Editor's Note In older adults with unstable ankle fractures, close contact casting compared with surgery resulted in similar functional outcomes at 6 months, this study finds. The study, which included 620 patients (309 surgery, 311 casting) from 24 hospitals, found that postfracture symptoms, quality of life, pain, ankle motion, and…

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Editor's Note Comparing the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) program’s broad definition of a patient’s episode of care (ie, initial hospitalization until 90 days after discharge) with a clinically narrow definition of an episode of care, researchers found that hospital performance was consistent no matter which definition was used.…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on September 28 identified the recall by DePuy Synthes (a Johnson & Johnson company) of its Adaptor and Light Adaptor for Small Battery Drive and Small Battery Drive II as Class I, the most serious. The recall is due to the potential…

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Editor's Note In the first 21 months of the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) initiative for total hips and knees, Medicare payments declined more for BPCI participating hospitals than nonparticipating hospitals, without a significant change in quality outcomes, this study finds. For the analysis, 31,700 total joints at 176…

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Editor's Note Hospitals that care for the oldest, sickest, and most complicated patients could suffer financially under Medicare’s Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) bundled payment program, this study finds. The study analyzed data from more than 23,000 Michigan patients who had hip or knee replacements at 60 hospitals in a…

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Editor's Note This study found a strong association between spinal anesthesia and lower 30-day mortality along with a shorter length of stay after total hip and knee replacements. Of 10,868 patients analyzed, 8,553 had spinal anesthesia and 2,315 had general anesthesia. The 30-day mortality rate was 0.19% in the spinal…

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Editor's Note The global orthopedic implant market is predicted to hit $6.2 billion by 2024, the August 26 Becker’s Spine Review reports. Factors that will impact the market: A growing number of geriatric patients and sports injuries will drive market growth. The cost and unfavorable reimbursements of implants will hinder…

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Editor's Note On July 27, PinnacleHealth (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) announced the opening of its Surgery Optimization Clinic to support orthopedic patients at high risk for surgical complications. Other high-risk surgical patient service lines will be added by the end of the year. The aim of the program is to improve patient…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will select 98 hospitals in metropolitan areas to take part in a 5-year mandatory program to test a bundled-payment model for myocardial infarction and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedures, the July 25 Modern Healthcare reports. CMS will also expand…

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Editor's Note Implementing strategies to reduce the number of OR door openings during total hip and knee procedures helped lower surgical site infections (SSIs) in this study presented at the 2016 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Conference in San Diego. Strategies included stopping all traffic in…

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