreasing associated pain, and maintaining or improving joint function. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential of erythropoietin (EPO) in combination with bone marrow aspiration concentrate (BMAC) in the treatment of osteochondral defects of mini-pigs. 14 Goettinger mini-pigs, in which a 6×10 mm osteochondral defect in the medial femoral condyle of both knee joints was created, were randomized into four groups: biphasic scaffold alone, scaffold with EPO, scaffold with BMAC and scaffold in combination with EPO and BMAC. After 26 weeks all animals were euthanized and histological slides were evaluated using a modified ÓDriscoll Score. In the therapy groups, areas of chondrogenic tissue that contained collagen II were present. Adding EPO (p = 0.245) or BMAC (p = 0.099) alone to the scaffold led to a non-significant increase in the score compared to the control group. However, the combination of EPO and BMAC in the implanted scaffold showed a significant improvement (p = 0.02) in the histological score. The results of our study show that in mini-pigs, the combination of EPO and BMAC leads to an enhanced osteochondral healing. However, additional research is necessary to further improve the repair tissue and to define the role of MSCs and EPO in cartilage repair.

While morphologic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the imaging modality of choice for the evaluation of ligamentous wrist injuries, it is merely static and incapable of diagnosing dynamic wrist instability. Based on real-time MRI and algorithm-based image post-processing in terms of convolutional neural networks (CNNs), this study aims to develop and validate an automatic technique to quantify wrist movement. A total of 56 bilateral wrists (28 healthy volunteers) were imaged during continuous and alternating maximum ulnar and radial abduction. Following CNN-based automatic segmentations of carpal bone contours, scapholunate and lunotriquetral gap widths were quantified based on dedicated algorithms and as a function of wrist position. Automatic segmentations were in excellent agreement with manual reference segmentations performed by two radiologists as indicated by Dice similarity coefficients of 0.96 ± 0.02 and consistent and unskewed Bland–Altman plots. Clinical applicability of the framework was assessed in a patient with diagnosed scapholunate ligament injury. Considerable increases in scapholunate gap widths across the range-of-motion were found. In conclusion, the combination of real-time wrist MRI and the present framework provides a powerful diagnostic tool for dynamic assessment of wrist function and, if confirmed in clinical trials, dynamic carpal instability that may elude static assessment using clinical-standard imaging modalities.

Treatment of acute subcutaneous Achilles tendon rupture remains challenging. Whereas the results of conservative and operative treatment are inconsistent, early mobilisation treatment seems to be beneficial. Besides suture repair, operative treatment using adhesives reveals promising results. Our hypothesis was that a gluing technique provides initial stability comparable to sutures. In a biomechanical study, 18 fresh frozen sheep Achilles tendons were used to compare the biomechanical properties of suture repair using PDS® II and Bunnell’s technique to tendon gluing using BioGlue® and Tissucol®. Load to failure testing was performed. Ultimate failure loads of sutures (146.2 ± 30.8 N) are significantly superior to the techniques using BioGlue® (38.4 ± 18.3 N; p <0.0001) or Tissucol® (4.7 ± 2.5 N; p <0.0001). Interestingly, no significant differences in stiffness were found between the application of BioGlue® and PDS® II. Suture repair provides significantly superior biomechanical properties compared to the use of both tested adhesives BioGlue® and Tissucol®. Based on the presented data we recommend the use of suture material for open Achilles tendon repair.

Background: The Calcaneus is the largest bone of the foot and the most frequent tarsal bone to be fractured. Overall, it causes round about 10 cases per 100,000 residents per year mainly in men. Especially displaced intra-articular calcaneus fractures often have early and late complications and its associated disability. There are various strategies for the treatment of displaced intra-articular calcaneus fractures, but the gold standard is still subject of a long-standing controversy. Minimally invasive procedures became more common in an attempt to reduce the high rate of complications associated with open reduction and internal fixation. With the increase in minimally invasive techniques, screw fixation also gained in significance. The current literature does not sufficiently elucidate whether the screw fixation is superior to other treatment options especially in relation to adverse events, health-related quality of life and postoperative pain. This study aims to investigate benefits and harms of treating displaced intra-articular calcaneus fractures (types II, III and IV according to Sanders) with screw fixation in adults. Methods: A systematic review will be conducted based on the principles described in the Cochrane Handbook. We will include adults with displaced intra-articular calcaneus fractures of Sanders type II, III and IV. The surgical method of screw fixation shall be compared to other surgical interventions to stabilise calcaneus fractures. Primary outcomes are serious adverse events, health-related quality of life and postoperative pain level. MEDLINE, CENTRAL, CINAHL, Web of Science and bibnet.org, ClinicalTrial.gov and the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTR) will be searched. Screening and data extraction will be performed by two authors independently. A third author will arbitrate disputes. Risk of Bias will be assessed with the Cochrane tool. Meta-analysis will be performed if participants, interventions, comparisons and outcomes are sufficiently similar to ensure a result that is clinically meaningful. Discussion: Due to the increasing use of minimally invasive techniques and the increasing use of screw fixation instead of open reduction and plate fixation, it is important to analyse the benefits and harms of screw fixation for calcaneus fractures. Screw fixation could, in the future, help to operate in a less invasive and tissue preserving manner while still achieving an adequate functional result for the patient Systematic review registration: CRD42021244695

Background: Thromboelastometry like ROTEM^® is a point-of-care method used to assess the coagulation status of patients in a rapid manner being particularly useful in critical care settings, such as trauma, where quick and accurate assessment of coagulation can guide timely and appropriate treatment. Currently, this method is not yet comprehensively available with sparse data on its effectiveness in resuscitation rooms. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of early thromboelastometry on the probability of mass transfusions and mortality of severely injured patients. Methods: The TraumaRegister DGU^® was retrospectively analyzed for severely injured patients (2011 until 2020) with information available regarding blood transfusions and Trauma-Associated Severe Hemorrhage (TASH) score components. Patients with an estimated risk of mass transfusion >2% were included in a matched-pair analysis. Cases with and without use of ROTEM^® diagnostic were matched based on risk categories for mass transfusion. A total of 1722 patients with ROTEM^® diagnostics could be matched with a non-ROTEM^® patient with an identical risk category. Adult patients (≥16) admitted to a trauma center in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland with Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale severity ≥3 were included. Results: A total of 83,798 trauma victims were identified after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria. For 7740 of these patients, the use of ROTEM^® was documented. The mean Injury Severity Score (ISS) in patients with ROTEM^® was 24.3 compared to 19.7 in the non-ROTEM^® group. The number of mass transfusions showed no significant difference (14.9% ROTEM^® group vs. 13.4% non-ROTEM^® group, p = 0.45). Coagulation management agents were given significantly more often in the ROTEM^® subgroup. Mortality in the ROTEM^® group was 4.1% less than expected (estimated mortality based on RISC II 34.6% vs. observed mortality 30.5% (n = 525)). In the non-ROTEM^® group, observed mortality was 1.6% less than expected. Therefore, by using ROTEM^® analysis, the expected mortality could be reduced by 2.5% (number needed to treat (NNT) 40; SMR of ROTEM^® group: 1:0.88; SMR of non-ROTEM^® group: 1:0.96; p = 0.081). Conclusions: Hemorrhage is still one of the leading causes of death of severely injured patients in the first hours after trauma. Early thromboelastometry can lead to a more targeted coagulation management, but is not yet widely available. This study demonstrated that ROTEM^® was used for the more severely injured patients and that its use was associated with a less than expected mortality as well as a higher utilization of hemostatic products.