Osteoarthritis and Bone Disorders News

Among older adults, hip fractures are associated with a significant, persistent negative impact on health-related quality of life over 10 years, affecting levels of mobility, self-care, ambulation and pain, according to findings published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.

Although opioid use is common among older patients with osteoarthritis, rates of long-term opioid use differed significantly from state to state, with the lowest rates reported in Minnesota and the highest rates in Alabama, according to findings in Arthritis & Rheumatology.

The International Rheumatologic Board — consisting of eight experts from six different countries — recently developed an algorithm to help primary care physicians determine whether they should treat osteoarthritis or if they should refer such patients to a specialist.

Sequential therapy featuring abaloparatide followed by alendronate is highly cost-effective for the treatment of women who are at high risk for fractures, compared with teriparatide followed by alendronate, according to data published in Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism.

The American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons released a position statement that it does not recommend to routine clinical use of biologics, including stem cells and platelet-rich plasma injections, for the treatment of advanced hip or knee arthritis.

In a position statement, The American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons said opioids should be avoided for the treatment of hip and knee osteoarthritis and should be reserved for certain circumstances.

Treating osteoporosis in an orthopedic practice is challenging. Orthopedic clinicians are typically not as well-versed in osteoporosis diagnosis and treatment as they may be with other musculoskeletal conditions. Many times, the orthopedic provider feels that this should be managed by the patient’s internist or primary care physician. However, it has been shown that providing osteoporosis care in orthopedic settings can have significant positive effects on prevention and treatment of osteoporotic fractures. Additionally, most patients who are identified with an osteoporotic fracture and subsequently treated surgically for that osteoporotic fracture is not treated for their underlying osteoporosis.

As many as 30% of presurgical patients with end-stage knee, hip or spine osteoarthritis use prescription opioids, according to data published in Arthritis Care & Research.

The presence of Heberden’s nodes is associated with increased MRI-based periarticular bone area expansion related to knee osteoarthritis, according to findings published in Arthritis & Rheumatology.

Accelerated knee osteoarthritis involves cartilage loss, large bone marrow lesions and destabilizing meniscal tears in knees that demonstrate meniscal damage in at least two regions, according to data published in Arthritis & Rheumatology.