Hand/Wrist News

LAS VEGAS — Implementation of a standardized education program significantly reduced opioid intake after hand surgery, decreased refill rates and improved patient satisfaction, according to results presented at the American Society for Surgery of the Hand Annual Meeting.

LAS VEGAS — Results presented here showed vitamin C was not associated with improved outcomes after treatment of distal radius fracture.

LAS VEGAS — Older patients with distal radius fractures experienced faster recovery when treated with internal fixation using a volar locking plate system compared with external fixation, percutaneous pinning or casting, according to results presented at the American Society for Surgery of the Hand Annual Meeting.

Anesthesia methods after surgical treatment of distal radial fracture significantly impact early patterns of postoperative pain and opioid consumption equivalents, according to results. However, no difference was seen between anesthesia methods with regard to total opioid equivalent consumption during the first 3 postoperative days and long-term outcomes.

EFORT Open Reviews is the new open access journal from EFORT and Bone & Joint Publishing. All articles are free to read online with no subscription required.

Arthrosurface Inc. announced the launch of its SpeedSpiral carpometacarpal system, intended for patients with osteoarthritis in the thumb, according to a company press release.

An otherwise healthy 3-year-old boy presented to the pediatric urgent care clinic 2 days after his mother noticed left distal forearm swelling in the child without a known inciting event. The patient appeared to have no pain, skin changes or constitutional symptoms. Neurovascular status and range of motion of the wrist were intact. There was mild tenderness to palpation of an approximately 2-cm, firm fixed mass deep to the subcutaneous tissues at the level of the distal radioulnar joint. Laboratory evaluation was unremarkable. Radiographs revealed soft tissue swelling about the wrist without focal calcifications or cortical irregularity (Figure 1). Ultrasound was remarkable for an ill-defined heterogeneous soft-tissue lesion in the left wrist with mild adjacent cortical thickening and minimal periosteal reaction, without evidence of hypervascularity (Figure 2). One week later, the patient underwent MRI with and without gadolinium contrast which demonstrated a 2 cm (anteroposterior) by 2 cm (longitudinal) by 1.3 cm (transverse) heterogeneous non-enhancing mass that was mildly hyperintense on T1 and T2, diffusely bright on short-TI inversion recovery (STIR), with associated inflammatory change interposed between the distal radius and ulna in the volar aspect of the wrist, just distal to the pronator quadratus. There was no bony involvement, but there was reactive bony remodeling of the distal ulna and radius (Figure 3).

A congress is always as good as its presentations. In this regard, the EFORT Congress can always rely on the experts from Europe and worldwide.

EFORT Open Reviews (EOR) is the new open access journal from EFORT and Bone & Joint Publishing. All articles are free to read online with no subscription required.

Patients with carpal tunnel syndrome who underwent surgical treatment had an increased risk for HF and amyloidosis compared with controls, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.