There are few studies detailing the incidence, patient outcomes and prognostic factors for chondrosarcomas (CS). Those that do exist have small sample sizes and/or use older datasets. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence, overall survival (OS) and prognostic factors for OS of CS patients, as well as investigate the efficacy of curettage. We analyzed data of 2186 patients diagnosed with chondrosarcomas between '89-'13 from the Netherlands Cancer Registry. The effect of risk factors on OS was assessed with a multivariate Cox regression. Median Follow-up was determined with reversed Kaplan-Meier. OS was estimated using Kaplan-Meier method. The relative incidence of CS was 2.88 per million citizens between '89-'96, 4.15 between '96-'04 and 8.78 between '05-'13. Most of the increase in incidence came from atypical cartilaginous tumours/grade I chondrosarcoma (ACT/CS I). The 3-, 5- and 10-years survival were, respectively, 96%, 93% and 88% for ACT/CS I, 82%, 74% and 62% for grade II CS and 38%, 31% and 26% for grade III CS. Prognostics factors significantly associated with OS were age, histological grade, year of diagnosis, tumour location and size. The incidence of CS, and especially ACT/CS I, has increased over time, which could be driven by both an ageing population and increased diagnostic imaging. With the increased number of diagnosed ACT/CS I, the number of preventative curettages of this tumour has also increased. Despite the supposed preventative character of this treatment, the incidence of high-grade CS did not decrease.

What are reference values for grip strength in children and adolescents based on a large and heterogeneous study population? What is the association of grip strength with age, gender, weight, and height in this population? Cross-sectional study. Participants were recruited from schools in the northern provinces of the Netherlands. The study included healthy children and adolescents ranging in age from 4 to 15 years. All children had their height (cm) and weight (kg) measured and were allowed a total of four attempts using the Jamar hand dynamometer: twice with each hand. Grip strength scores (kg) were recorded for the dominant and non-dominant hands. The study population comprised 2241 children and adolescents. Reference values for both genders are provided according to age and dominance. Grip strength shows a linear and parallel progression for both genders until the age of 11 or 12, after which grip strength development shows an acceleration that is more prominent in boys. There is a significant difference in grip strength with each ascending year of age in favour of the older group, as well as a trend for boys to be stronger than girls in all age groups between 4 and 15 years. Weight and especially height have a strong association with grip strength in children.

Background and purpose: A new periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) definition has recently been proposed by the European Bone and Joint Infection Society (EBJIS). The goals of this paper are to evaluate its diagnostic accuracy and compare it with previous definitions and to assess its accuracy in preoperative diagnosis.Patients and methods: We retrospectively evaluated a multicenter cohort of consecutive revision total hip and knee arthroplasties. Cases with minimum required diagnostic workup were classified according to EBJIS, 2018 International Consensus Meeting (ICM 2018), Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), and modified 2013 Musculoskeletal Infection Society (MSIS) definitions. 2 years’ minimum follow-up was required to assess clinical outcome.Results: Of the 472 cases included, PJI was diagnosed in 195 (41%) cases using EBJIS; 188 (40%) cases using IDSA; 172 (36%) using ICM 2018; and 145 (31%) cases using MSIS. EBJIS defined fewer cases as intermediate (5% vs. 9%; p = 0.01) compared with ICM 2018. Specificity was determined by comparing risk of subsequent PJI after revision surgery. Infected cases were associated with higher risk of subsequent PJI in every definition. Cases classified as likely/confirmed infections using EBJIS among those classified as not infected in other definitions showed a significantly higher risk of subsequent PJI compared with concordant non-infected cases using MSIS (RR = 3, 95% CI 1–6), but not using ICM 2018 (RR = 2, CI 1–6) or IDSA (RR = 2, CI 1–5). EBJIS showed the highest agreement between pre-operative and definitive classification (k = 0.9, CI 0.8–0.9) and was better at ruling out PJI with an infection unlikely result (sensitivity 89% [84–93], negative predictive value 90% [85–93]).Conclusion: The newly proposed EBJIS definition emerged as the most sensitive of all major definitions. Cases classified as PJI according to the EBJIS criteria and not by other definitions seem to have increased risk of subsequent PJI compared with concordant non-infected cases. EBJIS classification is accurate in ruling out infection preoperatively.

Background: An increasing number of patients are surviving sarcoma after lower limb-salvage surgery (LSS) and are left with functional limitations. This systematic review aimed to determine the therapeutic validity and effectiveness of exercise interventions after lower limb-salvage surgery (LSS) for sarcoma. Methods: A systematic review was conducted using formal narrative synthesis of intervention studies (with and without control group) identified through PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, and PEDro databases. Studies were included if participants were treated with LSS for unilateral lower limb sarcoma and followed an exercise intervention using active exercise, physical training, or rehabilitation before and/or after surgery. This review’s outcome measures were interventions’ therapeutic validity, assessed using the CONTENT scale (0 to 9); methodological quality, identified using the Downs & Black checklist (0 to 28); interventions’ effectiveness, assessed based on differences in outcome measures between intervention and control groups; and certainty of evidence, classified according to the GRADE approach. Results: Seven studies involving 214 participants were included. None of the included interventions were therapeutically valid (median 5, range 1–5). All but one study were of at least fair methodological quality (median 18, range 14–21). There was very low-quality evidence that exercise interventions resulted in increased knee range of motion (MD 10–15°) or compliance (MD 30%), and reduced functionality scores (MD -5%) compared to usual care. Conclusions: We found overall low therapeutic validity of interventions, performed in overall low-quality studies. Combined with the very low certainty of evidence, the results prevent drawing valid conclusions on the interventions’ effectiveness. Future studies should aim for uniformity among their methodological approaches and outcome measures, using the CONTENT scale as a template to avert insufficient reporting. Trial registration: PROSPERO CRD42021244635.

In orthopedic oncology, computer-assisted surgery (CAS) can be considered an alternative to fluoroscopy and direct measurement for orientation, planning, and margin control. However, only small case series reporting specific applications have been published. We therefore describe possible applications of CAS and report preliminary results in 130 procedures. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all oncological CAS procedures in a single institution from November 2006 to March 2013. Mean follow-up time was 32 months. We categorized and analyzed 130 procedures for clinical parameters. The categories were image-based intralesional treatment, image-based resection, image-based resection and reconstruction, and imageless resection and reconstruction. Application to intralesional treatment showed 1 inadequate curettage and 1 (other) recurrence in 63 cases. Image-based resections in 42 cases showed 40 R0 margins; 16 in 17 pelvic resections. Image-based reconstruction facilitated graft creation with a mean reconstruction accuracy of 0.9 mm in one case. Imageless CAS was helpful in resection planning and length- and joint line reconstruction for tumor prostheses. CAS is a promising new development. Preliminary results show a high number of R0 resections and low short-term recurrence rates for curettage.

Purpose: Pelvic ring injuries are known to affect the patients’ daily life in terms of physical functioning and quality of life (QoL). Still, prospective studies on the patient’s perception over the first 2 years of rehabilitation are lacking. Therefore, patients cannot be properly informed about whether or when they will return to their pre-existing level of physical functioning and QoL. Methods: A prospective longitudinal cohort study was performed over a 4-year period including all consecutive patients above 18 years who sustained a pelvic ring injury in a level 1 trauma center. Validated patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) were used to assess physical functioning (SMFA) and QoL (EQ-5D) at baseline (recalled pre-injury score), 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year and 2 years after the injury. It was assessed whether patients had fully recovered by comparing follow-up scores to baseline PROMs. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent predictors for patients who did not fully recover. Most experienced difficulties at 3 months and 1 year were identified by analyzing the highest reported scores on individual items of the SMFA. Results: A total of 297 patients with a pelvic ring injury were identified of which 189 were eligible for follow-up and 154 (82%) responded. Median SMFA function score at 3 months, 1 and 2 years was 70, 78 and 88, respectively, compared to 96 out of 100 before the injury. Median SMFA bother score was 67, 79 and 88, respectively. Median EQ-5D score at 3 months, 1 and 2 years was 0.61, 0.81 and 0.85, respectively, compared to 1 (maximum achievable) before the injury. After 1 and 2 years of follow-up, 61% and 75% of the patients fully “recovered” in physical functioning and 52% and 71% fully recovered in terms of QoL. Female gender and high-energy trauma were independent predictors for not fully recovering after 1 year. After 3 months of follow-up, 54% of patients reported severe difficulties with recreational activities, whereas after 1 year, most experienced difficulties (31% of patients) concerned heavy house or yard work. Moreover, after 3 months and 1 year, 44% and 27% of patients reported feeling physically disabled. Conclusion: Pelvic ring injuries have a large impact on the patients’ daily life in the first 2 years of rehabilitation. Directly after the injury, physical functioning and QoL decrease strongly but then gradually improve over a 2-year period with about 75% of patients fully recovering. Female gender and high-energy trauma are shown to be independent predictors for not fully recovering. After 3 months, patients experience difficulties with both the physical and mental effects of the injury which continue to be present after 1 year.