Patellofemoral pain is considered one of the most common forms of knee pain, affecting adults, adolescents, and physically active populations. Inconsistencies in reported incidence and prevalence exist and in relation to the allocation of healthcare and research funding, there is a clear need to accurately understand the epidemiology of patellofemoral pain. An electronic database search was conducted, as well as grey literature databases, from inception to June 2017. Two authors independently selected studies, extracted data and appraised methodological quality. If heterogeneous, data were analysed descriptively. Where studies were homogeneous, data were pooled through a meta-analysis. 23 studies were included. Annual prevalence for patellofemoral pain in the general population was reported as 22.7%, and adolescents as 28.9%. Incidence rates in military recruits ranged from 9.7–571.4/1,000 person-years, amateur runners in the general population at 1080.5/1,000 person-years and adolescents amateur athletes 5.1%–14.9% over 1 season. One study reported point prevalence within military populations as 13.5%. The pooled estimate for point prevalence in adolescents was 7.2% (95% Confidence Interval: 6.3%–8.3%), and in female only adolescent athletes was 22.7% (95% Confidence Interval 17.4%–28.0%). This review demonstrates high incidence and prevalence levels for patellofemoral pain. Within the context of this, and poor long term prognosis and high disability levels, PFP should be an urgent research priority. CRD42016038870

Hip fracture is a common and serious condition associated with high mortality. This study aimed to identify pre-operative characteristics which are associated with an increased risk of mortality after hip fracture surgery. systematic search of published and unpublished literature databases, including EMBASE, MEDLINE, AMED, CINAHL, PubMed and the Cochrane Library, was undertaken to identify all clinical studies on pre-operative predictors of mortality after surgery in hip fracture with at least 3-month follow-up. Data pertaining to the study objectives was extracted by two reviewers independently. Where study homogeneity was evidence, a meta-analysis of pooled relative risk and 95% confidence intervals was performed for mortality against pre-admission characteristics. fifty-three studies including 544,733 participants were included. Thirteen characteristics were identified as possible pre-operative indicators for mortality. Following meta-analysis, the four key characteristics associated with the risk of mortality up to 12 months were abnormal ECG (RR: 2.00; 95% CI: 1.45, 2.76), cognitive impairment (RR: 1.91; 95% CI: 1.35, 2.70), age >85 years (RR: 0.42; 95% CI: 0.20, 0.90) and pre-fracture mobility (RR: 0.13; 95% CI: 0.05, 0.34). Other statistically significant pre-fracture predictors of increased mortality were male gender, being resident in a care institution, intra-capsular fracture type, high ASA grade and high Charlson comorbidity score on admission. this review has identified the characteristics of patients with a high risk of mortality after a hip fracture surgery beyond the peri-operative period who may benefit from comprehensive assessment and appropriate management. CRD42012002107.

Objectives: to determine the effect of drugs with anti-cholinergic properties on relevant health outcomes. Design: electronic published and unpublished literature/trial registries were systematically reviewed. Studies evaluating medications with anti-cholinergic activity on cognitive function, delirium, physical function or mortality were eligible. Results: forty-six studies including 60,944 participants were included. Seventy-seven percent of included studies evaluating cognitive function (n = 33) reported a significant decline in cognitive ability with increasing anti-cholinergic load (P < 0.05). Four of five included studies reported no association with delirium and increasing anti-cholinergic drug load (P > 0.05). Five of the eight included studies reported a decline in physical function in users of anti-cholinergics (P < 0.05). Three of nine studies evaluating mortality reported that the use of drugs with anti-cholinergic properties was associated with a trend towards increased mortality, but this was not statistically significant. The methodological quality of the evidence-base ranged from poor to very good. Conclusion: medicines with anti-cholinergic properties have a significant adverse effect on cognitive and physical function, but limited evidence exists for delirium or mortality outcomes.

Objective: osteoarthritis is a leading cause of disability. This systematic review aimed to establish the prevalence of depressive symptoms and anxiety among people with osteoarthritis in comparison to those without osteoarthritis.

Objective To compare the clinical outcomes of staples versus sutures in wound closure after orthopaedic surgery.Design Meta-analysis.Data sources Medline, CINAHL, AMED, Embase, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library databases were searched, in addition to the grey literature, in all languages from 1950 to September 2009. Additional studies were identified from cited references.Selection criteria Two authors independently assessed papers for eligibility. Included studies were randomised and non-randomised controlled trials that compared the use of staples with suture material for wound closure after orthopaedic surgery procedures. All studies were included, and publications were not excluded because of poor methodological quality.Review methods Two authors independently reviewed studies for methodological quality and extracted data from each paper. Final data for analysis were collated through consensus. The primary outcome measure was the assessment of superficial wound infection after wound closure with staples compared with sutures. Relative risk and mean difference with 95% confidence intervals were calculated and pooled with a random effects model. Heterogeneity was assessed with I2 and χ2 statistical test.Results Six papers, which included 683 wounds, were identified; 332 patients underwent suture closure and 351 staple closure. The risk of developing a superficial wound infection after orthopaedic procedures was over three times greater after staple closure than suture closure (relative risk 3.83, 95% confidence interval 1.38 to 10.68; P=0.01). On subgroup analysis of hip surgery alone, the risk of developing a wound infection was four times greater after staple closure than suture closure (4.79, 1.24 to 18.47; P=0.02). There was no significant difference between sutures and staples in the development of inflammation, discharge, dehiscence, necrosis, and allergic reaction. The included studies had several major methodological limitations, including the recruitment of small, underpowered cohorts, poorly randomising patients, and not blinding assessors to the allocated methods of wound closure. Only one study had acceptable methodological quality.Conclusions After orthopaedic surgery, there is a significantly higher risk of developing a wound infection when the wound is closed with staples rather than sutures. This risk is specifically greater in patients who undergo hip surgery. The use of staples for closing hip or knee surgery wounds after orthopaedic procedures cannot be recommended, though the evidence comes from studies with substantial methodological limitations. Though we advise orthopaedic surgeons to reconsider their use of staples for wound closure, definitive randomised trials are still needed to assess this research question.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and periodontitis are both chronic inflammatory disease which demonstrate similarities in terms of mechanism, histopathology and demography. An association between these conditions has been demonstrated previously but has been called into question more recently. Methods: The published databases MEDLINE, EMBASE and PsycINFO were searched using search terms related to RA and periodontitis. Articles were selected if they included data on the number of people with RA diagnosed with periodontitis (or periodontal disease parameters) compared to a control comparison group. Review articles, case reports, animal model studies, non-English language and articles with unavailable abstracts were excluded. Data was extracted, critically appraised using the Downs and Black tool and a random effect Mantel-Haenszel meta-analysis was performed. Results: 21 papers met the eligibility criteria and provided data for the meta-analysis; 17 studies (including a total of 153,492 participants) comparing RA to healthy controls and 4 (including a total of 1378 participants) comparing RA to osteoarthritis (OA). There was a significantly increased risk of periodontitis in people with RA compared to healthy controls (RR: 1.13; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.23; p=0.006; N: 153,277) with a significantly raised mean probing depth, risk of bleeding on probing (BOP) and absolute value of clinical attachment loss in those with rheumatoid arthritis. When comparing RA and OA, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of periodontitis, however the risk of BOP was greater in OA than RA. Conclusion: The significant association between RA and periodontitis is supported by the results of our systematic review and meta-analysis of studies comparing RA to healthy controls. In our meta-analysis, however, this is not replicated when comparing RA to OA controls.