Dislocation represents the most common complication after revision total hip arthroplasty (rTHA). Understanding risk factors for dislocation has a great clinical relevance for every hip surgeon in order to consider all surgical options for effective planning. The aim of this systematic review was to answer two main questions—(1) what are the risk factors for instability after rTHA? and (2) what are the best preoperative assessments and surgical options to avoid dislocation after rTHA? Scientific databases were accessed to identify papers dealing with prevention and treatment of dislocation after rTHA. We performed a search using the keywords ‘revision hip arthroplasty’ and ‘dislocation’, ‘instability’, ‘outcome’, ‘failure’, ‘treatment’. After removal of duplicates and exclusion of works published in different languages, 33 articles were reviewed completely. Risk factors were analysed in order to establish the most relevant and evidence-based treatments available in the current literature. The risk of dislocation after rTHA can be reduced using some precautions inferred from the literature. The use of a larger femoral and acetabular component, elevated rim liner and dual mobility implants can significantly reduce the risk of dislocation after rTHA. However, care must be taken regarding patient-related risk factors since these cannot be addressed and modified. Hence, a complete evaluation of risk factors should be performed for each patient and procedure before starting rTHA.

Introduction: Surgical site infection is a common complication after orthopaedic surgery. It can be associated with increased morbidity rate and social cost. The accurate identification of risk factors is essential so that strategies to prevent these potentially devastating infections can be developed. We have conducted this study to determine the possible risk factors for the surgical site infections. Objectives: We aimed at finding exhaustive evidence concerning the potential risk factors for infections in orthopaedic surgery. Patients and Methods: Between October 2009 and December 2011, we identified 84 patients with a superficial and/or deep surgical site infection and compared them with 203 uninfected patients (control group), taken out from a series of 486 patients. We considered the following risk factors: diabetes, BMI >30, ASA Score of 3 or 4, smoking and age. Results: The most frequently performed operations of the 287 examined patients were the knee and hip arthroplasties (n = 32, 11.14%) and open fracture reductions (n = 178, 62.02%). Staphylococcus Aureus was the most common identified pathogen (n = 63, 75%). The analyses (preoperative and postoperative) of the infected patients showed them to have significantly high serum glucose levels in comparison with the control group (odds ratio = 8.7). We found a significant high rate of infection in patients smoking for more than 20 years (67 patients, 79.7%). The remaining variables (BMI, OR = 2.21; ASA score, OR = 1.3) showed no significant differences between the study group and controls. We also found a correlation between > 65-year-old patients and infections at the surgical site (61 patients, 72.6%). Conclusion: We found that there was correlation between diabetes, smoking and age as risk factors with the development of infection at the surgical site; other variables such as the ASA score and BMI are not relevant here (contrary to what is reported in literature). We believe that postoperative results can be improved considerably with a properly conducted antibiotic treatment, stringent glycemic control (achievable only with careful multidisciplinary management) and good compliance of patients.

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a widely accepted and successful procedure for end-stage arthritis. Nevertheless, fast-track may be compromised by many factors, such as pain, edema, and blood loss. Cryotherapy has been advocated as a safe and effective strategy to improve the postoperative results, acting on pain, edema, and blood loss. This study is a prospective randomized controlled study, involving 50 patients after primary TKA. A power analysis was performed preoperatively. Twenty-four patients were addressed to a postoperative treatment with a continuous cold flow device (Hilotherm, Hilotherm GmbH, Germany). Twenty-six patients represented the control group, treated with crushed ice packs. All the patients shared the same analgesic strategy and the same rehabilitation protocol. Pain, analgesic consumption, active knee range of motion, drain output, transfusion requirement, and total blood loss were evaluated at different follow-ups (postoperative first, third, and seventh days). The two groups were homogenous for preoperative and intraoperative features. The groups showed no statistically significant differences in all the evaluated parameters. A modest reduction of knee volume was evident after 7 days from surgery (trend). No differences in blood loss were noticed. Continuous cold flow device in the acute postoperative setting after TKA did not show superiority in reducing edema, pain, and blood loss, compared with traditional icing regimen. Thus, due to the costs, it should be reserved to selected cases.

Background and objectives: Knee osteoarthritis (KO) is one of the most common joint diseases, determining knee pain and reduction of mobility, with a negative effect on quality of life. Intra-articular injections of different formulations of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) are an increasingly common non-surgical treatment for KO. Recently, in order to combine the anti-inflammatory effect of platelet rich plasma and the viscosupplementation effect of hyaluronic acid, a formulation of PRP combined with hyaluronic acid (PRP + HA) has been proposed. The purpose of this study is to retrospectively compare the effectiveness of plasma with high concentration of platelets and leukocytes (L-PRP) with PRP + HA in patients with mild to moderate (Kellgren–Lawrence scale II-III grade) KO. Materials and Methods: Among the 51 patients included, 28 have been treated with L-PRP, while 23 with PRP + HA. A retrospective evaluation at baseline (T0), after 3 months (T1) and 1 year (T2) has been performed. The outcome analyzed are the Knee Society Score (KSS), the Visuo Analogic Scale (VAS) (at T0, T1, and T2) and the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) (T0 and T2). We evaluated change in mean scores within and between groups among different time points using repeated measures ANCOVA. Results: Although the two treatments have been both effective in reducing VAS, the group treated with PRP + HA showed a significantly lower KSS. Conclusions: Our results show that the use of both treatments may help to reduce pain in patients with mild to moderate KO. PRP + HA showed better results in improving knee mobility and function. These results should be considered only preliminary: Further research is needed to completely describe the clinical effectiveness of these formulations.

Background: Clubfoot is one of the most common congenital limb deformities. Prenatal diagnosis of the condition is essential as it can help treat the malformation as early as possible. We reviewed the recent available literature concerning the current methods for prenatal diagnosis of clubfoot. Methods: The following databases were searched from 1966 to 2015: PubMed, OVID, Cochrane, CINAHL, Google scholar and Embase. Results: Out of a total number of 197 retrieved articles, after abstract or title page evaluation, 158 articles not matching the inclusion criteria were excluded. The full text versions of the remaining 39 articles were obtained, and their reference lists screened, with the addition of another 5 full-text articles. Conclusions: Currently, ultrasonography is considered the most reliable method of prenatal diagnosis of clubfoot. Ultrasonographic diagnosis of clubfoot appears more likely between the 18th and the 24th week of pregnancy. Alternative imaging is not indicated. There is no agreement whether to propose foetal karyotyping when isolated clubfoot is diagnosed by prenatal ultrasonography. Early detection of clubfoot should prompt a careful surveillance during pregnancy in order to detect any possible additional abnormalities and, if any of these are detected, invasive testing should be offered.